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Pocket money! It’s hard to get an “industry standard” so I’ve looked to others for help!

7 towers of pound coins displayed on a white background going upwards like a graph from left to right

The little guy is shortly turning 6 and has started to become more interested in buying things, leading us to try and teach him about earning his own money. When I was younger, I remember having to do chores to earn my pocket money to give a little lesson in working for something (although I definitely got more than I earned) and it helped give me an idea on the value of things. As I am no expert when it comes to this, I sought advice from my fellow parenting bloggers to get insight into what the going rate for pocket money is these days, what kids are having to do to earn it (if anything) and the ages that are suitable! Here are some of the ways you can work out pocket money, so it may help you decide on a “minimum wage” if you will!

Based on Chores: 

If, like I had, you base pocket money on chores and earnings, here are some of the going rates for pocket money:

My boys earn money for doing odd jobs, 20p or 50p depending on the task. They don’t have pocket money for doing nothing though.” –  Jaymee at The Mum Diaries

“We tend to give our 9 and 7 year old £10pm, they help out a lot with housework, whether that’s helping tidying up the kitchen after dinner, cleaning out their rabbits or tidying up the lounge at the end of the day & they are also a huge help with their 14 month old brother!” – Gemma at Mummy in the Mad House

“My eldest boy is 61/2 and he has jobs to do such as laying the table for dinner every night. We don’t have a weekly set amount for pocket money, but we do tell him that if he lays the table every night that he can have a treat like a comic from the supermarket.” – Mother and 3 Sons

“I give my 12 year old £7 a week if he completes his chores which are homework, emptying dishwasher every day, taking out recycling, playing with his sister whilst I do cooking, putting washing away.” – Ally at Slimsights

“Our 8 year old has 4 jobs to each day (except weekends) because we all deserve time off! She has to to tick a box on her job sheet when its done and gets paid £3.20 each week. If she doesn’t want to do thd job, we don’t push her and she doesn’t get to tick the box. Works really well. We sometimes short change her or over pay her; she counts and tells us! Great way to teach hard work, consequences, counting and values.” – Carol at Virtually All Sorts

Based on Age:

Different ages need money for different things and also prices have a tendency to go up! Here are a few ways you can give pocket money based on the age of your kids.

“I’d say £1 for every year of their life. That way your never going to have to cough up more than £16pw!” – Becky at Mommy and Rory

” My kids get £1 per year of their life on payday. It generally goes straight into their bank accounts and then on holidays or days out they choose what toy to get if there’s no money in the pot they don’t get it. They have to do sweeping and that’s pretty much all at the moment when they get older they will get more chores.” – A Mum Doing Her Best 

Based On Behaviour:

Rewarding behaviour can be an excellent idea, and some parents choose to use pocket money as a reward, or alternatively the removal of pocket money as a punishment, here are some of the rates here:

“My son has £1 a week he is almost 12 and he has to be good all week at school or he doesn’t get it. At home, he can earn extra doing jobs if he wishes but has to do some jobs anyway without payment. He very rarely does extra!” – Jen at Just Average Jen

“Mine get a magazine of their choice every Friday if they have been good all week.
They can also do a few jobs around the house to get £2 on a Saturday” – Clare at This Mummy’s Always Write 

“Ours are 6 and 9 and terrible sleepers. They get 50p per night they sleep through and don’t disturb us. Usually we pay about £2 each a week.” – Amy at Eps and Amy

“My two (11 and 9) earn £5 each a week. The ‘deal’ is that they show respect to each other, and their belongings (and they keep their bedrooms in order). The money gets paid directly into their GoHenry accounts. What I like about this is that they ‘buy their own’ toys and treats when we’re out and about. You can more or less watch them re-consider the ‘need’ to having to have something, knowing it is their own money that they are paying with. I never thought I’d see it, but I have watched them put things back on the shelves and walk away! It gives them a little bit of money responsibility – but they have to earn it. I can (and have) stopped the payments some weeks.”  – Tracey at Pack The PJs

two child hands holding a green caterpillar, close up shot behaving well for pocket money

Ad Hoc: 

Every parent (and child) is different, so here are some other interesting ways to work out or give out pocket money:

“We do £1/week for our four-year-old, 50p is for spending as she likes, 10p for giving away, 25p for for saving, and 15p for buying presents (we pay for gifts for friends, the 15p/week is for buying a birthday/Christmas gift for myself, my husband and her brother – we don’t expect her to spend much more than £1/gift). We’ve just started and it’s a lot for her to get her head around but we want her to get into the habit of budgeting and saving up for things she wants.” – Becca at Pears and Chocolate Sauce

“Mine are still a bit young for pocket money – 4 and 6 – but we are using this great app to help teach them how to manage their birthday money and Christmas money and I do occasionally reward them by adding some money in to their accounts. I think giving money before they can appreciate the difference between wanting and needing things (toys!!) is just asking for it to be thrown down the drain at The Disney Store!!” – Emma at The Money Whisperer

Our Pocket Money Plan

When our little guy turns 6, our current plan is to combine behaviour and chores and have a standard weekly amount that he will receive as long as he generally meets this. Someone mentioned to me in passing that you can take off certain amounts for bad behaviour during the week so that one meltdown doesn’t mean they lose everything and I quite like this idea! I have also used reward charts in the past so may have to create another one so that we can track progress! I will keep you all updated.

It is important to note that a lot of other parents I have spoken to don’t believe in pocket money up to certain ages, instead choosing other ways to teach their children about money. Just like with parenting, there is no right answer and you shouldn’t worry or let others define what you can (or can’t afford) or what you want to do but hopefully, this has given you a good place to start on rates and how they can earn!

I would love to hear what your going rate for pocket money is, drop it in the comments below and I will add you to the list 🙂 

What is the going rate for pocket money now, how can you work out the amount to give them or what age do you start? Easy, with the help of fellow parents! #parenting #pocketmoney #parents #mums #mumchat

15 comments on “How To Decide On Pocket Money Amounts”

  1. I think pocket money is a good way for children to learn about managing ‘finances’. However, I’m not sure the parents or kids of today have the patience to save up for things – it is easier to put it on credit. Some good ideas here Charlotte.

  2. My eldest is 13 and doesn’t get pocket money but I do give him money whenever he needs it. I always think I would be better off if he had an allowance!

  3. When we were younger and helped with chores we didnt get pocket money from it but when we got a little older mum gave us same amount for different work that we did

  4. There’s some really interesting approaches here and a lot I had not thought of.My daughter is 6 next year so I think we best start thinking about what tactics we are going to use

  5. Great post and tips. Mine have money as and when they need it ( yep they always need it) but I think I should start setting them jobs because they never want to tidy up unless there is something good involved at the end.

  6. My children don’t get pocket money, I never when I was a child either we just buy them things if they have been good etc. However with my teen she has to keep her room tidy and help tidy the lounge on an evening in return for her phone contract x

  7. The little ones don’t get pocket money but once they turn 11 we open an account for them and they get an allowance. It was £20 a month but with inflation it will probably be more soon

  8. Me and my hubby are always go and back and fourth with the subject and changing the girls amount or adding extra chores on their list . Great info Hun x

  9. Oh we are really struggling with pocket money, part of me thinks they should help out because thats what families should do, but then I think it teaches them ‘working for their money’….I just don’t know! So it’s been interesting to read this

  10. It is a really difficult thing to decide the right amount. I think when my boys are old enough for pocket money it will be earned by doing chores, I think it instils a good work ethic and an understanding of the value of money.

  11. Oo I haven’t thought of this yet – its hard to know what’s right to do. My thoughts at the moment are that our daughters would have to do chores to ‘earn’ their pocket money, but not sure what we’ll end up doing 🙂

  12. I’m a little way off having to think about this, but my parents based mine and my sister’s pocket money on our ages. Which annoyed my YOUNGER sister! When we turned 13, we then had to get a paperround (my Dad ran a newsagents, so it went with the territory!)

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