budget for teenagers

[onlyoranges]

I wondered what limit you put on Christmas presents for your teens. Mine are after electrical stuff eg ipads and x box one but I am worried about the cost. How much do other people spend on their teens?

Mine are 16 and 19. I have said the budget is £200 plus stockings.
No idea what ex will spend.

A lot. Few big ticket items, vouchers and then games, collectibles etc.

Given anything over a chocolate coin and a satsuma is considered excessive and equates to spolit children on MN I've learnt never to admit to amounts

£50, same as everyone else in the family.

I would only give a big ticket item like an iPad for a very significant birthday or event e.g. passing GCSEs. It's too much for an ordinary Christmas present in our house.

Do your teens have family who could give them money instead of presents to contribute to the cost? We sometimes do this - everyone contributes to one big present, without anyone spending more than usual.

None NEEDS x-boxes etc. They are luxury items of dubious value. What would the impact be on your teens' lives? (school work, social life etc) - are they really worth it?

A satsuma and a chocolate coin - that made me smile Autumn! Maybe you could pm me how much

I have no family so its just us no spreading the load. Just wondered what others were spending?

£60.00 each as usual. one after a skateboard the other a surprise..

don't do spending lots just because its christmas or birthdays.

also work on the theory if they want an ipad/ new phone/ computer - they save up for it.

dd#s 14/13

1 teen here-no budget exactly but will try to make it no more than £200. Big ticket items have to be saved up for by pooling Christmas/birthday money from other relatives. He has a January birthday so not too long to wait if Christmas money isn't enough.

I have 2 DC (16 &23) ,we have never had a set budget and we never spend equal amounts as I figure it all works out over the years , i am happy to buy consoles / computers / iPads etc as it is for the last couple of years we have struggled to buy them much as they apparently don't want anything , neither of them are particularly materialistic .

Don't have a budget,also don't mind buying xboxs,computers,iPads .

It depends on what she needs and how flush we're feeling. She's just had an iPhone 5s for her 13th birthday as well as several other gifts as it was a special one.
We've only got one Dd and don't have huge families to buy for so we treat one another.

Dd gets pretty much whatever she asks for tbh. This year she needs a new laptop and wants a graphics tablet so that's quite a lot already. Last year she had an electric piano and a wii u. Then she has video games/ dvd's/ books and other stuff and a nice stocking. We don't buy clothes for Christmas as she has them throughout the year and she doesn't eat sweets or chocolate so we don't buy those either but we do buy her a box of shortbread.

The dcs get no other gifts from relatives etc btw.

Around £75.

There is no way I would buy my teenager an ipad - yes, I could 'afford' it (from savings) but personally I think it would be ridiculous to spend that amount on one child - or adult for that matter.

It's such an impossible question without knowing your income, savings, liabilities, expectations for the future etc etc etc etc.

We spend approx. £100 on our teenager - plus perhaps £25 ish on stocking fillers. To us that feels the 'right' amount for a christmas/birthday gift. He does get some other gifts from family members. We only have one child but we place a lot of importance on long term savings etc (we set up a pension plan for him with the child allowance when he was born).

£25 for stocking and roughly £50 on presents each ( 11&12) however if they wanted a high ticket item such as a bike then more. No ipads or similar they can save up with that.

Can afford more but dont see the need as they think its the norm.

We set a limit of £500 for each dd (12,10,3) totally agree that budget is down to the individual it should only be what you can comfortably spend without getting into debt for one day. Were quite happy to include electronic devices in this though luckily none are needed/wanted this year.

We don't have lots of grandparents handing out big gifts so what the DC get is basically provided by us.

They don't get a lot spent on frippery stuff throughout the year but things like bikes are seen as necessities so are not given as gifts.

I have 15 and 14 year olds. I spend in my head about £500 on each at Christmas and about £200 each at birthdays but I think it is probably more.

They are not spoiled, they are nice, well behaved teenagers who always get excellent reports. We can afford it though we aren't rich and I view that they are only children for a short time and i'd rather treat them now than stash the money in the bank or spend it on ourselves.

Each to their own though and I understand that some families are working on tight budgets. DH and I both came from deprived backgrounds as it would be described now, but i don't think we considered ourselves deprived at the time. We still have happy Christmas memories and know that our parents tried their best.

I think I might feel pretty pissed off though if my parents were well off and yet gave me a hand knitted wash mit and a bar of soap for Christmas.

Between £80 and about £120 each. We could afford a bit more, I guess, but I don't choose to spend more. Last year I bought d1 a Kindle as a 'main' present, but they don't have ipads etc. They have laptops but those were bought from savings, not for Christmas.

DS is hard as he never wants anything and would default to gadgets given half a chance. I tried an 'experience' voucher last year and that didn't get used..

DD has a specific hobby that requires a lot of expense. She wants something specific for this, however needs a laptop. I do actually mean needs a laptop, the one she has is 6 years old, only half the keys work and the screen is about to come off the keypad. GCSE's next year.

We are selling her old flute on Ebay to pay for her hobby stuff. Laptop will be for Xmas,

We can afford to buy both things but we won't do so.

I never spend the same on both, it evens out over the years.

DS is 11 so not quite a teen. We seem to do Christmas and birthday quite differently to most of MN in the sense that, they are the occasions when you get spoilt.
Yes that's right spoilt!!! We buy very little during the year and DS is not at all materialistic so has clearly not been affected by our profligate ways. It's not true to say that spoiling a child results in a spoilt child IMO and if I we can afford a new Xbox/ iPad or whatever he wants then we will buy him it.

Libidinous last year DS2 got a PS4 for his birthday and an xbox one for his Christmas (with games etc. too). Still not spoiled.

Our budget is £200 per child plus a stocking. This is more than previous years but they want tablets this year. However this is the first year that we are paying for Christmas with real money that we have saved up rather than having to put some on credit cards so we are happy with this. We don't spend that much on them throughout the year, as they don't do loads of clubs/ activities any more and due to family illness we didn't have a holiday this year so we want to spoil them a bit and give them what they really want.

I've 5 children and a newly single parent that works part time. Usually would get in debt for Christmas and spend £2000. This year big difference as no contribution from stbxh. Debt free and I'm budgeting at a £100 each, they have just had £120 on birthdays which usually would have been £30. They seem to want a lot due to my own doing so now to change. They will also go for a meal and a panto. All new traditions.