Pocket Money

[alicecooper]

Few questions if you don't mind. I'm trying to decide what best way to go about the whole pocket money thing with my kids.

1) How old was you child / will be your child when you started / will start giving them pocket money?

2) How much is the going rate these days?

3) Is it conditional (e.g. they have to do chores to get it, or they have it taken away if they've been naughty), or unconditional?

4) Are they allowed to do whatever they want with it?

5) If the child has younger siblings, how do you approach the situation of the sibling thinking it's unfair that they aren't receiving pocket money?

Anything else I've not thought of?

Thanks chicas x

 

[mummy2o]

1. Never, people will just randomly give him pocket money, but my parents never gave me any, and I don't think DS will want some. That being said I do put a direct debt straight into his savings account for when he turns 18 so I guess that can count (?)

2. £10 a month

3. Unconditional, although he's generally a good boy.

4. Once he turn 18 yes.

5. He's an only child, but as for me and my sister she just saved any money my parents gave her and never really thought it was unfair. We are like chalk and cheese though. My parents overall have given me more money as a child due to the fact I had a more active social life, but that being said as my dad like to treat his children equal (due to a massive unfairness in his childhood) he did buy my sister more things she wanted when she asked for them, like magazine subs and toys she would want. I generally had to wait longer.

 

[pinklightbulb]

I used to get $5 a week for doing chores and stuff when I was like 9 or 10. I don't know if my parents were scrooges or not, lol. My 17 year old sis was getting $30-40 a week at one point in her early teens, and she did jack crap for it. Think the olds got lazy by the time they had to think about parenting another teen....

 

[lozzy21]

1) How old was you child / will be your child when you started / will start giving them pocket money? Maybe about 8/9

2) How much is the going rate these days? I think it depends on age, at 8 it would be £5 a week going up as they get older.

3) Is it conditional (e.g. they have to do chores to get it, or they have it taken away if they've been naughty), or unconditional? At first unconditional but as they get older they have to help out with chores. The only time I would take it is if they were grounded as a teen.

4) Are they allowed to do whatever they want with it? When they are younger a little guidance will be given but once they are 11/12 they can do what they want with it.

5) If the child has younger siblings, how do you approach the situation of the sibling thinking it's unfair that they aren't receiving pocket money? I would explain that they still get pocket money it's just that mummy looks after it and spends it on things they will like.

We had our own savings accounts and were given the option to put it into a savings account to save up for a bigger toy or spend. We were able to earn extra money by doing extra chores around the house, things like cleaning the bathroom, cleaning skirting boards etc.

 

[River54]

1 - about 6
2 - I gave her $1/week at 6, then as time went on, increased it to $20/month
3 - Not totally no, but the expectation was she had to help with chores and do stuff when I asked to help out. - cleaning room etc didn't count, but doing stuff for the household did.
4 - Yes, though she had guidance. When to save, pros vs cons of spending now etc.
5 - n/a

She doesn't really have an allowance anymore - she chose to use it to pay for a cell phone. So now, I just pay that, and if it goes over, she has to pay the rest. DD refs and had a summer job for money, and has been very good with her money and can budget etc.
We basically started with pocket money so she could start to get a handle on how to save, and when to spend, etc. Seems to have worked well. - She is 17 and can budget the money she has to account for things in the future.

 

[housewifey]

Heey! Sorry i'm snooping over from toddler section!

Thought you might find the following link useful, it's a womans blog and this post is about they run their family allowance. slightly different way of doing things.


https://www.ducksinarowblog.com/2011/09/allowance-macdougall-family-style.html

 

[AlainaLau]

We give our 6 and 7 yr old $1.50 per week and it's mainly unconditional. Occasionally if they are blatantly unhelpful/lazy about helping around the house, then we will withhold the allowance, but usually it's unconditional, because their chores and responsibilities are separate. I do not want them expecting me to pay them to do their chores, but I do want them to learn how to handle pocket money. So... they're not really connected.

Their chores have to be done, no matter what, but occasionally if they are really rude about not wanting to do their chores, we might withhold their allowance and STILL make them finish the chores.

They can spend it how they like, and I track it on an app on my phone rather than putting it in a piggy bank or the likes.

 

[RachA]

Heey! Sorry i'm snooping over from toddler section!

Thought you might find the following link useful, it's a womans blog and this post is about they run their family allowance. slightly different way of doing things.


https://www.ducksinarowblog.com/2011/09/allowance-macdougall-family-style.html

I lie this


To answer the OP:

Currently we don't give pocket money. DS hasn't brought the subject up so we are happy no to give him any. However we do buy him 1 Lego Minifigure each week - so that's effectively £1.99 per week. There was a condition attached to this as when we started doing this he wouldn't go to the toilet at school because he couldn't be bothered and so would wet his pants most days-he would get the Lego if he was dry all week at school. He doesn't do thus now but we still buy the Minifigure.

I would imagine that we'll start doing pocket money soon. I think that £1 per year per month is a good figure.
I would expect our children to tithe 10% and save 10% to teach them good money management. Once that 20% is taken out then the money will be their money to do what they like.
It will be unconditional - my sister stipulated that if her girls room wasn't tidy they wouldn't get any money but it never worked so they never got the money. But then if they wanted money for a magazine etc she gave it to them so I don't see how that was working!

 

[Racheldigger]

Funny, I was just coming here to discuss pocket money policy!

I started giving Rowan pocket money when she was three, but it was a totally symbolic ten pence a week: it was just to get her used to what the different types of coins look like and what their relative values are. Sometimes she bought a lollipop with it. Over the last couple of months, she's been diligently saving her pocket money in order to go to the bead shop and buy herself some pick-and-mix beads, and last Friday she decided she had enough, so we spent a very instructive hour with a little basket, spending seventy-three pence (fortunately, the shop assistant thought she was lovely). I think she's now informed and responsible enough to have some control over her own spending, so from the time she starts school next week, I'm going to increase her pocket money to 50p a week, and from then on, Mummy doesn't buy her any more sweets or little treats: if she wants a chocolate bar or a Peppa Pig magazine, she buys it herself with her own money. Mummy may chip in if she's been good, though, because she'd have to save up for about five weeks to buy one of those magazines with the stupid plastic gift on the front.

 

[JASMAK]

My kids have their own money and bank cards. We ocassionally give them money. But, they have their own.