How much money do you give Teenage DC a month.

[Bringminimoons]

Hey ! Just that really how much do you give teenagers a month and what do they use it for / expectations on what it should include ?
Asking after ds told my sister how much he got and her reaction to it.

[CeeceeBloomingdale]

No set amount, her card is loaded according to what she is doing e.g. food or bus fares. Her phone is paid for. She has money on her debit card available but never spends it, she prefers me to buy her clothes and toiletries.

[HerMammy]

I’m not talking about going without, it’s a lot of responsibility at his age, he has a lifetime
of it in front of him.

[CeeceeBloomingdale]

DD is 14, forgot that bit

[OppsUpsSide]

Mine get £5 a week and the option to earn extra. I buy their clothes etc and pay for their phones, provide money for school lunches/snacks, if they go over it comes out of their money. They can either spend it or save it but if they want something they have to save up for it themselves. DD wants a big price item for Xmas and is saving most of hers and earning extra to contribute towards it.

[Bringminimoons]

I’m not sure I understand what the responsibility is ? He has his own money

If we go out for dinner as a family I pay. If he wants to go out for dinner he pays.

Family day outs I pay for the tickets but if he wants extra stuff he has his own money to spend on what he wants.

If he is out with his friends / at sports etc he used his money to buy his food.

Clothes - he likes to pick his own clothes so he does and pays for them.

[QueenOfPain]

I’m 34 now but in my teens I used to get £10 a week pocket money and £20 a month clothing allowance.

In addition to that I had £15-20 a week dinner money (shops near school or cafeteria) so I’d eat as cheaply as possible so that I could cream the leftovers into my own spends.

Looking back now I was quite fortunate really, wasn’t I?

[Strugglingtodomybest]

My two, 14 and 16, get £40 a month and are expected to help out around the house when asked to. They pay for their own mobiles and extra clothes out of that, but I do give them extra for things like going to the gym or anything that I deem worthy!

The 16 year old has recently found himself 2 part time jobs, one in the pub and one doing gardening, and is absolutely loving earning his own money. He used to spend a lot of time in his room gaming and these jobs seem to have given him a new energy.

[IanHBuckells]

@QueenOfPain

I’m 34 now but in my teens I used to get £10 a week pocket money and £20 a month clothing allowance.

In addition to that I had £15-20 a week dinner money (shops near school or cafeteria) so I’d eat as cheaply as possible so that I could cream the leftovers into my own spends.

Looking back now I was quite fortunate really, wasn’t I?

I'm about the same age and you'd have been loaded!

[TheMethodicalMeerkat]

Regarding the responsibility aspect I suppose that really depends on the child. One could find having to budget for all those things stressful where another, like your ds, would be quite happy with that responsibility.

There was a thread recently where OP was proposing an allowance of £50 pm for her 14 year old dd to cover everything except school uniform and a pair of trainers for school which I thought was ridiculous but tbh this feels like the other extreme. It’s a lot of money for a 14 year old to have access to every month and I really wouldn’t be comfortable giving a child of that age that level of financial freedom.

As a matter of interest what was your sisters reaction?

[Bringminimoons]

@TheMethodicalMeerkat it works for us his sister is very unwell and I am unfortunate spending my time between home and hospital this way he is never without money. He prefers it this way as he chooses what he wants rather than me saying no to a hoodie or whatever.

My sister thought it was a ridiculous amount of money but that when I had up clothes / phone bill / money for cinema trips / food for when his out etc then add what allowance he would get I don’t think it’s over the top.

[Umbongoumbongo999]

£30 each for my teen dcs per month. I pay their phones (sim only, we bought their handsets as Christmas gifts), clothes, school bus fare and lunch top ups, plus haircuts and toiletries. So the £30 is just odd spends on art supplies or computer games, or subway sandwiches. If they have cinema or a meal out for a friend's birthday, I give them more cash, plus a christmas uplift to buy some small gifts. Obvs they haven't been out much due to covid but are now starting to meet friends/go into town again. I think it is probably not enough and I need to reassess what they need.

I would like to see them responsible for their own phones and travel and haircuts etc as it would help them to practise budgeting prior to the uni years. I'm just not sure how much to give them. Dc1 is not much into going out and would likely either save or spend his money on computer bits or deliveroos. Dc2 would spend much more of it going out and about and has a busier social life

[Bringminimoons]

@Umbongoumbongo999 we have been doing it this way for around 18 months now and tbh apart from a slight adjustment period at the beginning 🤣 he has really settled in to it and would not go back to the other way for anything now ha

[TheChosenTwo]

My teens get £60 a month.
We pay for their phones, travel costs for college for the eldest, toiletries they choose on the weekly shop, do them a clothes shop in spring and autumn (they choose everything, I wouldn’t dare choose them clothes anymore), school/college trips, probably so much more I’ve forgotten about now.
They use their money for when they’re out with friends, want to get a coffee on their way home, more clothes, cinema tickets, the fun stuff.
They are both expected to do their own laundry, unload and reload the dishwasher, clean their bathroom, just generally look after things and contribute to the upkeep of the house (by which I mean tidying up after themselves if they’ve made themselves lunch, hanging up their coats, putting shoes away, basically not treating the house like a shithole!).
We do pay for extras, dd2 is going to Thorpe park next weekend so I’ve bought her ticket and will give her money for the day. But it’s not often she has a big day out like that so I don’t mind.

[TheChosenTwo]

@QueenOfPain yes, very lucky! Your’re a year younger than me, I had to get a job aged 14 as my mum didn’t even buy me period related items
My friend got a tenner a week and she was the most loaded one out of all of us!

[TheMethodicalMeerkat]

[quote Bringminimoons]@TheMethodicalMeerkat it works for us his sister is very unwell and I am unfortunate spending my time between home and hospital this way he is never without money. He prefers it this way as he chooses what he wants rather than me saying no to a hoodie or whatever.

My sister thought it was a ridiculous amount of money but that when I had up clothes / phone bill / money for cinema trips / food for when his out etc then add what allowance he would get I don’t think it’s over the top.[/quote]
Ah ok well that makes sense. It’s a difficult situation I can certainly see how organising things this way could make things a little bit easier all round.

It sounds like he’s got a good head on his shoulders if he’s been managing it well for 18 months without losing the run of himself .

[AngelsWithSilverWings]

This thread is quite an eye opener! Our two 12 and 15 get £5 p/w and are expected to keep bedrooms tidy and help with small jobs like folding washing or emptying the dishwasher.

DS15 has a paper round that he earns £20 p/w from. He never seems short of cash.

We do give them extra to buy lunch if they are going out for a day somewhere with friends or if they need to pay for train or bus tickets etc and we pay for their phones and everything else they need like toiletries etc

[HelenHywater]

Nothing here. I pay for their phones, dinner money, clothes, haircuts, toiletries. Will give them cash now and again. Will give them tickets for festivals etc for their birthdays.

I tried a clothing allowance with my eldest dd but she worked out she got more if I bought it for her. The eldest ones have all worked and sold stuff on depop for money.

They do their fair share of cleaning, chores, and cooking because they live in the house and it's not fair for it all to fall on me (as I also work ft).

[LibbyL92]

My younger sister who is 15 gets £20 a week from my parents and our Nan gives her £5 a week for delivering her Saturday morning news paper.

[LindaEllen]

DSS doesn't get pocket money, but he gets his phone, gaming subscriptions, and he knows he only has to ask if he wants something (he never takes the piss, and gets birthday and Christmas money for larger items).

He's 17 and finishing sixth form this week so he will need to start looking for a job if he wants summer spending money.

[Maggiesfarm]

@LibbyL92

My younger sister who is 15 gets £20 a week from my parents and our Nan gives her £5 a week for delivering her Saturday morning news paper.

That sounds about right for her age, assuming it is for her personal expenditure only, not for clothes and hair cuts.