This post is sponsored by Heritage Bank
Pocket money... do you give it? If so how much? At what age? Pocket money is a big issue for parents as their kids grow up. There is so much conflicting advice on how much you should give, what to give it for and when to give it. Some parents give it in exchange for household jobs, others as a weekly amount to help their children learn to budget.
Growing up my sister and I were given weekly pocket money. It started out as 60c when I was about six, and then worked it's way up to $20 by the time I was in high school. I was never good at saving (I'm still not!) and I was the kid who spent it all on the weekend and then spent the week borrowing from my sister and having to pay it back to her the next week. It was a vicious cycle 😉
My kids don't get pocket money on a weekly basis. Primarily because our income is never consistent enough to promise the same amount each week. I tried when they were smaller but it fizzled out. Now I give them some money when they need it but, like me as a teenager, they both work and earn their own money.
I often feel bad that I'm not giving them regular money so when I saw the below research on pocket money by Heritage Bank I was relieved (and surprised) to find out I was in the norm. Their research found that 74% of parents are buying their children things as they need it, rather than providing a regular weekly amount. It also shows that on average, boys get more than girls and that kids are working pretty hard for their money!
Here's some other facts they discovered:
- Most kids are apparently saving their pocket money (who are these people?!!)
- Most of the time parents are deciding on how much to pay based on the age of the child, but like me, 32% are basing it on what they can afford at the time.
- Half the children getting pocket money are required to at least make their beds and do some indoor chores to earn their pocket money, and 35% have to take care of the family pets to earn their money.
- Kids in NSW are earning the most, with Qld kids making the least amount of pocket money- I wonder why that is?
So how should you manage your child's pocket money? Well financial experts recommend that you teach them to save by setting aside a portion every week for savings. Maybe together you could decide on a bigger item to save up for? This helps teach delayed gratification as well, which is a skill we all want our children to have for life.
Teach your children to work for their money so that they understand the value of money. This will help combat the "easy come, easy go" attitude that kids (and teenagers!) can have towards money. I've definitely noticed that my teenagers are better with their money now that they have to work hard for it!
All in all though, you need to make sure you are doing what's right for your family. Pocket money isn't essential so if you feel like it's not something you can afford right now don't stress about it and feel like your kids are missing out. As you can see by the research pocket money in every home works differently.
Does this research reflect how pocket money works in your house? Share with us how it works for you.
Check out the full research by Heritage Bank below!
Aussie Guide to Pocket Money - An infographic by the team at
Heritage Bank
Jo @ You had us at hello
That's a really interesting study! Do you think kids today don't spend their pocket money on lollies like we did in the 80s because we no longer feel safe letting them walk/ride bikes to the deli. And there's so much talk about sugar these days, lollies aren't as epic as we once thought they were? Haha! My 5 year old watched the Jamie Oliver doc on sugar and he now insists he doesn't want to eat any sugar. He always asks - "Is there sugar in this?" Who is this kid? I do like the idea of pocket money, it teaches such valuable lessons in a want want world 😉