Realistic clothes budget for 14 yo DS

[Dorsetcamping]

DS's attitude towards clothes is becoming a real bone of contention.
He places so much value on labels and I'm not even talking Nike/Adidas etc. When I was his age, yes I liked nice clothes, but he thinks nothing of splurging £40 on a tshirt, £85 on a sweatshirt, £40 on shorts. He even spent all of the money earned working for his Dad over the summer (£350!) on one pair of trainers. Nothing left for anything else.

He is still too young for any part time job round here. He gets £45 per month allowance in return for basic chores, but that amount seems to go nowhere.

It just seems so wasteful particularly as he is still growing and most of what he likes is shite quality. However, I know as a teen, he wants to be the same as his friends and how important it is to fit in.

He has had a sudden growth spurt and I am taking him shopping tomorrow but he's been pestering me all day to go the high brand shop he loves.

What are people's thoughts on how much is a realistic amount for jeans, jumpers, t-shirts etc? Am sick of the constant

My son spent £250 on three t-shirts. It was his money. My rule is, I buy what he needs- he buys what he wants. So if he needs t-shirts, I'll pay £25 each, any more is down to him. He lives in tracksuits, I'll pay for Nike/adidas etc but if he wants Armani (which he does 😂) he pays the difference.

I'd pick a shop I'd be happy to buy from, and say anything from more expensive shops he pays the difference so it counts as birthday / Christmas.

In a year I estimate that my 15/16 year old boys get through approx
3 pairs jeans
2 pairs joggers
8 T-shirt’s
2 hoodies
2 shirts
3 shorts
2 trainers

I’d look on somewhere like H&M or JD sports calculate the average cost, divide by either 12 or 4 (monthly or quarterly) and tell him he needs to budget. He’s old enough to deliver free papers if they do them around your way,

You still get the basic, pants, socks, school uniform, coat. If he wants something special then he gets it for Christmas/birthdays or saves.

My 15 year old soon learnt the value of money when he started delivering papers earning £5 a week.

Thanks Reach! It's all about Supreme and Off-White with DS (not that he owns much of it ). It just staggers me how brain washed he is by brands.

So £25 is a reasonable amount for a t-shirt? How about jeans and jumpers?

My DS is 14 and he's exactly the same, he also has this odd obsession with wearing the tightest skinniest jeans he can possible squeeze in

I get a lot of his stuff on eBay because I refuse to pay full price, you can get some good bargains because like you say they grow out of it so quickly a lot of it is like new! If he wants new high end designer stuff he has to buy it himself.

I'm afraid it's typical of 14 year old boys. But that's not to say you have to splurge. At 14, he is old enough to earn pocket money. Try local shops, pubs and cafes. A lot of my DDs friends started working at 14 - she's 15 now and has been working for over a year, so buys her own clothes. Other than that, he can babysit, do odd jobs to earn money etc. Or get given money for birthdays / Christmas and spend that on clothes.

At 14 mine got £20 a month allowance, I bought school clothes and twice a year I took them shopping, spending approx £100, they knew better than ask for labels!

We live in a really rural area so jobs are limited. No local newsagent and the village pub has said he needs to be 15. Farmer has said he might give DS a bit of work next summer but until then nothing around.

We give him the odd extra job to do but no way it's enough to fund Kanye West aspirations

DS has £15 jeans and T shirts are between £5 and £10.
He's not into labels, but if he was I would say I'd buy a basic item and he could pay for extra out of his allowance or have it for birthday/Christmas.

If he literally has grown out of anything I guess I might grudgingly admit to one branded hoodie (but maybe £40-£50, not the values you're quoting!) juts to show willing.

It’s the same with my DD who’s 14!! It’s all about the labels!!!

Quite amazed at this. They need to distinguish between wants and what is sensible for the income. I think they are likely to have problems with debt and credit at 18 otherwise.

You could suggest to him that he chooses one or two branded items that he really wants but the rest needs to come from a high street shop.

Or say you will spend £50/100/150 whatever your budget is but that has to buy 1x trousers, 2x t shirts etc - then he needs to decide where he will spend the money.

Oh yes we have a label loving DSS here.

Suddenly likes Kenzo. Wtf!! It is so expensive.

Basically we will buy him stuff of the price they sell in JD sports. So supply and demand, Hollister etc.

He also wants to upgrade his Nike trainers which were £140.

Anything above that and it's birthday/Christmas money.

They need a reality check!!

My dd likes labels and is 13. She has an allowance of £60 a month for clothes and going out/treats. We started it because she seemed to have no concept of the cost of things.

I buy all the basics like winter coat, school uniform, and underwear. I also buy footwear too but set the limit at around £40 a pair when she needs them and if she wants something more expensive, she pays the difference. It seems to work quite well and her love of labels has diminished a little! Her allowance may go up by £10 or so when she’s 14.

My DC's get £35 clothing allowance ( we pay for school shoes, uniform and any sports kit) plus £20 pocket money. DS buys ( and sells) secondhand and DD finds it tricky to budget but is getting better. They are 14 and 16.

IMO they need to learn the value of money and what they need not what they want. We are well off btw and could easily go to Bicester Village a few times a year and spend £1000's on them but its not going to get them money savvy.

Trust me Rainin, I feel exactly the same. He certainly doesn't get his designer craving from me or DH. In fact give DD £30 and she'll literally spend all day in Primark considering what she can get for the budget!

Thank God we are no where near Bicester shopping village! Can only imagine the grief I'd face.

Those of you who give a clothing allowance, is this in addition to a general 'spending/socialising' allowance?

Sorry Vino, just re-read you give £20 on top

Dorsetcamping my dd gets £60 a month and that includes clothes and going out/socialising.

I give my son £100 every 3 months for all his clothes excluding uniform and winder coat. I find that giving it in stages help with the growth spurts. He can either save it and add his birthday / xmas money or spend it wisely.

Either way I don't buy him anything else.

Interesting. God if I'd been given £100 back in the day for clothes id have thought I'd won the lottery . But realise that now it won't get much more than a pair of H&M jeans and a few T-shirts.

Reading this I think we spoil DSS. He gets £20 a week pocket money (for socialising) for not a lot in return and then whatever clothes he needs.

He's always moaning he needs more money and likes to have his hair cut every 2 weeks which we obviously pay for as well.

My god, I must be the meanest parent around! My dc gets £20 per month and I buy her clothes from H&M. Not a label in sight.

If you can afford it why wouldn't you... I spend £700 per season on my daughters. It's the way this world is and I would want my child to fit in with friends, if you can afford it then I don't see the problem.

My DDs (teens) get £60 per month for clothes and to pay for socialising. I buy uniform and underwear- they buy the rest including coats. Without this budget they would definitely prefer expensive brands but with it they buy most of their clothes from H &M , primark etc.