The issue of pocket money has always been a popular topic of conversation for parents. Is it really a lesson in money management, or has it just become an expectation from children? The biggest question of all though usually revolves around what an appropriate amount really is and when it should be given. Below are some helpful questions to ask yourself when trying to determine how much is enough.
What Is Your Budget?
Before you decide how much pocket money your child should be receiving, it’s important to take a look at your own budget to make sure this cost can be incorporated. For some people, the budget can be relatively tight to begin with, so you may be limited in the first place. If you are unsure on how much will be suitable based on your own budget, try speaking to a financial institute such as Heritage Bank to help clarify some of the complicated details.
What Do You Expect It to Pay For?
What you actually want your child to use this money for will have a great impact on how much you give them. If you want them to learn to save in general, smaller amounts may work a treat. However, if you want them to learn to save as well as how to put money aside for toys or activities, then you may have to look at increasing the pocket money to accommodate both objectives.
What Do You Want Them to Learn?
Material rewards are one thing, but what do you want your child to learn in regards to life lessons? This question revolves around what money means to you, and this can certainly affect how much your child gets. For example, you may want them to learn that bad behaviour is not rewarded. Pocket money can effectively teach children the importance of patience, so you may prefer to associate it with how saving small amounts over time will result in a large positive outcome, as opposed to the instant and short-lived gratification of immediately spending every dollar they earn.
How Much Pocket Money Do Other Children Get?
You may not want to give your child a certain amount of money just because that’s what their best friend is getting, but it’s not a bad place to start when working out your own base rate. Chatting to other parents to scope out what they see as an appropriate amount is a great idea, especially if you’re not even sure of a ballpark figure at this stage.
Will They Earn It?
To determine a price, it’s important to make a decision about what has to be done to get it. For example, you may wish to only provide your child with an allowance if they are earning it through chores. Or you might like to provide it at a set amount and not offer it as a reward at all. However, a great idea could be a happy medium between the two where you provide pocket money at a base rate and bump it up when extra jobs get done around the house.
Pocket money can provide children with an abundance of life lessons including working to achieve, how saving is the way to buy something you want, and how money definitely doesn’t grow on trees. It’s important to enforce these regularly, no matter how much pocket money you decide to give.
How did you decide how much pocket money your child will receive?
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