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Teenagers

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

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Original poster

money!

10 replies

mrsfrazzled · 31/03/2016 14:22

DS is 12, so not quite a teenager but thought this would be the best place to post!

I wanted to talk money please...

How do you manage money? Pocket money? Chores?

Did you get to a point that you gave your teen their child benefit on the proviso they paid for their own clothes?

DS has got to the age of wanting to be out with his friends more and more, sometimes shopping/lunch, sometimes an activity like swimming or a football astro turf place.

At the moment I just give him money as an when he needs it. He doesn't fritter money away and tends not to ask for more than he needs.

In the past I've given him £5 a fortnight pocket money but this won't cover any of the things he wants to do - I'm keen to encourage him to go out as otherwise he'd stay in on the ps4 all weekend..!

OP posts:

TheDrsDocMartens · 31/03/2016 14:34

Mine get an allowance

TheDrsDocMartens · 31/03/2016 14:35

Sorry didn't finish that! £20ish a month on the condition that certain jobs are done. That is to pay for phone credit too.

gamerchick · 31/03/2016 14:37

Mine gets pocket money, also earns extra money on top of chores and he gets his child benefit.

He pays out of that for all his doings, school/socialising and what not. I still get his clothes though. He's 16.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 31/03/2016 17:16

Mine get £30 a month plus their phone paid and DH still gives them the odd pound or two to get out the house to the shops. They rarely go out and socialise though and we are probably a bit soft as we end up paying that as well just as a relief to get them out!

DS1 saves his and never spends a penny, DS2 spends most of his on computer games and the occasional book and saves the rest.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 31/03/2016 17:18

They are 15 and 14 and are expected to keep their rooms tidy, do ad hoc chores such as help put the shopping away or bring in the washing without moaning and work hard at school.

mrsknickers · 31/03/2016 18:59

Mine basically did sweet f a around the home so I stopped pocket money completely and instead they get paid for every little job they do. It seems to work although they do moan from time to time. It does focus the mind and lead to a tidy bedroom when they suddenly want to buy something tho

VagueButlmportant · 31/03/2016 20:20

My DD gets an allowance for all her clothes, entertainment, snacks when out etc. It's not the full family allowance. She gets £10 a week (the remaining Family Allowance goes straight into her uni fund). I'm really strict on not buying anything for her, and she does sometimes run out but she mostly has a bit of spare money.

Her £10 is paid into her account on a Friday if her room is tidy. I don't link it to any other household chores because I think that she should do those as part of living in the house. I would pay extra for something special like washing the car, or trimming the hedge (both jobs I hate!)

I expect her to put all dirty clothes in the wash, put all clean clothes away, put all litter in the bin, remove all washing up from her room and tidy her bed. I don't mind about a few books, paper etc around the place. She also changes her bed sheets but not every week. To start with I docked 50p per item of clean clothes she shoved in the wash basket because she couldn't be bothered to sort it out. She's stopped doing that now

It actually works really well. Occasionally she is so lazy she'd rather not tidy her room and not have the money. This is more common after birthday / Christmas when she's loaded.

It takes her about 10 minutes usually if it's only a week's worth of mess. It's quite horrifying that she's so lazy that she won't put in 10 minutes of effort for a tenner. That's a rate of £60ph!

It seems to work quite well. It means her room is no longer the appalling smelly pit it was before we started doing this, and she's learned to budget and save a bit.

bigTillyMint · 02/04/2016 09:47

Mine got bank accounts with a debit card from 14. I pay £25 a month into their account by DD. No chores required to earn it. They also pay in birthday/Christmas money. Phones are bought for presents (they have to add to it too!) and I pay £15 a month for each sim.
DD also has a job and babysits a bit.
DS sometimes babysits.

I sometimes give them money if they are eating out, especially if it is dinner time - but ususally £5, sometimes £10.

Both are very sensible with their money!

Sparklingbrook · 02/04/2016 10:15

14 year old has a paper round earning £30 a month and we pay £16 a month for his phone and he gets £20 a month extra. Not chore dependant.
Seems ample for his requirements.

In 2 years time he can get a P/T job like his older brother has at the weekends.

jaykay34 · 03/04/2016 08:32

I have twin 13 year olds (boy/girl) and feel like a never ending money pit. I will watch this thread with interest...
Currently, I pay £10 per month for their phone top up, and I give them £5 per week to either spend on crap (my daughter) - or save (my son).
I pay for all their clothes and activities - and if they go out with friends (ie paintballing/shopping/cinema/rollerdisco), I give them extra money.
Sometimes I feel like I am constantly shelling out. My son likes to save his money and is pretty good on the whole. If he goes out with friends he hardly spends anything and always gives me the change. My daughter has a very "entitled" attitude and money burns a hole in her pocket. Some of her friends get ridiculous amounts of spending money when they go out and she always feels hard done by.

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