Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Teenagers

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

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Pocket Money?!

38 replies

mykidsruleschool · 21/02/2014 12:01

Dear MNers,
My dd has requested a pocket money raise. She is 15 years old and currently recieves £100 a month and would ike it to increase to £120. Is this OK or would I be spoiling her?? Please give your thoughts.
Many thanks,
P x

OP posts:

WorrySighWorrySigh · 02/03/2014 09:02

My DD(17) gets £95/month. DGM also gives her £25/month. I also pay her phone contract. This money is to cover:

petrol for her car
lunches at school
all non-basic toiletries
all clothes

She has also recently started a job. She is supposed to be using this to save up some cash for university. When she starts at uni we will pay her £50/week to cover food/books/entertainment/clothes.

Nocomet · 02/03/2014 09:17

My 13&16y get £15 a month plus phones, but we live in the sticks so I spend way more than that on petrol running them about.

I buy clothes and tend to give them extra in holidays if they go off shopping with their mates. DD2 is a slight little thing and still fits cheap children's clothes and looks good in Primark stuff. DD1 doesn't and hasn't since she was 12, so it's impossible to give them clothing allowances that look vaguely fair. (Although DD2 did get a Superdry hoody for her birthday).

Pocket money really depends massively on how much of the time they are with you and can blag your credit card and how much they are with their mates.

If you wander past Starbucks everyday and could go to the cinema every week you need to learn restraint and budgeting in a different way.

Claybury · 02/03/2014 09:29

Depends what she has to buy. Dd15 get £35 a month. She spends it on make up, music and sweets and what I call non essentials. She doesn't have school uniform so I do help her with buying jeans and shoes etc. She doesn't go out socialising much so I will increase it when she does, or give her extra money for a cinema ticket sometimes. I pay for her phone though.

MurielHeslopp · 02/03/2014 18:32

Does nobody take cheap and cheerful packed lunches any more?

Seriously though, I would encourage teens to make a lunch and not be wasting their money on eating out on a daily basis for a start.

mathanxiety · 02/03/2014 21:37

Mine get nothing. If they want money they have to work at babysitting, put their names down for altar serving at weddings and funerals in church, and doing odd jobs plus summer work. They all have money. They do chores at home, but I do not pay for that.

Poppet I am aiming to make them appreciate money and also appreciate work, and see for themselves the need to do well in school and university and get the sort of job that will enable them to choose where they shop and what they buy instead of charity shops and clearance racks. They know how hard they have to work to wrangle children they babysit off to bed and how little babysitting money buys when they hit the shops.

exH pays their phone contracts. He gets a family plan deal from work. I buy most toiletries and things like underwear, winter coats, footwear required by school, and sports equipment. Everything else (clothes, extra footwear, makeup, outings and food while out with friends) they buy themselves if they can afford it. They are free to do whatever they like with their money but I will not top up if they spend it all and then want to go out to see a film, etc.

muttonjeffmum · 02/03/2014 22:35

We give DS15 £3 per school day to pay for his travel and I pay his phone contract. If he has been well behaved he will get maybe a fiver or so on a Saturday to go out. He doesn't always get this - depends if I've got the money to spare. He sells chocolate bars and cookies at school to make money and I do buy him a few packs each week. All clothing is brought as needed and usually just from Primani. DD13 walks to school and doesn't get any money unless she is going out with friends but we do pay for her phone credit and vast amounts of money are spent on dance lessons and competitions. I can't believe the amounts that people pay in pocket money. There is no way we could hand over £200 in lumps sums like that. I'm not saying it's wrong - just I've never heard of it before.

bigTillyMint · 03/03/2014 09:00

DD(14) gets 25 a month plus 15 a month for her phone contract. She is now working more hours on Saturdays so that's about another 60 a month plus any babysitting she does.

I buy school uniform and underwear/winter coat and toiletries (of which there are many!) but she pays for everything else. If she is eating out with friends, I usually give her a fiver towards it.

BackforGood · 05/03/2014 18:02

My 15 yr old gets £15 a month. If she wants phone credit, she buys it. To me, that (the £100, tbh, not even thinking about the £120) just seems like a colossal amount, and FAR more than I would ever spend on myself in a month.

WorrySighWorrySigh · 05/03/2014 19:36

I think that this is another topic where it is very difficult to compare. I wouldnt be surprised to find that the variance is far less than the headline figures suggest. Some people give cash in a lump sum, others buy things or give cash in an ad-hoc way.

notaclue123 · 06/03/2014 13:29

c4ss3y, I'm confused. I'm not sure why kids would be paying for lunch out of their pocket money? To me, pocket money is for things they want, not things they need.

My kids get £5 per week pocket money, and they only get that if they do certain things to our satisfaction, eg homework, keeping their rooms clean etc., so now I'm wondering if we are really mean. However, we also pay their mobile phone contracts, buy all their food including lunches, clothes and toiletries, and pay for holidays (both with us and with their youth club).

I just can't imagine why kids would need £100 per month pocket money?

WorrySighWorrySigh · 06/03/2014 14:20

notaclue123 doesnt it depend on how old children are? If they are teens then surely they should be starting to learn to budget. This IMO could include lunch.

mercibucket · 06/03/2014 14:40

do social services really suggest handing that much cash over monthly

LoveVintage · 06/03/2014 21:19

Blimey, my Ds' (14 and 12) each get £5 a week. They get money separately for lunches, and a couple of pounds here and there if going out to meet friends. We give them money for activities like cinema, football matches etc and I buy their clothes. If they want a game etc we help them out, and try and get them to do chores etc to earn it (v limited success)

I have thought about whether to give them a bigger allowance and let them manage their own money for lunches etc, but fear they may spend it on crap and I would end up having to give them extra to cover lunches etc through the month. Then again they need to learn to budget. So, aaargh!

Flip

1 2