How much does your teen cost?

[candlelightees]

I am a teacher and yesterday I overheard some cheeky chappies saying the government pays for them in the form of child benefit. This opened a discussion. Other students chipped in. It seemed some were self aware, others not so much.

I added up my own teen cost minus the grocery/household share. Didn't realise how expensive they actually are.

Transport- £20
Lunch money-£60
Counselling- £180
Clothes-£50 (always something wearing out)
Horesriding-£100
Pocket money-£100
Phone bill-£50
Total £560

Plus the commom texts. ' please can I have £20 to go out with so and so?' Can I get my nails, eyelashes, highlights done?

I realise a lot of this could be cut. But I think lots of people spend a lot on teens. They are bloody expensive.

DD15
£50 contract for phone and surface pro required for school
£200 contribution to school fees (mainly paid by my parents)
£80 piano lessons, flute lessons are free part of music scholarship
£15 health club youth membership covering tennis and pool
£150 riding
£50 pocket money
£10 a week for the cafe when she has to get dropped off for school very early due to my shift pattern (there is no public transport available to school)

she earns £90+ month at the stables so if she wants to go out, bubble tea/starbucks clothes etc she pays for herself. She gets 2 haircuts a year paid for at £30 and does her own gel nails. She gets one set paid for in the Christmas holidays as a treat. If we go out together now I generally get her to pay for some of it. She also has access to £1000 a year allowance from the interest on a legacy she was left by my uncle. The spending of this is jointly decided by Dd, DH and I and is for stuff like school trips/cultural city breaks or when she is old enough, driving lessons. If it's not used it goes back in her savings.

we buy anything required for school such as uniform, hockey stick, books.

It's good they contributed too. 👍

Agreed.
They fail to see their privilege too, that's the most shocking part.

Outside of the day to day expense such as food and housing her my 15yo costs me about £10 for phone SIM, hair cuts and clothes as needed (not monthly) and occasional going out with friends money (10-20).

I haven't got the money to give her pocket money and she doesn't do any clubs.

As with everything they are as expensive as you can afford.

My 18yo probably costs me a little more as she is driving so occasionally needs petrol money to college but this is balanced out as she eats at her boyfriends a lot. (She works but it is zero hour, seasonal around college)

Transport- £96
Lunch money-£40
Clothes-£100
Activities £234
1:1 lessons £60
Sometimes extra activity at £20
Pocket money-£50
Phone bill-£30

Total £630 per month

Well, having read the thread I’m definitely not posting ours - two teens compete in their sport internationally and honestly university costs will be a relief (if they go!)
But their commitment and work ethic is huge. Birthdays and Christmas they ask for almost nothing (unless something related to their sport happens to be needed). DD gets her hair cut about once every 18 months and has no skin care beyond suncream!
No, we don’t need to spend it on them. But it’s given us a family dynamic in the teen years that is an amazing and totally unexpected side effect.

Anyone competing in sport at a high level will cost money, even with sponsorship. DS did sport when he was younger, and even at district level the costs added up. Some sports are so expensive that some families cannot even dream of getting involved, sadly.

Ours is a bit different as she stays a couple of nights a week with her BF and they then both are home the rest of the week so we feed the BF too.

Approx-
£100 pocket money
£15 phone
£80 lunch
£160 driving lessons
£200 food for both

she works part time so pays for her own lashes, nails and clothes - although i normally pay for a couple of clothes orders and treat her to nails/lashes when shes done extra around the house.

she’s 17.

£80 pw driving lessons (one of them)
£20 pw school lunches (just food, drink water)
£25 pw music lessons
£40 pw share of food, loo roll etc at home
£30 monthly gym (one of them)
£8 monthly phone (SIM only)
£800+ per year each school trips
£500ish per year on clothes and shoes, including for school.
£300-500 per year on birthday and Christmas gifts and parties
£40 every 3 months ish for haircut
I’m sure there’s more I’ve missed.

Well yes, but you have to understand that our DDs don't view themselves as privileged because this is the lifestyle also enjoyed by 99% of their family and social circle. To them it's all pretty average, I suspect.

People complaining they're spending £100 or whatever in lunches? Do these children not just have a packed lunch? Why do they have to buy lunch each day?

Are your DC at secondary school @fanaticalfairy? IME packed lunches are fairly common at primary but everyone has school lunches at secondary.

Are your DC at secondary school @fanaticalfairy? IME packed lunches are fairly common at primary but everyone has school lunches at secondary.

That's not my experience, DS and his friends all have packed lunch. His choice, I was happy to pay.

Friendship groups have school lunch and my teen likes being with their mates. I’m glad they have a hot lunch tbh. But there isn’t a fixed price - more they eat, more it costs.

This is exactly the issue. They are privileged* *even if they don't see it.

I’m recovering from cancer, single parent working full time to fund a lifestyle. I don’t feel very blessed tbh right now because I’m exhausted and would quite like to step off the hamster wheel. I’m afraid to take a break because I don’t have a guarantee that it will not return and my savings won’t last forever.

DS16

Pocket money £60
Clothes and haircut £45 - he has to budget for all clothes/shoes etc from this
Instrument 1: £120
Instrument 2: £80
Therapy: £180
Sport: £45
Bus: Dad pays
Phone: Dad pays

He and I know how lucky we are to be able to afford all this. It is a lot! It does give me a lot of pleasure to be able to support his hobbies and I don't take this for granted. He is good at budgeting and never asks for extra to go out with friends. If he wants to eat at school this has to come out of his pocket money, otherwise he brings a packed lunch.

• £1.5k in loss of earnings (DC has severe LDs and I cannot work full time due to care needs/lack of childcare)
• £££ fortune in food. I don't even add that up, eating a lot. also restricted eating doesn't help
• £80 to fund activities with support worker
• £80 disability sport clubs
• £10 phone
• £100 petrol (needs driving and collecting everywhere/cannot leave house alone resulting in an awful amount of extra trips)
• £50 activities/going to places with me and having a bite (always extra as we have to pay for 2)
• very little on clothes (phew)
• main costs are really due to disability. we get Pip but it doesn't cover even half of our extra costs
• £50 to fund cooking and travel money for college (life skills course).
• £50 contribution to school taxi (£600 per annum)

Nailed it @Bryonyberries ”as with everything, they are as expensive as you can afford”.

19, 16 and 15.

My oldest daughter is at a local University so still at home. We pay her fees, her grandfather pays for her car and she has two part time jobs to pay for what ever else she wants.

My 16 year old daughter is a total Princess. Her father spoils her and altho he denies it, she is his favourite. I have no idea exactly how much she costs but she pretty much gets anything she needs. I know, I've had it out with her father many times but they are very close.

My 15 year old son is lovely albeit sports mad. He gets £80 a month to cover everything plus we pay for all his kit, gym membership which includes the pool, his football coaching and Golf. He and his father play golf, all the time.

I have no idea how much it all costs.

I'm sure they are, but you can't really complain when you're making a choice to pay £5 for lunch at school instead of making up a lunch for like £1.50 or whatever

Dd17

Phone £40
Pocket money £50

We give a yearly clothing allowance of £500 and she spreads it out. If she needs more she adds to it with her pocket money.

She doesn't really spend much though and tends to save more.

Her weekly club subs are now free we just pay £1.50 2 times a week for drink and snack.

Camp wise it's £80-100 for 2 week summer camp. And £15-30 each weekend one. We don't have a set number of weekend ones though.

@fanaticalfairy are people complaining though? Just comparing costs. I'm sure everyone is aware that a packed lunch would work out cheaper!

Assuming you can afford something given that you pay for school meals, why would you not give them any pocket money at all?

I’m not complaining. One less thing for me to organise/include on my food shop.