Pocket Money

[JupiterOn]

Prompted by another thread, I just wondered what is the going rate for pocket money for kids - I think we're in a minority and I'm wondering whether to switch lanes.

We don't really give pocket money as a weekly/monthly thing. We pay for the kids clothes, activities, travel, etc. If they meet friends, we give them whatever money they need and so on.

We talk to them about budgets, bills and how family money is apportioned - they're pretty switched on. They get birthday/gift money and tend to be sensible with it - spend some, save some.

They've never asked for pocket money, so we've never really gone down that route - it's not a conscious thing, just hasn't come up as an issue. In fact, when I've asked them, they've sort of shrugged and not been bothered.

Kids are 14, 12 x 2 and 7

I didn't mean this to be in AIBU actually - it was supposed to be in Chat. Sorry about that!

AIBU to ask about pocket money? There we go

I think an allocated sum for pocket money is a good idea as they learn what their budget per month is and if they spend it all they have to wait until the next payment day.

My kids 11 and 13 don't get any pocket money 'for free' they both have chores. They can choose not to do the chores but then they forfeit the money. Right now my 13 year old earns a lot less pocket money than my 11 year old, but he has a paper round so more than makes it up that way

DD14 gets a tenner a week.

Give what you can afford. No need to keep up with everyone else.
My dc have recently had an increase in their pocket money as I have a better paid job now. But barely had anything for years.
They still come and tell me how much more their friends get.

My ten year old gets £15 a month onto his card which means he can buy things like pokemon magazines and toxic waste sweets without me telling him its a waste of money 😁 He can earn a bit more by doing odd jobs but generally doesn't bother.
He likes collecting various pokemon things which aren't cheap so he will often save up so it works for us. I don't expect him to buy things on family days out etc with it - its purely for rubbish i won't buy!

Eldest is 11 and gets £3 base a week, then she can earn on top

Extra £5 for washing a car, £5 for washing the windows, £15 for a half house clean, £5 for doing the ironing.

Her base will go up to £5 when she gets to 13.

Youngest is 8 and gets £10 a month pocket money.

He will get the same opportunities DD has once he hits secondary school. As he doesn't really spend the £10 much atm. But that will change when he goes out with friends at the weekends etc.

Mines don’t really get pocket money they can earn money for chores. We live rurally though so I have to facilitate going to shops. Eldest is off to high school after the summer so he has been set up with a bank account and will get 150 a month. This includes lunches though so not as generous as it sounds. Obviously can save extra by making lunches at home.

DD age 14 gets £10pw from her child maintenance when he pays it paid into her bank account. She doesn't spend it each week so sometimes has money saved for when she goes shopping. I also pay £10 a month for her mobile .

If she needs more money I give it to her. I still buy the majority of her clothes etc but she likes having her own money and buying her own clothes so I will give her extra for that if she goes shopping with friends.

@PastaCheese sorry but I think ur very stingy. £3 a week is sod all

She ends up getting £50+ a week

As she takes up the offer on the extra jobs.

I don’t think there is a going rate though is there? Obviously what you can afford is a factor but also it depends on what you expect the dc to do with their allowance. Some people might give 10/20/50 per month but it’s only meant to be “walking around” money, others may give the same or a lot more but that dc may be expected to buy their own non essentials eg clothes and toiletries or to cover school lunches, phone contract etc.

I think a weekly/monthly allowance is good for dc to allow a certain amount of age appropriate independence and encourage them to budget and weigh up their spending decisions.

Thanks all. I think years ago, I decided to avoid payment for chores, on the vague idea that they should do the odd thing to help anyway, as part of our family unit (hit and miss in practice, but basically okay ).

I'm not rejecting that idea at all now though, and maybe I should come back to it - like I say, I've not really paid it much attention of late, but I'm suddenly thinking about it again!

We are the same

Chores are part of being in a family

We pay for extras that we pay other people for

So if DD cleans the house we don't have to pay the cleaner

Same applies for car washes and window cleaning as they don't form part of family chores (for us anyway)

I didn't start formal pocket money until 14 - before that they had holiday money and then ad hoc as needed. They got £40 a month at first, rose to £60 by 16. They got £120 from 18 to top up university loans

I think pastacheese has it right, low base rate and increases for chores. I think its good for kids to have pocket money to spend on what is basically crap, they learn to save a bit and are less wasteful.

DS1 (16) has a kind of unusual job for a child so he hasn't had pocket money since he was 12 as earns reasonably good money, we do pay for the usual activities etc for him but he buys everything else.

There is no need for a 16 yo to have pocket money, surely they should be working by then to earn their own money?

Actually the unusual job thing is relevant here, now I think about it. Three of my DC have done some film acting (only as extras really) so got paid loads for that, which was a surprise - I didn't realise they would. They've stuck that in the bank so have a little pot to draw on if they want something. I think that helped to bat the pocket money convo down the road a bit longer

I think as long as they have access to money to understand what happens when they waste it then its all good. With DS1 he saves 70% of his earnings, half of that is for savings the other half is for buying equipment for his work. He has enough left to waste on crap but not too much that he never has to worry about how much he's spending. We have a monzo account for him so it's really good for him monitoring his spending well.

Mine all get £30 a month. I still buy clothes, pay for days out etc. Although they have all mutually agreed that this month they'd like to take me out for a change. So we're off to the zoo, and they're paying. They're paying for the tickets and I'm paying for food, which will just be a picnic. They all have their own bank cards (we use hyperjar) so that they can boop their card and manage their own money on the kids app.
I'd give DS1 more as he's 13, (the others are 7 and 8) but I just can't afford to. Their dad currently pays no maintenance whatsoever (CMS are dealing with it but he's lied about his earnings) and I'm disabled so a lot of my money is eaten up by paying for electricity to charge my wheelchair, buying things like leg raisers, grabbing sticks, travel in taxis to various appointments i have each month etc.
But DS1 doesn't complain at all. He appreciates what I do for him and he knows money is tight.

I get £30 a month cms for my 2 girls, so I just give them half each. I will also buy them other things (within reason) too. But it means they have a bit to do whatever they want with (usually robux as I refuse to buy them anymore)