How much monthly allowance do you give your teenager?

[mismomary]

Our eldest DD is 17 and in sixth form. Last year we started her on a monthly allowance but it's not working. She's really down about money, says she hasn't enough to buy Christmas presents for friends or clothes. We give her £80pm and pay for phone, gym, and basic toiletries. (Rule is if Tesco stock it she can have it). Clothes I buy the basics.

She's been trying to get a job but struggling, has applied to local pubs and supermarkets etc.

I'm starting to think we have got this allowance totally wrong and she should be on more like £200pm or more. We can easily afford this but don't want to be over generous as want her to learn to budget and value money etc But perhaps we've gone too far the other way.

I'd be grateful to know what you give. Maybe we are way off!!

This, I lived in a little village and competition for the handful of Saturday jobs was fierce 😅

When my daughter was at college, we gave her the child allowance. She could choose to have it monthly or weekly. She also had a job, glass collecting in a bar at odd nights/weekends which progressed to bar work when she turned 18. She also did a couple of afternoons a week looking after a local doctor's kids after college plus she had a job in Wilko's on a Saturdays. She also had the college maintenance payment that was paid to teenagers at the time plus a free bus pass. She could buy meals in college or take in a lunch made up at home which was free. She also paid for her own clothes and toiletries. Laundry was done if it was in the basket but she did her own ironing. She was kept busy and occupied and still had to do college work in between.
I know that jobs for teenagers are hard to come by but do check that she's not missing out on any allowances at college and keep her motivated to keep job hunting.

💯
There's yard work, dog walking, baby sitting ... lots of ways a young person can earn money.
As it stands, she's effectively asking her parents to buy Christmas presents for her friends.

I always did regular pocket money then a top up when it was school holidays etc. Give what you are financially comfortable with.

My 17yo has a job in Sainsbury’s, he pays his own phone bill (I didn’t ask, he just set up a standing order) and just this week he took me out for lunch.

My 17 year old son gets £50 a month from grandma and earns about £170. I pay for all his food, mobile phone, basic clothes and car.

Neither of my two get pocket money. When they need money for going out we give it to them (top up their card). When they need to buy something we buy it for them. They never over-ask for anything. They do get money from their Nan on birthdays and Christmas which my son (17) never touches (17) but my daughter has great fun spending online (14). This does mean I usually go over the top on presents at Christmas, essentials and non-essentials, which kits them out for the year. Both kids understand that their job is to work hard at school and get the best grades possible.

This seems to work for us.

I think by the age of 17 I'd been paid for working at summer play schemes, washing up at local agricultural shows, had my own babysitting business, did Avon and had a Saturday job doing care work. I was fed and watered by my mum but didn't get an allowance.

Our 15 and 14 year olds get £100 pm from us and another £35 from grandparents.

What does she do for lunch? Packed lunch from home? I can see £20 disappearing very quickly these days 😔

Also, is it £80 a month or £20 a week? The first would leave her particularly short on the longer months.

If you couldn’t afford it that would be one thing, but you can - I would definitely increase this.

Zero.
A certain amount of chores/work for the household is expected to be done, and not done in exchange for money as Mom doesn't get any money for all the work she does, so why should running the vacuum once a week or picking up your clothes or taking your dirty dishes out of your room result in getting paid?
If they want to have spending money, they have to earn it.

“there’s no way £80 is enough for an 18 yr old now” - and yet, so many 18 year olds still at school manage on the same or less. If you can’t manage to maintain friendships without having to spend £20 every week on it, there’s a problem.

@ChocoChocoLatte couldn't agree more re chores and chipping into the household! It totally should just able a normal thing that you live in a household, you chip in and do your bet so the household runs. So many lessons for the future learnt this way!

Not stingy at all, that all sounds lovely and we have similar balance - money spent on activities will give them nice rounded lifestyle / experience.

I would give her extra this month so that she can afford gifts and a couple more nights out over the holidays. You can always go back to your normal amount.

While my daughter was looking for a part time job we would pay her to do housekeeping and it was great for me as I work full time and don’t have a cleaner. She’d get around £40 p/w. We would also give her extra money if she was going out somewhere with friends. She is now at uni and works part time and is always keen to pick up extra shifts to earn more.

Why? My gym does a teen 14 - 18 membership and has done for at 10 years. It is great that young teens have access to this. Surely fitness and health should be a priority for everyone and the younger they start the more likely they are to keep the habit up. After school there are loads of this age range in. I really dont get what there is to be curious about a perfectly normal activity. They can use everything except the free weights and the steam room and it gives them access to all classes run by the gym, access to swim at any time. The gym also gives discounts for local facilities such as 2 for 1 cinema tickets.

It works differently for everyone. In my case I have few thousands on my D(16) card. Topping it up when she needs it. Actually she never needs so I top it once a year and add more. In terms of spending I rarely check but she does not spend more then 100 per month, maybe less.

I clearly don’t buy into this budgeting thing, more believe that with freedom comes responsibility. That said I am lucky as my DD is more financially responsible than me :)

DD (16) gets £20 a week and I also add £5 a week so her savings account. We cover her phone, gym, train pass, basic clothes, toiletries etc and we give her extra if she’s going out on a more expensive outing like ice skating and a meal out for instance. We also cover her Explorer fees and any camps/holidays. I was going to increase it as didn’t think it was enough but she has secured a job which she will start soon. She also had a few shifts over the summer, glass washing for a wedding venue, although she saved half her wages and the rest is long spent!
Those that keep mentioning how easy it is to get a job, especially that unpleasant individual that suggested it’s the way the teen is presenting themselves, you clearly have no idea what it’s like nowadays! DD applied for over 30 jobs - the majority of those that actually responded, said thanks but we want someone with more experience. DD was saying how can I get more experience if no one will give me a job?! I’m glad she’s been offered one because she was getting very disheartened.

I got zero at that age and had a little job and had to pay rent. I moved out at 18 and best thing I did for budgeting and independence- have a wonderful relationship with parents btw. £80 plus benefits is perfect!

We used to give them the equivalent of the child benefit, which my father did for me. We paid for their phone, petrol and keep. They budgeted for their clothes, toiletries and daily living. So now, £26 a week. If they wanted more they got a Saturday job.

Just to add, we did sub them for special events and paid for holidays.

I think maybe too much 🤦🏼‍♀️ My DD 17 is at college in London studying for her A Levels. She lives in a house that I own. I cover all the bills and she has an allowance of £120 a week for incidentals, tube fares, food etc. At seventeen it’s almost impossible to get a job, employers don’t want to make the concessions needed for under eighteens and I’d honestly prefer she just focus on her studies.

We gave Dd £100 per month but that was almost 10 years ago ( she's 23). From that she had to fund clothing, makeup and going out with friends. I bought clothes for special occasions and she was given extra money for buying birthday, Christmas presents etc.

I have come to the conclusion that people don't value things they haven't had to work for. You aren't doing her any favours by giving her a large allowance - life isn't like that - you have to work for what you want.

14 year old gets £30 a month but we pay phone, toiletries, clothing etc