Budgeting

How Much Pocket Money Should I Give to my Children?

By admin

It can be really difficult at times working out how much pocket money to give you your children. If you ask them, they will tell you what they want and it will probably be a really high amount. They might tell you what their friends get but their friends may not get that much or may come form wealthier families or may have to use that money to buy clothes, shoes, books or things like that. Therefore, it can be hard to decide how much to give them. It is worth thinking about a few things to help you to decide.

How much can you afford?

It is worth starting by thinking about how much you can afford to give to them. You need to think about your finances first. If you have a loan you are paying off, are struggling to make ends meet or sometimes have big expenses then you may wonder whether it is something that you can afford. It could be that you might be better not promising something regularly if you know that there might be times when you will not be able to afford it. You could also think about the fact that you normally only just manage to cover your costs and if this is the case then you will not be able to afford to give the children pocket money.

How much do they need?

It is also worth asking yourself how much money they need. They might like to go out with their friends to the cinema or go to a fast food chain or something like that and they will want to be able to pay their way if they do that. It might be that they want to buy extra clothes or more expensive clothes than you are prepared to buy them or that they want money to buy sweets or other treats. It is worth actually finding out what they want the money for as that will help you to decide whether they really need it. You might think that they already have enough food treats without buying more, for example and so would rather they did not have money for that.

Do they deserve it?

It can also be worth thinking about whether you think that they deserve the money. Some parents give their children jobs to do so that they earn the money. They feel that they should learn that you do not get paid in life for doing nothing s you should learn to earn the money that you are giving. Others will just give it to their children if they behave well. Some might feel that paying them to do jobs around the house will mean that they will only be helpful if they get paid for it and so they may refuse to help unless there is money offered. This is not reflective of normal household chores as unless you pay a cleaner to do it for you, people have to do their own jobs without expecting to always be paid for it.

Once you have thought about these things you should be nearer to deciding. You will be able to think about whether you can afford to give them anything and whether you are happy for them to have money to spend on the sorts of things that they want to buy. You also need to think about whether you want them to get the money as a reward or not. Some parents will put their children’s pocket money straight into their trust fund or savings account and then they are less likely to spend it right away and more likely to save it up. This could be something worth considering as well.

Knowing exactly how much to give is hard. It is something that you will need to think about. Giving them the same as their friends is probably not something parents will necessarily want to do, especially if their friends get really large amounts. However, it is important to make sure that you give what you can afford and what you feel is the right amount for them. If you give them too much money they might buy things with it for the sake of it and end up with lots of stuff that they do not even look at. However, you need to make them feel like they have enough, particularly if they are going out with friends. It is a very individual decision and will depend on the age of your children and what things they want to spend the money on. It is worth making it clear to the children that the amount may change though. Then, if you decide on a certain amount, you can change it if you want to or if you need to. If it is possible you may not always shave enough money to give them then tell them and it is likely that they will understand that paying or food for them is more important than giving them money to spend on going to the cinema. Hopefully they will understand which is more important.

Save Money

Ways to Save Money Each Month

By admin

It can feel really good to know that you are not spending more than necessary on things. However, it can sometimes feel like we are spending more and more money each month on things and perhaps even that you have to get a loan to manage. This can be because prices rise and therefore, we will need to pay out more, but this should not have a significant impact on what we spend. However, it can still feel like we are spending too much. There are different things that we can do though, which will help to keep the money we spend down to a lower amount.

Try different retailers/suppliers

You may find that you are paying more than necessary because the retailer or suppliers you are using are more expensive than others. You will find, for example, if you compare different electricity suppliers that they will vary in how much they will charge you and some will be cheaper than others. Therefore, if you switch to a different one then you could save money. If you look at every place you spend significant amounts of money at and swap them to cheaper ones you could make lots of savings. Each saving might be small but it will add up. For example, if you swap supermarket, insurer, lender, utility suppliers, phone supplier, TV and broadband supplier and other shops you go in to and reduce the cost for all of those you should find that you will make savings.

Compare prices

It is wise to compare prices on everything that you buy. This means everything from seeing whether the carrots you want are cheaper tinned, frozen, fresh, loose or wrapped to whether you can get your children’s school uniform second hand to reduce the cost. You may not want to swap everything you buy and you may have tried some cheaper alternatives anyway. However, prices change a lot and you may find that you are paying more than you realise for certain items and that it will be possible for you to swap to a different type of that item or perhaps a different brand and save money. It can seem tricky to do this but you might be able to do it online before you go out shopping to save time. There are different websites and apps where you can make this sort of comparison and they could be really handy here.

Change what you buy

It can also help to change the sorts of things that you are buying. You may find that you can substitute some things and make significant savings. For example, if you buy a lot of out of season fruit that is grown abroad then this can be expensive. It can be cheaper to swap this for fruit that is in season or grown in the UK. So, in the winter if you swap buying strawberries to buying apples you could save money. You could also save money by buying cheaper cuts of meat, cheaper types of meat or substituting some meat meals with vegetarian options. Cooking from scratch can also be cheaper as well. You can make substitutions across all areas as well as food, such as buying hankies instead of tissues, using a clothes airer rather than a tumble dryer and things like this. If you put your mind to it you will be able to think of lots of possible swaps.

Buy less

Most of us buy a lot more than we need. Buying less can really help. This can apply to all sorts of things from food to clothes, from insurance to cars. It can be good to think about whether there are any areas that we can cut down. It can feel hard doing this. You may feel like you are almost punishing yourself because you are going without things. However, if it means that you are spending less this can be a really good thing for you. It can mean that it is easier for you to make ends meet and that you will be able to perhaps even put some money into a savings account or repay some loans. If you focus on the benefits then that could help.

So, if you put your mind to it, you could find ways to save significant amounts of money. It will take some working out and you may need to go without a few things or change brands. This could even help you though as you may discover that you prefer certain items that are cheaper than you were buying before. Also perhaps cutting down on take away food, eating out or excess food could mean that you get healthier too.  It will take time as well, but you could tackle a few areas each month and so make a bit of a saving each month and slowly build up those savings as you swap some things and cut back what you buy in other areas. It can actually be a fun challenge and you could even try it with someone else and have a contest to see who can save the most money.