Pocket money

[mummyiveseenabeebumble]

Hi all so

Pocket moneys Qs...

What age?
How much?
Cash or using one of the card schemes?
Weekly, fortnightly, monthly?
Do you give 'bonuses' for doing jobs around the house, good behaviour, certificates from school etc?
Give extra for the cinema, bowling etc? (if it was open of course!)

Thanks in advance

What age?

1. That was the age we felt DS1 really understood the value of money and would make sensible choices and we think it was a good call. We’ve told DS2 he’ll start getting pocket money at 8 as well, as long as he can show us he understands the value of things by then. We think he gets it

How much?

£8 per month. This will go up to £9 when he’s 9, £10 when he’s ten...will re-evaluate once he’s in highschool.

Cash or using one of the card schemes?

Revolut card. He bloody loves having a card. If we ever do give him cash eg gift from a relative he asks for a transfer onto his card. He can use it everywhere.

Weekly, fortnightly, monthly?

Total of £8 per month but give it as £2 per week.

Do you give 'bonuses' for doing jobs around the house, good behaviour, certificates from school etc?

Absolutely not. I don’t get paid for housework. You do housework because you live in a house with other people and need to learn to be a functional and respectful human being. Your reward is getting your jobs done so everyone can get on with enjoyable stuff they’d rather be doing, rather than lumping it onto one person. Your reward for doing well in school is better results in the longer term. Good behaviour is reinforced by telling your child how proud you are of the lovely person they’re growing up to be. Not money.

Give extra for the cinema, bowling etc? (if it was open of course!)

We cover family treats like that. We have told DS1 that if he spots something really expensive that he wants, eg a big Lego set, that he can save up a percentage of it and we’ll cover the rest. That way he is incentivised to save towards something he wants but it’s not completely unachievable.

After an initial flurry of buying crap when he first started getting pocket money, he’s actually been incredibly sensible ever since and consistently saved and bought himself nice things like books and a nice diary that he writes in every day. Really glad we waited until he was old enough to use his money wisely.

DS1 has even asked if the tooth fairy can deposit directly onto his card!

We’ve submitted the request to her in writing...

Not yet but y 6.5 is very interested in money. We are going to be starting pocket money very soon, in time for half term & summer hols.

Considering doing £2.50 per week (no chores attached as she is a very helpful kid anyway, always helping with the baby and getting bits & bobs, helps tidy).

We technically started around 6 but it was quite casual. At 9 it became more a thing.

We recently started using gohenry ans he loves having a card. I am v pleased we did this. I can also set up automatic allowance payment which is really good as we all tended to forget. And I like that I can set limits, keep an eye on things etc. As he gets older this will not be necessary.

Basic chores he does not get paid for but he has started asking for extra chores. Eg vacuuming the cars.

I transfer money to his card for extra things when needed eg he popped to shop for some treats to watch a movie with and I then transferred the amount immediately after. As he gets older, I imagine we will review what pocket money covers.

He gets £3 per week and is 10.

Pocket money started in Y4. It was initially a pound each to spend at the sweet shop on a Saturday morning. It's evolved and Y7 child gets £17/month and Y9 child gets £32/month, about to go up to £25.

They have set jobs they do for that. We're always giving them money on top to go into town with their friends, etc. They're great kids and very helpful so am happy to do it.

I did ask my Y9 child if she would rather have £60/month, but cover herself entirely with it- clothes, treats, birthday presents for friends, days out, etc and she said "no way!" It gave me hope that she appreciates the value of what she gets and notices all the top ups.

@mummyiveseenabeebumble

Hi all so

Pocket moneys Qs...

What age?
How much?
Cash or using one of the card schemes?
Weekly, fortnightly, monthly?
Do you give 'bonuses' for doing jobs around the house, good behaviour, certificates from school etc?
Give extra for the cinema, bowling etc? (if it was open of course!)

Thanks in advance

Eldest started getting pocket money at around 8, we started off at £2 per week, weekly. He started doing extra jobs for money age about 10/11 I think. His current jobs include weeding, hoovering, washing the car, cleaning, polishing, laundry, ironing, load/unload dishwasher.

The jobs for money was his own idea, we came up with rules (always ask for help if needed, not touching certain cleaning stuff, no moving heavy items) and rates together. He chooses what to do and how long to do it for whenever he needs more money... it takes him 3 hours to wash and hoover the car and I pay him £2.50 which he thinks is really good (he actually really enjoys it!)

We've put his money up a little bit each year.

He's 12 now and gets £5 per week, we'll up his own bank account with own card when we can, he likes having cash so he can count it continually!

-he doesn't get extra for outings where he's on his own/with friends, not something we've had to think about under current situation.

We technically started right at the beginning - bought a NS Children's Bonus Bond (£25) every 25 weeks, I think it was. (They don't do them any more.) When they started paying out we heavily suggested it could be used for driving lessons (not that either child has done that yet).

Started giving child cash instead when he was able to keep a record of it - ie could write and do basic addition and subtraction - and expected his account book to be kept up to date. S1 did that for most of primary school, S2 not quite as long. Paid monthly. Increased every year or so.

Have never tied it to household tasks or school performance. We did buy them both Expensive presents the Christmas after GCSEs, but it was an excuse more than anything else

The cards didn't exist when we started. Got them bank accounts with debit cards - later than we could have done because we didn't realise they were available to 11-year-olds. Paid by bank transfer from that point.

S2 is now Y13 and gets £35 a month. From that he's expected to buy presents (parents, brother, grandparents, one aunt, friends at his discretion) and anything he wants to do himself (sweets, outings with friends & so forth). We pay for (basic) clothes, gym, phone, music lessons and activities, family outings, educational trips, and (before he started cycling) bus pass to get him to school. He's just given up the job he had in the school canteen because he doesn't need the money more than he wants to spend time with his friends.

S1 is 21, and has saved a ridiculous amount as a student. (Obviously he hasn't had much opportunity to spend recently, but even before that.) Helped by his music scholarship and low-income bursary (we had a dramatic drop in income just before he went to university) and the fact that he doesn't like alcohol. We don't pay for anything for him any more, though we haven't charged him any board while he's been at home (perhaps we should).