Pocket money rose more than inflation in the UK last year, and children have found ways to boost their income on top of that, according to a new report.
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Despite a wider financial crisis in the UK, British children have reason to be joyful with new data showing that their allowances – known as ‘pocket money’ in Britain – have exceeded at the times inflation and their parents’ salary increases over the past year.
Compared to a year ago, allowances climbed an average of 10.69%, outpacing inflation, which rose 10.4% on an annual basis for the period covered by the index. pocket money from NatWest Rooster Money released on Thursday.
On average, children in the UK now receive £333.84 ($415.08) of pocket money a year, which is £32.24 more than in the previous period studied. On a weekly basis, the average is now £6.42, around $8, or £0.62 more than a year earlier.
Six-year-olds saw the largest year-over-year increase, more than triple that of inflation, at 34.5%. They now receive £3.94 a week, more than a pound more than the previous figure of £2.93.
15-year-olds were the only ones to see their pocket money drop, from £0.52 to £9.72 a week. Those just a year older, however, took home the biggest sum of money – 16-year-olds received £12.75 a week, slightly more than the average 12-year-old, £59 for 17 year olds.
But the cost of living crisis is having an impact on pocket money, points out Will Carmichael, CEO and co-founder of NatWest Rooster Money.
“Household budgets are stretched like never before, and we have seen fewer children receiving weekly pocket money on a regular basis compared to 2021/22,” he said in the report, adding that many however, many families try to prevent children from being affected. by rising prices.
The Annual NatWest Rooster Money pocket money index is based on data from 126,122 children in the UK which was collected between March 2022 and February 2023. ‘Pocket money’ is defined as the sum of regular allowances and supplements from things like birthdays, fairy teeth, good grades and chores.
Pocket money supplements
Birthdays bring the biggest boost with an average of £47.01, according to the report, with good exam grades or reports coming in second at £15.98, around £1 less than the last year. Of all subjects, good grades in math will give kids the biggest extra pocket money.
Other common reasons parents top up their child’s allowance are good behaviour, homework, reading and the tooth fairy – which, however, adds an average of just £3.24 to children’s income .
When it comes to chores, the financial rewards for the five most popular chores range from £2.46 for cleaning the car to £0.64 for helping with the garden.
In addition to pocket money, children also earn extra money, according to the report. Reselling their clothes and toys has given them the biggest boost – at an average of £26.26 on average. Childcare comes in second, with a notable 24% increase in the amount of money earned, while tutoring comes in third.
Save and spend
The kids aren’t spending all their money either – on average they save 8% of their money, or £27.94 each a year. For every 6-17 year old in the UK, that would total just over £265million, NatWest Rooster Money has calculated.
“That’s enough to fund The LEGO Movie (and four sequels) or buy 80,547,985 Happy Meals,” the report said.
Happy Meal makers McDonald’s was also one of the places kids like to spend their money, coming in fourth. Apple had a head start, while the top two spots were taken by UK supermarket chains Tesco and Coop.
Another supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s, completes the top five. Online spending on platforms such as PlayStation Network and Microsoft Xbox has declined – now in ninth and tenth place.
“Despite the progress in things like in-game currencies, it’s clear that some things aren’t changing,” Carmichael said.
“Kids still flock to stores and newsagents, probably to buy the classic candies, drinks and snacks, as many of us will remember doing when we were kids!”
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