Pocket money

[MercuryRising]

Hi. I am just beginning to give my 12 and 14 year olds regular pocket money and would be interested to know what other people give their teens.

I am thinking £20 a month linked to certain minimal chores being completed. Their dad is giving them £30 a month to be spent on branded clothes (I will be buying basics), they also get their phone bills paid. Dd is under the impression all her friends are getting more... am I seriously underestimating the financial needs of teenagers?

No, you aren't underestimating the financial needs.

My youngest is 18 now, so you can add on a bit for inflation, but mine got the number of years of their age, per month - ie 12 yr old got £12 per month, and 14 yr old got £14per month.
They didn't get separate amounts form their Dad. They paid for their own phone usage out of that.

However these threads do show up a MASSIVE variety. A lot depends on what they have been used to for the first 12 (14) year of their life.
Soon someone will come and say 'but it costs £6 for them to go to the cinema' or 'even a coffee would cost them £3'. If your family lifestyle is such they have been used to going to the pictures 2 or 3 times a month, or stopping off in Starbucks after school each day, they will have different expectations from those of us that only ever go to the cinema as a birthday party, and either take a flask or wait until we get home for coffee.

For comparison purposes, DS (10) gets £5 a week in return for hoovering, dusting and emptying the bins. That's his money to "waste" e.g. Fortnite skins (cheaper than a cleaner!). But then I buy his various magazines on top (he might buy the Beano himself, but no way he'd waste his hard-earned money on Nat Geo kids or the Week Junior!) and will also pay for his phone next year when he gets one. We buy his clothes, but as he has no interest in them otherwise, that's more out of necessity.

I suspect it will change as he gets older - I'm not sure £5 a week will be enough for random after school stuff and the odd weekend trip etc. - all things we pay for today as they're family activities, but as he gets older, they'll become things he does with friends. So based on that, your proposal sounds a little light to me - but it all depends on what you expect them to pay for out of the £5/week and what you're happy to fund yourself.

Thank you for your replies. My thinking is that I will give them their pocket money and then they will fund activities their with friends, but as you point out it depends what those activities are. DS 14 would be fine with £20 as he generally just games or hangs out with friends at home. DD is a social butterfly who wants to go shopping with her friends, swimming, ice skating etc...perhaps I could raise the basic amount to £20 then allow her to earn up to £10pcm doing extra chores... she would jump at this, DS probably wouldn't. This is such a minefield as I don't want them not to be able to do what their friends are doing.