While adults struggle in the UK with reduced budgets and rising prices, kids are laughing all the way to the bank, with pocket money increasing year on year.
On average, kids have seen their weekly allowance rise by 36 pence a week according to recent information produced by Halifax.
This hike brings to an end a 7 year drought where kids have had to endure falls in their weekly pocket money and equates to an extra £18.72 in their pockets each year.
More than 8 in 10 children receive pocket money each week which was unchanged from last year.
The average pocket money is now £6.25 in 2011 up from £5.89 in 2010 – an inflation busting 6%!
However, some kids may look back at to bygone better days. Today’s pocket money levels fall well short of the heady times of 2003 when children could expect a weekly sum of almost £8.40.
The gender gap has also continued to close with boys earning £6.41 per week and girls £6.09 – now only a 32p per week gap compared to 40p last year.
Girls aged 12-15 are only 11p behind their male counterparts receiving 7.24 per week.
Not surprisingly, 12-15 year olds get significantly more (£7.30) pocket money than 8-11 year olds (£5.05) with 15 year olds topping the table with £8.38 per week. The lowest pocket money incline was £4.44 received by 8 year olds.
Tim Corfield comments ‘teaching children financial lessons by using pocket money will quickly give them an understanding of basic budgeting and the financial consequences associated with making and spending money’.
