Pocket money

[Rocsand03]

How much would you give a 14 year old? DS has one of those Go Henry cards which is good as I can top it up, disable it, control where he spends and even set a saving goal for him which we have done and now he’s saving for Christmas shopping. However I don’t know if we’re giving him the correct allowance. We pay his dinner money which goes into the card every Monday. On a Friday we put £5 on. He’s always had money handed to him by grannies at the weekend. Roughly £10-15 between them so he gets about £20 spending a week, Outwith the dinner money the rest is his. There is also chores set on his card - £2 each for eg tidying the room, putting clothes away, dishwasher. None of which ever get done so he never gets any extra. He always insists he doesn’t need money anyway as he never spends it on anything. Not that I want him to squander it all away but how do I get him to take an interest in buying his own clothes etc?

Hello we use gohenry too... my DD is 14 & my DS 11 .

We give £6 a week - but they have to contribute to the running of the household ( eg folding washing, running the hoover round , walking the dog ) every day.

Otherwise i deduct 75p per day for everyday they haven't contributed.

I also add extra tasks for them to earn extra money, but they only can earn this if they have contributed to helping out anyway.

Savings wise i set their savings goals for Christmas (which has worked well and will cover all our family members ) and i have also set goals for their spending money for their school trips abroad .

Hope this helps

My 14 year old gets £8/ week. She uses the money if she goes to film with her friends, out for a hot chocolate, McDonalds or wants extra art supplies,
and now she is buying secret santa gift for a friend. I do not expect her to buy clothes, pay for haircuts etc. Shes not a spender so she has over £200 saved on it.
I'm not sure what clothes you are expecting him to buy? Its one thing of he wanted expensive Nikes that he could save up for and might be an incentive to earn more but it doesn't seem like he's interested. I don't think a 14 year old should be buying their basic stuff like jeans and shirts or required school supplies.

I don’t mean i actually expect him to buy his clothes, I just think he should start having a look at what fashion he likes himself rather than me always picking it out

I do like the idea of the deducting money. Trouble is if he’s not even interested in money how do I make him see this as a consequence? Especially when grandparents give him money automatically x

I know they all vary in maturity, but I think 14 is a bit young to be going out much (other than to stuff like sports matches and training or Army Cadets or Scouts or whatever) and a bit young to be shopping for your own clothes.
I'd be pleased he was into saving and not spending when he doesn't need stuff - so will he be when he turns 17 and wants driving lessons.

Get them current accounts that come with a debit card. Why are you paying for this go Henry nonsense?

I gave mine £20 a week from age 11 when they got their current accounts.

What are the best ones for a 14 year old?

DD2 has a Nationwide Flex Account.
She currently just has a card for withdrawing from cash machines, but we are going to upgrade it soon so she can use it as a debit card in shops.

Both mine have Santander accounts. I wouldn't pay for go Henry when you can get a bank account for free. Mine get £25 a month and take no interest in spending much of it

I didn't give DS a set pocket money amount at that age. He didn't go out loads so wouldn't have had much to spend it on! So if he needed money I'd give it to him within reason.

Now he's 16 and out a lot all the time , we give him £15 a week. Probably more than he needs but he saves any that is left for school holidays and bigger days out with his friends so he is sensible with it

Oh and he has an osper card!

@Rocsand03

Mine just opened current accounts with BOS because that's where they both had savings accounts since they were babies.

@namechangenumber2

Why does your 16 year old not have an ordinary bank account?

Both mine got current accounts with a debit card at age 11.

@snowybaubles - it's a bit complicated but he will be getting a current account soon

Ds is 13 and get £30 a month. He uses it for Xbox games, art supplies and additional things he wants (like recently he needed new trainers. He wanted a paid which were £83 I was only willing to pay £50ish so he paid £30 towards them).

£20 a week is a lot of money for a teenager, with no input whatsoever.

Ours get £25 a month. Does he really need £20 a week?

Mine get a fiver a week put onto their debit cards. They go to the shops and get takeaway on the way home from school, occasionally a train or bus fare if they are going to the next town to the movies.

I know they all vary in maturity, but I think 14 is a bit young to be going out much

Mine are 14 and 13 and walk almost two miles to school and stay in contact through text when out so that is an interesting point, as i don't see much difference traveling into town or going to the movies? They would be bored stiff stuck at home when I am working inthe summer! @BackforGood

We only give him £5 a week, can get other money if he does chores, sometimes he does sometimes he doesn’t! Really the majority of his money comes from his grandparents. They just did it automatically so we didn’t stop them. He does save well. He has a bank in his room and he has a savings account. Whenever money is paid to his card it automatically saves some. He’s saving for Christmas presents. Im thinking I will probably get him a proper current account and card with the same bank I’m in.