Advice needed on contribution from dd's earnings

[harpymum]

DD1, who'll be 16 in September, plays the harp.

We bought her a new one for Christmas, costing us £6,500...tho a grandparent contributed £1k and we cashed in dd's post office savings for another £1,200. Still a big outlay for us, which has meant we haven't had a holiday planned this year.

She also gets a £35/month allowance for non-school clothes and general spending...and we pay £15/week for her harp lessons.

She's just about to start playing at events...the first one is this weekend at a wedding, which she's offered to do for the experience while she's building up her repertoire. I'm sure the couple will pay her a nominal amount though...maybe £50.

We have to take her to gigs as obviously she can't drive yet, so petrol costs and time etc.

Initially we'd said she should pay us back half of whatever she earns, and keep the rest. We'd probably save the money for university fees separately.

But is that the best approach?

I'd like to encourage her to do perhaps one event a month if she can get the gigs.

Alternatives are:

• she keeps all the earnings but pays for her lessons and maybe petrol costs
• or she keeps all the earnings, we pay for lessons but finish her allowance

TIA

Option 3, she keeps her earnings and you stop paying her allowance - this incentivizes her to do lots of gigs and will more than compensate you for petrol.

I think all 3 are very good sensible options but you either have to choose one yourself or let her to make the decision how to pay you back

what a lovely talent for your daughter to have, you must be very proud

Keep the earnings and finish the allowance. With the provision that if she starts earning alot she will save it.

I think it is great you are going to do this, she will learn to value what she earns and of course see that all her hard work is now paying dividends

My DD is 17 and gets £40 pm allowance + £5pm phone contract (bargain from T-mobile). She earns over £300pm now + occassional babysitting but I have not cancelled her allowance as that is her only spending money. Her wages go directly into a Bank Account which she has not touched apart from paying for her driving lessons, so she has quite a nice sum now. Hopefully, will give her a nest for Uni.

Athough, if I had paid that much for an instrument I think it would be fair to cancel the allowance.....

Srop her allowence and let her keep her earnings. In our house we stop paying our childrenan alowence when they fet a job,

if she is earning money then stop the allowance.

Many thanks everyone. Yes, stopping her allowance seems sensible - a good incentive for her to keep practising and find more gigs.

I'll encourage her to save for uni if she starts earning significant sums...she should be able to make at least £50 a month on average.

And yes, I'm very, very proud of her...she's playing now in another room and it sounds beautiful...very calming.