# Pocket Money for Kids - What's an appropriate amount.



## locknbarrel (27 Mar 2021)

Hi everyone

I have three young kids. The eldest is now 7. I want to start giving a weekly allowance to start teaching them about money. 

How much do you all give your kids? What's appropriate? It's the usual thing - I'd like them getting an amount that's similar to their peers.

With Covid they are completely removed from actual money. They are never in shops anymore so they don't even see paying for anything. Everything is card oriented nowadays so they rarely see physical money. Getting actual money into their hands and making decisions with it is important.


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## noproblem (27 Mar 2021)

I suppose people differ but giving money to children so young is something I don't see done. There are many other ways one can teach children of where everything comes from and the value of such. Sometimes I wonder is it grown ups that want children growing up so quickly, let them be children and remember they're like very good sponges, they absorb an awful lot from all around them.


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## POC (27 Mar 2021)

I’m a fan of pocket money, and agree 7 is a good age to start. But my kids are much older now so I’m out of touch with suitable amounts for a 7 year old. (A parenting discussion board might be helpful, not sure if Rollercoaster still exists).
Maybe your child will blow all his money on sweets on the day he receives it, or maybe he’ll buy a comic every few weeks, or maybe he’ll save every penny until he has enough for a toy or video game. It’s all valuable learning.
I‘m sure every family has a different way of doing pocket money - but here are some tips from my experiences as a child and parent.
I would suggest the amount starts small (max €1) and increase gradually every year on his birthday. If there are any ‘rules’ or expectations, be clear from the start. For example some families give higher amounts but expect half to be saved. Try to be consistent. Decide what day pocket money is to be paid, make sure you have change and pay it on the due day (especially when the child is young).
By the time he gets to secondary school, jump it up a bit. Continue to increase on birthdays. 
My youngest is in secondary school and gets €8. If he wants to go to the cinema occasionally, he uses his own money. He buys his own phone credit. But we pay for his Leap card, and anything linked with school. He would get cash gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Over the years he tends to save up those gifts for big purchases like technology and gaming. Or if we are buying him something (recent example was a Garmin sports watch) and he wants a better one, he would pay the price difference.
Kids get very resourceful when they have to manage their own money!


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## Thirsty (27 Mar 2021)

My children looked for pocket money when their friends started getting it; the initial plan was they were to complete certain weekly household chores to get it.

Within weeks I found myself in arguments that they had or hadn't done X or Y that week; or Jack had done Jane's job and wanted extra.

I decided life was too short for this carry-on.

So I swapped it around; if they wanted pocket money for something, they would ask, I'd find a task they could do there & then, (suitable to their age at the time) & they got the agreed amount.


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## Gordon Gekko (27 Mar 2021)

We started them at €2 a week at 7, subject to them doing some chores. That seemed to work okay. I’m toying with the idea of Junior Revolut for the eldest. The kids also have savings accounts where the bulk of communion money etc has gone. They also have Disney stock and are learning about the importance of recurring income streams from the likes of Disney+ and spending income rather than capital.


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## Susie2017 (27 Mar 2021)

Can I ask how do they hold their own stocks? I thought you had to be 18 to open a stock account. Mine get no pocket money as yet. Too young at 7 in my view. Any cash gifts are put into their savings account. They can play monopoly and shop for now. Time enough.


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## AndroidMan (27 Mar 2021)

I set a savings target for mine. If they or we want to buy something, I put a plan together that will help us achieve it with some sacrafices.
For example, if we dont get a takeaway and cook instead, we can add that money to wards the item to purchase.
Same when we are out and skipping buying a particular treat, that money also goes towards the item.
We then add the money up that we dont spend and work towards our saving target.
This is useful in the months leading up to a holiday and we come up with a savings plan for their holiday spending money.


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## Monbretia (27 Mar 2021)

Long past pocket money scenario now so don't know going rate but I never liked to link it to helping around the house, in my opinion children should do age appropriate jobs anyway and not for money!   Pick up their clothes, help set table etc, that sort of stuff, life lessons really. 

My grandson who is 6 loves his piggy bank and gets the odd few coins from relatives etc and he knows that when it's full he can spend half of it on a toy and put the rest into the bank so I don't think it's ever too early to introduce the concept of money and managing it.

I had a boss once who gave his children 10p per year of age plus 10p over, always reminded me of cooking a roast!


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## Gordon Gekko (27 Mar 2021)

Susie2017 said:


> Can I ask how do they hold their own stocks? I thought you had to be 18 to open a stock account. Mine get no pocket money as yet. Too young at 7 in my view. Any cash gifts are put into their savings account. They can play monopoly and shop for now. Time enough.



Hi Susie2017,

Through bare trust accounts with a wealth manager.

The accounts are in our names but marked as being beneficially owned by the kids.

Gordon


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## Susie2017 (27 Mar 2021)

I have not heard of a bare trust account. Can you set it up without a wealth manager ? I would like to do it down the road but dont fancy paying anyone apart from the usual stockbroking fees. Could it be done through Davy ?


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## RedOnion (27 Mar 2021)

My eldest is 8, and no pocket money mentioned yet.
They do get money for birthdays and Christmas, and they have their own credit union accounts where it all goes - he tells everyone he's saving up for college! But no regular weekly allowance yet.
Any mention I've heard from him about his friends is they sometimes get some change to buy whatever chocolate they choose in the shop, but that's it.


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## Gordon Gekko (27 Mar 2021)

Susie2017 said:


> I have not heard of a bare trust account. Can you set it up without a wealth manager ? I would like to do it down the road but dont fancy paying anyone apart from the usual stockbroking fees. Could it be done through Davy ?


Could it be done through who?


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## Familyman77 (28 Mar 2021)

Our 2 are 5 and 8 and we do a token chart . X number of tokens is worth €2 and they have to earn the tokens.
 Previously we were giving away their old toys to friends etc or charity shop but since the local charity shop wouldn't take any more we found they were just filling the attic. What they now do is choose which they dont want and we try to sell them online . The eldest is certainly learning about depreciation now!!!


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## Susie2017 (28 Mar 2021)

Depreciation is a good lesson. I'm not sure what you mean about Davy. I heard they have to pay a hefty fine. But otherwise as to their future I'm uncertain. I imagine they must have plenty of shareholders on their books who will have to be looked after ? I just wondered if they would set up a bare trust.


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## noproblem (28 Mar 2021)

Susie2017 said:


> Depreciation is a good lesson. I'm not sure what you mean about Davy. I heard they have to pay a hefty fine. But otherwise as to their future I'm uncertain. I imagine they must have plenty of shareholders on their books who will have to be looked after ? I just wondered if they would set up a bare trust.


"Bare" being the appropriate word when you go back to the cupboard


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## Susie2017 (28 Mar 2021)

Could you elaborate ? They are still open for business last time I checked.


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## RedOnion (28 Mar 2021)

@Susie2017 

Here's an older thread covering the topic, including details of what Davy offer.






						Custodial Accounts as Investments for Children
					

Hi All,   I am looking to set up custodial stock accounts for my children. I came across Zurich's Child Savings Plus.  I am wondering if anyone knows if there are options or possibilities to directly setup custodial accounts in Ireland - I'd rather avoid Zurich's fees if possible.   I was living...



					www.askaboutmoney.com
				




There are a few other threads on the topic of your have a search.

Personally, I have a bare trust in place over regular savings plan with a life company, so all the taxes are looked after by them. Yes, there are fees and charges, 1% government levy, and 41% exit tax. But the simplicity suits me at the moment.


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## Pinoy adventure (28 Mar 2021)

Our child has a savings tin.
We open it every December (which covers xmas stuff) and the rest is banked.he is 8 and doesn't get money directly but weekly money goes into the tin,the post office account & credit union.
It's great too start them from a young age understanding the value of money.


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## Nutso (31 Mar 2021)

We give our son 50c per year of age so he gets an increase each year.  Last year he really wanted a puppy so we agreed he would give up €2 per week to go towards the dog's upkeep (he's ended up being rather more expensive than anticipated!).  It wasn't so much the cost of the dog but I wanted him to understand that these things cost money too.  I don't pay him for doing chores.  He lives here, so he should be involved in helping out around the house without getting extra money for doing so.  If he gets money for birthday/christmas etc, the deal is that he needs to save at least half and he can spend half/save up for something he wants.  If he needs extra money (in fairness not much for the last year!) we discuss it and he would usually get it as long as it's not something ridiculous.


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## michaelm (31 Mar 2021)

locknbarrel said:


> I have three young kids. The eldest is now 7. I want to start giving a weekly allowance to start teaching them about money.


Time enough when they are teens.


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## PGF2016 (31 Mar 2021)

We give €1 per year. i.e. 7 year old gets €7 per week.


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## Baby boomer (31 Mar 2021)

Not really a pocket money thing, but when mine were earning their own money, we used to incentivise savings by matching euro for euro if they were saving for something worthwhile.  Did this right up to matching their deposit for property purchase.  

Not a perfect system and open to "creative accounting" but it worked for us!


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## Ordinary User (31 Mar 2021)

my son is 8 and he's getting 20/month for unloading the dishwasher. he earns it, understands savings and can work out how long he has to wait untill he can buy something he wants. I also show him alternatives, explaining pros and cons, e.g. buying cheaper online but waiting longer vs buying something now but paying more.


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## deanpark (1 Apr 2021)

I give my early teenagers a tenner a week and their (no limit data etc) phone credit is paid for.  I never got regular pocket money when I was their age  (my parents were a bit behind the curve on this)  and I always felt like a bit hard done by compared to my pals at school. I think its important for kids self-esteem that they've got something dependable coming to them weekly so they can plan purchases or a trip out etc.


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## Purple (6 Apr 2021)

I give my 17 year old daughter €50 a week. That has to cover the bus to and from school, pocket money, lunches etc. The result is she makes her lunch and makes sure she doesn't lose her Lead Card.


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## Acorn22 (16 Dec 2021)

Hi does Ireland have a 'gohenry' credit card (on BBC) for kids pocket money?  A lot of the stuff the kids want are online like lifestyle sports, amazon, playstation games.  Thanks


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## murphaph1 (17 Dec 2021)

Our son gets a fiver a week in exchange for taking care of the bins, recycling etc including bringing out the wheelie bins and taking them back in. If he neglects it and I have to empty a bin myself because it's completely full, a € is docked, just like the real world.

We also do a behaviour chart where he gets stars in the evening for doing, or not doing certain things (keeping playroom tidy, getting a good grade, not swearing etc.). When he has 500 stars he can pick a toy or whatever of his choosing for about €50. Takes him about 3 months to achieve the 500 I find.

We also save a €100 a quarter for him in his own ETFs. A simple msci world job. We're in Germany though and it's easy to set that up with our bank. That will be turned over to him automatically on his 18th birthday. Hopefully he continues to save into it. He is quite good at saving up though.


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## dodo (19 Dec 2021)

locknbarrel said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> I have three young kids. The eldest is now 7. I want to start giving a weekly allowance to start teaching them about money.
> 
> ...


Always remember someone many years ago giving per age, eg if you are 10 yrs you get 10e but must not get for free, must do some small chores around the house.


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## Odea (20 Dec 2021)

I give my 18 year old grand daughter €18 per week. €1 per year of age.   I have started my grand son on pocket money now that he is 6. I give him €5 per week.....always in coins. When he gets a little older I will match his age with his pocket money.

As I don't see them every week it adds up to having Securicor present on transfer.  I have 3 other grand children aged under 3 so I will probably need an armed Securicor Guard present on transfer....shortly.


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## Leo (21 Dec 2021)

kingvagabond said:


> Hi does Ireland have a 'gohenry' credit card (on BBC) for kids pocket money? A lot of the stuff the kids want are online like lifestyle sports, amazon, playstation games. Thanks


At £3 a month membership fee per child?


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## Acorn22 (26 Dec 2021)

Leo said:


> At £3 a month membership fee per child?


Yes, I forgot about the charges.  It would probably eat up any bit of pocket money the kids would have.


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## Carnmore (26 Dec 2021)

Whatever amount you decide to give, link it to doing some age-appropriate tasks, in addition to everyday helping around the house for no payment


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## Purple (27 Dec 2021)

Carnmore said:


> Whatever amount you decide to give, link it to doing some age-appropriate tasks, in addition to everyday helping around the house for no payment


My teenage kids do their own washing. One had to ensure the bins are emptied and put our for collection. He’s  also in charge of vacuuming the floors.  Another cooks a couple of times a week and keeps the bathrooms clean. They can all cook, even the 12 year old (she’s also a good baker). Yes, it’s really important that they learn basic life skills.


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## Hansen (3 Jan 2022)

Mine put their savings into a credit union account which encourages them at present.


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## MrEarl (3 Jan 2022)

Whatever you give, make sure it's subject to the kids doing a few small jobs


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## misemoi (3 Jan 2022)

Not 100% sure I agree with it being linked to jobs ...jobs need to be done regardless so I think it's best that the kids know that  we need to live in a clean house, eat home cooked food etc and a contribution to the labour required for that would be expected of them as members of the household. I definitely agree with pocket money but more to provide a child who can't yet earn with an income to teach them how to manage money, goals, risks, interest etc.


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## Purple (8 Jan 2022)

misemoi said:


> I definitely agree with pocket money but more to provide a child who can't yet earn with an income to teach them how to manage money, goals, risks, interest etc.


Or so that they can have a small level of independence and self respect and not have to ask for money for every little thing.
What if your 14 year old wants to buy cigarettes or vodka or condoms?


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