What did you spend your pocket money on as a teenager?

[ifigoup]

Assuming that as a teenager you had a bit of money to spend on things that weren’t strict necessities, but still didn’t have loads of cash to splash, what kind of things did you buy?

I was born 1980. My pocket money, birthday money, babysitting money went on:

Magazines (especially Just Seventeen).
Body Shop lip balms and fruity soaps.
Guitar strings and plectrums.
Stationery.
Sweets (especially sherbet stuff, kola kubes and the like).
Bus fares to town.
Cinema tickets.
Glitter or pastel nail polish.
The NME.
Cassette singles.
Wimpy burgers and milkshakes.
Body sprays.
Glow in the dark plastic stars for my bedroom ceiling.

[ThomasNightingale]

Second hand science fiction books. Cheap silk scarves from the hippy shop.
Vodka and lime down the pub (age 15 onwards - the local pubs had a relaxed attitude to underaged drinking)

[Justlikedevon]

Ha, hugo I'd forgotten about the washing grains!!

[Ohyesiam]

Cigarettes unfortunately

[jessstan2]

Records (yes we had records in those days), make up, fares to places I wanted to go, tickets for concerts or cinema or whatever, gifts, stamps.

[AnnabelleLecter]

Athena prints/posters
Clothes
Merrydown cider
Going out
Records
Driving lessons
I had two jobs, a paper round and Saturday job in a shop.

[Adversecamber22]

I worked from 13 and didn’t have pocket money.

Single records
Clothes
Wimpy knickerbocker glories

I saved the majority of my wages and had just over a thousand pounds by the time I was 17, this was around 1982.

[PickleMeThis]

Cinema tickets and a junior special from the chicken shop.

Then from 14+ it was k cider, hooch, 20/20.

Used to get £5 a week from my mum and £20 a fortnight babysitting. Left school at 16 and went straight to work in a factory. My wages were £182 a week - thought I was loaded!

[Flowerfae]

Sweets especially these lollypops that we could get from the shop near to school, they were either blue or red they dyed your tongue and the blue one tasted the nicest. Jelly Bracelets (Neon and Sparkly ones) Magazines and I loved this lip balm.. either from The Body Shop or Superdrug, they were in a tiny pot and fruit flavoured they smelt lovely I liked the strawberry one. I didn't buy makeup because I just used me mums (when she wasn't there, she didn't like me wearing makeup to school)

[Escolar]

I've always been a saver and I put most of my money in my bank account. I did like to buy J17 but I never spent much on clothes, make up, records etc.

I know it sounds boring, but honestly, it's a quality which is underrated and has been very useful to me in life!

[BikeRunSki]

Cassettes - a chary album was £4.49 in Woolies. I could just about get that much together every week, I had a few little jobs.
No17 make up
Chips after swimming
Some misguided clothes
Converse shoes and DMs

Was lucky enough to grow up in Central London; got a free travel card for school, which was only meant to be used in term time, but was easily blagged. I also got a free swimming pass from The City of Westminster (didn’t live there, but School was there).

[FrazzyAndFrumpled]

Cigarettes, alcohol and weed!

[BikeRunSki]

Smash hits, then later, mountaineering and cycling magazines

Standby tickets for concerts and plays

[MrsMartinRohde]

Magazines - Smash Hits, Just Seventeen, Mizz
Books books books and more books
Chocolate
Stickers that went in Panini albums (when I was younger than about 12, Care Bears, Sarah Kay, IIRC)
Hair products, I got through a lot of hair spray and VO5 hot oil

I was a late developer when it came to buying music (I taped the top 40 off the radio), make up and clothes. Guess I saved most of it really.

Born in 1973

[Willow2017]

Records
Cassette tapes to tape music on.
Boots toiletries the original 'natural' stuff which looked lovely as well as smelling nice.
Bus fare to town to buy the above😀
Peanuts posters.
Books
Magazines
Make up and clothes/accessories

[Crunchymum]

Fags, booze and chips in pitta from the kebab shop.

Happy days.

(This was circa 1995, I was 15)

[BoswelliaGoldMyrrh]

Smash Hits/Jackie/Just Seventeen
Sweets

My parents were quite disapproving/controlling, so I only got a token amount of pocket money (like £1 per week late 80's).
The things I would have like to have bought, like Top Shop clothes, McDonalds, Body Shop toiletries, Rimmel make up, Now That's What I Call Music tapes, chart albums, Sony Walkman... typical everyday teenage culture items of the time, were very rare treats or were the "main" component of birthday/Christmas presents. My parents were from the wartime frugality mindset, rather than being poor. Feel I missed out on a lot of shared experiences with my peers & age cohort. Buying a small portable radio from a carboot sale for 50p when I was 13 was a Big Deal to me, so I could listen to the chart stations.

[dontknowwhattodo80]

Also born 1980, I used to get £6 a week ( until 16 when I got a Saturday job)

Smash hits/ just seventeen then later More magazine

Make up

Natural collection bath shape things

Sweets- toffee crumble being the favourite

Bus fare into a bigger nearby town

[richierichardsaunt]

Booze, fags and chips to be eaten in local graveyard... (such class)

In the 80s it was harder to buy fags than booze if you were underage!
That was easily fixed by getting a friends older sister to write a note saying:
shopkeeper, please sell my daughter 40 JPS please, thank you from her mum.

Worked scarily easily!

[TheWiseWomansFear]

Hair accessories and necklaces, make up and a shit tonne of books.

[TheWiseWomansFear]

@Otterses they still sold stargazer when I was a teen in the 2000s

[Boredofthecommute]

Fags and phone credit
Probably some weed too

[Fashionista101]

Hay
Shavings
Sugarbeat

[Otterses]

Wisewoman. THEY STILL HAVE A WEBSITE! And it's on amazon.

I may need to rebuild my collection ...

[amusedbush]

My parents were skint so I didn't get pocket money. From the age of 14 I helped my uncle on his market stall 8am - 4pm every Sunday for £20 a shift (increased to £30 when I was 16), and then from 16 I was also paid £40 every fortnight for going to school (EMA payments, I think?)

I spent it on:

Cigarettes
Kerrang magazine
Make up
Clothes (does anyone remember the shop Flip in Edinburgh? )
Gig tickets
Hair dye

[AdamNichol]

Born 1980

Lived in Hong Kong early 90s:
CDs
Manga VHS
Cinema tickets

Returned to UK 1996:
Motorbike and related paraphernalia
Clubbing