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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

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Original poster

Clothing Allowance

38 replies

nottonight · 26/02/2011 18:26

Hi just wondered what everybody else is doing about possible clothing allowance. DD is 14 and gets her pocket money of £8.00 per week for stuff like make-up, bus fare into town, mcdonalds etc. This week she asked for £20.00 to get some new tops, which I did give her, she has not had any new clothes for months. I am wondering whether she should have a clothing allowance each month and if so, how much?

OP posts:

GypsyMoth · 26/02/2011 18:30

My dd needs loads of stuff..... Growth spurts and change of style. I'm trying to get her a couple of new things each week. With summer coming she will need more!

ragged · 26/02/2011 18:35

Buying her a couple of things a week sounds a lot! I mean it's your choice, but I think I'd feel it was excessive. Presumably that doesn't include school uniform, either?

I don't have a teen yet, the only teens I know well have a clothing budget under 3quid/month (sadly am not joking). Now that is too excessively too little, imho.

I do have a clothes 9yo DD and I have a basic policy of only buying new stuff when she doesn't have anything remotely similar to wear already, and I am convinced that she will get a reasonable amount of wear out of the proposed wardrobe addition (dependent on cost).

Am keen to read other replies.

Deaddei · 26/02/2011 18:36

Dd is 14 and gets £20 a month which she generally spends on stuff from Paperchase, hair accessories etc. She doesn't wear makeup.
I tend to take her clothes shopping every half term- this week I spent £90 on her in H and M, including a coat and jacket.
She is happy to do this ie quite likes shopping with her mum- probably as it includes a nice lunch!
I am sure she will soon prefer an allowance.

ragged · 26/02/2011 18:37

Eek, meant to say clothes horse (obsessed) DD.

GypsyMoth · 26/02/2011 18:39

Dd has hardly anything at all, she's just moved rooms do we had a good clearout which has left little!!

Also, teens buy cheap fashion stuff which just doesn't last. Primark etc ... Dd is still a tomboy and jeans and leggings go at the knees very quickly! But better quality stuff for teens, that they approve of, well where does everyone else shop?

HouseGirlfriend · 26/02/2011 18:42

My parents worked out how much they spent on clothes over a year and divided it by 12. This was when we were a bit older though tbh..

Original poster

nottonight · 26/02/2011 18:47

Unfortunately DD wears lots of make up and therefore needs her pocket money to spend on that. Have tried to persuade to reduce it down, but sadly not much luck. We have decorated her bedroom and whilst putting things away noticed that her clothes were well worn and not appealing, she moans that she does not have much, but this is not true, she states that things go out of fashion. Her friend the other day had £40.00 to spend. Today we have been in town for an eye test and whilst there ended up buying her a couple of bra's and knickers plus new glasses, (that bit doesn't count I know), but before long this week she has cost me about £50.00. It does seem that every time she comes into town with me, we spend more and we kind of do not share the same views on clothes, so I reckon a clothing allowance is more suitable. I was thinking about £30.00 on top of her pocket money no more.

OP posts:

sharbie · 26/02/2011 18:49

dd 13 just gets bits and bobs every so often. i have never done pocket money but think they have done quite well out of this as if they need cash for cinema etc i will give it to them (within reason and never a lot).
h&m website v good for cheap clothes and bon prix.
£10 or £15 goes a long way.matalan also v good.

mummynoseynora · 26/02/2011 18:51

sounds reasonable to me - you would have to agree if that meant she would then buy all her non-uniform stuff or just the day to day stuff and you would buy shoes / coats - or whatever, needs to be a clear agreement though! Can't remember what I used to get

Original poster

nottonight · 26/02/2011 18:52

I agree DD used to shop at Primark and things do not last there, she is now wanting to shop on the high street and some designer pieces now which are quite expensive. Today even looking in H&M a t-shirt was £10 and in New look tops are around £15.00. Interested to see where other teens shop.

OP posts:

nooka · 26/02/2011 19:02

I had a clothing allowance at about this age, as did my siblings. My dad worked out what he thought we needed and how much it cost and then divided it into four and paid us directly into our accounts every quarter. We were then expected to buy everything ourselves. It worked quite well and is a good way to get children to be responsible for their own finances. We didn't have any pocket money otherwise as we were at an age when we could earn extra money (they were quite generous on things like washing the car, and we all had babysitting etc).

I've no idea how much would be a reasonable amount now, but I an remember by father did the calculations just after Christmas and then he'd talk to us about how much he'd increased the allowance by and why (mine was usually because my older sisters had made a good case).

If I was doing it now I'd think about what they needed (ie how many of each item of clothing) and how much I think is reasonable to pay (looking at a couple of shops where I'd usually shop for them) and then give them that list, have a discussion so that they took ownership of it, and then once agreed hand over the cash.

You have to be firm on what you will do if they spend their money on non clothing items and wear tatty things though.

TypoRiddled · 26/02/2011 20:30

What is a reasonable amount of pandering to changes in fashion?

Speaking as someone who has never cared about fashion/style/etc.

I imagine that I would insist that any clothing item couldn't be replaced just because of changes in fashion unless they'd already had it... I dunno? At least 6 months? a year? 2 years? How long? And should a parent care about bras/pants being "fashionable"?

GnomeDePlume · 26/02/2011 22:09

DD1 is 15 and gets £60/month paid into her bank account. This covers all casual clothes, make up, personal toiletries, hair cuts etc. School uniform and general toiletries (shampoo & shower gel) are paid for by the management. She & we are happy with the arrangement. She dresses well and is learning to budget. If she overspends on something then she will have to go without elsewhere. So far there have been no issues.

DD1 has good taste and things like stylish tshirts are being handed on to DD2 who is very happy to receive them. Win-win all round!

Niceguy2 · 27/02/2011 09:05

I give my DD(14) £35 a month. That's to cover her clothing and spends, even phone credit.

It's not a lot and is purposely set this way. I didn't want her to have so much money she never had to save for anything or can go out and spend spend spend.

I was tired of constantly having to fork out for this, that & the other on demand and it meant she had no concept of money.

Now she's actually quite frugal. She started off blowing everything in Primark but like others have said, she soon realised stuff doesn't last. So now she buys less but from better stores.

What its also meant is that its encouraged her to do extra jobs. Like she babysits for a friend of mine now and earns £20 a time doing that.

I also give her a bit more if I feel she's been very well behaved or got an excellent report off teachers etc. Basically I reward her good work with extra cash. None for when she's being a moody teenage brat (rare).

It's worked really really well. She's learning the art of saving & working. I think the trick is to set a sensibly low limit and leave her to save for anything she wants.

BBwannaB · 27/02/2011 09:25

I think clothing allowances are a great idea for teens. I started with my DD when I got fed up with being the bad Mummy who had to keep saying no when she asked for this and that. It was some time ago so I can't advise on amounts of money, but it really encouraged her to look at relative prices, save for particular items and do extra work (babysitting etc) to add to her spending power.
You may be interested to know that she is now a fashion buyer for a large retail company

LessNarkyPuffin · 27/02/2011 09:41

£15 a top

I agree with the others. Work out what you can afford and what you trust her to buy - eg only expect her to get her toiletries if you think she won't spend the money on clothes and nick your tampons. Then see how she does for a few months. It really does help them learn to manage their money. It only works if you don't do advances or submit to moaning towards the end of the month though.

Only caveat is if you are worried about her drinking/smoking.

cory · 27/02/2011 18:08

Dd (14) gets a monthly allowance of £12- we provide basic toiletries and clothes (school uniform+ very basic leisure clothes), but any clothes/perfumes/makeup she wants on top of that comes out of her allowance.

HighNoon · 27/02/2011 18:23

What do you spend on her clothes a year?

A good way to work out a regular allowance is to annualise all costs e.g. how much do you think is reasonable for clothes a year, add pocket money, going out money, phone credit and anything else you want to include then divide by 12 months.

I also think its a good idea to get teenagers a bank account at that age and pay in the monthly amount by direct debit. Banks only provide under 19s with Electron cards so they can't go overdrawn. That way she'll have to decide whether to buy this or save for that.

I also hope it gets them used to the idea of a monthly salary - or maybe dole cheque who knows!!

Original poster

nottonight · 27/02/2011 19:30

Usually we have a large spend up every 12 weeks or so, seasonal stuff, but the last year she has been wanting to buy stuff on her own with friends, being more independent. Not sure she would be very good at budgeting hence, why pocket money is given weekly as she only gets her due amount unless she earns extra for washing the car etc. I think it is hard to put an amount of her yearly wardrobe costs, the last 6 months she has had two expensive coats but I guess £30.00 a month would probably be reasonable for a clothing allowance. DD already has a bank account. As for underwear, they are not rated fashionsable Typo, DD is fortunate that at 14 she has a bust size of 34D therefore she needs new bra's about 3 times a year, she generally has 3 and those who are fortunate to have a large bust know that you cannot buy any cheap thing.

OP posts:

soda1234 · 27/02/2011 23:48

We have just started giving DTs a monthly allowance of £40 each, they are almost 14. From this they must pay for any clothes that aren't uniform or essentials (I will pay for jeans when grown out of, and underwear). Their allowance is for parties, and presents, cinema trips, bus fares into nearest city, lunches out on these trips etc.Plus any clothes they really want.
This money seems to get saved up and then used in school holidays.
We also have a deal that once £100 is in the account we can transfer it to savings,if they don't need it for anything else.
They both have a reasonable amount tucked away for the future

frenchfancy · 28/02/2011 18:55

I was planning on starting a clothing allowance from aged 12. Normally I do their clothes shopping each half term, so I was planning on giving her the money the same way. About £75 per half term.

One question - for those who do the transfer into the bank account, how do they then spend it? Do they have a bank card they can use in shops?

pointydog · 28/02/2011 19:07

dd1 (14) gets £25 a month. I buy anything I consider to be essential (decent pair of shoes or boots, school clothes, replace jeans, basic tops in new size) and she has to buy any extra fashiony stuff. It's also for bus fares, cinema, mcdonalds etc.

laosvher · 28/02/2011 19:13

Yes, my DDs have a Solo card that they can use in most (all that we've come across) shops.

DD1 doesn't get any allowance any more, she works
DD2 gets £15 pw, what she spends it on is up to her - but she buys clothes with it too.
If the money you're giving her for clothes is going to replace any clothes sprees then make sure she knows that it's not just extra money iykwim.

Acanthus · 28/02/2011 19:15

I think you can get a bank card at 11 or 12, but I just act as a cash machine - ie I give them the cash, then transfer the amount online from their account to mine. When they ask for a cash card they can have one.

scurryfunge · 28/02/2011 19:19

DS(16) receives £40 per month from us and I pay for his phone contract but he pays the monthly insurance on the phone.

He earns a further £25 per week from a part time job.

I buy school uniform,coats, shoes and trainers and he buys the rest.He buys cheap high street clothes mainly and anything designer comes from ebay or sales or are birthday gifts. (he also borrows quite a lot of clothing from DH, who is a labels freak).

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