Pocket money / spends for 13 and 17 year old

[Pieceofskyplease]

I've decided instead of odd handouts to the children eg £2 for the shop or bits of clothes or coffees and bank transfers here and there to give jobs and pay them an amount a week to do this.
They get money from GP and older one has a job but always wants extra money so if like it to be an amount that is realistic but that they'll see value in. I'll pay on a Friday for jobs done in the week.
But how much ? They do nothing today (totally my fault for letting them get away with it ) but I want them to start and will also start teaching more cooking skills. They can both knock up basic stuff but o see friends whose kids cook every night and I'm tired and want (need) some help as I'm currently not well.

I guess a lot will depend on what you want them to buy with it? You mentioned clothes - do they need to buy all their own clothes? Or is it just money for going out with mates? Do they need to fund fitness? So swimming, gym? Do they need to pay transport?

I would probably do £40 a month for 17 year old and 20 or 30 for 13 year old.

When I was growing up we had to have a clean and tidy bedroom as a minimum before we were allowed to do paid chores. And then chores where definite tangible amounts eg £5 for a basket of ironing, £2 for matching all the socks, deep clean bathroom etc.

I have 4 pots for each child—pocket money (linked to their debit card; free rein spending or savings—they choose), charity, savings (to be handed over as a lump sum when they leave school at 18), and clothing. 16yo’s weekly amounts are: £6.40 pocket money, 25p in the charity pot, £1.35 in the leaving college pot, and £9 in the clothing pot (£17/week total). 14yo’s weekly amounts are £5.60 pocket money, 25p in the charity pot, £1.15 in the leaving college pot, and £8 in the clothing pot (£15/week total).

We’re saving separately for uni, but they each get their age +£1 each week, and I’ve set up ring-fenced categories so they’ll have a few hundred of their pocket money saved in a little lump sum by the time they leave college, they remember to give to charity, when they ask for clothes they have to prioritise from the clothing pot, and they also have some to spend free rein on McDonalds or whatever items they want to buy from the shops.

@U53rName this is a great idea. How and where do you save it too and keep tabs on it ? That would be my fear.
In answer to the question about what I pay for and what the spends is for , I pay for basic clothes - jeans , undies, socks, t shirts coats, school bags - everything to a reasonable price and they get nicer stuff as gifts or they get say £50 to trainers and they can top up if they want something fancy.
I pay all clubs and transport but if they wanted to go to town on the bus they'd usually pay or I'd slip them the bus fare as it saves me driving.
I pay all food of course and they miss a treat I might give them a bit extra.

I pay for their clubs, school bus passes, school uniform, underwear, and socks. They have to regulate themselves whether or not they want to save up their clothing allowance for a big ticket branded item, or whether they want something from H&M instead. And they can always ask for branded stuff at Christmas/birthdays.

The money is too tedious to do manually, so I have standing orders coming out weekly—the pocket money goes into their kids current accounts, and is linked to their debit cards. The 18+ leaving college lump sum contribution goes into a savings account I have set up for each child. The charity and clothing pots are “spaces” in my Starling current account—I believe Monzo and some other banks have similar setups too. For the charity money, the kids usually need cash for things at school like Children in Need, etc, so I give them cash and subtract it from the their Starling charity pot. Same for the clothes…I go shopping with them, or order the item online, and subtract it from their Starling clothing pot. My main aim is to teach budgeting/prioritising. If they make mistakes along the way, like blowing their entire clothing pot on an item that they don’t really love, in my view, it’s safer to make and learn from those mistakes now, in their younger years, rather than when it’s a bigger ticket item down the line.