How much pocket money do your children get?

We don’t give our kids any pocket money, at least not yet.

Megan (8), Lottie (6, turning 7 tomorrow) and Ryan (4) instead earn ‘beads’ as a reward for good behaviour.

When they fill up their mason jar with these small beads, they get to choose a treat; we encourage experiences such as a trip to Bocketts Farm rather than toys.

This system seems to work just fine. For now.

This means that Megs, Lottie and Ryan won’t be too fussed to learn that the average amount children receive from their parent or guardian has fallen 4.8% in the last two years.

This is according to the latest publication of Halifax’s annual Pocket Money Survey, one of my favourite personal finance surveys.

In fact, average weekly pocket money has fallen from a six-year high of £6.50 in 2013 to just £6.20 a week now.

As well as declining pocket money levels, fewer parents are given their children any pocket money at all.

[tweet_box]The number of children who receive weekly pocket money has fallen by 4% since 2014, to 78%.[/tweet_box]

Despite children receiving less pocket money on average than they did last year, there has also been a 2% fall in the number of children who think they ought to receive more pocket money. This is now at 41%.

Over half of children (51%) now believe they get the right amount of pocket money, up 3% on 2014.

Expectations seems to be matching reality in the pocket money stakes.

Halifax found that a quarter of children continue to believe that their friends get more pocket money than they do, with 7% thinking they get less than their friends (down 2% on last year).

According to the survey, over a third of children (34%) say that they don’t know how much pocket money their friends receive as they have never talked about it, up 5% on 2014.

Perhaps talking about pocket money should be encouraged, to break the taboo which continues to surround money and help people of all ages become more open about important financial topics?

Halifax also looked at what children do with their pocket money, finding that most kids (70%) save at least some of their pocket money

One in ten children save all of their pocket money and a quarter of kids save about half of it. It’s really encouraging to see a savings habit develop at such an early age, something we certainly encouraging with our own children.

The boys are however putting the girls to shame when it comes to saving their pocket money.

Around two thirds of girls (67%) surveyed are saving some of their pocket money, compared to almost three quarters (73%) of boys.

Giving pocket money, even modest amounts, can be a great tool for helping children understand the value of money as well as the importance of budgeting and saving.

How much pocket money do your children get and do they need to do anything in return to earn the pocket money?