To ask you how much you spend on your teen’s phone every month ?

[Beaconoflight]

I spend £40 on each contract (I have 2 teens 15 and 18) plus £40 and £60 of pocket money. Yet they refuse to do anything to help, they are rude and think I’m unreasonable. Am I ?

£8 is for unlimited data etc phone is an old handset of ours

£10 phone no set pocket money but if she needs something and I can afford it I'll try to give it to her. She helps loads especially with pets and does bins/recycling. She's 12

13 and 17

£10 per phone
£10 per month normal bank
£10 per month CTF

I don't earn enough to give much more but end up handing out the odd tenner here and there .

17 year old works part time and occasionally cleans bathroom. 13 year old does sweet fa around the house.

Have warned older one that she will have to do stuff round her home when at uni because I won't be there

£7.50 each for sim only. Reconditioned Music Magpie iphone 7 £200 each.

£20 pocket money each

£18.70 pcm for DS (unlimited calls, text and data) phone plus £40 pcm allowance. He's 15. We increased his allowance this month from £25 because the newsagent where he had a paper round shut down. He's tried to get other jobs but has to wait till he's 16 round here.

He's terrible at his regular jobs at home but will do anything else he gets asked to. Put the bikes away. Sort out a load of washing. Sort out dinner, pick up his sister from school etc etc.

He's soaring at school. He also buys his little sis lots of treats with his allowance. It's his tribute to their late Granny. Who always used to bring treats when she met them from school.

DD (11) has £15 pcm phone and £20 allowance. She's much better at her regular jobs and will do some extras...but not many.

Ds1 is 18 and at uni, Ds2 is 15 we pay for both their phones as we are on a family plan with Plusnet so it is just under £9 a month each for them, unlimited etc.

Ds2 is year 11 so his sous chef duties have been cancelled so he can study however he still empties the dishwasher 3 times a week, strips his bed, remakes his bed, empties the kitchen bin twice a week and puts it out for the bin man. He is also very helpful when asked to do anything else, oh and his bedroom is tidy, always. Ds1 did the exact same thing whilst doing his A levels and came out with 4 x A*.

It is a poor excuse that studying removes all responsibility for chores. How exactly will she manage if she goes to uni and has to do all her laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning plus uni work?

Cut the phone. It is a privilege not a right.

Age 15

£10 a month on sim only contract (has my old iPhone);
£50 a month allowance (saves most of it but uses it to have a hot chocolate with friends);
£65 every three months for clothing - for instance a top, jumper and jeans seems to cost £65 ish;

I pay for extra curricular stuff (music and sports) and a tutor.

Helps around the house usual stuff - unloads dishwasher daily, does own washing and general pitching in.

Sorry we bought the phones outright, less than £200 each, android.

@elliejjtiny

13 and 15 year old both have payg phones. We top them up when they run out so £10 every 1 or 2 years. 15 year-old mostly uses his phone to listen to music (using our home Wi-Fi). 13 year old mostly doesn't bother with his.

We have to top up every three months on DD15's PAYG, so £10 every three months.

She uses wifi when at home, and doesn't need that much credit.

I wonder, do yours also go to a school with a no-mobiles policy? I suspect it may make quite a difference. There just isn't that much time when she wants to use her phone away from wifi.

Mine have always had PAYG phones. We give money for a handsets and they've added to it if they wanted.
From about 15 we started giving them a monthly allowance and they top up out of that as well as buying 'extra' toiletries to the basic family ones, lunches for college, clothes etc. They have jobs too.

They help out at home, occasionally cooking, do their own laundry mostly, looking after younger siblings, getting bits of shopping in, dishes. Basically whatever I ask they'll do.

Contract phone £28 pm. Wanted the latest model so the contract was a main Christmas present. Will probably do the same again when time for an upgrade. £10 pw pocket money, has set chores like the bins, dishwasher and sorting the litter tray.
Is expected to clear up after himself in general, dishes, bathroom, bedroom ect

£40 contracts for teenagers-blimey! I have never spend more than £25 a month on my own phone.

Mine have had reconditioned (good as new, with 12m warranty) iPhones for birthday/Xmas presents and then I pay the monthly bill-it’s about £10 a month for 20GB each as part of a family sharing deal.

Ours are between £12-£14 a month each, however that is sim only. We buy the handsets outright.

I don’t know how to make them see they have it good.

£20 per month for 20GB of data and all calls and texts.

We buy the phones upfront but they are relatively cheap OnePlus phones.

Ours don't get their pocket money if they don't do their share of chores or have a bad attitude about it. Once they lose it once or twice it sinks in pretty quick.

Ours receive £50 a month pocket money for spending as they like and £50 to put into their savings (self managed, but they have to clear purchases with us, this is used for big and sensible purchases), extra top ups when we have extra chores we need doing, and money for clothes etc as and when needed.

@Beaconoflight

I don’t know how to make them see they have it good.

Make their pocket money a condition of chores

I've stopped it in the past Beacon - no contribution - no cash.

Just like a job!

DS1 (17) £10 (it was £40 but when it ended we went to sim only)
DS2 (15) £6ish

No pocket money but I give them money for McDonald's/cinema from time to time.

They are in charge of filling and emptying dishwasher. They can cook for the family instead but rarely do. If I'm ill/ don't want food (MH is bad so don't always want to cook) they cook for themselves. Either separately or for them both.
They keep their rooms clean and tidy and put washing on if I need them to.

£15 each, they wouldn’t dare be rude to me. I don’t ask them to do chores

£17 per month for more data than they use (sky so goes in the piggy bank).

£10 on giffgaff (and the same for me). It includes 15GB data and unlimited calls and texts. £40 is crazy money. I guess you are paying off expensive phones?

8e each for sim, phones were birthday /Xmas presents.

Not sure how to make them see they have it good, they sound entitled if they do nothing and get everything paid for.

Reduce the phone contracts and add in chores or no allowance? My two have to earn money, we agree amounts beforehand and they have to do them or they don't have enough money to do stuff with friends.

They are also expected to help out generally and cook at least one meal a week each.

Can you sit them down to talk about what you think is fair and what ideas they have?

And try to find a solution together? Do they at least do their own washing? Think of it as life skills and you'll feel less guilty about asking them (forcing them)... You're doing them a favour, do you want them to be totally useless and living at home being waited on by you forever?

£5 for younger two and £9 for older one.
All on smarty so that's with the group discount.

£40 - iphone, insurance and phone plan