Advice on allowance amounts

[goldiehawn1]

Hi all,

I am needing some advice around monetary allowances for a 17 year old boy.

His phone and food costs are covered and I tend to buy him advice things such as shoes, headphones, pants, socks, beer etc .

I want to stop doing this and just give him s monthly sum that he can budget with but I have no idea what would be a sensible and fair amount monthly.

Is anyone prepared to share what their arrangement is and if it works well?

Many thanks

Don't have teens yet so not much use!

How much do you spend on him per month, on stuff that is not food? Can you give him that? E.g £100 per month?

£85 a month not including phone or travel.

And she then works holidays and does babysitting for any extra money she needs.

Oh wow, I must be very mean because I was way off money wise!!

Thank you very much for all your advice. I will obviously need to be more generous 😊

Keep the advice coming. It's great to know what others do that works for them ✅

£100 per month not including phone or gym. Ds is 16.

DD is 16. Gets £60 a month plus phone, gym, school clothes and shoes and underwear. I buy all food and toiletries as well.

Work out how much you spend on him in a month, explain that there will be no bank if mum and dad after allowance, give 85% of the first figure, and you are quids in.

Or, get him to pitch to you how much he needs. Takes the brain work out for you, plus, when it isn't enough, it isn't your fault!

Fairly sure my parents just picked an anou t based on how much cash they had that first week.

Be clear what it does and doesn't cover. Phone, gym, school travel, other travel, presents, college food, other food. Can he take food from the kitchen? Doesn't matter what the 'rules' are, so long as you all know what they are.

£70 per month including travel. I pay for the phone contract.

16 year old just started sixth form: Weekly: £50 per week to cover school lunches, travel and clothing/toiletries. He has to get a part time job if he wants extra money.

You are all very generous.
I worked out what I spent in the previous 12 months on clothes. Added £7.50 for phone (giffgaff), haircuts and a bit more for entertainment.
DS2 got £70 a month. His school bus pass was free and I bought toiletries. The only thing I bought on top was a big winter coat and sports equipment.
He always had money leftover. Also if he got part time work I didn't alter the allowance.
He's 19 at uni now and manages money very well.

He is 16

He gets his phone, capped at £7.50

His lunch money I consider this to be a luxury as he could take pack up.

Spotify premium.

We save £12 a month towards his driving lessons, when they happen.

Then he has the ability to earn £20 a week.

We appear to pay for everything else.

My dd is 13 , she gets £12 a week and gets everything else paid for except luxury clothes . We pay for her essentials but if she wants a £60 topshop jumper she has to save for it . We will increase allowance and reduce paying for things as she gets older .

DD is now 16 and for various reasons is living away from home. I knew this was coming and noted everything I spent on her, ie pocket money, top ups for times out with friends and clothing and it came to £80 pm, so that's what we've given her and made it clear to her that's the limit. We'll be buying her the odd thing toiletry wise when it's on offer, but she'll have to cover anything else. We cover phone, especially as she's away and we don't want her cut off.

Sidenote, but I am going to add an amount to the allowance to cover presents for friends and family, and stop funding them ad hoc at it gets expensive.

My DS1 is now 17 and has a part time job for which he earns around £120 per month (sometimes more if more shifts), which is his to spend as he wishes. We pay for food, clothes, phone, etc but he pays for gym membership, going out, any clothes we don't buy (the odd 'brand' sweatshirt etc). We did give him £20 per month on Osper card until recently but when we renewed his phone contract to one costing £25 per month, he agreed that would be in its place.

He doesn't miss out on anything and we are currently paying a fortune in driving lessons and insuring my car for him to learn in. When he passes his test it will cost about £100/month to insure my car for him which we will probably pay all of.

When he's 18 he will have access to about £5K worth of bond savings which he is going to use to buy a car.

If he wasn't working we would help him out with spending money to an extent but I don't think giving him the income he has now without working for it is a good life lesson. He has plenty of time to earn money on top of his BTEC studies.

My 13 year old did have £20 month on Osper card but spent it all within 2 days, so I stopped that and now just give him money for cinema etc when he asks. Everything else is paid for by us obviously.

We pay for the same things you do and they (16/17) get $200 paid into their accounts every month.

I'm feeling really tight after seeing some amounts here.. but phone contract is paid and money given when asked for to go out.

I buy toiletries...pay for hairdos and all school books....college trips etc.

I was going to post a similar thread, but don't need to now.

Thanks all I am struggling with this too so it's been helpful. DS has just started college and the bus alone is £24 a week. He needs money for lunches and other spends and I have given him £100 in the last few weeks for trips to the cinema, meal out with friends and going to football. I don't want him to not be able to socialise but we need some limits.

Hi was going to post on this too - what are your kids required to do chore wise for this allowance - i was giving them £25 a month and basically bought everything for them - phone is paid for by x husband. But I have been getting into a few wrangles with Dd recently over money and maybe she has a point reading on here. She is 16 and just started at college - I've paid for travel bought some new clothes still get toiletries in with food shop etc - so money is really just for lunch & social but I am getting very little help back - would be good if I can say this is what other kids are expected to do at your age

We decided to start our daughter on an allowance from 11 as I've written earlier so she learns to budget . I would work out what you are giving them and give them a bit less weekly . Then they can learn to budget . It's such a big life skill most people are never taught and can lead to debt problems . Me and dh are super careful with money and I want her to be too . She is now 14 and really good at budgeting and prioritising her needs and wants .

Can I just check that this is money that you all just give to your kids?
Do they have to do anything in return for this money?

I feel really mean because I would expect my 16/17 year old to have a part time job and be earning their own money (as I did )
I have been giving mine a tenner a week in return for him emptying the dishwasher and sorting out the recycling and bins every day. Been doing this since he 10. But if it's not done he gets nothing. He is 14 now.

Mean mother here.

£10 a month + £10 phone contract. Rest is up then. 15 and 16 both make a put £50 a week from Job and can earn in the summer and other holidays up to full time if they wish.

Ours get $10.00 an hour, they do chores in return for their allowance.