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Teenagers

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

Original poster

How much money do you give your teenager?

57 replies

daffsntulips · 08/05/2011 11:22

DD is 15 and we currently give her £10 a month, pay for her phone, buy essential clothes and pay for extra-curric stuff.
We feel she ought to have more but how much?
What do you do?
Thanks

OP posts:
jgbmum · 08/05/2011 11:33

Hi, we give our 15yr old DS £15 per month, plus £10 per week for school lunches. If he makes a sandwich instead, he can still keep the cash.

The money is only for treats really, as we pay for everything inc PAYG phone top-up, clothes, sports etc.

We found it harder when DS1 went into 6th form, and friends who qualified for EMA where given this as weekly allowance by their parents as they had ~ £20-£30 per week, but that's life really.

bustersmummy · 08/05/2011 11:36

Not enough apparently Grin

pinguwings · 08/05/2011 11:42

I'd say £20 a month from you would be fair - roughly £5 a week.

If she wants more then could she get a paper round, do some babysitting or dog walking?

completelybonkers · 08/05/2011 11:44

I've no idea - every family is different. Our 16 year old (boy) used to get pocket money when he was about 10 but we all used to forget so it was a bit pointless. Now he doesn't get any but earns, on average, £15 per week from babysitting for my friends; he mostly saves this but uses a little for odd bits and pieces. BTW he doesn't have his own mobile! However, he doesn't have to buy clothes or things for school. Obviously he receives some money for birthday/Xmas from a couple of relatives and we give him extra for good exam results etc. When he wants something special (eg, a camera) he searches around on the net for the best value/spec, asks if he can have it and we agree how much each of us should pay towards it . . . and then we mostly don't ask to be paid back. I think this has helped him to learn the value of money, prevent him from making serious mistakes but also rewards him.

Things will change considerably as he approaches university and I think we need to start an allowance system before then to help him budget. Yikes!

I get the feeling that several of his friends have had an allowance [don't know how much] from about the age of 14.

Good luck!

Original poster
daffsntulips · 08/05/2011 15:06

We have decided to up it to £20 a month.
I think girls are slightly different to boys as they need buy cosmetics.

OP posts:
bigTillyMint · 08/05/2011 15:14

DD is nearly 12 and we give her £3 a week. I buy her essential clothes etc, pay for clubs and £5 a month on phone. She spends it on doing stuff with friends and extra clothes.

DarthNiqabi · 08/05/2011 15:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mrsravelstein · 08/05/2011 15:18

my nearly 10 year old ds1 informed me yesterday that most of his friends get £5 a week pocket money Shock i was thinking of starting him on more like £2 a week!

bigTillyMint · 08/05/2011 15:55

DS - 10 gets £1 a week!

pointydog · 08/05/2011 16:05

dd1 (14) £25 a month
dd2 (12) £20 a month

christinecagney · 08/05/2011 16:14

Been reading with interest; of course my DS1 (13) says he never has enough!
He gets £25 a month, and can earn extra doing jobs arounds the house. We buy clothes (up to a reasonable amount) but if he wants some mad brand e.g Hollister he has to chip in towards it. We also pay for his phone and subs for sports activities, plus school meals, and basic toiletries (again if he wants posh brand he has to buy it himself).
However we live in the country and a lot of his money goes on bus and train fares to meet his friends in our local town so I might put it up to £30 a month. All his money goes on travel and food when he is out.

GnomeDePlume · 08/05/2011 18:25

DD1(15) gets £60/month but that covers all non-school clothes, treats, phone top ups and hair cuts. All other costs are met by the management.

Wilts · 08/05/2011 18:28

Ds1(14) gets £7 per week. We pay for mobile top ups and clothes etc. He only has to use his for going out with friends/Xbox games and so on.

Original poster
daffsntulips · 08/05/2011 21:45

She is delighted with her surprise increase. Grin

OP posts:
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 08/05/2011 21:52

DDs 16 and 14 get 30 pounds a month plus ten pounds phone top up every six weeks or so. They buy non-essential clothes etc out of that. If they were going to the cinema or out for lunch, we would give them a bit more if they were running low at the end of the month.

3boys1cat · 09/05/2011 14:13

OMG, I must be the stingiest Mum around. My DS16 gets £3 a week, DS12 gets £2 and DS10 gets £1, and that's only if I can remember! They don't have to pay for clothes out of this, or clubs, and have no travel costs.

IloveJudgeJudy · 09/05/2011 14:52

We don't give our DC any money. The younger two have paper rounds of £16 per week and the older one is a football ref. He gets £25 to £30 per match, but the season is ending soon and he needs to save for the summer!

sowhatshallido · 09/05/2011 15:30

Ours get £5 a week, and 2 have paper round too - top up own phone, buy own clothes (we would buy a big item like a coat or school shoes), pay for own going out.

cat64 · 09/05/2011 23:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

AnyFucker · 09/05/2011 23:31

we give 15 yo dd £10 a week

we pay for her contract Blackberry, school lunches, school trips/holidays and uniform and essential clothes

I also buy her toiletries if she puts it on my shopping list

she alos has an on/off PT job paying minimum wage

I think she does quite well and she knows it because she never asks for, nor would she get, any more

she does quite a lot of chores for it however, and picks her sib up from school

FannyNil · 09/05/2011 23:39

16 year old daughter gets £10 every two weeks plus her phone contract, which is another £30 per month. So, a total of £50 per month. Getting a Saturday job is difficult as she visits her father every other weekend. Thinking of giving her another £50 a month out of which she must buy everything except school-related items. That would include clothes, cosmetics, going out with friends inc bus fares, birthday presents for family and friends. Whatever it is, it won't be enough...

oldenoughtowearpurple · 09/05/2011 23:52

I think at 15 dd got about £60/month but she had to buy everything except her mobile phone contract and (for some unfathomable reason) cinema tickets. I can't imagine how your dd manages on £10 a month.

TrillianAstra · 09/05/2011 23:55

I think at 15 the 'have more money but also have to buy more things for yourself' strategy is a good one.

Let them choose whether to have one Jack Wills t-shirt or four from a cheaper shop. Let them decide whether to go to the cinema once and buy popcorn and a bucket of coke, or take in a bottle of water and then be able to afford to go again the next week.

RockStockandTwoOpenBottles · 10/05/2011 00:02

DD1 (17.6) gets £100/month and DD2 (16.7) gets £80/month. Out of this they have to buy everything - clothes, make up, shoes, going out etc etc. The only concessions I make for clothes is to take them shopping twice a year. If they want anything else they either work for me or will help with DD3 (2.2). They also have their phone contracts paid for. DD1 runs out within two weeks and DD2 has probably got a higher net worth than I have!

DS (14.7) doesn't receive anything bar his phone. I'll give him money when he's off to cinema etc or for a meal with friends, bus/train fares etc. Will take him shopping as and when he grows (hourly it seems) and he doesn't appear to be in a hurry to have an allowance. He will be getting it from September though and will have to stretch it like the DDs, Will probably start him at £50/month.

MK1993 · 10/05/2011 15:36

Seems right to me. That's pretty much exactly what I got at that age.
Now I'm 17 my parents give me £100 a month for EVERYTHING. It sounds a lot more, but lunch costs at least £50 and phone credit is a bit chunk. It's still generous though considering they don't have to give me anything.