Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Teenagers

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

Original poster

Teens and pocket money!

35 replies

Strawberrybonbon3 · 14/05/2015 19:13

Hi all, hoping to get lots of replies to this because I know it's something most parents wonder about and discuss with teens as they want more and more money the older they get! My daughter has just turned 13 and in the past she hasn't really had a set amount of pocket money, just money when needed. But now she's getting older I think it is going to be a lot easier for both of us if she gets a set amount per week/ month.What do all your teens get? Is it weekly or monthly? And what are they expected to buy out of their money? Also do they have to do jobs to earn it? Sorry so many questions but just very curious! Thanks.

OP posts:
TeenAndTween · 14/05/2015 21:04

DD1 is 15 and gets £25 per month paid directly to bank account. She pays for a PAYG phone out of that, token presents for myself DH and DD2 at birthdays and Christmas. The rest is discretionary spend, e.g. nail polish, theoretical cinema trips, DVDs etc. Not linked to jobs. We pay for all clothes, school meals, treats when out as a family, spending for school trips etc)

When she was 13 she got £15 per month, but in theory she does more independent stuff nowadays.

TeenAndTween · 14/05/2015 21:05

ps. Most people seem to pay for teens contract phones on top of any regular money given. We also possibly give less than many as DD doesn't organise herself much socially.

fieldfare · 14/05/2015 21:14

Did will be 13 this year. She receives £10 a month into her bank account, we pay for her phone, clubs and gym membership. I buy her toiletries and basic makeup, as well as clothes. Although we've been giving it some consideration into giving her more a month to save up for clothes and haircuts etc so she has more control over what she has and when. Still in the thinking stage.

I remember my Mum giving me my child benefit money but can't remember how old I was, but I had 2 jobs at 14 so saved a lot of my own money too. That's just not possible for kids now.

Goodbetterbest · 14/05/2015 21:15

My 13 yo DS gets a fiver a week paid into his bank account. He does a few jobs and looks after his siblings when asked (we're not talking proper babysitting more 10 mins while I run to the local shop). He doesn't spend it, but has a cash card.

fieldfare · 14/05/2015 21:23

Sorry forgot to answer part of your question. Dd used her money to buy a new book and some make up this month. She has to do chores to earn her pocket money and the other things I mentioned. Chores are; feeding the dog daily, taking up the rubbish/recycling bins and bringing them in weekly, doing the dishwasher as needed and keeping her bedroom and bathroom tidy.
She has the option of earning more money if she wants it for something by doing bigger one off chores.

MsDragons · 14/05/2015 21:28

Dd1 is 15 and gets £10 per week. This is mostly "wages" for her "job" as our cleaner. She cleans the kitchen and bathroom and hoovers once a week (she does all of this BADLY, if she was a real cleaner she'd have been sacked long before now) and gets her £10 per week in return for that. Her phone contract is £10 per month but that was her main Christmas present so I don't count that as extra.

Sammy3 · 14/05/2015 21:46

My 12yo DD gets £3 per week. She has a paper round as well. I don't pay for the phone contract but she's on a cheap Tesco one anyway. I don't pay for chores but do expect my DC to help around the house, e.g. hoovering, taking out the rubbish, doing the dishes, dusting, folding the wash, etc. Obviously DD isn't responsible for that whole list herself as she's not Cinderella.

Sammy3 · 14/05/2015 21:49

Forgot to say, I buy all her toiletries and clothes.

swimmer4 · 14/05/2015 23:07

15 yr old DS gets £5 a week
17yr old DS gets £7.50 a week but paid once a month to help him learn t obudget.

We pay for their PAYG phones but they contribute when they have spates of major texting and the money runs out quicker than normal.
I'd say this was a lot less than their peers but they go out rarely - so when they do, we pay - and they're both really tight with their money and seldom part with it!!

No fixed jobs because both have heavy school work loads - we do however expect them to do the odd car wash/ mow lawn /put dishes away if/when we ask.
Good luck!!

applesareredandgreen · 14/05/2015 23:41

Ds gets £30 per month paid into bank account. He has a contract phone we pay for which was a birthday present last year. He does a bit of gardening when asked And obvs tidies his own room etc

Atm he is paying back £10 towards repairs on his phone which dh said were caused by his carelessness. Normally he uses his pocket money for computer games and psn or Google play top ups. We pay for clothes toiletries, guitar and tennis lessons. I normally also give him some money towards when he goes out eg if he goes to cinema I.ll give him £10 which pays his ticket and a drink but if he wants more ie popcorn or play the game machines he puts this himself. He doesn't go out v often. He's nearly 14.

applesareredandgreen · 14/05/2015 23:44

I will add that the clothes we buy him are not expensive. He is not interested in clothing or fashion at all so primark jeans and hoodiies no logo's he is quite happy!

Wittynewnameifonly · 14/05/2015 23:53

Sammy3 - how goes your 12yo have a paper round? You have to legally be 13 to have one?

DS14 gets a total of £35 per month made up of £5 cash, £12.50 contract phone and £17.50 into bank account. Was originally £25 + up to £10 on phone but he chose a £12.50 contract so has the extra £2.50 deducted from bank payment.

Wittynewnameifonly · 14/05/2015 23:54

We buy all clothes and family activities but don't hand out extra cash. Would pay for clubs if he did any.

swimmer4 · 15/05/2015 00:01

We pay for clubs, music lessons and clothes - they don't have many and anything we consider above and beyond necessary we ask them to pay for - 9 times out of 10 they suddenly don't need the extra top/shoes!!

Gibble1 · 15/05/2015 00:15

My DD is 13 (14 in Nov). She has been complaining for ages that she needs more than her £5 per week pocket money. A few times recently I have dumped a basket ful of ironing on her as punishment and she has blasted through it. So...... I said last week that she could do all the ironing for £10 per week. We both feel like we have the best side of the bargain so that's good! She has her mobile contract as her Christmas present.

BackforGood · 15/05/2015 00:29

Dd (16) gets £16pm and dd2 (13) gets £13pm. They pay for own phone credit (well, rarely use any), presents for family at Christmas and birthday, any going out and sweets and pop etc.
We pay subs for things they bekong to, for clothes, and for toiletries.
dd1 has a babysitting job to earn extra cash.
Pocket money not linked to jobs around the houe, they ae expected to do those because they live here.

BeaufortBelle · 15/05/2015 06:50

At 13 dd got £15pcm
At 15 she got £25pcm
At 16 it went up to £50pcm

I pay for her phone and whatever she needs on her travel card. Lunch too of course. I also buy her clothes and thoroughly enjoy it - although she asks for very little. I often see dh slip her £20 too. She always seems to have a purse full of money though. She spends it mostly on books, make-up, coffee with friends, etc. Not going out massively.

Original poster
Strawberrybonbon3 · 17/05/2015 12:53

Thankyou everyone anyone else?

OP posts:
IHaveBrilloHair · 17/05/2015 12:59

I'm about to start this with my 13yr old, I'm planning on £20 a week.
She is my carer so does lots at home, I will pay for everything except for her social life, there will be no more giving her school train fare/costa/subway money though, or buying her hair dye.

TheGirlFromIpanema · 17/05/2015 12:59

DD is 14 (young Yr 10) and I put £10 p/w into her bank account monthly. I also still pay for lots on top of that so bus pass, clothes & toiletries etc as well as phone contract.

She thinks she is hard done by Hmm so I might print this thread out and show her Grin

I did only start the regular pocket money when I persuaded her she gave up dance classes and all the costs associated with it.

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 17/05/2015 14:02

I'm finding this very helpful too!

DD1 tells me that her friend has a sort of cash card that her parents load money onto each month. I get the impression that it is not connected to a proper bank account, it is only a card? Has anyone heard of this & can tell me anything about it?

ravenclaw · 17/05/2015 14:09

At 13 DS was getting £15 a month in cash every month. I paid for all essentials and phone (payg), so it was just for snacks and the odd computer game. He's 16 and gets £30 a month now (will probably increase the amount soon), and it's paid into his bank account. I don't link it to jobs around the house - that's just part of teaching life skills and they need to be doing that anyway.

HeartsTrumpDiamonds That might be the Osper card, I tried it out for DS as it's free for the first year (and gives you a £5 bonus for signing up) but they charge an annual fee after that so I stopped it. It's just as easy to use a bank account which is free so I didn't see the point in paying for the same thing.

CQ · 17/05/2015 14:16

Currently DD 14 gets £6.50 a week and DS 16 gets £8 a week, paid monthly into their bank accounts which they have a debit card for. In a month with 5 Saturdays they get 5 lots IYSWIM. I pay their phone contracts but they do all their own 'tat' shopping and cinema trips etc out of their pocket money. They are expected to feed & walk the dogs, load/unload dishwasher & keep rooms tidy for this. Bigger chores earn extras - e.g. washing cars & lawn mowing.

I started when they were old enough to understand money and started to want their own (about 8?), and I increase it by 50p a week on each birthday.

I've discussed with DS now switching to an allowance from which he buys his own clothes etc but he has admitted that he would just pocket the money and live in rags, so I haven't bothered with this Grin

ScrambledEggAndToast · 17/05/2015 14:24

DS is 12 and gets £10 a week plus his grandma pays £6 per month for his contract phone. Of the £10 per week, a fiver is from me and a fiver is from grandma. He just uses it for sweets and Xbox points mainly.

Dancergirl · 17/05/2015 15:22

I give my two older dds a monthly amount:

Dd1 (14) gets £15/month. She's asked me to split it roughly half and half into her savings account (higher rate of interest, remains untouched) and her bank account (still earns interest and used for spending). We also pay for her phone in addition to this.

Dd2 (12) gets £10/month plus we pay for her phone. It's not an awful lot of money but it's working at the moment.

Dd1 wants to start babysitting to earn a bit more.

We pay for clothing, essential toiletries and essential school stuff.