To think £5 a week is enough pocket money?

[Childrenofthestones]

12 and 15 yr olds.
We pay everything else, phone contracts, bus fares when they go out with friends, treats etc. They do no chores for this.
Is this enough?
I guess I am asking is what is the going rate?

Mine are also required to iron their own shirts for school.

My 14 year old gets £6 a month as she has music lessons every week. We have to be constantly careful with our spending each month, so unfortunately she can't have both and she chooses the music lessons. However, if she's meeting up with friends in town, I do give her extra for the bus fare (so I know she can get home) and a little so I know she can buy chips, sandwich or cake in a café (so she doesn't go hungry).

Take the point about CB and it is a good idea the give them that if family finances allow. It is given to a parent to provide for the DC not directly to the DC. EMA was given to those from less well off families post 16.

Many couples we know banked the CB every month and then used it to offset university costs. One couple gave it to a children's charity. This was when it was still a benefit every child qualified for. They could more than afford to give their DC pocket money too.

Mine also had music lessons and played sport so needed kit and match fees. It was their choice and it became their social life too. They went to the cinema occasionally and to a theme park once a year. We always gave extra money for that.

A social life doesn't have to cost much it depends what they enjoy. DD enjoyed shopping and that was a problem. Fortunately she worked from age 16 and it had no effect on school work. If she wanted to meet friends for a coffee she paid.

To look at it from a different perspective, when I was a teenager my parents were not well off at all and struggled for money. I did get pocket money but it wasn't even sufficient to cover my bus fares for school which to be honest I don't think they had really worked out. Initially my elder sister who was working used to give me a bit extra, but change was always an issue in that if there was no change in the house then I had to buy things in order to break a note so I could pay my fares which would then leave me short again. Ultimately at 15 I got myself a job which was doing dishes in a hotel/restaurant in town - I did a split shift on a Saturday going in early to do the breakfast and lunch and then having a few hours break which wasn't long enough to go home (and would be extra fares) and I wasn't old enough to go to the pub like the rest of staff so really just had to hang about in town and then return to work. I then worked until 11ish. Most weeks I'd do a Sunday morning too.

I was permanently exhausted as I was up and out the house before 8 7 days a week.

I did okay at school but could probably have done better. Didn't go to Uni, just left and got a job.

I guess I don't want my children to ever feel in the same position that I was.

I got £10 a week, BUT £5 from mum and stepdad and £5 from dad. Plus things like clothes and make up paid for by mum. God love her now i'm skint again she'll call in with a dress or new pair of shoes for me now and again. When I turned 16 and got a weekend job (in tesco so decent wage and overtime) I stopped getting pocket money, and stuff bought for me, but didn't have to hand anything over. I dropped out of college to pursue unlimited overtime. Easiest two years of my life finacially, with £600 at least everymonth disposable income, just for me. Started to split the bills with dad (pre-agreed) when I turned 18, but had saved a little in those 2 years, so was still good moneywise, even when I got pregnant (and started getting tax credits)

I would expect mine to be at least looking for work at 15.

I was given £10 a week at that age, but with a choice. Either make my own school lunch, or use the money. Anything leftover was my 'pocket money'. To be fair, I lived in a very remote area, so even if I had the whole £10 for hanging out with mates, most of it would have gone on blooming bus/train cost.

And oh god the shame would lie to dad that i'd run out of printer credits (in posh grammar school) and he would hand over £3 and I would get cigs! Still feel bad about that. Mum caught on when he was ranting to her about "these damn printer credits, to print every damn bit of homework". Mum was like (knowing there's no way I needed that many credits) but said it was non of her business and kept out of it. But I did stop asking/went without lunch on Saturdays to buy cigs instead.

My 14yo gets £40 a month but he is very frugal, uses the cheapest toiletries he can lay his hands on, does not want much in the way of clothes, etc, does quite a lot of helping around the house and does not spend a lot of social media at all (I can't actually remember the last time he needed a phone top up). He banks most of his allowance as well as any extra money he gets. He is apparently saving up to go to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I think he is surprisingly sensible with money and a good investment (unlike his elder brother, but we won't get into that here).

I got EMA £30 a week, for the year I was in college but mostly let that money lie in the bank, as wages were so good, but I know for the 2 years she did A-levels, and wasn't working, my sis lived of her EMA, for lunches and bus fares and the odd night out to cinema or restraunt. Parents would have struggled to find £30 extra every week.

nagynolonger - true about parents only being able to give more if they can afford it, but I'm assuming the OP isn't just asking theoretically and could give more if she/he thought it was appropriate.

I'm also assuming the OP pays the phone bill because it's cheaper to get a contract in their name rather than PAYG, so can't really tell the teen to pay for that.

I've heard of a formula that is your age x four for the basic pocket money amount (for the month) plus whatever extra for some chores you all agree upon, as a family, that merit extra money. IME it's best to only include a few less frequent chores as "paid" and just say that keeping your rooms tidyish and emptying the dishwasher or whatever are part of what you do when you live in a house with multiple people.

I also don't think pocket money should include paying for things like drama or martial arts classes or whatever else that is for fun but also for long-term benefit. And it definitely shouldn't include travel to school/classes or basic clothing and toiletries. New trainers - yes. New £70 trainers - you pay half. For example.

And no reduction if they earn money themselves while still doing their chores, etc, because otherwise there's no incentive to take any work they can get.

When it comes to work it depends where you live. In London there simply isn't work for teenagers unless it's in a family business. Too many adults with experience willing to work all hours for low wages. And unless it's a family business the company has to apply for CRB checks for the other employees if they're supervising an under-18-year-olds. My daughter and the rest of her cohort struggle to find even voluntary positions that will accept under-18s.

I think they will find it difficult to budget as they get older if you only give them £5 but then you are paying for lots of other things on top of this.

My 14 year old gets £50 per month. He bought his own phone from birthday money / savings and he has a giff gaff sim which auto renews each month which he pays himself. He has a bank account with a debit card so has to budget for the phone money coming out each month. He pays his own way if going out to the cinema, into town with friends etc. He saves up for specific things he wants. I buy his basic clothing and any expensive designer stuff he gets himself. I will buy him the odd thing for Birthdays / Christmas.

He has his own amazon account which his debit card is linked to. The only rule we have is that he shows me what he is buying so I can check that he is getting it from a decent seller with good reviews etc.

The same goes for his xbox account it is his card linked to that so it comes straight from his account when he wants to buy something.

I also pay his school lunches which work out at around £3 a day. I just stick £50 on the cashless catering system at the start of the month and he knows if it is all gone before the end of the month he has to pay for lunch himself.

I pay bus fares to school but not for going into town with mates etc.

On the whole he is very good with money and I never tell him he can't buy something with his own money as it is his to spend as he wishes.

My 10 year old gets £5 a week at the moment as he is younger and does not have the same social activities to pay for. When he starts high school I will do the same as I have for his brother.

I really think that giving children the responsibility to budget their own finances sets them up well for the future.

OK, so I have an 11 year old and he has £1 a week to buy sweets. We do also pay for his phone credit. I'm reading some of the amounts on here and wondering what on earth the DC spent it on? I can understand it when they get to the going into town and socializing age, but at the moment DS and his mates tend to hang round the park (free). I have a strong suspicion if he had more he would literally blow it on crap.

Mine only get £3 / week. They can earn more if they do jobs; they choose no jobs, their choice.

DD (5) gets £2 a week, if she does all her chores (making bed, clothes in the washing basket, and tidying her playroom once a week) she also gets an extra 50p a week if she manages to go the whole week without biting her nails.

I get told I'm being really harsh, making her do chores for this pocket money, but I figure she doesn't have to pay for anything it teaches her that money doesn't grow on trees.

That is partly the point redskybynight if they have control of a larger portion of the money that would be spent on them anyway and they do spend it on a load of rubbish it has a larger impact as it is done until the next week. They are actually able to see the money going down and understand better how to budget. So instead of me handing them a fiver everytime they want to go to the cinema or swimming etc they need to make sure that they budget to have enough to do so. If they run out they miss out, it does not take long for them to realise this and the spending on crap reduces considerably.

I guess the point I was making rainbowunicorn is that I'm surprised that children who are younger than about 13 have discretionary spending. DS doesn't go to the cinema or to swimming (well only if we go as a family). If I gave him more pocket money I can't see what he would spend it on. I mean I guess I could stop buying toiletries or clothes but since he's not remotely bothered about either and it's hard enough to get him to wash properly it wouldn't actually help him budget.

I can see it makes sense if it's to give the DC the- option between buy magazine or go to coffee shop with friends, just surprised that younger children have those sorts of options.

I'm reading some of the amounts on here and wondering what on earth the DC spent it on?

My 11 year old saves up his £7 per week to buy books or DVDs that he wants. He also saves £1 of it each week towards buying Xmas presents for loved ones. He buys the odd magazine and sweets as well.

I suspect this comes down to family attitude towards money/spending as well. DH and I don't routinely buy magazines or DVDs or books and hence would find it odd to be giving our DC money to buy those things.

I had two jobs at 16. Helping at my Mum's business on saturdays which I'd get about a tenner per week for (2 hours) and 2 nights in a chip shop for £30 a go. I think a fiver a week for doing nothing is pretty good going!

I dont give my DDs (12 and 6) any pocket money but if there's something they need I will buy it for them. I pay for DD1's phone contract (£7 a month) and the youth group she goes to (£2 a week). If we go out somewhere & they want a treat I may buy them an ice cream or similar. They don't really go anywhere that would warrant spending any money as such. They tend to save Xmas & birthday money & any money from grandparents they get or they spend it on what they want

I give my 11 and 9 year old £2.50 BUT they can top that up with small chores at 50p a go. Putting clothing away, doing recycling, emptying/refilling dishwasher etc. my 6 year old gets a magazine or book of her choosing every now and then if she's been helpful and well behaved. She's not interested in money yet.

DS has £50 a month. I buy his phone contract, stuff for school and lunches and he uses it for going out with friends and extra bits. I know he saves quite a bit a month so I like to encourage his savings habits.

DS is 14 btw.