Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

How much 'pocket money' for a 16yo girl?

78 replies

NCTDN · 02/11/2019 21:09

I know this has been done lots, but what is the going rate? At the moment DD only gets £10 a month Blushbut we pay for most things. I know of others who get significantly more but are expected to pay for everything themselves. Please can you share your experiences?

OP posts:
BooFuckingHoo2 · 02/11/2019 21:11

What do you pay for? I think you need to stop paying her things and let her be in “control” in order to teach her some budgeting skills. I think £100 per month is reasonable, but it depends what you can afford!

rainbowconfetti · 02/11/2019 21:12

Very much dependent on circumstances.

Mine got £20 a week at 16 and I paid their phone and bought all clothes etc.

£20 doesn't go far here though. Bus fare to the town plus lunch wouldn't leave much change, and for a cinema trip it would need 2 buses so after paying that plus cinema there wouldn't even be money left for lunch.

GinisLife · 02/11/2019 21:14

My 16 year old gets £10 per week but I pay for phone contract, Netflix, Spotify, and other money as and when in addition plus £100 to savings each month.

AthollPlace · 02/11/2019 21:15

I got £5 a week and that was 30 years ago. So £2.50 a week nowadays isn’t a lot.

TeenPlusTwenties · 02/11/2019 21:16

I think £100 is too much if it is all discretionary spend.

Work out what it needs to cover e.g.:

  • phone
  • socialising with friends
  • extra clothes above essentials
  • birthday / Christmas presents for immediate family
  • makeup / games / etc

Is she y11 or y12? If y12 could a part time job supplement if she wants more money?

rainbowconfetti · 02/11/2019 21:16

Netflix here is a family thing, just like virgin media and the Wi-Fi, not something I consider I pay specifically for my 16yo

Kungfupanda67 · 02/11/2019 21:16

I got £45 a month when I was 14 - my dad stopped when I started working so didn’t get any when I was 16.

I paid for clothes, socialising, bus fare etc. My mum paid for my phone bill though, and would occasionally give me a bit extra if I needed it (not often though, she didn’t have much money herself)

CIT80 · 02/11/2019 21:18

£100pm

Apolloanddaphne · 02/11/2019 21:20

Our DD's got £100 per month at 16 but is was more an allowance than pocket money and they had to pay for toiletries/make up, clothes which were not essential, social event, some travels costs etc. It helped them learn to budget.

CupoTeap · 02/11/2019 21:21

I had a pt job so was out of my parents hands

11MrsLuther · 02/11/2019 21:22

My 16 year old has a job so nothing. I pay for her phone, often as part of a Christmas or birthday gift plus buy some clothes. I pay for everything she needs for 6th form. Her wages pay for clothes, make up, concert tickets, trainers, presents and going out!

Weenurse · 02/11/2019 21:22

Mine got $50 a week until they got part time jobs at 15.
DD1 did not get much work in her final year of school, so we went back to giving her the $50 until she got another job.
That money paid for everything, phones, outings, outfits, hair, makeup, presents, lunches at school, everything.
They learned to budget very well and now both are in their early 20’s and have good savings and both been on big trips overseas.
Good luck

Accountant222 · 02/11/2019 21:23

I gave my boy £60 per month plus family allowance, he chose and paid for his clothes. I bought school clothes, socks, underwear and pjs and coats. He's 38 now, it taught him budgeting

madamy · 02/11/2019 21:26

We've just upped DD16 in yr12 from £10 a week pocket money to £100 a month allowance. From this she'll need to buy everything apart from her phone (only £9, we pay for all of them). School bus not included, but she either makes a packed lunch or uses her money to buy. She also has a part time job which pays £25 a week term time.
Time will tell how this goes!

BoardingSchoolMater · 02/11/2019 21:31

My DD (almost 16, Yr 11) gets £30 per month. I pay for essentials (clothes, toiletries etc). I also pay for her basic phone (£10 per month). Nando's and Urban Outfitters aren't essentials. It's an ongoing battle. If I weren't paying school fees, I might have more to give the DC, but there is simply no spare money. I don't even spend £30 per month on myself.

We don't have Netflix (I don't even have a television).

If my teenage DC want more than this, they will have to find jobs!

ButterflyBitch · 02/11/2019 21:31

I may be hopelessly out of date here as my kids aren’t teenagers yet but when I was 16 I had a job.
Can she get a part time job? I wasn’t given pocket money from 13 years onwards as I had a paper round and my mum couldn’t afford it anyway.

NCTDN · 02/11/2019 21:35

DD can't get a job as she has a very busy sporty life out of school and I don't mind that at all as it keeps her focused and healthy. All her spare time is spent on school work as she is year 11.

OP posts:
pikapikachu · 02/11/2019 21:35

It depends what she has to buy.

My dd has no transport costs, has her phone, Netflix and Spotify paid for.

Her Dad gives her £40pm (her Dad pays phone and Spotify)
I give her £80 pm
She earns a few hundred a month in her job.

She buys all clothes, shoes, "luxury" toiletries like perfume, makeup and going out (this isn't much as she goes to her Dad's EOW)

stucknoue · 02/11/2019 21:35

My eldest got £40 at 16, her younger sister got £50 but they weren't meant to get any extra money except I bought clothes twice a year approx

NCTDN · 02/11/2019 21:37

Wow she earns a few hundred a month? What does she do?

OP posts:
RB68 · 02/11/2019 21:39

14yr old gets 45 quid but we are out in sticks so some of that is for train, she does gifts for friends, some clothes, toiletries she wants that are not bog standard and she has a bank card and account with no overdraft - its completely up to her what she does with it. I will sometimes give her extra for specific outings like tonight for fireworks display gave her entry money.

OrangeTwirl · 02/11/2019 21:43

All mine had a job at 16. I pay phone contract for my 18 year old college student. Plus her food and anything she needs. Anything she wants she pays for out of her earnings.

mynewusernamenow · 02/11/2019 21:43

£30 a month, I paid all expenses, this was just pocket money

Trustmeimamidwife · 02/11/2019 21:43

Mine gets £10 a week and I pay for her phone

Bouledeneige · 02/11/2019 21:46

My DS gets his phone and travelcard paid for plus £100 a month. But from that he has to buy his own school lunch (meal deal).

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.