Clothing Allowance

[nottonight]

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?

[Hattifattner]

I give my kids £400 a year, excluding occasion wear like suits and prom dresses and the like.

I split it 150 summer, 250 winter, given now in spring and again in September/October.

Initially I set a budget and then went and sat in Costa while they browsed and tried on. I also specified what their allowance had to cover - 2 pairs jeans, 4 tops, a hoodie, boots etc. Then I would go and pay for the items.

If they didnt spend all their summer allowance, it would roll over to the winter allowance - Dd managed to save enough for a Holister coat.

Ive always said if they want big brand items, then they have to compromise elsewhere - so they can have big brand jeans if they get Primark tops. Or they can buy a handful of clothes from the fashion shop, rather than loads from a cheap shop.

They get no other items from me. HOWEVER - DS, 16, is still growing and at 6'3" now, tends to outgrow everything at a staggering pace. So I am, at the moment, more lenient with him, especially with essentials like jeans and shoes. Im hoping that the 34" leg jeans will actually last him, and he is not going to get much bigger (sobs quietly into hands).

I also did the same with DD1, now in her 20s, when the boob fairy arrived and we had a new cup size every 4 months.

So this last 12 months, I transferred the money to DDs account and set no parameters. She spent most of her summer money on bikinis. and shoes. And accessories. I ignored the heavy hints that she had nothing to wear thereafter.

In winter, its been cropped hoodies and high heels. Then she moans that she has no jeans that fit her. I ignore it all and say "Thats why you have a clothing allowance."

One gets pocket money in addition, (she is 15); the other works.

I will do a big shop with them on my budget this september as they both head off for 6th form and will need a bigger selection of jeans and hoodies..!

[Oswald28]

Any suggestions on clothing allowance for teenagers? 14 & 17.
U can only see suggestions from 2011!

[whenigrowup]

I transfer the monthly child allowance into DD's bank account. She then buys her own clothes, make up, etc. She has a debit card to withdraw what she needs. She also has a part time Sunday morning job to supplement this. I do make contributions towards certain items or events as and when they crop up and I feel they warrant help with.

[nottonight]

DD has a bank card which draws cash out only and definately not able to go overdrawn,

[higgle]

Ds1 is at uni now,DS 2 doing GCSEs and 16. He gets £30pcm pocket money and the opportunity to earn £5 pw mowing our tiny lawn in the summer. I budget £30 a month for his clothes and tend to go shopping with him when he needs something. I need to be sure he has some sensible clothes in his wardrobe for when he goes into the sixth form in September. If he gets a job after his exams we will keep on paying the same, but as an allowance so he can get what he wants - I hope he will follow his brother's example and save most of any wages as spare resources for uni.

[sparklyblack]

When DDs were teens but not working, they each got £20 pocket money/allowance a month. We bought 'necessary' clothes, eg coat/jeans they genuinely needed new ones of. Clothes they just wanted, they bought with pocket money. Shopped at New Look, H&M, M&S for vest tops, underwear etc and DP. We helped to contribute, usually about half, to friends/family birthday and Xmas presents.

For us, it was important once they got to about 12/13 to make the distinction between pocket money and allowances - we felt calling it a monthly allowance made it clearer that anything they wanted that was extra to what was really needed, had to come out of that. Pocket money seemed a bit too 'sweets and comics' IYSWIM, whilst still expecting all clothes, makeup, jewellery etc to be bought by us.

[PeterAndreForPM]

yes, I could, and I do

like I said to her, I can't afford to spend that much money on one item !

btw, I did discuss it with her first, I didn't just ignore what she was doing

[sharon2609]

Boy oh boy have they got a shock coming !!! I could make £170 last for months!!

[PeterAndreForPM]

sharon...my dd got £170 for her birthday in money from various relatives

she spent the lot on a pair of Ugg boots

her choice !

[sharon2609]

lessnarky My DD13 went to London with her birthday money and came back with 2 t shirts> One cost £49 the other £35 !!!!!

[PeterAndreForPM]

oh yes, she has to have a bank account and debit card to have her wages paid in from her job

[PeterAndreForPM]

dd (15) get £40 a month from us plus she has a seasonal PT job where she can earn approx £20 a weekend

she uses that for bus fares make up, cinema, bowling and some clothes and accessories

I buy most of her main clothes, school uniform, school lunches and monthly phone bill of £20

we are also paying £500 for a school trip in the summer but she must save up for her own spending money and holiday clothes/sundresses/60 prs of flip flops etc

she is going to a couple of pop concerts in the next few months and has bought the tickets herself (Justin Bieber £50 )

[Niceguy2]

Not sure she would be very good at budgeting hence, why pocket money is given weekly....

I just wanted to say that's exactly why you should make this happen and change it to monthly.

Whilst you think weekly is helping her manage, its not teaching her much. I knew when I first started this that my DD would blow all her allowance for a little while. And she did.

But after a while of not being able to go shopping or buy anything later in the month due to lack of cash, she soon learned to pace herself. And that if she wanted an extra nice top or a coat then she had to save for it cos coming to me was a non-starter.

Teach them the harsh lessons of budgeting now whilst its only clothes & makeup rather than later when they are up to their eyes in debt after splurging on credit cards. At least that's my theory.

And Frenchfancy, yes I transfer her allowance each month and she has a cashcard (from age 11) which she can draw money out when she needs to. It's great as she feels more independent and its not me who has to say "Hey you're skint!!!"

[scurryfunge]

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).

[Acanthus]

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.

[laosvher]

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.

[pointydog]

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.

[frenchfancy]

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?

[soda1234]

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

[nottonight]

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.

[HighNoon]

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!!

[cory]

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.

[LessNarkyPuffin]

£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.

[BBwannaB]

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

[Niceguy2]

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.