Pocket money

It was an example, and a method many parents use.

I don't think a 12 / 13 year old needs to be buying their own shower gel to learn to budget.
If they want a specific one that's not in the weekly shop that's different

First year- £5 a week and expect sweets- a fiver won't get him much.
Second year- he has to use that pocket money to buy his own shower gel or deodorant, so he needs to budget, but also gets some freedom in choosing.
By then he'll have probably realised the value of saving money and will rather save up for a new game or pair of shoes than sweets.

Start with cash, then card. He'll need to get used to card at some point because cash won't be around forever.

£5 a week seems quite low to me if he’s going to be going out with friends and using his pocket money to pay for things whilst out. I’d go with £10 a week to start with and up it when he’s a bit older. For comparison, we are just about to start giving our 5 year old dd pocket money so she starts learning about money, and we are planning on giving her £5 a week which would buy an ice cream and a small toy for example. When she’s 10 I’d be expecting to give her a lot more.

My DD (13) doesn’t get pocket money as we pay for her phone and she wants canteen rather than a packed lunch, which adds up to roughly £40 per month. She has to do weekly chores (unload dishwasher, tidy room, sort/take out recycling) for this. If she wants extra money she can earn it by doing extra chores around the house. We pay for all her toiletries and clubs etc. She has a Rooster account which she has a card for - if she gets Xmas/Birthday money etc. It’s great as you can add chores on with set amounts to earn extra (eg. clean the toilet £3) the app is linked to my account so if she does extra jobs she ticks a box which alerts me and I can transfer the money. Plus she can create ‘pots’ of she’s saving for something in particular. Fortunately she’s not a child that asks for much (yet!).

We do age plus school year so my 12 year old DS in year 8 gets £20 per month and my 7 year old in year 3 gets £10. He has a NatWest rooster bank account with a bank card. He’s good at saving it and doesn’t really waste it on junk mainly buys lego!

I think have a conversation with your son about what the pocket money is for.

DD (14) gets £40 a month (it was £10 when she was 11, and has increased over the years as she's more interested in shopping). The money is for all her non essentials. We buy standard supermarket toiletries, essential clothing/shoes, we don't buy a lot of sweets/snacks in the weekly shop so if she wants treats, she buys them. We fund her clubs and phone

If she wants a £50 t-shirt, £100 trainers, or a £20 lipbalm then she buys them for herself. If she spent all her money on fast food and sweets, then too bad.

She has a bank account with a debit card and is really good at spending sensibly most of the time, and has been able to save a little.

If it £5 a week, ot will go on sweets, as you can't really buy anything else for that. A kids magazine is about 6 quid, maybe wait until you can afford it better? Or alternatively give it monthly so he can buy something or save?

Also would say, he almost never remembers to take his wallet anywhere so just this weekend asked me to help him set up apple pay on his phone. So having an account is useful, and he loves to log in and see how much he has saved.

My dad used to give me £1 a day pocket money, given on a Sunday so £7 a week. He had a list of optional extras I could do too to 'top it up' - extra £1/£2 here and there if I went up and made beds and opened blinds etc, hoovering the car. It worked out quite well and I'll do the same with my kids too.

I would definitely open a bank account so they can get used to having a bank card. We opened one with Nationwide a few years back. DD recently got the £100 member bonus. They can also use it for money given for birthdays and Christmas. I found they start to get less presents at this age upwards and more money given.

You need to think about why are you giving pocket money, it’s typically so they can start to learn to manage their own money, start to save for things they want, have money to go for food after school, with friends or pay for those gaming extras they like.

i think if you are starting out, regardless of the amount, set an expectation of what it’s for, ie, in place of you providing money for Roblox, or Fortnite skins or whatever thing, this will discourage the mindless spending on treats from the corner shop.

my DS is 12, we set up an account (primarily because grandparents overseas send pocket money, as they do with the other grandkids) but fortunately he’s a saver, and rarely spends on fast food etc.

I think it’s all relative to what you earn and can afford to give them as well as whether they earn their pocket money for chores which instills good working values or whether they get it regardless

When I started secondary I got £2 per week which using the Bank of England inflation calculator is near enough £4 per week. My niece gets £10 per week in year 6, however she has a number of chores she needs to complete for that and it’s within her parents budget. She can and regularly does take on extra tasks to earn more. She has also learnt to save well

Just do what’s for your family and finances

I think at this late stage he probably will just buy sweets and fizzy drinks for a while, until the novelty wears off.

Be strict though about never lending him anything from next week's pocket money, so he learns how to budget.

I think the card is a good idea as some places don't accept cash, and I think £5 if fine as long as you can afford it.