Pocket Money Inspired

[Otrere]

Following DavidUK's thread about pocket money, I'm interested to know at what age you started giving your children pocket money, and do you expect them to do "chores" to earn it? By "chores" I mean at least in keeping their room tidy etc.?

[magicdice]

my parents paid for things i wanted that they deemed reasonable - a magazine & a CD every month, clothes etc - and so didn't give me pocket money (i was expected to help out around the house if asked, of course). once i was in secondary school and so old enough to go out with my friends, they continued to pay for my clothes & the monthly CD, but gave me a bit of pocket money each week. i didn't have to "earn" my pocket money per se - none of this "�3 if you tidy your room, �1 if you set & clear the table" etc etc - but i was still obliged to help out round the house.

[toecrusher]

my 16yr old gets �10 a week and the 11yr old gets �5. the 16 yr old used to do all the ironong for this(i hate it!) but she has now got a saturday job and is studying hard for gcse's, so i ask her to do very little as i want her to well in her exams. the 11 yr old is very very tidy, so feels she deserves her �5.( Thers still always the extras though!)

[crayola]

I was (and still am) extremely tidy and clean so i was never paid to do chores around the house. Chores were just expected to be done albeit with a bit of pushing from my mum.

It was more of a, "if you want to live in filth then fine, but not in the rest of the house!" thing...but i did get given pocket money (50p a week) when i was 8, and then when i went to secondary school it went right up to �5 so i could buy food (so i suggest packed lunches for this) and get the bus.

[darklar]

�10! Wow I dont think I ever got that much, but it was about 8 years ago. I tended to have to do washing up and keep things tidy. From what I recall I got a set amount each week started at 40p a week I think - -but my dad had an ingenious system where he would save some of that for me in a pot each week ie when I got �1 he would save 50p of it... that way when I went on holiday I would have a fund of money to spend every day! I thinkI got up to �7a week by the time i was 16... dad kept �2 of it until we went away or I wanted the money to buy something big. my parents also used to give me an allowance at 16 , which was the child benifit money...except it then meant I had to buy all my clothes etc. I also had aweekend job too so was earning some cash.

[darklar]

I think it is important for children to learn the value of money - If you are given a set amount each week it is for you to control, you quickly learn that if you blow it on sweets you cant get a magazine or go to the cinema. A friend of mine whos parent 'just bought her things as she needed them' ends up still being bought things etc that I was expected to source myself a good few years ago - she does not have a great concept of money.

[silly moo]

I started my children on pocket money the week they started school (age nearly 5 )
They did not have to earn it BUT it wasn't a lot - basically covered sweets.
They graduated to a monthly allowance that had to cover more of their regular expenditure at about 10 yrs.
At about 14 / 15 they had a fortnightly allowance that covered ALL expenses. I paid for school uniform, 1 pr shoes , 1 coat ,( both when required ), all underwear , 1 magazine delivered weekly , guide subs, family holiday , toiletries as needed as long as they came in my regular shop - any fancy bits not bought by me.
They managed their own finances , chores still not necessary but often done anyway.
Any extra cash needed was earned by baby sitting, dog sitting etc.
Never a paper round as I felt not safe for young girls to be wandering around our rural area on their own. Also not Saturday jobs as we lived too far away from the town.
Waitressing / bar work / chambermaiding all used at some time also.
Formula for monthly allowance:-
Work out roughly how much they need for basic stuff each year, (eg 30 gifts @ �5 ) how many cinema trips you are happy to pay for , etc etc.
Divide this total annual sum by 12 and round up slightly.
My children had about �20 per month 12 - 15 years ago.

Sorry it's long winded - hope it helps.

[Lil-Ol-Me]

My parent's had the exact same attidude/approach to pocket money as magicdice. We all had everything we needed, and when I was 15 I got myself a Saturday job to help with the upkeep of my horse. I think kids are given way too much pocket money these days, and there's a danger (in my humble oppinion) that it can make them irrisposable towards money with an easy come easy go attitude. It doesn't do kids any harm to appreciate the value of money and also that it isn't so easy to get! When all my friend's passed their driving test, they were each given a car by their father's... when I passed my driving test I asked my dad if he would buy me a car and his answer was "if you want a car badly enough... then get out and earn the money to buy one yourself!" I never forgot that! At the time I was a little peeved but I did manage to buy my own car befor that year was out and appreciated far more than my friend's appreciated theirs! That lesson has stuck with me all my life... I realised the value of 'saving' and planning and in my own abilities to make something happen for myself!