Forum menu
Currently stick £40 in my 14 year old's account in the 1st of each month.
According to him we're "starving" him and his mates get"loads more".
Pretty sure that's not the case, but am in danger of suffering from parental guilt...
15 yr old daughter gets £45 per month so about right i'd say.
Some weeks £5 other weeks £15 just depends what she is up to, my eldest has a job so rarely gets anything.
My eldest is only 11, but I would ask what your child does to earn that £40 per month? Washes the car, walks the dog, household chores etc? Do you fund his phone bill/top ups or does this come out of the £40?
I personally think £40 a month is more than fair, if he wants more maybe come up with some additional task he could do each month to your standards that will give you more free time to ride your bike 🙂 Win win.
Ours got £30 a month at 14, then £40 when he was 15. Then he got a job, and went to sixth form college, so it became his transport allowance. We still help him out with mountain bike parts/clothes from time to time, usually split the cost with him, but for general spending (clothes, snacks, going to pictures or gigs,) he's self sufficient.
Ok, thanks. Looks like we're pretty much there tbh.
We do fund his phone as well, but tbh, if we didn't he wouldn't have one, and I'd rather he did.
Looks like he needs to think about a weekend job, but I get the feeling that is more difficult nowadays.
My 14 year old daughter gets £8/wk based on slits of small chores around the house plus her phone credit.
She’s then able to earn a separate payment for each time she walks the dogs (usually daily) so £40 ish a month seems fair.
Looks like he needs to think about a weekend job, but I get the feeling that is more difficult nowadays.
Not particularly thanks to minimum wage lots of cafes and such hire kids as they’re cheaper than adults. Paper rounds still exist too.
Hmm, will have a talk to him about finding a saturday job. Preferably somewhere that doesn't tolerate standing around or answering back.
Ours were about £10/15 pw. There aren’t as many options for work as when I was a teen, but I worked from 13 in a restaurant and received none. Assuming you are buying the clothes etc it’s really just for luxuries and trips to McD isn’t it?
Ours get £5 a week.
In return they clean their own room and a rota for wash up and cleaning after a meal.
They have all have had paper rounds since the day they were 13.
Middle one works in local cafe/deli and older one in local hotel.
On top they get £50 allowance once 14 to spend on all clothes bar school uniform, pants, shoes and waterproofs.
They have far more disposable income than I do.
Looks like he needs to think about a weekend job, but I get the feeling that is more difficult nowadays.
It's really not. Ours have an found work, just be prepared they may start at McD's etc
Don't you have top be 16 in McDonald's?
Possibly / I think so. They are good at training them and flexibility.
Ours all started on paper round, did some occasional wedding catering, one did a few days fencing, another has helped friends move house, then McD's, then on again.
For me food only 🤔
(assuming same exchange rate of 1:1 for the sake of calculation)
At primary school: £1/day, £20/month
At secondary school: £5/day, £100/month
If I went out with friends it would be £10 a day but I did't get that all the time as sometimes I only got £5.
Currently stick £40 in my 14 year old’s account in the 1st of each month.
That is too low even for the 1:1 far east standard. 😂
According to him we’re “starving” him and his mates get”loads more”.
Yes, you are starving him if that money is for food. 🤣
But if you have proavided packed lunch etc for him and that is pocket money then that should be fine.
Pretty sure that’s not the case, but am in danger of suffering from parental guilt…
Pocket money = £40 I agree.
For meal at school you need to add £3.50 to £4.00 per day as nothing is cheap nowadays. Also note that for a boy at 14 year old as he is growing and needs more energy. If you starve him he will end up with stunted growth.
Well, we obviously feed him daily and pay for his school meals etc. 😳
The starving accusation is because he wants to go to town with his mates, he's blown his 40 quid and I wouldn't give him any more cash.
How does the killfile work?
Mine got £5/week from us and £20/month from his gran for about 5 years but he also go loads of stuff bought for him. He certainly wasn't hard done by.
Our 14 year old gets £40/month but we pay for his phone,gym membership and give him extra money for train fares and food when out with friends. He has recently got himself a job (£10/week)walking and checking on our neighbour’s dog which has helped boost his finances.
How does the killfile work?
😂
For me food only
I got 65p a week in 1980....
At 14 he was on about a fiver a week, but that year he got his paper round paying £80 a month and about £20 a month for helping out at the music centre he plays with on Saturdays.
Well, we obviously feed him daily and pay for his school meals etc. 😳
If meal(s) is provided at school then £40/month is fine. 😀
The starving accusation is because he wants to go to town with his mates, he’s blown his 40 quid and I wouldn’t give him any more cash.
I see that is party cash in that case he needs to learn to budget himself. 😄
How does the killfile work?
😂
Are they still trying to figure out how to install it? 🤣
Out of interest, what are they spending £40/month on? Cinema? Clothes? We have 15/13/10 yrs olds and don't give them pocket money. We'll pay for cinema or bowling everything now and then, we buy most of their clothing (son not bothered, daughters get stuff for birthday/Christmas too - money from aunty etc). I sort son's bike and we pay for sports clubs, coaching etc. If we gave them £10/week, they'd just fritter it on sweets n stuff.
Everyone's different, but most kids will cherry pick examples from friends to get stuff/more stuff.
Keep hearing how hard it is for kids to find jobs these days, but seems to be a similar proportion of his mates earning as when I was that age 35 years ago. Paper rounds, cafes, McDonald's/KFC locally, pot washing in pubs, baby sitting. Fewer Saturday jobs in shops I think.
MCJnr becomes a paid musician next week, been asked to play in the band for a local amdram musical production. One of his contacts does this as a business, hoping it will become a regular sideline
For me food only 🤔
You've bred? Oh no... 🙁
Out of interest, what are they spending £40/month on?
Tuck at Boys Brigade
Table fee for Magic The Gathering night
Bling bike grips
Ice cream on holidays
Music downloads
Magic cards
Train fare and Gregg's on day out with mate
Pressie for thier mums birthday
That's a selection of this month's spend.
You’ve bred? Oh no… 🙁
I intend to replicate myself 😁
I would ask what your child does to earn that £40 per month?
They didn't ask to be born... 😉
We never did pocket money until our eldest got a phone at 14. His monthly top up was €15 and we said if you get a phone you buy the credit, so we started pocket money then to see how he got on. We gave him €30 a month. Some months he would skip credit to have more cash etc. we then gave our 11 year old €25 a month, as he has no phone he saves this for computer games etc. they still get other treats but some times we ‘make’them use their money to buy things just so they value things. It’s amazing how often they don’t want something when they realize it’s their money they will be using.
Christ I got a tenner a month.
Had 2 paper rounds and a Saturday job from 13 to cover my mtb habit
Still got my avid speedial 2s I bought 60 quid cash when I was 14.
Cost of everything value of nothing as I got tought.
Jeez, I thought i was spoiling my 14 year old daughter with £25 a month, looks like I need to review
14 year old doesn’t get any pocket money, but is supplied with cash / card credit for necessary purchases as required. I will buy services like car washing if extra cash is needed. Mother is a softer touch of course.
18 year old gets £50 a week to live on at med school for food / bills etc. Rent is separate. Beer money comes from McD job.
I never got pocket money, I had a job of some kind or other from 13 onwards.
That’s a selection of this month’s spend.
I wasn't having a dig. We give ours holiday money and cash to buy gifts (if they ask), just not a regular hand-out. They are lazy tykes around the house though, so maybe we're missing a trick.
We strongly connect the helping around the house with pocket money reward. They often earn a bit more by cleaning cars and helping in the garden.
My lad gets £0 at just nearly 12.
However, we live in a village so there's no cinema, mCdonalds, etc... So he really has no need for pocket money. His MTB is fully maintained by me and gets everything it ever needs, all his MTB trips are paid for by me...
£40 a month here and that includes tidy rooms, own washing, dishwasher, helping with cooking. Make sure you pay it into a bank account where you have access to statements. See the 16yr old son smoking weed thread for an idea of how it can go quickly pearshaped!
No kids here so no pocket money but I have employed a 15 year old.
We had to apply for a permit from the council for her to work for us. It detailed exactly what she could do and for how long, including break times/allowances. At that age can only work a max of 8 hours on a Sat & 2 on a Sun, with max total hours varying depending on whether its term or holiday time.
That was a little bit of faff especially when the council decided they needed to visit the workplace. We only did that job at weekends, the council don’t work weekends. Took some too and fro to sort that.
Young persons risk assessment was straightforward, ELI the same.
No issues with employer tax/NI at that age either.
The faff of the permit and the restrictions on hours are probably what puts employers off taking on more ‘child workers’, to be honest if she wasn’t the boss’ daughter we probably wouldn’t have bothered!
Make sure you pay it into a bank account where you have access to statements. See the 16yr old son smoking weed thread for an idea of how it can go quickly pearshaped!
Ah, yes, nothing makes a teenager develop mutual respect, trust and responsibility like being spied on!
See the 16yr old son smoking weed thread for an idea of how it can go quickly pearshaped!
Really? So every kid who has spare pocket money turns to weed?
Everyone’s different, but most kids will cherry pick examples from friends to get stuff/more stuff.
To be fair, that continues into adult life too. Lost track of the number of times people have told me they are paid “less than market value” only consider salary not other benefits, and selectively highlight examples which pay better but never mention anyone who earns less. It’s similar with tax comparing the costs but ignoring what’s provided in return.
So there will be parents who provide an “allowance” to cover everything (phone, food, clothes, travel fairs, club/group subscriptions etc) and those who provide cash and services... And of course those who mix it up. Selective reporting (does the kid who’s parents are on benefits speak up and say they get £10 if everyone else seems to get £50), exaggeration and confirmation bias means they might even believe the data they are telling you. Of course some are just loaded!
My 14 year old gets £10 per week and she is meant to earn it by doing jobs around the house. we by her essentials but for most things like going out with friends, presents and clothes she buys herself.
We have 15/13/10 yrs olds and don’t give them pocket money. We’ll pay for cinema or bowling everything now and then, we buy most of their clothing (son not bothered, daughters get stuff for birthday/Christmas too – money from aunty etc). I sort son’s bike and we pay for sports clubs, coaching etc. If we gave them £10/week, they’d just fritter it on sweets n stuff.
That's a big part of it. Helps teach a bit about finances and, hopefully, control.
Nobody doing Level Of Effort, paid in arrears then?
Slight thread hijack, but I've been pondering how to pay pocket money to my kids. I was thinking of giving them shares in my contracting company and paying them dividends - anyone know how old you have to be before you can own shares? I believe it's 16 for director, which I won't be doing!
Rich_s
Subscriber
Slight thread hijack, but I’ve been pondering how to pay pocket money to my kids. I was thinking of giving them shares in my contracting company and paying them dividends
That's not pocket money though as they can't actually get access to it, at least until a dividend is paid
I was thinking of giving them shares in my contracting company and paying them dividends
WTF? 😂