Allowance for 16-18/19 and what it covers or doesn't covers

[MsFogi]

At the moment the dcs get pocket money. Now that DS1 is about to turn 16 I am thinking it would be a good time to move to an allowance - with more money but more responsibility so that he thinks a bit more about budgeting etc.
For pocket money I have always done 50p per year of age (so 6 yo gets £3 per week, 15 yo gets £7.50 a week etc) and I buy a fair number of their clothes, bits and pieces.
Can any of you share your levels and reasoning for allowances (and what it covers/doesn't cover) from 16+? (I know it is always dependent on household income etc but it is good to hear others' reasoning and experiences

I perhaps should have said that I was thinking of doubling it - so £16 per week for a 16 year old (£17 when 17 etc) and saying DS needs to use it to cover everything apart from school uniform and school shoes (am I missing anything else that should be carved out?). All views welcome I am a rookie when it comes to DC1 - the first child is always the experiment .

I'm obviously stingy as my 12 year old gets £3 weekly as long as his room is clean and tidy on Sunday eve. when I give the money. My older 2 (now 18 and 20) decided years ago they didn't want pocket money if they had to tidy their rooms. So they never got any. I still don't give them any as such. They are both in full time education. They work full time over the summer to earn money. Oldest gets student loan. We pay for car insurance and mobile contract. 18 year old gets his car fuelled up too. Other than that, they don't get any. Obviously I buy most of their clothes too.

DS (18) gets £180 a month. That is expected to cover his lunches and snacks at college, then whatever is left is his.

In addition at the moment we pay his phone bill, college bus fare, driving lessons, car insurance and fuel.

We also buy him clothes (trying to get him interested in clothes is like pulling teeth) - he never asks for them so that tends to be one huge shop and spend, once a year. And his toiletries.

And we chuck him the odd £10 when he’s going out. Not every time.

He’s a brilliant kid, working hard at college doing 4 A levels, he doesn’t drink, and he’s not frivolously spendy so we’re happy.

Ds(17) gets £150/month for the last couple of years - afaik he roughly spends

School lunch £2.15 min a day is roughly £43/month
£10/month mobile phone giff gaff
£15/month roughly for barbers (goes every 3 weeks)
£10/month (I think) for Spotify
£30/month gym membership

Which leaves roughly £40/month going out spends (I think dh gives him the odd tenner, even though I tell him not too 🙄) . If he is not at school he keeps the lunch money for extra spends.

I buy his clothes/basic toiletries/spot treatments/first years car insurance etc.

He has just passed his test (we paid for lessons and first used car) got a car and is living off Christmas/birthday savings for fuel just now, but has started (finally!) looking for a part time job that will fit around school.

Thanks for the insights so far - I hadn't thought about half this (mobile phone, school lunches etc)

Ds gets £80 a month. We pay his phone, toiletries and get basic clothes/shoes/coat etc but he’s not interested in clothes so buys very little himself. He pays for fuel and lunches (but can take food from home if he can be arsed). He gets about £200 a month wages. He buys almost nothing.

@MsFogi

Thanks for the insights so far - I hadn't thought about half this (mobile phone, school lunches etc)

Neither did we initially. We started with the account/basic allowance and then gradually moved some direct debits, etc over to it. We have recently added £15 for barbers and told him it is up to him to organise and pay for his own appointments now.

ds chooses to spend £10 of his allowance on Spotify, he sometimes cancels it for a few months to save some money, he can change his giffgaff mobile phone goody bag if he uses too much data (but is more careful with data now he is paying for it!).

He used to spend more at school/lunch when we paid for it every day, we now have factored in the minimum + a little spare, for a meal/fruit and if he wants to take a packed lunch he can save money, or if he wants to buy a drink instead of drinking from his water bottle at school he can spend more of his money.

I would introduce them gradually to choices on what they spend their money on and budgetting to make sure there is money in the account for direct debits. The banking apps are good at warning them if there isnt enough funds in their account for a direct debit.

Mine have always got £10 per month per year after 10. So 14 year old gets £40 a month, £50 for 15, £60 16. Have done this until they go to uni, then it’s all different.

I do pay for Netflix, mobile phones and haircuts, less so clothes but will buy them if they need shoes etc. Eldest worked from 17 anyway.

From the age of secondary I've always given mine their allowance. I worked out everything they were getting from me; haircuts, travel, lunch money, normal pocket money, the odd £10 to go out, payg phone money, what I'd spend on clothes. Added it all up for a year and divided by 12 and that's what they got a month.

Worked a treat and they were both surprisingly very good at planning their money.

At 16 mine had £180 a month which included lunch money.
Haircuts and mobile phone still paid for by me.
I also bought some clothes/shoes from time to time and bunged the odd tenner her way probably twice a month or so. This worked out really well for us and
Dd is pretty good with money now at 22. She did say though that she feels she didn't know the real value of money until she started earning it herself.

I’ve 3 DDs. I’ve recently upped their monthly money. It goes directly into their accounts. They are expected to buy things they ‘want’ and I cover things they ‘need’ such as lunch, school uniform, coat, shoes, phone contract, essential clothing & essential toiletries. If they’ve got a perfectly good item but want something different then they pay. They cover make-up, friends presents, most clothing, outings with friends etc. It was £30 for 12yr old, and £50 for older two (16/17). But since Xmas I’ve upped it to £50 & £80 as I’m rarely purchasing their clothing other than one coat. Driving lessons are/will be birthday presents.

Mine are about to turn 16 (both male).

They get £10 a week
Clubs £10 a week
Playstation membership. Not sure of the subscription?
Mobile phone £10 per month
They rarely buy anything, but if they ask for basic trainers etc, its paid for by us, along with all other clothes

We also pay for barbers and lunch, so probably close to £200 a month all in!

Do they have a part time job or looking for one? My part time/Saturday job at that age helped towards managing my own expenses.

I treated my two differently as they had different needs.

Dd was at college 45 miles away from home and lodged with a family in the week. I gave her £35 per week and out of that she had to buy her lunches, clothes over and above the basic essentials, books and all socialising. With increased costs if I was doing it today I would give her £40 per week.

Ds is at college locally and has no interest whatsoever in buying himself clothes so he gets £15 per week plus £3 per day lunches for the days he is in college.

I paid for both of their mobile phones until they finished A levels/Btec on a basic contract.

DD 16 in yr11 gets £60 a month. We pay her phone bill (£10) and school dinners/school bus pass/sanitary products/school clothes etc.

From this she pretty much buys everything else. Occasionally give her an extra £5 if she goes out with mates and we treat ourselves to a takeaway/meal out without her!

It might be worth mentioning that children in care between the age of 16-18 are expected to receive a minimum of £10.50 per week pocket money (exact amount varies slightly by area some areas specify up to £15 per week) Plus extra if they are expected to buy their own lunches, clothes or toiletries and they are expected to be provided with a mobile phone and credit. A suggested clothing allowance of £14 per week is suggested (whether it is given to the young person or spent by the carer) & £5-7 per week if a young person is buying their own toiletries/sanitary products.

Interesting!

DC aged 15 currently receive £40 pm
Plus lunch money
Spotify account
Phone contract +data
Bus pass
Additional money if going on outings with mates

Is this enough?!

Assuming that £40 per month is purely for his own personal spending money and doesn't cover clothes or toiletries I'd say it's plenty for a 15 year old.

Yes We cover clothes and toiletries so PM is just for their fun!

@Comefromaway

It might be worth mentioning that children in care between the age of 16-18 are expected to receive a minimum of £10.50 per week pocket money (exact amount varies slightly by area some areas specify up to £15 per week) Plus extra if they are expected to buy their own lunches, clothes or toiletries and they are expected to be provided with a mobile phone and credit. A suggested clothing allowance of £14 per week is suggested (whether it is given to the young person or spent by the carer) & £5-7 per week if a young person is buying their own toiletries/sanitary products.

This is really interesting and a good place for parents to start if they don't know/are locked in a argument with teens.

I gave DD £20 a week until she got a job at 17. DS was different; he never went anywhere or wanted anything so we just worked on an if and when basis, he would ask for a game or game credit sometimes but I never gave regular money as it wasn't needed.

Should have added I bought their clothes, phones and they had access to subscription services at home.

Aged 16/17 DS received £15 a week pocket money and his phone contract. I also bought basic clothing - if he wanted a specific designer brand, he either saved for it and we'd club the money together (so if he needed new trainers, I'd offer £100 as that seemed reasonable, any more he'd pay the difference) or he'd ask for Christmas.

Now he's 18 and earning a pretty good part time wage (more than me!), he doesn't get any allowance. We do pay for his phone contract still, and give a lump a week to cover college travel costs/lunches. He now buys his own clothes etc, unless I want to treat him. He's very careful with money and saves more than he spends tight