Yahoo Finance Surprising pocket money Aussie kids are earning
How much pocket money should you give your kids? The answer may surprise you.
Aussie families are in cost-cutting mode and pocket money is on the chopping block, according to new research.
Finder’s 2023 Parenting Report, which surveyed 1,033 Australian parents of children under 12, found thousands of Aussie families had docked their kids’ allowances as they struggled with the cost of living.
The research found one in 10 parents admitted their kids received a pay cut this year – that’s equivalent to more than 280,000 families decreasing their children’s pocket money in the past 12 months.
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The average weekly allowance sits at just $8 – down from $10 a year ago – with a total of around $39 million paid to Aussie children this year.
Kids in New South Wales are the nation’s top earners, with an average weekly allowance of $11, followed by Queensland at $8 and Western Australia at $7.
Finder money expert Sarah Megginson said families were having to curb pocket money to cushion rises in other areas.
“Parents have less money to spend due to inflation and are having to rethink how they reward their kids for doing chores,” Megginson said.
“Some parents are having to turn to new ‘currencies’ like extra screen time to encourage youngsters to help around the house.”
Just under two in three parents admitted their kids only received pocket money based on the condition they did their chores.
Top chores included cleaning their room (40 per cent), doing the dishes (30 per cent) helping with the laundry (20 per cent), and taking out the rubbish (19 per cent).
Megginson said pocket money was a good way to instil healthy financial behaviours from a young age.
“It’s a great way to incentivise kids to contribute to the household, and it’s also the first opportunity for children to learn how to manage their money before they get a part-time job,” she said.
“Help your child to set up a kids savings account so they benefit from compound interest from a young age.”
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