Let’s talk pocket money with Money Advice Service

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Navigating the world of pocket money can be a little tricky, especially since the rules are always changing. However it can also be for many children their first introduction to the concept of money and how to deal with it. That’s why in aid of ‘Talk Money Week’, Money Advice Service would love to hear all your thoughts, experiences and tips when it comes to pocket money.

Here’s what Money Advice Service has to say: “Children learn about money earlier than you’d think: by the age of 7 children have begun to form money habits. That’s why it’s never too early to start teaching them where money comes from and how to handle it. Giving pocket money – no matter how little – is one way to help children's’ money skills."

How much pocket money do you give your child/children? Do you set up a system where they can earn more if they do chores or do well in school? What about what they can spend it on? Are there any limitations or do you try encourage them to save it for something big? How much pocket money did you get when you were a child? And what age do you think it’s appropriate to start giving them pocket money?

Tell us everything about pocket money on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

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Aged 6 my boy has started getting small amounts of money for jobs. His list of jobs are setting the cutlery for dinner each night and tidying his bedroom and the living room once a week.

He gets 10pence for each job and a bonus 10pence for the week if he’s completed all jobs without moaning rounding it up to a pound a week.

He gets to spend this on anything so he has some control over it and learns to save for something. It’s usually spent on superzings or match attax.

My DC can 'earn' £1 a week if they help with little jobs around the house such as making their bed or putting their dirty clothes in the laundry.
The money is put into their piggy banks for them to spend on what they wish (within reason, ie I wouldn't want them to squander £10 on Haribo for example!).
They mostly save it though, I think they like to see it mount up.
I think it's important to teach them the value of money, having to earn & save it etc.

My dc are too young but my dsc gets £1 a day every day they are with us. Usually gets spent on cards or little collectibles. Sometimes we give an advance if there's something they want and then we withhold pocket money for a week or two which is mutually agreed. Sometimes we buy them stuff they want especially if they've made a good effort with their little siblings or helping out. We would like to give dsc more pocket money but things are very tight around here and they understand that. When they get a bit older hopefully their mum will get them an account with a bank card and them they can use that to start saving rather than spending everything they are given!

If the dsc were really naughty we would withhold pocket money but we have never had to do that. I'll start giving mine pocket money when they are old enough to ask for things in shops and it'll depend how much money we have then as to what they will get.

I used to get given my child benefit as allowance when I turned 13 and I was encouraged to save at least half for things I wanted. I was allowed to spend it on whatever I wanted though.

14 year old DS gets £25 a month and I also pay for this phone contract which is around £13 a month.

The £25 is for him to spend on whatever he wants and it usually goes on junk food and the Xbox, although he also buys Christmas and birthday presents out of it.

We have a rota for chores which doesn't relate to pocket money but he does sometimes earn extra by doing bigger jobs like gardening.

He knows not to ask for extra if he blows it all in the first week!

My children get the same amount of £ as their age per month. If they want something they have to save for it, although we buy all of their clothes and essentials (toiletries, stationery for school etc). This is not linked to chores, as they are expected to do these anyway as part of the family and I don't think they should be financially rewarded for doing so.

We only tend to buy them things for birthdays and Christmas with the exception of books, so any toys they want throughout the year they need to pay for themselves.

When they are teenagers they will get an allowance instead which they will have to budget, which is what my parents did with me.

I got £1 a week as an 8 year old which steadily worked it's way up to £20 a month as a teen. I think we'll start giving it to DS as he starts school, not exactly sure how much yet though!

DD(7) gets £3/week and while I encourage her to save it for bigger items if she wants to spend it then its up to her. I don't police what she buys as long as its age appropriate,

I give my 2 DS age 8 and 11 £5.00 per week, they will usually save this up and buy a new Xbox game. It is a good way of learning them to save, and keeps them focused on a goal to saving. They feel very grown up when they go the the supermarket to spend their money, and because they have bought it, look after, and tidy up after their precious possessions.

How much pocket money do you give your child/children?
I give my daughter (7) pocket money depending on how many chores she’s done that week - simple things like tidying up her toys or putting her uniform on a hanger, and how good she’s been. Certainly no pocket money for tantrums!

Do you set up a system where they can earn more if they do chores or do well in school?
She takes great pride in her school work so I don’t need to use this as an incentive but if she gets an award for example, it may mean a one off extra amount.

What about what they can spend it on?
She usually chooses small toys or sweets, unless she’s saving up for something specific, at the moment it’s the new David Walliams book.

Are there any limitations or do you try encourage them to save it for something big?
I try to encourage her to buy something meaningful, not just a plastic toy that’ll be forgotten in an hour.

How much pocket money did you get when you were a child?
I got 50p every now and again!

And what age do you think it’s appropriate to start giving them pocket money?
When they understand money. At 4/5, my daughter didn’t understand money was needed to buy stuff so we started that lesson! Once she appreciated how it worked, I trusted her with her own money

Mine started receiving pocket money from when they were 5 but only at £1 per week - it then goes up by 25p each year - so my 9 yo gets £2 per week and the 12 yo £2.75. This money is purely theirs to spend and generally they put it away each week and then if we go on day trips or little breaks in school holidays they take it with them as their gift shop money. Anything that they need - I would buy them. Pocket money is for their treats. Any money they receive for birthdays and Christmas gets put away into their bank accounts - my daughter has already decided she is saving hers up so that she can buy her first little car with it!

Our DD is 6 and doesn't currently get pocket money. She turns 7 at the end of the year and we're planning to start giving her pocket money then, probably £1 per week - partly to get her more used to coins and help with maths and, hopefully, teach her about saving.

We'll set some expectations that she needs to keep her room tidy, put her shoes away without being asked, and put dirty plates into the dishwasher.

It does pain me when I see the tat she wants to buy with birthday money etc., but I think that the benefit of her learning to manage money as a result of having pocket money will have to outweigh the pain of seeing what she wants spends it on!

I don’t remember getting pocket money but gave my children small amounts from about seven years old. They were encouraged to save up a couple of weeks to buy what they wanted. I think this did help them with being responsible with money

My almost 10 year old has a Nimbl card (had excellent reviews on MSE and was £10 py when we took it out). He gets pocket money paid in to it monthly - amount does vary based in basic good behaviour, offering to help around the house etc. Birthday and Christmas money gets paid in to. It's linked on his Ps4 so if he wants to buy games or credits it comes out of his own money. I love that I get a notification as soon as he makes a transaction, and can be immediately stopped if he loses it, online purchases can be disabled etc.

He definitely understands the value of money more, and thinks carefully about what he wants if we're out and he wants to buy something.

DS & DD aren’t old enough for pocket money yet. Have started giving DS4 occasionally money as a reward or treat to help understand how much things cost & to help with his numeracy skills. He absolutely loves paying with his own money.
He’s just started to realise that some things you have to save up for. He has his own wallet for his money. He’s currently saving for a comic, I refuse to buy them.
Looking forward to giving him pocket money when older

My DS'S aged 17, 15 and 6 all get pocket money accordingly but are expected to do chores to earn it.

DS 15 gets £10 a week. On top of that he has his £18 per month phone bill paid. I buy clothes when needed. We talk about budgeting and possibly saving for things....he doesn’t 😂

DD 6 has a star chart, she's a little too young for pocket money, but I do expect her to get a certain amount of stars (putting toys away, no shouting, tidy room, get dressed without too much help, pots in the sink etc.) and at the end of the week she can choose a toy from the 'toy shop' (charity shop I volunteer in), a magazine, one of those (daft) magiki ponies or something around that sort of value. I only have the one, usually it's her Grandad who buys it. I remember when I was little I got 10p a chore (unloading and loading the dishwasher, hanging out a few loads of washing, weeding, changing the beds, vacuuming etc.) I was probably about 8/9, obviously the more I did, the more I got. It actually instilled a good work ethic into me, as I started work at 14, I was a waitress and a babysitter. My parents had a comfortable life and I was a little spoilt, but it was great to go out and buy make up and clothes knowing I earned that money. One of the important things I was taught was 'spend half, save half', as a result I've never been in debt, had a loan, or a credit card. I don't live above my means, and hope to teach DD the value of money and that it has to be earned rather than given (be that by good behaviour, chores or something at school).

My 12 year old gets £30 a month. He's expected to fund most things he wants out of that - snacks on days out, books, presents for friends and family members etc.
He has a bank account and debit card and it seems to be working well

My 10 year old gets £1 a week and the occasional £10 top up from grandparents. and the tooth fairy seems to be leaving £1 coins under her pillow on a weekly basis at the moment. She mainly buys books, pocket money toys and the occasional ice-cream and manages to save a few pounds too. Any money she gets for birthdays and Christmas goes into her bank account as there's not really much she wants/needs.

I'm expecting this to change when she goes to secondary school next year and will need a rethink on how much she should get.

My 5 year old currently saves money in his money box. This is normally from things like DHs spare change on the side. Once in a while he is allowed to buy something like Lego or a magazine with it. Don’t want to do much more at the mo as he will just spend on tat.

DS 13 is earning his money by daily washing up, weekly tidying and hoovering in his room, and making sure he is clean and ready for school. It’s not much - just £20/month, 5 of which goes towards his mobile contract, that he wanted (12 GB internet).
He usually spends his money on some Fortnite stuff or saves it for few months and gets something bigger, like a game for his PS3.

All the necessities are bought by us though. Either when he needs them or for Christmas/birthday, if it can wait.

we never got pocket money from my Mum, she had a list of chores we could do in exchange for money (these chores would be outside of our usual chores). Dad gave us money here and there when we saw him, I never expected it though.

I think we will raise DS in a similar approach, encourage them to save up and earn for things they want.

When she started school Dd got 50p a week for sweets on a Saturday,she had to be add up the value of the sweets to get them which after a bit of help she got very adept fast.
She had cash at birthday from family so we set up a bank account and when it reaches £50 it was put in the bank.
At 12 until now she had had £20 a month as a direct bank transfer to her account and keeps birthday cash.She often buys online but will ask to use my Amazon account if there is free postage.She always pays me back.I still buy her essentials and phone but she saved for anything else.
Next year we will negotiate and she will get a clothing allowance.I have no worries money wise as she is a saver rather than a spender,likes good value for money and is great at working out the best deals when we go shopping.
I had 50p.pocket money but although it doesn't sound much was about average in the 70's.I learnt about value and money as we didn't have much.

My kids get £20 a month put into their savings accounts, which they don't have access to yet. They also get 50p a week each to save/spend as they like. They get to spend their pocket money on pretty much whatever they like, although I do say no to more cuddly toys sometimes. They only get taken out to the shops once every month or two as I don't want them to see buying things a regular hobby. I don't think that sets up good habits for the future.

I don't link their pocket money to chores yet but I do plan on doing that in the near future, along with a raise, as I think they're getting old enough to understand and take some responsibility now.