A lot of you readers would have gotten some form of pocket money when you were younger. Some would have gotten it for doing chores around the house. Its been many years (decades) since I got it and I vaguely remember getting £2 or £3 every weekend as long as I hadn’t been “naughty” that week. But did it teach me anything?

All the knowledge I have about finances such as the pros and cons of credit cards, the importance of savings and debt, are all things I’ve learnt as an adult.

Pocket money certainly didn’t generate interest and the bank of mum and dad didn’t have an overdraft facility. The sum itself was enough to buy some sweets but nothing major (I could probably have gotten the sweets by just asking for them or looking in the pantry)

Maybe if I had been made to work for it or my parents had simulated some sort of fake bank account that paid interest and could be used to take out loans It might have closer resembled the real world and I would have paid more attention.

I think the only lesson I learnt was how annoying it was for my dad to find the exact coins needed to pay out every weekend.

Please send me a message if your own experience with an allowance taught you anything about finances and helped prepare you for the big bad world as an adult.

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