Has pocket money for kids officially gone digital now?

[CoconutSty]

Do people still give coins the old fashioned way or do you have snazzy apps and cards you top up for them to use? We're about to start giving pocket money to DS (age 5) and I'm here for all the tips on how to make this easy! 😂

My DC used to have proper coins when they were that little. They got apps and debit cards once they were tweens.

Just to add, I think it's helpful for younger children to use "real" money. They're learning about coins and addition/subtraction at school so using them in real life is a good maths skill. We had simple pocket money charts with days and jobs that got ticked off on completion.

At 5, my DCs liked to be able to see the cash. But, at that age, their pocket money was just enough to go to the shop for a few sweets, or a comic, or whatever.

Once they were maybe 10 or 11, we opened them a Go Henry account which worked well. They could save a bit, and use their card in the shop to spend a bit.

Now they're teenagers, they have accounts with Santander geared towards their age group. I pay their monthly pocket money into that. My sister and MiL transfer money into their accounts for birthday and Christmas.

My own DM is elderly, and doesn't do online banking, so she still sends them cash in a birthday/Christmas card. They quite like that - it's a bit 'novel' for them, and it's useful for them to have a bit of cash on them for odds and sods.

At that age I would hand over shrapnel, it means they understand coinage and all that stuff.
When they are old enough to have their own account with a card, then I would transfer money over.
Also as they get older, explain the wonders of household expenses and living within the budget, because nobody else will.

At 5 I would probably stick to cash for pocket money so he learns to understand it and it is a counting opportunity too.

Then decide later depending on how much tech moves on in the next few years/what his friends do.

Primary school, money in hand. High school, bank account with cash card - as both are useful skills to learn.

My dc didn’t get pocket money at 5 but when they did start it was sent to their banks. They’re very good at budgeting!
I didn’t get pocket money at all as a kid and I’m also quite good at sorting my finances.

Coins (earned from chores or specific targets) until 11 when they opened teen bank accounts.

Cash in hand until age 11 when they can get a bank account with a debit card. Never bothered with Go Henry

Good, I'm glad good old shrapnel is still popular! Definitely agree about little ones learning about coins and throwing some maths learning in there. Is Go Henry a bank card or like a gift card you can top up and spend anywhere? DS definitely isn't there yet at just 5 but just wondering for the future...

Starling cards for my kids here. I don’t have enough coins to give as pocket money. And where would you spend the cash anyway.

Not seeing coins have not hinder my kids maths. Both DC are very good at maths. Budgeting is not related really to seeing coins and notes in your wallet. I used to be able to tell which coin is which quickly but can’t anymore. I haven’t paid with coins for a long time. It is a useless skill nowadays.

Go Henry is a prepay master card I think. Starling is a bank card. You can use it to pay anywhere that accepts Mastercard. DC uses it daily to pay her bus fare with it. Some banks give accounts that can use Apple Pay to kids from 11 too.

Different for different kids. At 5 I would be inclined to give coins but we didnt start pocket money 'til about 8.. and DS wanted to use most of his as v-bucks and whatever you use on roblox. So it went into seperate pot on our main bank account as we would be spending it on-line. DD spent hers at corner shop so got cash.

They got bank accounts, debit cards as 11 and 13 respectively - DS better at Maths/ budgeting - worked out things he bought on Fortnite and Roblox were a waste of money at about 10. Good lesson to learn when you are only spending pocket money amounts.

Ds is 15. I set him up a savings account, a current account and a standing order for pocket money. He also has a cash card which I rather like because he has to pay for his own in-game purchases now, so he's stopped buying them 😀

The savings account is for birthday money.

Ds still uses cash though. The barber only takes cash so he goes to the ATM first.

DS gets half cash and half on his Revolut. He typically buys a small chocolate bar each day and I’ve taught him to pay cash in the little shops so they save the card processing fee which would cripple them on a 60p spend.

You have to pay a monthly fee to use Go Henry (I think it's about £3.99) so I wouldn't bother with it. My two have bank cards now so we top up their accounts; they do still use a little bit of cash as well tho (they're teens now).

When they were small we gave money but once they were about eight and ten we started using Hyper Jar (app and debit card). It makes life easier and I can pay in all their birthday money etc.

We just write it onto an Excel spreadsheet every week and then deduct it if they want to buy something online, or give them cash from it if they want to go to a real shop (so basically we are the bank and do the functions of credit card and cashpoint in that capacity). They still have a piggy bank of coins from relatives, small extra chores, birthday cash, tooth fairy, change from cash withdrawals etc.

Dd is 9 and still gets real money, I'll set her up with an account and debit card when she goes to secondary. She gets 50p per year of her age, so currently on £4.50 a week. She mostly saves it for a month then buys herself a decent toy but sometimes splurges it on a fidget toy or magazine immediately.