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Original poster

Is Pocket Money the right thing?

11 replies

ThisIsMe87 · 19/02/2026 13:43

I would like to encourage good financial awareness for my DS. He currently has pocket money to the value of £13 a month. This is split into 3 categories. £6 to spend on bits and bobs for instance we went McDonalds and they wanted a pudding so they bought their own. I obviously purchased their meal. £5 to save for bigger items. Currently saving for holiday spending money for the summer or a new switch game. And £2 saved for later in life. My plan is this to be their contribution towards a phone when they are 11/12. In reality this will then be placed into a savings account without them knowing.

so what I am asking has anyone done anything similar and did it encourage good money skills or am I creating issues with child expecting.

OP posts:
redskyAtNigh · 19/02/2026 13:53

How old?

I appreciate the idea, but this plan seems to require an awful lot of monitoring. What counts as a "bigger item" for the saving portion? Can he choose to save for something else? If you're insisting he saves then he's not actually learning that this is a valuable skill, in a way that he would if he blitzed all his money on sweets and then couldn't afford anything else.

£2 for "later life" is also a bit ridiculous. It's not going to get him anywhere near the amount for a phone, and if you're locking it away, it effectively like him not having the money in the first place.

goz · 19/02/2026 13:57

Saving £2 a month and secretly putting it into an account that he has no access to isn’t reaching him anything, you might as well not give it.

user8539762897 · 19/02/2026 14:11

Depends how old. £13 is plenty for a 5yr old, wouldn't touch the sides for a teen…

Ours are grown up now, but we had two accounts a spending and savings account. When they got part time jobs we encouraged them to save half of everything they earned, also half of birthday/Christmas money so when they really wanted something they had the funds not frittered it all away on random stuff!
We always bought clothes, food, phone etc but say they wanted a particular pair of trainers when they didn't really need them they'd have had to buy them themselves.

We also opened an JISA at birth, and a pension for them but only as older teens - I wish we’d started a pension for them much earlier. ChatGPT says that £2880 a year into a pension from birth - 67 is a 1.5M pension pot…

amoosebouche · 19/02/2026 14:31

We've saved for our dc since birth. They will have a lump sum when they are 18. They've then had pocket money /allowance each week, increasing with age. I think life is hard enough for them and the pocket money/allowance teaches enough budgeting skills. We are more generous than peers and it is not dependent on them doing chores. We openly discuss money and they already know about pensions, compound interest, mortgages, etc. Once they are working I will be encouraging them to always invest a percentage of their income, even if it is 5%.

itsthetea · 19/02/2026 14:33

I never dictated how pocket money ( and present money ) was managed , just made suggestions - like why not save some or how much of that is savings?

she had a bank account and could see the money was safe and growing

guide not dictate ?

Original poster
ThisIsMe87 · 19/02/2026 15:19

They are 7.
He enjoys looking at the money grow on the app, he also checks when out to see if he has enough to buy what he wants.

He does have a savings account which he knows nothing about which will be given when older. Not mega bucks but child benefit soon adds up when saved.

He does have free rein on the £6 to do what he likes and the bigger ticket items are a discussion to ensure he understands that the money is gone.

OP posts:
FalseSpring · 19/02/2026 15:43

I saw something recently that suggested pocket money be split that I thought was good. Obviously each pot can be increased to whatever total figure you want, especially as children get older :

£1. to a charity of the child's choice or to help someone else
£2. maximum to spend on something of the child's own choice
£2. minimum to save

The parent then adds extra £1 for every £1 saved to to the savings each week. The child then learns that they get more if they save.

I told my children that they would get matched funds from me if they saved towards something big like a laptop or eventually a car and it worked quite well. Both DC did save a fair amount and were able to reach their goals with the extra I gave them.

sorryIdidntmeanto · 19/02/2026 19:14

I'm not sure the pots idea actually encourages a healthy approach to spending. I know loads of people love it. But I think that's because they always spend what they have, and without limits, can't stop spending. A better approach is to never spend to limits. I have never even budgeted, for example. I just always live below my means. Then the money can never run out.
I find it confusing having '£6 to spend a week', or in grown up terms, '20% of income' or whatever. Just spend what you need, not up to certain amount. Why put an upper limit, as though it is something to aim for?
I would stick to a nice round amount. We did £5 per month until age 11, then switched to £2 a week, increasing £1 per year. Then model good attitudes to spending/saving. Considering each purchase. Shopping around. Limiting waste. And being kind and generous within your means.

TartanMammy · 19/02/2026 19:25

I get what you're trying to do, it's a nice idea...

My ds saved up for a PlayStation when he was 7 it took him nearly 2 years of hard saving. He's 15 now and spends every penny he gets as soon as he gets it, the saving early in life has taught him absolutely nothing.

Original poster
ThisIsMe87 · 19/02/2026 20:16

sorryIdidntmeanto · 19/02/2026 19:14

I'm not sure the pots idea actually encourages a healthy approach to spending. I know loads of people love it. But I think that's because they always spend what they have, and without limits, can't stop spending. A better approach is to never spend to limits. I have never even budgeted, for example. I just always live below my means. Then the money can never run out.
I find it confusing having '£6 to spend a week', or in grown up terms, '20% of income' or whatever. Just spend what you need, not up to certain amount. Why put an upper limit, as though it is something to aim for?
I would stick to a nice round amount. We did £5 per month until age 11, then switched to £2 a week, increasing £1 per year. Then model good attitudes to spending/saving. Considering each purchase. Shopping around. Limiting waste. And being kind and generous within your means.

Fortunately, since opening account back in October they have never spent their full allowance. And always had some rolled over to the next month.

I do love a good budget, well spreadsheet with all my outgoings on. However I always keep under this. I am a firm believer if you can’t afford it you dont have it. Apart from the obvious of housing.

OP posts:
ForAmusedHazelQuoter · 21/02/2026 21:21

I don’t think giving money and then dictating how it’s spent is a good idea.
My DC are adults and brilliant with money, I didn’t do all this and certainly not when they were so young.
I started monthly allowances when they went to secondary school and then they got part time jobs off their own backs in sixth form.
My DH’s were really careful with money and made a big thing of it, my DH’s loves to spend now and his siblings are really tight.
I don’t think DC need to learn about money at such a young age.

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