“Nightmare! It’s Danni’s birthday next month and I really want to get her something cool but I want to go ice skating next week and get myself a new game at the weekend. How can I make sure I’ve got money left to buy her something? She’ll go mad if I don’t get her anything!” 

Nina, 11

Tips on how to budget

Factoid: Budgeting means planning how you [spend] or [save] your pocket money. People do it so they know how much [money] they have.

Have a go:

• Draw a plan of the week and under each day write a list of everything you buy out of your pocket money or allowance.
• Don’t forget to put in everything YOU pay for each week.
• Add it all up. That’s your total.
• Then you can work out what you have left to spend on other things like going out or really cool presents for your friends!

Saving money

If you save your money it means you can buy things that are more expensive but you will have to wait a while.

Plan how you’re going to spend your money by going window shopping and writing a list of what you want to buy. Look at the things you would have bought if you had double the amount of pocket money you have at the moment. Fill this sheet in a different colour.

Tips on saving and how to find out more

When you want something, decide if you REALLY, REALLY need it.

Use £1 or £2 coins to buy inexpensive things. Take all the change you get and stash it in a jar or piggy bank. At the end of a month, you should have a nice little stash of money.

Find out how to open a bank account and put some of your pocket money into it each week.

You can find out more about the different types of bank accounts at the FSA website (link opens in new window).