The most “stingy” parents are found in Normandy, the most generous in Corsica. This is one of the amusing conclusions of the latest Pixpay barometer on pocket money, published this Tuesday by the neobank aimed at adolescents. While the cost of living increases, the study highlights in particular that fathers and mothers pay more money to their children: on average, French teenagers (10-18 years and over) receive 36 euros per month from their parents. An amount up by 3 euros compared to 2022 and 5 euros compared to 2021.
“The global inflationary context is part of the reasons,” believes Caroline Ménager, co-founder of Pixpay. Also, in a crisis context, parents are not necessarily ready to cut back on expenses related to their children. If there are trade-offs to be made, it will not be about pocket money as a priority.” Please note, however, that this average must be put into perspective. Only a large half of children (57%) regularly receive pocket money. This data is also growing, since they were 50% in 2022. Good news, according to Caroline Ménager, who judges that “the fact of giving pocket money regularly will be a strong element of the financial education of the teenager and allow him to learn how to manage a budget.
Without too much surprise, the older the teenager gets, the more the amount of pocket money paid increases. It even more than doubles between those aged 10-12 (24 euros per month) and those aged 18 and over (56 euros). So, to prevent teenagers from constantly asking for more money over the years, Caroline Ménager advises parents to have “an annual discussion about pocket money with your teenager”. To get an extension, it is better to turn to your father. The Pixpay study shows that dads give on average 41.5 euros of monthly pocket money compared to 33.8 euros for mothers. That is a significant difference of almost 8 euros. Bad news for teenagers, it is mainly mothers who manage the pocket money at home (in 70% of families).
We come to the average pocket money by region. “There are significant differences, which can become caricatures. The Norman has a reputation for being stingy, which we find in the barometer,” smiles Caroline Ménager. Norman teenagers are in fact at the bottom of the ranking (28.4 euros), along with their Breton neighbors (29.1 euros). On the other side of the ranking, Corsica sits at the top (48.9 euros), far ahead of the Paca region (38.9 euros) and Île-de-France (38.1 euros). Gaps which can also be explained by differences in standards of living between households.
