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Teenagers

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

Original poster

pocket money - how much

34 replies

brandy7 · 06/01/2007 14:57

ds is 12 so a pre-teen really, but now hes at secondary school hes into going into town on a saturday afternoon, wants to go swimming etc etc.

now he has free school dinners ive told him he can have £5 a week which is how much it would have cost me to do his packing up. a lot of his friends seem to get quite a lot more

what do others get

OP posts:
noddyholder · 06/01/2007 14:59

My ds gets £30 paid into his account on the 1st of every month.He has to do cinema going into town and any things he wants which he knows we won';t buy.He also puts birthday xmas money in there.I put £5 per month on his phone too mainly so I can keep track of him.My ds is 12 too.

Original poster
brandy7 · 06/01/2007 19:47

thanks noddyh, anyone else about?

OP posts:
southeastastra · 06/01/2007 19:49

we give my ds(13) money as he needs it really he doesn't get a set amount but his nan gives him £1 a week! bless

hiddentreasure · 06/01/2007 22:35

my dd was a right spendthrift, always cadging money for trips to town and clothes, so when she was 10 we switched to an allowance (she is 13 now). She buys all her own clothes, presents for friends, cosmetics, music/dvds and all that stuff that lives on the floor in her room. I pay for cinema tickets and the basic contract on her mobile phone, if she goes over her contract she pays the extra.

Currently she gets £50 per month, plus extra cash for good effort in school reports, plus all her birthday/xmas money etc goes in. It lives in a savings account and she has a cashcard for drawing out cash. I pay in monthy by standing order.

Ds has the same system, he gets a little bit more money every month as he is older.

She is a spendthrift and often empties her account. He is a hoarder and has a 4-figure sum. It works really well for us.

yearoftheox · 07/01/2007 19:59

my dd1 gets about £10 per week lunch money so she can have sandwiches, fruit, drink etc - she doesn't usually use it all and asks for more when she runs out. I would have thought £5 isn't enough.

gothicmama · 07/01/2007 20:02

I would hav ethought it depended on your own budget and also on how much what he wants to do costs and what you will still pay for

Surfermum · 07/01/2007 20:13

We've just told dsd that we'll start giving her pocket money. She doesn't live with us but we were going to give her a weekly amount regardless of whether she was with us or not. DH suggested £2 per week and she's just 11. Sounds like we're being a bit mean, so I'll be interested to see other opinions.

scorpio1 · 07/01/2007 20:20

when i was a teen i had a monthly allowance paid into my bank account-and when it was gone, it was gone. i could have xtra few £ on top during the month for things like washing the car, picking up fruit & veg for my mum, etc.

my monthly allowance paid for school dinners if i wanted them (packed lunch stuff was always available if i wanted it), clothes, going out, etc. it increased with every birthday, until i left home at 16.

i think a little more than £5 in return for something-ie putting dishes away, etc. teaches money isnt free!

carlsberg · 07/01/2007 20:23

Ds1 13 and ds2 11 get £4 a week plus my dad gives then the odd fiver.

QueenEagle · 07/01/2007 20:28

With dd (now 15) and ds1 (13 in a couple of weeks) I added up everything they needed in a month such as cinema and swimming trips, make up, cds, sweets, comics/magazines, deodorants, hair gel, shampoo, shower gel.

I pay £50 per month into dd's account and £23 into ds1's - this figure covers all those things mentioned above (although ds1 isn't quite at the going to town at weekends stage so obviously gets less).

However, they have to do chores and keep their rooms tidy for that. dd has to do 2 hours per week of ironing and roughly 3 hours of babysitting for me. ds1 does the dishwahser daily and empties the bins. If they miss their chores or forget, they get 50p and 20p respectively stopped.

Original poster
brandy7 · 07/01/2007 21:58

thanks for replies. my budget doesnt allow me to give him anymore than that yearoftheox.

i still buy his clothes,expensive hair jel, deodrants etc etc.

its really just so he can go into town , £1.20 return busfare, happy meal £2 and a bit left for whatever.

hes asked today if he can £6 , which i thought was ok, so il do that for him. he doesnt really do much in the house.

he walks the dog twice a day which is fantastic and he keeps his toddler brother amused for me whilst i cook dinner.

OP posts:
brightwell · 08/01/2007 17:24

I've just set up bank accounts for my dc, dd(12)is having £15 a month & ds (9) is having £10 a month paid in by me, with the option to "earn" more for helping more. Dd will be having a cash card, which I'm interested in seeing how well she'll use it.

mumeeee · 08/01/2007 23:32

I have two children still at home. DD3 17 gets £30 and DD2 15 gets £25 a month. This is paid into their bankk acounts and they both have cards.
They by by most of their clothes,make up,and other stuff they want. They also pay for trips out with thier friends. I pay for busfares as they both have weekly bus passes and for lunch.
They get a lot of Christmas and birthday money from various relatives which they either spend or save. DD2 got a mobile phone for her birthday she has had £25 credit put on it by us and my sister. When that runs out she will be funding it herself.
They can both earn extra money for doing extra jobs around the house and for trying hard at school or college.

BecauseImWorthIt · 09/01/2007 20:10

ds1 (14) gets £5 a week and ds 2 (11) gets £3 a week.

However, they've been getting that for some time, so I'm going to put it up - not sure what to yet, but am thinking of giving ds1 an allowance now as he's become very interested in clothes. Will probably give him £40 and will increase ds2 to £5 a week.

What accounts do you use/recommend for yours? I'm keen to encourage ds1 especially to start budgeting and really getting to understand how to use money (apart from spending it, which he has become very good at!)

Original poster
brandy7 · 09/01/2007 20:46

glad for all the replies, seems im giving ds about the right amount then. thanks

OP posts:
mumeeee · 10/01/2007 16:39

Hi because I'm worth it. My girls all started a Nationwide smart account when they were 14. This an account for 7 to 18 yer olds, there is a choice of passbok or cash card for over 12;s. They all chose xash cards and they can draw thier miney out from any link cash machine,so don't have to go to the bank every time they want money. There is a limit of £100 a day and they can't draw out more than 3 times in a day.
The interest is quite good. When my eldest reached 16.5 her account was autamatically transferred to a general savings account.
She was told before hand that they were going to do this and could have reqested a different account if she wanted.

ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands · 10/01/2007 16:44

Shit and corruption.. I am such a skinflint. My 14 y/old DS gets a tenner a fortnight and I sometimes have to ask him to get phone credit out of that as well!

Doesn't seem to cramp his style that much; he doesn't moan, bless him!

Do all your kids really need that much money?

Original poster
brandy7 · 10/01/2007 16:47

shiny, glad you give him a £10 a fortnight! just told my ds that £5 a week isnt so bad and ive let him read this thread

OP posts:
Merlin · 10/01/2007 16:56

Sorry to hijack - but can I just ask when you all started giving pocket money? DS1 is 6 and am wondering if the prospect of it would encourage him to do the things he doesn't do at the moment!!!!!!

Original poster
brandy7 · 10/01/2007 17:05

hi merlin, i cant remember to be honest, think my parents started giving him £1 a week when he was about 8 and had started going to the sweet shop on his own. since aged 10 ive given him money if ive had it

OP posts:
Tortington · 10/01/2007 17:07

Nothing.

they do jobs

i tell them when i can afford stuffand they get it.

mumeeee · 10/01/2007 17:24

Hi Merlin. We strted giving my eldest pocket money when she was 6 just 20p a week at first she used it to buy sweets. I know it isn't' much now but she is now 19 and she could fget some sweets for that anount then.
My children sem to get less then thier frieds and they do have to buy most of thier clothes with thier allowence as wellas other stuff. My youngest is very good at saving and she has just oput £25 of her Christmas money into her bank account. She will be 15 tomorow and says that she is going to save any birthday money she gets. I think that having an alowence helps them to learn to budget and appreciate money.

margo1974 · 11/01/2007 14:57

mummeeee

make sure your eldest does swap the account once she reaches 18 as the rate really goes down. Ensure that she gets an ISA as it will be tax free. Ask the advisers when the time comes so you can get up to date advice.

mumeeee · 11/01/2007 23:19

Hi Margo1974.
My eldest is now 19( nearly 20) and her account was automatically swapped when she was 18.5. She was happy with the scount that it was swapped to so kept it. She now also has a student account with the Co-op. She opened this when she started university. Her wages from her part tinme job are paid into her first account and her student loan into the other one. She is trying to save at the moment as she is going on a field trip to Kenya with university in the summer.
So she is trying not to touch any of her wages unless she has to.

kiwinat · 23/02/2007 13:33

we give our dsd (7 (weekends only with us))£2/week, started when she was 6. she has to save half for days out with nana or something special, and can spend the other half as she wishes on magazines etc... Quite glad of the saving aspect sometimes we raid her piggybank for takeout!