How Much Pocket Money Should I Give to my Children?

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.