Wondering what the average pocket money for kids by age is? How about where kids are spending the most pocket money? We’ve dug into the data so that you can find out the average pocket money kids have been receiving, where they are spending their money, and what they are saving-up for the most. Check out all the essential info from our Pocket Money Index below!
A Year in Review
On average, Rooster Money kids earned £333.84 from March 2022 – February 2023 – that’s an increase of £32.24 on average from 2021/22. They’ve been earning this through regular allowances, boosts to their Rooster account (for things like birthday gifts, tooth fairy visits, and good marks at school) and payments for completing their chores.
To our surprise here at Rooster Money, the long-standing champion, Saturday, was dethroned by Friday as the most popular day for receiving regular pocket money, with 24% of kids receiving their pocket money on that day, surpassing Saturday’s 23%.
Regular allowances are given by 57% of Rooster Money parents and guardians, which is down from 65% in 2021/22. Despite this drop, it’s good news for kids as payments overall have increased by a whopping 10.69%, a figure that comfortably outpaces inflation (ONS, 2023) with the average increasing by £0.62 to £6.42 per week.
Average Kids Pocket Money by Age
In previous Pocket Money Indexes, we found that the going rate has consistently risen with age; surprisingly though, this time round it was 16-year-olds who enjoyed the biggest weekly pay-day. As kids hit 17, earnings start to drop off slightly, suggesting that perhaps the Bank of Mum & Dad start to reduce their payouts as kids approach more financial independence. Six-year-olds were awarded the biggest pay rise, with a huge 34.5% increase to their take home pay, bringing it to £3.94.
Kids’ regular pocket money earnings per week (that is their pocket money before extra top ups and payments for chores) can be found below. This is the amount that parents will often set in the app to be paid weekly or monthly, either on the condition of doing chores or simply as part of a regular allowance.
Earning Essentials
47% of Rooster families have been using the Chores* feature for their kids to earn their regular allowance: helpful bits like chore reminders, sharing pictures of completed tasks, and chore approvals from parents and guardians have helped earn pocket money for kids. Some of the most popular chores, and the amount paid per chore, include…
In addition to regular allowances, one-off top-ups (what we like to call ‘boosts’) have been a big driver of kids’ wealth in 2022/23, earning them an extra £128.96 each on average. In fact, they account for 39% of Rooster Money kids’ earnings – ranging from occasional treats, tooth fairy visits, and presents from aunts, uncles, and grandparents (all vying to be the favourite!) who can transfer money to the parent account for parents to divvy out to their kids via boosts.
Super Savers
The cost of living loomed large in 2022/23, leading many households to curb their spending – and it seems like Rooster Money kids cottoned on, setting aside a huge 8% of their earnings into their pots. That’s almost as much as their adult counterparts, with the latest household savings ratio sitting at 9.3% (ONS, 2023). Whether they were popping pocket money into their savings on their own, or taking advantage of the Rooster Money app’s** split allowance feature, that’s an achievement kids should be proud of!
Using savings pots on the Rooster Money app, kids have been setting some awesome goals, and in some cases hitting them. Saving up for a range of items and personal goals has allowed them to focus on what was most personally important to them. Seeing their pot grow with every deposit could’ve been a driving factor in meeting their goals, some of which were quite high! Some of our favourite success stories were:
💰 £1000 for a savings account
✈️ £900 for a travel fund
There were also some big ambitions, with kids showing some real aspiration…
🏡 £300,000 for a house
🖥 £250,000 to create a computer
All this awesome saving gives us an insight into what kids are most interested in, with the top four most popular savings categories staying the same year on year. Interestingly, though, gaming currencies have shot up to number five, knocking arts & crafts off its previous spot. With a huge increase of 220% in savings goals for video game currencies, this category shot up from 11th to 5th in just one year.
Seasonal Savings
There was also a fluctuation of savings throughout the year, with kids saving most of their money (10.49% to be precise) in December, to save up for their friends’ and family’s Christmas presents (or just putting away their own Christmas cash!). January was another bumper month, with 9.2% of the year’s savings, presumably from new year’s resolutions buzz. Other big spikes came in March (9.3%) and April (8.81%), perhaps due to easter treats, and there was a significant bump in July (8.64%), too, with an action-packed summer holiday on the horizon with kids looking forward to using their Rooster Card on holiday for poolside treats and other holiday goodies.
Savvy Spending
Rooster kids have been making the most of the Rooster Card’s*** contactless payments to change the landscape of the top places to spend. They’ve taken two of ‘the big four’ supermarkets down a peg, with only Tesco and Sainsbury’s making the top ten list. The Co-op took the top spot for not only supermarkets, but places to spend as a whole, having knocked Tesco off of the number 1 spot.
With the Rooster Card’s online spending (which can be turned off at any time!), kids have continued showing their love for games and goodies on the PlayStation Network and Microsoft Xbox online stores, as well as buying treats on Amazon.
Kids aren’t just spending, though: they are also giving back with their pocket money. They’ve been showing their philanthropic side, regularly donating to various good causes ranging from animal welfare to disasters and emergencies.
This all goes to show that today’s kids are generous and thoughtful with their own money, and have an understanding of the benefits of helping others. With ‘children and young people’ in the number one spot in the highest average donation amount by cause, it shows they’re aware of and eager to support other children who might be less fortunate than them.
Yearning for more?
Check out the full Pocket Money Index report, or check out what the data told us about how kids have been savvy earners.
*Chores is part of our subscription services of which fees and eligibility criteria apply.
**Eligibility criteria apply.
***Card for ages 6-17. Fees and T&Cs apply. Parent/guardian must be 18+ and UK resident.