Monthly allowance for 16 year old

[mrs_overall]

My daughter will be 16 shortly & is staying on at school in the 6th form. I give her £10 a week pocket money. I buy all her clothes, toiletries etc
She has asked if she can have a monthly allowance when she reaches 16. Out of this allowance she will then be responsible for budgeting for all her clothes, toiletries, socialising, school lunches etc.
I think it's a good idea but can anyone suggest what the amount should be?

[redcrx]

good idea as she will start to really learn the value of money. how much do you spend on her toiletries and clothes at the moment, try and work out a rough figure from there.
I would suggest something in the region of £20 a week perhaps, lets face it, those who are in first job and trying to juggle rent etc probably have similar for personal items.

[mrs_overall]

Thanks red. That's the amount Mr O suggested

[hc4361]

How much can you afford?
You will need to work out how much she will need for bus fares, school lunches, toiletry essentials before you consider money for extras.
I would suggest £50 a month minimum on top of those costs. £100 would be more realistic as a minimum but it depends on your own situation.

[mrs_overall]

pixi - EMA is being abolished

[craft1948]

If she's getting £10 now £20 won't be much..............how much are school lunches alone?

[redcrx]

ah sorry Mrs O, i missed school lunches. My sons school meals are £10.50 a week, thats a lot to budget for each month.

is she expecting the extra to cover all the things and she still have the £10 a week for her pocket?

[McMouse]

Over and above the £10 pocket money what are you paying for her clothes toiletries etc? That should give you a good start on calculating her monthly allowance.

[mrs_overall]

Hmm, I forgot just how much school lunches are. Maybe £100 a month is more realistic

[DTCwordfan]

she does buy lunch, doesn't she? - as if she gets the money she may choose not to eat, which defeats the purpose of paying her for food.....you know your own daughter of course, but just in case you hadn't thought of that one....

[milly143]

Can't she get a Saturday job?

[mrs_overall]

milly, she is visually impaired and can't work

[mrs_overall]

DT, she does buy lunch - one of my friends is a dinner lady at her school so I know exactly what she spends and eats

[mrs_overall]

helen - I have 2 sons as well as her. The eldest is at Uni and he is a bigger drain on our finances than the other two put together

[ummmm]

I would suggest the child benefit as well...

I think you can get that paid straight into her bank...

[annie0000]

We do this with our boys already (they are 10 and 9) - we gradually increase the money each year but also increase what they are responsible for buying. Personally I would track what you are actually spending on her already and thats the amount she should receive. For example what about Haircuts, presents for friends, trips to the cinema? etc. Hoe much realistically do you spend on her clothes/shoes, will you expect her to buy school books etc. Once you have decided on an amount and what she is responsible for, I would get her to track what she is spending on what ceratinly for the firts few months, then you can see whether what you give her is reasonable or not. You need to remember that there are some things that she wont necessarily need to buy in the firts few months that she will need to keep money put by for e.g. new school stuff for the new term.

It is a great way to teach financial responsibility and to show them the value of money. Good luck with it. There is a good book on doing this but the name escapes me. I'll look for it later and let you know.

[dotty.]

She can start a weekend job after the last week of June, she needs to get her CV organised and get in there, especially if there might be any seasonal work. As for a monthloy allowance, you need to establish exactly what that is for, if it is for travel to college as well as entertainment then she needs to know how to prioritise