How much pocket money do you give...

TattiePants · 2021-08-06T17:43:27+00:00

.....to a 10 and 15 year old? We've never really given pocket money just paid for things / days out etc as they've happened. I've just set up two prepaid kids credit cards and want to start transferring a weekly amount but no idea how much. The app suggests £5 / £8 respectively but interested to know what others give their DCs.

ClemDanFango · 06/08/2021 18:47

My 15 and 17 year olds get £10 a week.

ClemDanFango · 06/08/2021 18:48

That’s linked to chores though, if they don’t do them they don’t get!

Theblackdogagain · 06/08/2021 18:48

My 12 year olds get 20 a month, there are expectations that chores get done but its not a paid per job , just that everyone helps out.

PaperMonster · 06/08/2021 18:49

£2 for 10 year old. Not related to chores.

MrsPnut · 06/08/2021 18:49

My 15 year old gets £80 a month and she has to budget it to cover all non essentials.
She has a bank account and it gets paid in at the beginning of the month. She has a debit card and Apple Pay on her phone linked to it.

NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy · 06/08/2021 18:50

12 year old - £20 a month
15 year old - £30 a month plus he has a paper round which gets him £20 a week

I pay for everything including gym membership, clothes, toiletries, gifts, phones and data so this is pure fun money

UserStillatLarge · 06/08/2021 18:50

At 10, they got £10 a month.
At 15, it's £40 a month + their phone is paid for. That includes socialising, presents plus anything they want in terms of clothing/toiletries that's above the basic level stuff we provide. it's not linked to chores as they are expected to do them because they live in this house, not because they are paid for them!

How much you give the teen in particular depends on what you expect them to use the money for plus what the norm is in their circle.

HerMammy · 06/08/2021 18:51

DD16 gets £100pm, she can spend on whatever she chooses, I buy all her essentials.

seeyoubugaboo · 06/08/2021 18:59

11 year old's pocket money has gone up from £5-£10 per week which automatically comes out our bank and into her 'go Henry' which she has a contactless debit card. She started doing her own lunch and the extra pound a day is worth it! She buys all her snacks and ice creams/ milkshakes she also loves to make things like design and print her own stickers and photos and make things from resin so she pays for all her supplies. She buys friends and family birthday presents as well. It's really helped her with understanding the value of money I don't get asked anymore and she likes to have at least £100 in her account now!

Original poster

TattiePants · 06/08/2021 19:00

So £8 per week for the 15 year old sounds about right. It will be purely for fun as we'll continue to buy clothes, toiletries, phone, friend's presents. They both have chores they have to do but it's worth reminding them that they must be done in order to get the pocket money - to be fair, they're both pretty good at doing them. Might think of a few one off bigger jobs where they could top up their pocket money.

OP posts:

MrsPnut · 06/08/2021 20:25

@TattiePants

So £8 per week for the 15 year old sounds about right. It will be purely for fun as we'll continue to buy clothes, toiletries, phone, friend's presents. They both have chores they have to do but it's worth reminding them that they must be done in order to get the pocket money - to be fair, they're both pretty good at doing them. Might think of a few one off bigger jobs where they could top up their pocket money.

It depends on how much else you are prepared to pay for. My 15 year old has one activity a week paid for during the summer holidays. This week’s was the trampoline place for 2 hours but she has also been to the cinema this week that came out of her allowance. We also transfer club card vouchers to pizza express etc codes for lunches for her and her friends.

ChiefAdjusterOfRubensShorts · 06/08/2021 20:29

DS 15 gets £13 a week from DH & I and then he works for BIL on a Saturday and gets £35.

HerRoyalNotness · 06/08/2021 20:36

$1 per week per year of age.

So 10yo would get $10 a week

wookneecorn · 06/08/2021 21:31

£2 a week/£8 a month, £5 a week/£20 a month, £8 a week/ £32 a month.

I'm not saying go crazy, but these amounts are quite low, considering how much fun activities and things cost these days. What fun do you expect them to have on those amounts?

RaindropsonPiglets · 06/08/2021 21:38

@TattiePants

So £8 per week for the 15 year old sounds about right. It will be purely for fun as we'll continue to buy clothes, toiletries, phone, friend's presents. They both have chores they have to do but it's worth reminding them that they must be done in order to get the pocket money - to be fair, they're both pretty good at doing them. Might think of a few one off bigger jobs where they could top up their pocket money.

It sounds very low to me I would give a full allowance to cover everything more or less I paid for phones (family contract) but they got an allowance for everything else. Now 23 and 26. Both left uni with no debt and isas with cash for house deposit.

Teaching financial responsibility early worked for us.

Usual2usual · 06/08/2021 21:38

DS is 8 and gets £5 per week to spend on what he likes (v-bucks/magazines/toy) he usually saves until he can buy something substantial. By the time he is 10 I can imagine it being about £8/10. He isn't really in the age bracket to be going out with friends but I imagine when he is it will have to go up substantially as everything seems so expensive these days.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 06/08/2021 21:45

14yo gets £10 per week. This is for non-essentials. I still pay for a very basic phone and SIM, essential clothing, and stock the bathroom with supermarket toiletries she's welcome to use. She buys make-up, presents for friends/family, non essential clothing, games, and pays for days out with her mates like cinema/bowling including fares and lunch/drinks if not at home.

10yo gets £5 per week but doesn't go out independently other than the park. Not linked to chores - they have to do chores whether they want pocket money or not.

CatNamedEaster · 06/08/2021 21:48

DS is 8 and gets £2 a week and can choose to earn another £1 by helping in the house and garden. If he helps loads (as in half an hour's solid work, not 10 mins work and 20 mins faffing) then he might get a bonus 50p .
I think by 10 I'd guess we'd go to £4ish with a few small jobs being done each week for that.

rainbowfairydust · 06/08/2021 21:56

I do half their age.... But if my older ones do extra chores they can earn a few pounds more.... I also treat them once or twice a month to an activity with a friend over the holidays

HerMammy · 06/08/2021 22:13

How are teenagers buying presents, makeup, days out, lunches, extra clothes on £8/10pw? My DD seems to have birthday days out every other week, also expecting them to buy gifts for family at young teen ages is pretty mean.
Being young shouldn’t include worrying about affording presents and fares etc.

wookneecorn · 06/08/2021 22:20

@HerMammy

exactly my thoughts

UserStillatLarge · 06/08/2021 22:22

@HerMammy

How are teenagers buying presents, makeup, days out, lunches, extra clothes on £8/10pw? My DD seems to have birthday days out every other week, also expecting them to buy gifts for family at young teen ages is pretty mean. Being young shouldn’t include worrying about affording presents and fares etc.

Perhaps they have lower expectations? Presents are a few pounds each (most children by teens are down to smaller friendship groups; they don't have birthdays every other week), days out are normally hang out in the park and just buy drinks/McDonalds or maybe a more expensive day out like ice skating/cinema would only be once a month. Makeup is Superdrug and clothes are from Primark (these are "extra" clothes by the way; I don't think people saying £8/£10 a week expect that to cover all clothes).

All their friends have similar amounts of money so they don't expect any different. At 16 they mostly get part time jobs and then they start splurging a bit more, but OP was talking about a 15 year old.

If you're in an environment where there are expensive days out every weekends and friends expect more than carefully selected but cheap gifts, then of course it won't stretch too much. I'm not sure it's healthy for teens to be just given so much money though.

HerMammy · 06/08/2021 22:30

@UserStillatLarge
My DDs friends group, it’s £10 in a card for a birthday, with them all turning 16 this year, it’s somewhere nice for lunch/dinner not McDonalds.
My DD tends to put money aside for days out and buy clothes and tbf £100pm doesn’t go far. She starts a weekend job this month and plans to save most of it for holidays she as planned, nothing unhealthy there 🙄

idontlikealdi · 06/08/2021 22:49

My ten year olds get £2.50 a week, if the tidy their room and laundry ends up in the washing basket. We use go Henry so they can tick off their tasks.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 06/08/2021 22:57

@HerMammy

How are teenagers buying presents, makeup, days out, lunches, extra clothes on £8/10pw? My DD seems to have birthday days out every other week, also expecting them to buy gifts for family at young teen ages is pretty mean. Being young shouldn’t include worrying about affording presents and fares etc.

Plenty of adults can't afford to do all of that every week. I choose to set my teen up in a way where she has to make choices in how she spends her budget, just like I have to. £40/50 per month is plenty for a day or two out - eg cinema ticket, McDonalds, and a new top from Primark. IMO it's not realistic to expect to be out spending every weekend. They won't have much in the way of disposable income as students or young graduates, so better to get used to making choices now.