What age should you start pocket money?

Around five or six for most kids, once they can count and understand that money buys things. Raising Children Network puts the starting point at the age children develop basic maths skills, which is usually early primary school.

How much pocket money should you start with?

A common Australian starting point is about $1 per year of the child's age per week, so roughly $5 to $7 for a young primary-schooler. Start on the lower side; you can always raise it as they take on more.

Should a child's first pocket money be tied to chores?

That is your call. Many families start with a small unconditional amount so the focus is on learning to spend and save, then add paid jobs later. Others tie it to responsibilities from the start. Either works, as long as you are clear about which one you are doing.

How to Start Pocket Money: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents

Starting pocket money is one of those things parents put off because it feels like it needs a whole system. It does not. You need a handful of small decisions made up front, and then the discipline to pay it on time. Here is the order we would do it in.

Step 1: Check they are ready

There is no magic age, but most kids are ready around five or six. Raising Children Network points to the age children can count and understand that money buys things, which usually lines up with early primary school. If your child asks for things at the shops and grasps that you pay for them, they are ready enough.

Step 2: Pick an amount

Keep the first amount modest. A common Australian rule of thumb is about $1 per year of age per week, so a six-year-old might get $6. Start low. It is easier to raise pocket money than to cut it. For a fuller breakdown by age, and what Australian families actually pay, see our guide to pocket money by age.

Step 3: Choose a day and hold to it

Pick a day and pay it every week without fail. The regularity is the whole point. A child who knows money arrives on Saturday can plan and save. A child who has to ask, and sometimes gets it and sometimes does not, learns to pester instead of to budget.

Step 4: Decide what it covers

Be clear, out loud, about what the money is for. Treats and small toys only? Or some real costs you are handing over, like a magazine or an outing? There is no right answer, but your child needs to know the boundary so they can make choices inside it.

Step 5: Decide if it is tied to anything

Two options here. Pay a flat amount no matter what, or link some of it to jobs around the house. ASIC’s Moneysmart notes that many families keep everyday chores unpaid and pay only for extra jobs, so kids learn both that helping out is expected and that extra effort earns money. We go deep on that split in our chores guide. Whatever you choose, decide it before you start rather than making it up week to week.

Step 6: Bring in saving early

From the first payment, encourage putting a bit aside for something they want. A named goal they can reach in a week or two teaches saving far better than a vague instruction to be sensible. Our guide to teaching kids to save has the practical methods.

Step 7: Review it once a year

Pocket money should grow with the child. Birthdays are an easy annual checkpoint to bump the amount and hand over a bit more responsibility.

Making the weekly part painless

Steps one to seven are the easy bit. The hard bit is step three, paying it reliably, every week, once life gets busy. That is the part that quietly collapses, and with it the consistency that made the whole thing work.

It is also the part we automated in Quiddo. You set the day and the amount once, and each child’s pocket money lands in their balance every week without you thinking about it. You can keep everyday responsibilities as a condition on that payment, tie paid jobs to their balance, and let young kids use a made-up currency if “5 coins” is easier than “50 cents”. There is no card and no bank account, so you can start the day your child is ready.