At what age should teen grandsons pocket money be stopped?

zaksmum

My two teen grandsons are 14 and 17. I love giving them their pocket money which I give every few months so it's a bigger amount for them, about £250 each time.

They are the most lovely well mannered boys you could hope for and I love them to bits.

The older boy will be 18 soon and will be going to university. O/H says his pocket money should stop once he turns 18.

We have two younger grandchildren aged 3 and 6 and O/H says the 6yr old should now get the money the oldest boy will forfeit.

I'm far from happy and think the 6yr old is too young to appreciate money and the almost 18 yr old still needs it.

Any thoughts?

Spendless

What age did you start giving pocket money to the older ones? That should be the age you start with the younger ones.

Should you stop for the eldest? Usually students aren't flush with money, but it depends, if he gets maximum loan due to low household income of his parent/s, has a job and is also receiving money from a NRP, you might want to stop paying it. If he only receives a lower amount, parent/s are struggling to make up the shortfall and he's struggling to find work then perhaps continue to give some osf the current account.

Perhaps come up with a time when it will stop for each one, eg when they start f-time work if you don't want to make it age related.

sooty&sweep

Entirely up to you but an 18 year old going to university will definitely still appreciate "pocket money" !

Jen

Red-Squirrel_2

If they're going to uni they'll certainly appreciate it more over the next few years than they have as teenagers! Definitely more than primary age children will!

If you enjoy helping them out, and they are nice kids and grateful, why should you stop doing something that is good for you and for them?

[Deleted User]

That sore of money will make a huge difference to an impoverished student IMO and a 6yrs old doesnt need that kind of money afterall there are only so many plastic toys and games downloads they can use.

In an ideal world they would all get something and the amount would be dependant on their age and need.

Owain_Moneysaver

Even at 3 a child can learn what money is, there's only a limited supply of it, and if he spends it all on chocolate buttons he can't buy any toffees until next payday. (Some politicians have never learned that lesson.)

I used to get 5p daily which was just enough for 'two ounces' of sweets. It used to be 4p but the sweetshop intervened on my behalf as they hated weighing out 1 2/3 ounces.

A 6 year old is probably near old enough to get weekly money.

AndyBSG

My kids will get an allowance until they leave education but they have to do chores for it.

Malthusian

Can you afford to give to both?

I can't see any reason to stop the pocket money for the 18 year old if you don't want to. He can still use the money at uni, and if the idea is that he shouldn't get pocket money when he's old enough to work, it's two years too late (16 year olds can leave school and start work as an apprentice).

I agree with others that the 6 year old probably will benefit from a small amount of pocket money - though not that much.

When I was at uni I had a very generous donation twice a year from a relative as a reward for passing my exams. Might your OH be more comfortable with rewarding exam success than pocket money?

PeacefulWaters

I've just given my 30 year old and 27 year old step kids an ad-hoc £250.

It doesn't stop being a useful sum for them.

The simple answer to your question is that it's up to you.

Bean83

When I was at uni, my grandparents paid my 'pocket money' straight into an account at the university bookshop so I could only spend it on textbooks - perhaps your OH would be happier with something like this, as it could be seen as being more useful than pocket money to just spend on anything? I don't know if other universities offer something like this, but I know I massively appreciated it at the time, especially as textbooks can be horrendously expensive and it wasn't something I'd even considered having to budget for!

Hermia

Bean83 wrote: »

When I was at uni, my grandparents paid my 'pocket money' straight into an account at the university bookshop so I could only spend it on textbooks - perhaps your OH would be happier with something like this, as it could be seen as being more useful than pocket money to just spend on anything? I don't know if other universities offer something like this, but I know I massively appreciated it at the time, especially as textbooks can be horrendously expensive and it wasn't something I'd even considered having to budget for!

My grandparents did not give me pocket money, but when I was at uni they would occasionally send me a supermarket voucher which was much appreciated.