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Teenagers

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

Original poster

How much money do yours get?

130 replies

Namechange58665 · 18/04/2023 07:58

And what do they have to spend it on?

So for example at the moment mine get £18/month but we pay for hair cuts, bus fares, going out with friends, clothes, phone data.

There’s nothing they have to use that money to budget for so it’s all theirs. Whilst they get less than my friend gives hers, I think maybe it’s ok for this reason. Just wanted to get a larger sample though as I don’t want them to be getting less than their peers.

They are 14 and 15.

OP posts:
Dogsarebetterthanhumans · 19/04/2023 08:32

Namechange58665 · 18/04/2023 08:17

Thanks everyone - a mixed bag and I seem to be in the mix now rather than an outlier.

@Usernamesarenoteasy - I’m interested in the saving acc as I wanted to set one up for mine but found they were too young for one (this was a year or so back). Which do you use?

@Usernamesarenoteasy I trained as a banker. The easiest thing to do is to find the highest interest savings account you can using a comparison site and open it in your name and put money in there to build it up. When are are 18, they get to open their own and you transfer in, with interest! Xx

Mamadothehump · 19/04/2023 08:33

Mama_bear · 18/04/2023 08:01

£10 per week, we pay for all clothes, basic toiletries (in the supermarket shop) and generally pay for activities like cinema, bowling, swimming, that kind of thing.
They pay for food whilst they're out with friends.
And they're expected to get part time jobs at 16.

Same as this.

Tammy47 · 19/04/2023 08:41

Mine only get pocket money if they do chores which is not weekly lol.

they don’t get paid for picking up after themselves or keeping their room tidy because that’s their personal mess.
but if they want to earn extra then there’s hoovering, bathroom, mopping, etc etc.
the youngest has over £700 from the past few years of Christmas and birthdays as never likes to part with money lol. The youngest will also help out just because and never wants money for it lol.
the middle spends it all on video games then will do a bunch of extra chores when a game comes out.
the oldest spends it before reaching the pocket lol, but after earning it will use it to go out with friends or buy clothes they want but don’t need.
they get phone bills/subscriptions/ most clothes paid for (unless they want extra they don’t need, then they earn for it).

as long as they try they get.

we do have days out as a family etc and soemtimes they get a random treat etc

QuickNameChangeForMeToday · 19/04/2023 08:42

Mummyoflittledragon · 19/04/2023 08:26

My year 10 dd doesn’t go out a great deal as she’s busy with activities. I don’t see any point in giving her an allowance as she’d just spend it. I have had to buy her a lot of kit for things like a school skiing holiday plus more kit for the Duke of Edinburgh award walk. Think anti blister socks at £15 a pair and I wanted to buy a ski helmet, which was reduced to £130ish and she’d much rather do these things than hang out in town. She’s with her friends doing stuff she loves.

She does go about once a month and has dh’s credit card loaded on her phone but spends peanuts on it. A meal deal, toiletries, the odd Primark thing. She calls me to ask if she can get anything more, which has happened twice in over 2 years. She’s a private school and her activities costs hundreds a month. Given the choice between an allowance and a trip to a snowdome monthly, she’d always choose the latter. We pay for clothes and shoes she wants but so far she’s had almost nothing bar a replacement tech fleece, which I insisted buying for her for DofE. Expensive sports branded clothes and shoes tend to last pretty much forever.

If we were to stop everything and give it to her and not including the school trip but the kit required and ski lessons, she’d probably be getting about £500 a month and that’s not including her clothes and the odd trip into town or a restaurant with friends.

The OP wasn’t asking about activities/lessons and kit for trips though.

DD is 11 and gets £10 a week in her account and that’s mainly just for trips into town to nosey around the shops with friends/for general spends - if going for lunch to Wagamama/Nando’s etc we transfer a bit more. She gets a lift everywhere or walks with friends to local coffee shop.

We pay for;
School lunches/trips.
Phone.
Activities.
Gym membership.
Days out.
All the clothes she needs/sports clothes and equipment.

MamskiBell · 19/04/2023 08:56

£40 a month and he pays £10 Spotify out of that. We pay for his phone/hair/social activities so it's his to spend as he wants....usually on a load of tat!

LGB87 · 19/04/2023 08:59

Honest question, and not being rude, but what is a teenager supposed to buy with £4.50 a week/£18 a month?

A Playstation/Xbox game these days is £50-60. 3-4 months saving every £ they get? Going out socialising with friends? Travel/food etc?

I’m quite a new parent so not in the situation of giving money yet, but I was from quite a low earning family and got £20 a week 20+ years ago as a teen…

TeenLifeMum · 19/04/2023 09:00

Dd is 15 and gets £20 per month but I also pay for horse riding (£25 per week), her phone, most clothes, toiletries etc.

Reading this, I might start topping up her savings monthly. She really isn’t a spender.

TeenLifeMum · 19/04/2023 09:03

@LGB87 i guess it depends on the dc. My 15yo goes to the skate park which is free and gets occasional hot chocolates in town. If she wants a game she can save for it. She also wants a job so she will be able to top it up. If she wanted to go out more I know I’d need to up it. Mind you, with the phone and riding it’s £66 a month.

Original poster
Namechange58665 · 19/04/2023 09:12

LGB87 · 19/04/2023 08:59

Honest question, and not being rude, but what is a teenager supposed to buy with £4.50 a week/£18 a month?

A Playstation/Xbox game these days is £50-60. 3-4 months saving every £ they get? Going out socialising with friends? Travel/food etc?

I’m quite a new parent so not in the situation of giving money yet, but I was from quite a low earning family and got £20 a week 20+ years ago as a teen…

I know, I think reading these replies I’m going to need to increase it. I give them the £8 and their dad gives them the tenner as I’m low waged and he isn’t.

They don’t really go out much and when they do, I give them money for that. I pay bus fares for school so they use the same card to go see their friends or I give them a lift. I pay for haircuts, clothes, trainers. If they want a new PS game, they save up and then use bday/Xmas money to top it up.

I am earning a bit more now so I can afford more per month.

OP posts:
Original poster
Namechange58665 · 19/04/2023 09:14

@Dogsarebetterthanhumans - I want a savings acc they can use month to month to save for stuff and use. It seems you can’t have that till you’re 16 which seems bloody bonkers. Encourage kids to spend by giving them access to a current account but don’t encourage them to save? I was shocked when I set up their first accounts that I couldn’t also set up the requisite savings account.

OP posts:
MintJulia · 19/04/2023 09:23

£5 a week but I cover most things. Ds14 saves up for computer games, head phones etc and buys birthday presents etc with his money. He is also expected to get a weekend job at 16.

MintJulia · 19/04/2023 09:24

Ds has a savings account with a building society.

Issy422 · 19/04/2023 09:27

HSBC account definitely works like that OP. It’s opened like one account but it actually opens two. One for saving and one like a current account, but the savings is instant access.

HBOS also do a similar thing but the parent has to have an account too. With HSBC it’s easier to open if you’re a customer as you can do it online through your internet banking, but you can still open one in branch if you don’t have an account with them.

I’m feeling a bit mean with my pocket money now, but we live in the middle of nowhere with nothing to spend it on and I plan to increase it each year but it will come with added chores. At the moment she only has to empty the dishwasher for it.

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 19/04/2023 10:13

Mine (age 14) get £6.50 a month. We pay for everything, this is just fun money, mostly spent on food when out and about.

It's not a lot, it was all we could afford till recently. It will be upped (eventually) but a recent bout of bad behaviour has meant I'm really not up for giving them more.

@LGB87 can't have been that low earning if you were getting £80 a month! My parents didn't do pocket money, we just asked for what we needed/wanted and it was/wasn't granted. Got a job at 16 for top ups.

Original poster
Namechange58665 · 19/04/2023 10:19

I feel reassured by that @ChiefWiggumsBoy. If there’s ever anything they want (rare) they ask and I generally say yes as it’s usually ‘can I have some money for lunch with my friend’ or ‘can I get a haircut this weekend?’.

Thanks @Issy422 - I’m with First Direct so the HBOS acc wouldn’t apply. I think I might just wait another year/two for mine to be old enough to get one at Nationwide where they are now.

The eldest is already looking at part time jobs despite being 15 as there’s a few places locally that employ at that age (and 14). He’s just a bit nervous at the moment, to go ask! His friends have these jobs but he daren’t approach the owners.

OP posts:
Original poster
Namechange58665 · 19/04/2023 10:21

Ps @Issy422 I know you also said HSBC but I forgot to reference that one. That’s what I was referring to when I said I think I’ll just wait because I think I’d rather not have accounts in different places.

OP posts:
LGB87 · 19/04/2023 10:24

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 19/04/2023 10:13

Mine (age 14) get £6.50 a month. We pay for everything, this is just fun money, mostly spent on food when out and about.

It's not a lot, it was all we could afford till recently. It will be upped (eventually) but a recent bout of bad behaviour has meant I'm really not up for giving them more.

@LGB87 can't have been that low earning if you were getting £80 a month! My parents didn't do pocket money, we just asked for what we needed/wanted and it was/wasn't granted. Got a job at 16 for top ups.

I did miss that the OP said they pay for bus fare, trips out with friends etc separately.. I had to do that out of what I had so evens out somewhat.

Even return bus fare where I am would be £4+ now.

Usernamesarenoteasy · 19/04/2023 10:41

@LGB87 it's all dependent on people's individual circumstances. My children get £60 a month between them. That's more than I can save for myself as a single parent. They don't get anything from their father, although my parents sometimes give them money when they see them.
So they might not be able to get much with it, but really they are lucky to be getting that.

SavBlancTonight · 19/04/2023 10:53

There are two ways to do pocket money - a very small amount but one where the parent is constantly dipping hand in pocket for things - or a bigger one but then extras are rare.

We're transitioning to the second - DS is 11 (almost 12). So he gets £7 a week currently. That's just for random little things, or if he wants to go the kebab shop after school etc. I pay for everything he needs, and within reason extras like cinema trips, clothes that aren't necessities etc.

I plan to swap to a bigger allowance in the next year or so but he will then have to pay for everything except essentials, which I will continue to pay for. So I'll pay for basic clothes but if he wants fancy branded things or extras, he'll have to pay himself. I'll pay for school meals, hair cuts, phone but to a limit and then if he wants to eat/do more - it's on him. Ditto cinema, meals out with friends etc.

He has a Go Henry and it's currently set up to send £2 a week automatically to his savings account too and at birthdays/Christmas he puts some of that into the savings portion.

123sunshine · 19/04/2023 10:56

£20 a week for my 16 and 17 year old. 17 year old did have a part time job, but isn't working at the moment on build up to A level exams, but will hopefuly get work over the summer, 16 year also wants to get a job after GCSEs this summer. 17 year does also fund gym out of this, money is a bit tight for them without the job. I buy clothes, phone contracts, tranasport and lunches at college/school etc. I don't however doll out money on top for social activities, thats the whole point of having pocket money and learning to budget. I encourage them to put away bithday and xmas money into savings for when they want larger items (new Ipads/phones etc) again learning to budget. Occasionally and I mean very occasionally I may slip an extra amount for a treat, but its not the norm. it a balance between not spoiling kids but not being too mean, and fostering a respect of moneya nd budgeting and learnign you have to work hard for money in life.

Echobelly · 19/04/2023 11:00

14 yo gets £20 every fortnight, they tend to spend it pretty quickly on makeup, accessories and snacks! In school hols I usually end up having to pay up extra for outings. They have a HyperJar card, and sometimes earn a bit extra from paid singing jobs and some work with a youth group. They've put that money aside in savings.

Catspyjamas17 · 19/04/2023 11:02

£20 a week each (14 and 17). DD1 has a part time job, just five hours a week at the moment as her A-Level exams are coming up. Pocket money will stop soon for DD1 but we'll be giving her an allowance for university and paying for accommodation which will be a lot more. Hopefully she'll get a part time job there too.

MrsRinaDecker · 19/04/2023 11:10

£10 per week, although recently changed that to a £50 per month allowance for ds16 to give him some budgeting practice. I pay for basic clothes and toiletries, a phone contract, some snacks on the supermarket shop. He pays for socialising / fast food / extra snacks (or ones I won’t buy!) gifts at Christmas and birthdays, etc. Bus travel is free as we’re in Scotland. I also pay him to mow the lawn.

Beamur · 19/04/2023 11:17

£30 a month to spend on whatever she wants. Age 16.
We pay phone, clubs, travel, clothes etc (£30 is so she can buy things as she sees them).
She doesn't have a job but is thinking of setting up an Etsy shop in the summer to sell cards and artwork. She has sold bits and pieces already so she might do ok with this.
Also gets money from her Granny to save.

Lynjan3 · 19/04/2023 11:22

LGB87 · 19/04/2023 08:59

Honest question, and not being rude, but what is a teenager supposed to buy with £4.50 a week/£18 a month?

A Playstation/Xbox game these days is £50-60. 3-4 months saving every £ they get? Going out socialising with friends? Travel/food etc?

I’m quite a new parent so not in the situation of giving money yet, but I was from quite a low earning family and got £20 a week 20+ years ago as a teen…

My family were a low income family and I got £1 per week.

This was 25 years ago.

Started doing a paper round to get some more money which paid me £7 per week.

I always felt I had loads of money with my £8 😂

I lived in a poor housing estate though so all my friends had about the same amount.