Pocket money comes of age

In October 1987, Halifax surveyed members of the Little Extra's Club gaining their opinion on pocket money.

Many of those children will now be controlling the pocket money purse strings and have a family of their own as Halifax looks back on 21 years of children's savings.

With the proportion of children receiving regular pocket money rising from almost three quarters (71%) in 1987 to more than four fifths (82%) in 2008, Halifax compares how today's children fare compared to previous generations.

Pocket money rockets above inflation

Pocket money has risen 419% over the past 21 years, with children receiving an average of £1.18 per week in 1987 compared to £6.13 in 2008. This is almost four times the rate of inflation over the same period (106%) making today's children better off in real terms than the previous generation.

In Great Britain as a whole, the amount of pocket money paid out in 2008 was almost £1.7bn.

However, the pocket money curve has not always been a smooth rise with falls in 1994, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2007 and 2008. In fact, the greatest amount received was £8.37 a week in 2005.

Regions reaping pocket money rewards

In 1987, Greater London was the clear pocket money winner with children receiving £1.46.

Unsurprisingly, in 2008 children in Greater London remained top of the table raking in £8.47 compared to £4.46 in the East Midlands.

The region which has seen the highest percentage increase in pocket money is Scotland with a growth of 595% since 1987 to reach £8.20, the second highest weekly pocket money payment. This is followed closely by the North East experiencing an increase of 524% to £7.36.

Saving fashions

In 1987, girls were focused on saving for their holidays whereas boys concentrated on saving for sports.

In 2008, almost half of children (49%) said they were not saving for anything in particular. However, they were most likely to spend money on sweets, chocolates and crisps (65%). Instead, children seem to be resorting to pester power, convincing parents or family to buy goods for them.

Just one in ten children (11%) spend money on clothes with more than half (54%) getting some one else to foot the bill. While fashion today is very different to what it was 20 years ago, trainers are still as popular as they used to be. Nike Air running shoes were among the top sellers in 1987, although 44% of children today believe sportswear is overpriced. Cycling shorts were another fashionable item in 1987, as were 'smiley' faces T-Shirts, neither of which have survived the generation gap.

In 1987, 'Sylvanian Families', musical socks and karaoke machines were the toys most in demand. Most of the current 'must have' products were not widely available in 1987 as technology is much higher on children's agenda. Three quarters of children (76%) have a mobile phone, almost nine in ten (87%) have a games console and over two thirds (68%) own an iPod.

Two fifths (40%) of children download music from the internet. The average number of tracks downloaded is four per week equating to a weekly spend of £3.16 - over half (52%) the average weekly pocket money amount.