What this guide is about
Split your pocket money into three pots: a bit to spend now, a bit to save for something bigger, and a bit to share or save longer. Even £1 a week in the save pot becomes £52 a year — enough for a real treat or a useful thing. The amount matters less than the habit of doing it every week.
What is pocket money for?
Pocket money is your money. The whole point is to practise using money — choosing, saving, sometimes making a mistake — while the amounts are small enough that mistakes don't hurt much.
Most UK children get pocket money:
Some families give more, some less, and some give nothing — the parents buy what's needed when it comes up. All those are fine. There's no right amount.
The three little pots
Here's a simple way to use your pocket money so it lasts and grows:
- Spend pot (about half). This week: snacks, comic, a small treat. Spent without worrying.
- Save pot (about a third). For something bigger you want in a few months: a game, a toy, a day out.
- Share pot (about a fifth). Either give to a charity or save for a long-term thing.
You don't need real pots if you don't want them. Three envelopes, three pages of a notebook, three sections of your money box — whatever works.
| If you get... | Spend pot | Save pot | Share pot |
|---|---|---|---|
| £3 / week | £1.50 | £1 | £0.50 |
| £5 / week | £2.50 | £1.50 | £1 |
| £7 / week | £3.50 | £2.50 | £1 |
| £10 / week | £5 | £3 | £2 |
Why the save pot is the magic one
If you put £1 a week into your save pot, after a year you have £52.
That's not loads, but it's a lot for an 8-9 year-old. You could:
- Buy a really nice book or two
- Buy a new game
- Pay for a fun activity (laser tag, trampoline park, ice skating)
- Buy a Christmas present for a family member
- Keep saving and have £100 in two years
If you don't save, that £52 still gets spent — but on £1 of small things every week that you probably don't remember.
Set a goal for the save pot
Saving works best when you're saving for something. Pick a goal:
- Find one thing you really want. Look up the cost.
- Divide the cost by your weekly save-pot amount.
- That tells you how many weeks it takes.
Example: You want a £15 toy. You save £1.50 a week.
£15 ÷ £1.50 = 10 weeks. So in 10 weeks (two and a half months), you can buy it.
Mark the date on a calendar. Every week when you add £1.50 to the save pot, you're one step closer.
What if you mess up?
You will sometimes spend your save pot on something you didn't plan to. Or you'll forget to put money in for a few weeks. Or you'll think "just this once" three weeks in a row.
That's fine. It's how everyone learns money skills. The trick is:
- Don't throw the whole plan away after one mistake.
- Start again next week.
- Maybe move some money from "share" or "spend" back to "save" to catch up.
The grown-ups who are good at saving aren't the ones who never made mistakes. They're the ones who kept going after the mistakes.
For teachers: curriculum links
- England — PSHE Association KS2 L17 (managing money), L18 (financial decisions)
- England — Maths KS2 (money, fractions, division)
- Wales — Curriculum for Wales Progression Step 2-3 (HWB, Maths & Numeracy)
- Scotland — Curriculum for Excellence MNU 2-09a, HWB 2-21a
- NI — PDMU KS2, Mathematics KS2
Full mapping in the curriculum map.
UK Tax Drag (2026). Pocket money and saving — three little pots. Ages 8–9 guide. Available at: https://kids.uktaxdrag.co.uk/ages-8-9-pocket-money-saving.html
Curriculum mapping: see UK Financial Education Curriculum Map (Version 1.0).