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Whats fair pocket money for a 14 yr old male?

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tech/a

No Ordinary Duck
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One who helps around the house keeping his own space tidy.
Dishes (shared),Looking after the younger ones when mum has to leave early for work before school. Nothing out of the ordinary really.

While we are at it Brother is 7 should he get an allowance?

At what age should kids have an allowance? and how much?
What should they be expected to do for nothing and what should be expected over the norm which earns an allowance?

Views?
 
i pay $10/week for 13 yr old and thats for normal stuff ie as listed b4 ... however i pay him extra for extra stuff like weeding , gardening etc and being a teen he happy to earn a extra cupla bucks to support his mobile phone addiction
 
enough to see a movie, but not enough to buy a gram of pot.

ps. I had to do chores and didn't get an allowance
 
IMHO

After 3 children, boy, girl, boy, all now left home with ongoing good relationships with both mum and dad.

Have them work out a budget, including savings, which helps determine what they get paid. Only pay a pocket money which reflects their contribution around the home, and which includes regular savings. It's surprising how habits developed early make it much easier later on (eg start regular homework hours very early and it is habit by high school).

ie start early with budgets and earning their way.

We paid based on age, eg $10 for 10 yr old, $8 for 8 yr old, etc - 20% to a savings account (more now with inflation perhaps, but a 10yr old doesn't need much to spend). As they get older and become more "active" the price goes up exponentially, based on their needs (ie their budget - $17 doesn't go far for a 17yr old). We limited actual money given and preferred to buy "special" things (eg new sandshoes) to reflect extra effort around the house. This limited the amount of money available for "undesirable" things, and encouraged them to find outside work. At the same time we started an extra savings account which became their leaving home money to buy a car or pay a rental bond, etc.

Its not so much about how much you give them, since we pay for everything anyway, its more the habits and encouragement to become independant and responsible that matters.

Hope it progresses well for you.

(edited spelling)
 
the modern day kid has many financial needs

i pay my 14yr old $20 per week.

if he wants more he has to do work I or his mum would do.

i pay $5-7 per hour for that. (mcdonalds rates)

he is expected to help out and do what he is told or i threaten to withold part of his pay.

i pay cash for birthdays and xmas.

we are somewhat above average income, the selective school he goes to is full of rich kids and only children, he reckons $50 pweek is standard!

he reckons I am stingy
 
awg, I was wondering what "many financial needs" a 14yr old kid may have?



PS. Please note, im not a parent - just asking because I dont know of any 'financial needs' I had as a 14yr old
 
There was an article in the Sunday Mail a couple of weeks ago about pocket money. Some kids got $500!!! The article didn't say what percentage of the kid population that was.

I like Integrity's idea of pocket money being the basis for learning to budget.
I remember as a little kid (just!) getting two shillings (probably equivalent to about $2 these days) on the proviso that I had to save half of it and could choose what to spend the balance on. The amount saved had a target purchase. This had to be agreed between my parents and myself.
I guess I thought it was a bit tough at the time, but now absolutely have felt the value of this early training.

I'm not sure I like that kids get paid for helping round the house. Shouldn't they be doing that anyway as part of contributing to the family structure?
I think I have a concern about kids being taught that there is a financial consequence attached to everything, rather than the suggestion that it's good to do something for the sake of just being helpful.

I'd prefer to see pocket money as a completely separate deal.
 
dont know how old u r gav.

mobile phones, online games, shopping malls etc

also they socialise and have girlfriends etc earlier than ever

so u have a choice...pay up or argue the toss..decide what is the best for both.

can assure u they are more consumer orientated than when i was young, opportunities to spend everywhere.

depends to some extent on assets/income of parent (as ever)

$20 would be average for 14yr old from what i know from other parents

and you cant just thrash them if they annoy u like the good old days
 
AWG I am 25, and do not plan on having kids..... EVER!

I wouldnt call those examples you have listed as "financial needs", more like "financial wants". But I guess if they have a set allowance, once they spend it, its gone. No coming to Mum and Dad to pay for their next phone recharge, they have to earn it. So I guess thats a decent system you have going there. If they are paying for online games, are they virtual reality games that require alot of time and effort like World Of Warcraft? Those type of games can create some very nasty habits and anti-sociable behaviour when played too long, they are actually quite adictive. I have seen it in ppl I know. However, they are fine in moderation. Even I still occasionally play a few online games too.

I guess hearing that a 14yr old gets $20 makes me feel old! I used to get $2 a week by helping work on the farm - help milk the cows, spray thistles, irrigating, cutting hay, etc... However whenever those jobs lasted longer than an hour, I'd get a little bit extra. But my parents made sure I never missed a football or cricket training session or game - so they counted that as part of my allowance.

And yes I got "thrashed" too
 
I know of teenage kids getting 50 bucks a week...now days easy to spend
that without really trying....my step son (14) worked at MacDonald's so be
could save up and buy 200 dollar shoes.
 
I think $10 pocket money per week is fine. I tried to inculcate the value of hard-earned money at an early age. If my kid does not have the discipline to live within his means, then he should go out and start earning money for himself.
 
Thanks for the contributions so far.

My Step daughter asked for her kids.

Mine are 22 and 26 and I'm a bit out of touch!

AWG I am 25, and do not plan on having kids..... EVER!
Click to expand...

Gav
I really hope you find the right partner and do! I was you at 25!.
My second wife has never had kids (Step Daughter is one of her foster kids!)
Its her one regret in life,but has an autistic "Grand Daughter" who makes up for a great deal.
Never say never!

Like many of the suggestions and agree it sends many messages!
One Idea I had was to offer 2 : 1 for every $ saved each year to then go into a savings account for a car---out of their allowence!
 
I tried to instill a different idea with my children (now at Uni). Paid them in 2 equal sums during the year. It was equivalent to $10 per week, but I paid $250 at a time.
It was a great way to teach them how to budget, but gave them the opportunity to buy something specially big if they thought they needed it. It worked very well. They never came back and asked for more money, and there was never a problem with getting them to help around the house.
We paid for the mobile phones, but more as a safety thing for us. Would not expect 14yo to pay for this.
Yes they also went to expensive private school, where some kids were getting huge pocket money, but they also realised that these kids were spending a lot of that money on rubbish or in some cases drugs.
 
Tech/a

You can advise him to get a job. Could be at McDonald's or with great grandpa tech/a

Also pocket money could come as a reward not just for chores he completes but also for developing skills and efforts. E.g. he improves his grades, he improves his sports skills, getting more fit, improving his guitar skills (if he is a musician).

 
tech/a said:
Like many of the suggestions and agree it sends many messages!
One Idea I had was to offer 2 : 1 for every $ saved each year to then go into a savings account for a car---out of their allowence!
Click to expand...

LOL we actually believe and do that method too , if he wanting something of value we encourage his saving of his pocket money /xmas money etc and earning extra to save 50% of the purchase costs of whatever he after , more than happy to throw in the other half if he can be disciplined to go without to reach his goal
 
I used to get $5pw 'officially'. But i was lucky i could work as much or as little as i wanted on my old mans property, and the wages went up as i got older.

Once i was in my teenage years the official pocketmoney stopped and he just used to throw me $10 or $20 after the footy (depending on how well i played )
 

Tech/A, I have the "right" partner now. Before I met her, sometimes I used to wonder, "how will I know if she's the one?" But now that I'm with her, I just "know". She turns 28 in a couple of months, and we've only been together 15 months, but I've known her longer than that. At the moment she shares my view on kids, but hasnt ruled it out down the track. I guess we'll cross that bridge if/when it comes up...
 
I think the two most important things parents can pass on to their children are good manners and a sense of values. Children with good manners will not need to be given a list of duties in order to earn a fixed allowance. They will help out as a part of the family unit. They will value their allowance as a reward for doing the right thing.
 
Pocket money?

Um my kids don't get pocket money as such. I have a jar which I toss my change into with which I play poker monthly with my mates. I'm a good poker player so that adds to the jar as well, but once its in the jar it transforms from Dad's money into kid's money. If they want to buy something they wait until there is enough money in the jar. (there's usually about $60 in there)

Sir O
 
Also, when i was younger than a teenager, if i didnt do my chores then some money would be deducted, so i had a choice.

IE - if i didnt want to do the dishes, 50c would come out of my pocket money, which was 10% of it.
 
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