Pocket money - I would like some views please!

[Clary]

Chatting about this to DC, they revealed that a number of their friends (not all) get what I consider excessive amounts of pocket money - like £5 or even £10 a week.

They are 9 and 7 and get £1/week - to be saved up or maybe spent on a few Match Attax or similar (not sweets really, maybe a mini fudge or such).

Now DD does say friend a gets 50p etc, but then adduces friend b and c who get £7 and £10. I wonder what they are spending it on - what I mean is that if I gave my DC £10 a week (ie £30 gasp) I would frankly expect them to be paying out for footie training or ballet class or Brownies out of that - and then maybe decide if they want to go or would rather by a DS game every 2 weeks.

What does everyone think?

DD is 7y and she gets £2 a week, as of her 7th birthday.

We startted at £1 a week at age 5y, and it goes up 50p on each birthday.

DD tends to save up for something bigger, although some weeks may use it to buy a magazine or a book every couple of weeks.

I must be an old scrooge my 3 ds get no pocket money at all. We live by the addage that we can't afford anything so anything that does get bought is a bonus. CDs comics, playstation games etc come at birthdays xmas or when they have done something particularly well or been particularly good. They get £1K off their grandparents every 5 years and that has been dug into when they want things like their own computer or and electric guitar but is meant to be for university, cars and deposits on flats when they get older etc Holiday money is about £10-15 each for the week and we go away about 4 times a year. They haven't ever complained so I must be one of the lucky ones. Didn't think I was that unusual but from reading all these postings semms that I am.

pmsl @jack99 and the £30 bill!

I am a bit forgetful as well tbh but I never pay back money.

I think it may not be completely true about the other friends, haven't checke dit tho. But one of them was DD's best mate who, as DD said, "would never lie".

My 8yo gets 75 p a week, enough for non-essentials.

Dd who is at secondary school gets a monthly allowance of £10 and pays for her own toiletries etc.

cory - what do you do if your dd has month left at the end of her money?

I'm envious of the 75p for an 8 year old - that wouldn't buy a copy of Match magazine!

I will definitely switch to a monthly allowance once dd is older.

I had an allowance (split so that it was half cash in hand for what ever I liked and the other half in the bank for buying clothes only) once I was at 2ndary school and it worked really well - no arguments as to whether I could buy something or not.

I generally had to save up my clothes allowance (£5 per month in the early 80s) so that I had money for school uniform, winter coat etc but I had the choice whether to put up with Woolies skirts for school & have the cash for out of school clothes, or buy the expensive stuff from the uniform shop & not have so much else. I guess it worked well partly though because my parents were happy for me to make that decision myself.

i think a nominal amount i fine - in fact when they wee younger it was expected that they helped out and i was vociferously against pocket money.

however, since they have become older teens - actually getting them to do anything around the house is a nightmare

and

they always want money

so they get pocket money if they do chores

chores - which i agree with them in advance - with a discussion.

ie. dd gets £10pw. this is for walking the dog every day and feeding the dog and watering the dog. - i dont care if its snowing or blowing a gale - thats her job and its gotta be done.
plus
she empties the kitchen bin and the recycling

ds however gets shit all - becuase he doesn't want to do anything - so i make him do it anyway - only less frequently