Cat tunnels for catio wanted

[chickenanne]

Personally I reckon that spending taxpayers money on schemes designed to keep teens in education is a Good Thing, even if some of the money is wasted. I can appreciate how frustrating it must be if you just miss out on the means-tested limits, but I guess there's got to be some cut-off. It's important that people are able to choose what to spend money on, even at 16 or 17 with (you'd hope!) a bit of guidance from parents.

I too had a job from (gasp) the age of 12, working 8am till 6pm 4 days a week in holidays and both days at weekends in term time (not stirctly legal, even then!) and was paid a pittance for what would even now at my age be considered long hours....I do think that is FAR too young, but at least it gives a real meaning to the value of money.

[Cinnamon]

Personally I reckon that spending taxpayers money on schemes designed to keep teens in education is a Good Thing, even if some of the money is wasted. I can appreciate how frustrating it must be if you just miss out on the means-tested limits, but I guess there's got to be some cut-off. It's important that people are able to choose what to spend money on, even at 16 or 17 with (you'd hope!) a bit of guidance from parents.

 

 

Exactly.

 

Having her weekly EMA payment has given my daughter more responsibility & made her more aware of doing as well as she possibly can in college.

 

She also has her own earnings from her job at Waitrose,with which she is saving for her Uni education,& also for a College trip later this summer.

 

Oh, & her College coach pass casts £850 A YEAR!!!!!

Yes, you read that right.

It is subsidised,which brings it down to £260 a year,which is still a lot as far as I am concerned.

Public transport is not an option where we live (bus goes to Henley at 6.45am, College starts at 8.45 ,plus no pavements in village & no street lighting),so its the coach in or I drive her in.

 

It is paid to the student as its for the expenses they incur at College. Books alone cost almost £200 when she started last September!. Family allowence is paid to me to help me with the expense of having a teenager to feed

 

The EMA has gone a long way to help cover this cost for us & although I am sure that some students will abuse the privilige of being given this money every week,most are sensible,hard working & responsible people who want to do well & this money will aid them in that.

[Jules.]

My eldest gets no "official" pocket money now from us, he used to get £5 each month.

He now has bass guitar lesson every fortnight at £12.50 a pop, he used to have them weekly when hubby was working. Grandma gives him £1 week, Grandad has paid for his Wigan season ticket. He cleans out the chickens for me weekly, & has to hoover the house a couple of times a week. He has his own bank account which has just given him a card. He's taken to going to Starbucks after school to buy coffee with his friend

 

Youngest also doesn't get " official" money, but gets ice cream every weekend from the ice cream man, & chocolate from the shop.

 

We put money into their bank accounts every now & then. They have more savings than we have

[alih]

My 15-year-old gets £35 a month but she has to buy pretty much all her clothes (other than schoo stuff of course, toiletries etc) and all her social from that. She earns the rest by babysitting.

 

My 13-year-old gets £12.50 a month (it will go up to £15 next birthday) but that is pin money although she does earn money too by helping my sister with her children once a week.

 

I pay for their phones (£15/month) on top. They have everything they need. We live in an area where some kids have money seemingly raining from the sky but they don't complain.

 

It's a tough call and everyone has to make their own decisions though.

[chickenanne]

My sis and I each cooked 1 night a week (which was a blessing, really as when we left home we could manage fine). We lit the stove, brought the logs in, etc becuase we were generally home before my parents were in, so otherwise we'd've been freezing waiting for them, and then waiting for the stove to heat the room up.

We took it in turns to do the washing up/dishwasher etc, and typically spent most of one day at the weekend helping dad with stuff like fixing fences and the like. I'm in my late 20's now so this isn't "ye olden days" , but as these domesticy jobs are for the good of everyone in the house, it seems fair enough to share them out amongst all who benefit from them.