Material Girl | Pocket money is fine if everyone holds up their end of the bargain

Some people don't.

Whether or not you pay pocket money to your children, everyone has a theory on it.

Share and share alike.

A survey by CommBank found that almost 80 per cent of parents in Australia gave their children pocket money.

Some people have hard and fast rules from the time pocket money first kicks in, mostly around school-age.

Others make it up on the run.

The one question that divides the masses: How much pocket money should you give?

The CommBank survey found for kids aged between four and six, the average amount a week was $7.17, while in the 7-9 age bracket it dropped slightly to $7.04.

Interesting! Perhaps the work or money pool dries up in that phase!

The CommBank survey found at 10-12 years, the average increased to $11.37, and from 13-15 it went up again to $14.11.

Another theory matches pocket money earnings with age.

A seven-year-old gets $7 a week with expectations they'll spend, save and donate some.

We tested this system when our eldest started school but over the years it's been lost in translation.

The chores didn't always get done.

The pocket money hardly ever got paid on time. (The paymaster was pathetic!)

The cost of extracurricular activities ramped up.

Then kids' friends' birthday presents - multiplied by on average 10 a year - had to be factored in.

At the end of the day, we scrapped pocket money, put $5 a week into their savings accounts and covered their lifestyle and entertainment costs within reason.

They did chores when they got asked to. Usually. At times.

Some people swear by pocket money as a means to give kids a sense of value and experience with handling money.

We've just had to find other avenues to do that.

MORE MATERIAL GIRL:

Here's five ways to lighten the load in the pocket money stakes and ease the financial burden on the family budget:

Beg, borrow and steal: Begging and borrowing preferred; obviously. My teenaged daughter had wanted to read a book for ages. While I'm a sucker for books above all else, I'd only recently bought her a chapter book. I encouraged her to check the library or borrow it from a friend. On the latter, I told her to read it quickly and return it in the same shape she got it. Then she'd have a good record with her friend for borrowing in future. There's nothing worse than a book thief! I'M. NOT. EVEN. KIDDING!

Take a hike: Freelance journalist Sarah Wilson is a big believer in going places where you can't actually spend your money. She often takes a mountain bike out for the whole weekend. We've long declared Sunday a shopping-free day in our home. Even if we're short on groceries, we'll substitute ingredients rather than hit up the shops and create more buying opportunities for everyone.

Sell stuff: List your pre-loved stuff on Buy, Swap and Sell online sites. Have the kids help you with this process and split the proceeds. On the up-side, you will simultaneously declutter your home. That should spark joy!

Go green: There's untapped earnings potential from recycled bottles and cans for your crew. There is even an app to check usage at recycling sites too. #timeismoney (February is tough going due to FebFast but bottles and cans will be charged again in March! Hang in there!!)

Magic market: If your kids have a hobby, let them test the market demand for it. Our kids have done two market stalls over the years at Kiewa Street Markets in Albury. They learnt about market set-up, customer service and money handling. They also found out the real value of their money. No one wanted to spend their profit for weeks afterwards. This, in itself, was more than worth the effort of getting up before dawn on a Sunday.