I want to stop drowning

enthusiasticsaver

I would also encourage her to get a weekend job to earn her own money when she is 16 so she learns it doesn't grow on trees. My own daughters from 16 did paper rounds after school, caravan cleaning at weekends, shop work, waitressing. They did this from 16 to when they left uni and now looking back they say they are glad we pushed them to do it. It gave them a strong work ethic, they learnt how hard they had to work to earn £7 an hour at the time and they learnt to budget with their own money. Priceless lessons and now they are young adults, financially secure with their own homes. We could afford to give them pocket money but felt they would benefit from joining the workplace sooner rather than later. My dad did the same with me and my siblings.

debtaghh

I completely agree and have told her clearly to not expect a party etc. We tell her all the time about the value of money and she has a very small job but has been saving towards a big item. I'm also going to give her pocket money but have made it clear that is to cover all none essentials , I'm hoping this will help to teach her the value of money.

I have mentioned getting another job but not sure that will happen!

System

I concur with enthusiastic saver , my 2 both had jobs from 16 all through uni. It definitely set them on the right road.

My daughter had a pamper party when was 16 for her and 3 friends , she loved it .

debtaghh

I agree, I had a job from the age of 14.

Pamper party sound great!

enthusiasticsaver

A pamper party sounds great to me as well. Just a few close friends and some food and drink should not break the bank. Both mine had small parties - just 5 or 6 friends I think and they watched dvds, had food and drink/birthday cake and a sleepover.

System

Glad you like the idea, your daughter could organise it all. It can then be whatever she wants within a budget you set !

debtaghh

Thanks. How much would you recommend for her presents?

System

I think that is a hard thing to determine , it is all relative to how much you normally spend on her and what you can realistically afford . Does she know that financially things are tight ? If she has asked for something specific could the cost be shared between you and grandparents if there are any.

debtaghh

She knows we find things tight but she doesn't know about our debt.

If I'm being honest I have been spending about £200 on her because we tend to buy her gift cards so she can buy her clothes for the year.

debtaghh

Morning,

I had a bit of a spendy day yesterday. I bought wrapping paper, bday card, toiletries, underwear etc it was all needed but still annoying. I think I may have to use money from my savings to survive until dh next pay day and no more extra payments on the cc unless sales start existing!

Today I need to:

Empty the dishwasher
Put wash on
Hoover
Wrap ds presents
Check finances and work out shortfall for the month
Request membership for softplay

Just in case I forget ( tomorrow):

Submit tax return
Claim ppi for account fees
Look at Equifax at all ccs we have had and ask about ppi including previous mortgage