CHILDREN and teenagers are in luck financially at the moment – there's been a rise in pocket money.
On average, youngsters now get £6.55 a week from their parent or guardian, marking the highest figure seen since 2007. It's also a pay rise of nearly 6 per cent compared with 2015, when the average weekly pocket money payout was £6.20.
More than four-fifths (81 per cent) now receive pocket money, which is also higher than the percentage in 2015.
WHO GETS THE MOST CASH?
It appears that boys have more to celebrate than girls, though.
Research among eight to 15-year-olds found on average, boys get a weekly allowance of £6.93, compared to just £6.16 for girls – with this significant pocket money gender gap making boys more than 12 per cent better off.
Looking at how different age groups fare, the Halifax Pocket Money Survey also found nine-year-olds get the least pocket money, at £4.68 on average, while 14-year-olds receive most, at £8.03 typically.
Parents tend to start giving out pocket money when their child is aged six to seven.
ARE YOUNGSTERS HAPPY WITH WHAT THEY'RE GETTING?
Despite general pocket money increases, more than two-fifths (42 per cent) of children still think they should get more, although just over half of the more than 1,200 children surveyed think the amount they get's about right, and around one in five (23 per cent) believe their friends get more pocket money than they do.
The rebound in weekly pocket money payouts still has some way to go before it hits a previous record average of £8.37, reached in 2005.
SAVE OR SPLURGE?
Head of Halifax Savings Giles Martin, says: "Pocket money is a great training tool in money management and a fantastic way of instilling a sense of the value of money from an early age. Getting children to set aside even just a small amount each week can help them to develop a strong savings habit that will serve them well through to adulthood."
According to the research, nearly four-fifths (79 per cent) of children save some of their pocket money, up 70 per cent from 2015's results.
Around one in eight (12 per cent) now save all of their money, up from one in 10 last year, and nearly a third save half their money, up from a quarter in 2015. Ten-year-olds were found to be the savviest savers, with nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) saving some or all of their pocket money.
Meanwhile, 13-year-olds were least likely to save – with just over seven in 10 (71 per cent) doing so.
Parents are also doing their bit to encourage the next generation of savers. The research, which also surveyed more than 500 parents, found nine in 10 encourage their children to save some of their pocket money – while 9 per cent try to encourage their children to put all the cash away.
