How much pocket money do you give? Weekly average is now £7

New research shows that today’s kids have had a pocket money pay rise. They now get an average of £7 a week up from last year’s average of £6.55, according to the annual Halifax Pocket Money Survey.

This means that children’s pocket money pay rise easily outstrips inflation – and is likely to mean they’re beating their parents’ pay rise rate.

Whether you pay your kids £7 a week, more or less than this, it’s important to make sure your kids learn the value of money and how to budget it. Let’s take a look at the research and how you can give your little ones the right financial start in life.

What the survey says

1,200 children spoke about their pocket money for this research. The figures put the average weekly pocket money at just over £7 and in London, it’s almost £8 a week.

For some parents, this figure is likely to come as a shock as it’s much higher than they would have ever got for pocket money. But it’s clear from the research that pocket money payouts are increasing for the nation’s children.

And what’s more, two in five of the children in the research say they thought they weren’t getting enough pocket money. So is £7 a fair enough weekly amount or are we all short-changing our kids?

Budgeting with the kids

Of course, teaching your kids about money isn’t just about giving them weekly pocket money. It’s also a good idea to make sure they know how to budget it, save it and spend it.

One good way you can do this is by giving your little one a money box. You can use this to teach them that they don’t need to spend the money you give them straight away – they can put it in the piggy bank to save up for something bigger.

This can also encourage them to work towards a savings goal – and there’s nothing like that sense of achievement when they get to reap the rewards of their hard work and buy whatever they’ve saved up for.

You can also introduce a rewards system by giving them pocket money when they complete certain jobs or chores. Make a list or a chart and let them know how much they’ll get for each chore they do. This can help them learn the value of hard work – not to mention getting the house cleaned quicker!

Just make sure they know what jobs they can get pocket money for and what chores they have to do anyway. You don’t want them to start trying to charge you for something they’d usually do without a second thought.

Check out our blog on teaching your child to save from an early age for more tips.