Do you give your kids Pocket Money......

Soldato
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Hello all,

Please tell - Do you give your kids Pocket Money? If so... How much?

Please discuss...
 
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Dont Have kids yet, But When I was wee I got pocket money, started off small and worked up.

Started with 25 or 50 pence at about 3, then went to £1.50 when I was 8, then £4 when I was 13 and £5 when I was 15.

Its a good way to build up money sense, and well worth doing, If It hadent been for my pocket money I would not have learnt that I can only spend what I have, how to save (Use to put money in my bank each week religously) etc so its a realy good way to help them learn!

Hope this helps...
 
Hi,

The issue of pocket money was a real hot potato in our household for many reasons. I used to forget to pay them and these amounts would just build up. Then I'd sub them and loose track then there were arguements on how much I owed them etc etc.. Every weekend it was the same old arguements. It was driving me and my wife insane!!


So.. I setup the kids with their own bank accounts and have a standing order in place which pays them £20 each on my pay day and this has to last them the month.

This is good because it makes them think about how they are going to budget their money. It gives them sense of responibility for money at an early age.

They get no loans or subs from me or me wife anymore. If they want the cash, then they must withdraw it. Simple but it works. They now know the score.

It's works brilliantly - no more arguements..

My son (11) has grasped the idea that he can save and get what he wants. My daughter (12) on the other hand is just a spender and blows the lots in one go, then is stuck foe the rest of the month. But she knows there is no more.
 
I dont have any kids, but my nephew has a star system, where if he does something good (eats all of his dinner, helps to do something etc) he gets a gold star, and if he does something naughty then he get a black spot. These get recorded on a diary and for each day he is more good than bad, he gets 20p. For a day where he is more bad than good, he gets i think 10p taken off him.

Seems to work some days. I think its more a behaviour thing though than teaching the value of money!
 
Problem today is things are a bit more pricey.

A child who wants to go to the cinema can't even do it on £5 a week now. Bus fair £1-2 (depending where you live) and the cinema is anywhere from £5-7.
 
Simmz said:
Problem today is things are a bit more pricey.

A child who wants to go to the cinema can't even do it on £5 a week now. Bus fair £1-2 (depending where you live) and the cinema is anywhere from £5-7.


That's why you give them a monthly allowance, so they can budget.. Not much different really from being an adult.. Teaches them to be a bit more carefull (see my post above).
 
used to get pocket money on and off until i started a proper job when i was 16 but was working for my dad from 13 up until i went to uni

MW
 
Theres no need to give kids pocket money, get them in with the wrong crowd and im sure they will be on the dole :p :D
 
When I have kids I'll give them pocket money, just like my parents did.

It used to go up by 50p on my birthday (same with my sister) and I think the most either of us got was around £5 a week :)
 
I give my kids £1.50 per week (7 year old and 4 year old).

However, they have regular jobs such as keeping their rooms tidy, going to bed on time, and getting ready in the morning on time. If they don't do these few things they get nothing.

If they do these things and also help out on other tasks it can increase which my daughter loves. She now loads the dishwasher up every night to earn an extra 50p a week - child labour is great :)

I write it all down in a pocket money book so we can keep track of it. I like Mr Huddy's idea of paying straight into a bank account but I think maybe when they are a little older.
 
My son (4.5yrs old) gets a pound from each of us parents, each set of grandparents and also from his great grandparents each week.. works out at £20/month! He never actually spends it (too young, we buy him a comic etc each week) so we save it up and are going to open a bank account for him. As he gets a little older he can decide how much he wants to spend and how much he wants to save.. well, that's the plan any way.
 
Each of my two sons get a form of pocket money.
for info - One is 6months, the other is nearly 2.5

The way my Wife and I do it, is this.. they only get £2 coins. When I have one in my pocket I put it aside, when there are 2 there, I put one each in thier money box. When that is full, it goes off to thier bank accounts.
The bank acounts also hold any money the get as presents for birthdays and Christmas.
At this stage of thier lives, they have no need for money themselves. I am sure in time we will change the way we do it.
 
Pocket Money

I give my kids Pocket Money, first i started off giving them about 50p when they were small and then gave them more every year. I don' give them though if they be naughty.
 
WIBSBOT said:
I give my kids £1.50 per week (7 year old and 4 year old).

My sister and I always got different amounts. It started on a certain birthday and went up 50p on each birthday after so I, being the oldest, always got more than her but it stopped sooner too. :)
 
I've had £25/week since I was 15. It may seem a lot, but my argument to my parents was you can't even go and see a movie for under a fiver anymore. Then of course when you have to pay for your own clothes the money goes very fast. I have to admit it though now I do various jobs I don't need it, and it really just mounts up to be wasted on treats :D

For younger kids, a reward scheme really helps as it provides an incentive to behave. Hell, even when I did GCSEs quite a few people were getting £50/A offers from their parents.

I've also found that having a set "income" rate rather than just asking for money when I go out has tought me a lot about managing my expenses. It's a weekly automatic bank transfer, so there is no forgetting either :D
 
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I very rarely used to get pocket money. Went through phases of it, but my parents used to always forget. What I do remember though is that is it was a very small amount. However, my parents did used to let me earn my money by doing jobs around the house. We used to earn a few pounds by cleaning the house before school. Never a huge amount but it was usually enough to get by and we could usually earn a couple more quid for doing more work. Although sometimes it was like slave labour :p

My parents used to give me small amounts of money to do things if I asked nicely or if it was a 'day out' with friends or family. The majority of my childhood was spent skint though :p

I'm so glad I'm able to work now lol.
 
used to get the odd quid here and there, or if i wanted a magazine i could hjave it as a treat once a month or whatever.

I live on a farm so we used to just hang around building treehouses with free wood we used to get so never used to spend much.

Then when i hit 16 I used to work every summer in the sony factory in our town.
could earn £2000 in the summer months which used to last all year then.

havent really been out of work since, worked through uni too.

Only time i've not really worked since i was 16 is now (im 22 just graduated) and im having a break.

I think i've paved my own way in life, which is a credit to my parents who are absolutly stinking rich lol.
 
I always used to receive a little pocket money since a kid. I can't remember how much as a late teen or when i was working pt. Since being at uni, I still get a monthly allowance of £100.
 
if you want to teach them the value of money you should make them do chores to earn their pocket monye, washin dishes, hoovering, dusting etc etc, my auntie does this with her kids and they all do her housework for her to make money.. really good idea.. she has a little chart in the kitchen with who has to do what..

depending on age of course i think the youngest is 11 then 12 then 16, then all do their bit to help out and get paid for it. really good idea. :)
 
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