The statistics reflect year in and year out that in Spain there is a lack of financial culture. Domino effect, many fail in money management. Avoiding barely making ends meet or ending up in a mountain of debt happens in part by knowing how to manage your income.
Getting to it as soon as possible can make a difference. Like the children touch the money and manage their expenses with the traditional pay. “And don’t spend it all at once!”, He has heard more than one in his life as advice, just when money was changing hands…
Is it a good idea or not? When it is possible to pay, it is a yes, because it allows you to generate a financial and administrative education. “Even if it is five euros a week. The issue is not the amount, it is that the children understand that money is limited, that they have to manage it until the next payment. See what part goes to a fixed expense, to leisure, to savings… It’s a good method of financial education,” says Beatriz Arce, country launcher in Spain for Pixpay, a savings app for children and adolescents. In the end, if they manage to buy something with their money, there is a “sense of satisfaction”, of having earned it.
Regarding the age at which to start, Arce points out that at 6-8 years old children already begin to understand what money is, but they are not prepared to manage it until they are 10. Following the argument, a child “is not can ask that it go beyond the daily management of money”, points out Fernando TrÃas de Bes, economist and associate professor at Esade, which is why he recommends that at 10-13 years of age the money be given for a specific expense, such as snack or an outing. That is, there would be no pay as such. He does not recommend doing it before out of simple parental instinct. For a child to go to school with money “could be the worst” because drug dealers could approach him, alert. “He who goes to school and comes back should not go with money in his pocket…”, he insists.
It is agreed that the allocation grows in quantity and period as time goes by. From the age of 15 you can move to weekly money management, and yes via pay, says the economist. And a little later, around 20, go to the monthly payment. “You have to make a calculation of how much the child’s expenses represent in the year -obviously without food and first needs-. Add everything and based on that give a pay. Do not give a pay and then cover the gym, the gasoline of the motorbike, some English classes…”, comments TrÃas de Bes. “That he learns to manage and stop transferring expenses to his parents. He will also realize the expenses that are worth it or not,” he argues. Thus, if the expense is about 1,800 euros per year, pay 150 euros and have self-management.
In those more advanced ages to pay “you have to treat it as a salary for studying, as a job, to focus on the study.” A pact that if not fulfilled can lead to reducing numbers.
As with everything, some are luckier than others. A PixPay report points out that only 54% of Spanish parents pay, based on a sample of 2,000 boys and girls. According to their data, between 10 and 12 they receive an average of 23.2 euros per month. Between 12 and 14 it reaches 29.35 euros; between 14 and 16 years it rises to 36.15 euros; and between 16 and 18 the average is 46.6 euros.
The people from La Rioja (72% of parents) and Extremadura (70%) are the ones who are most used to paying. On the other hand, it is less common in Castilla y León (47%). The people of La Rioja are the ones who receive the most money on average, 38 euros per month, followed by the Navarrese with 30.7 euros. In Madrid, the figure falls to 22 euros, with 56% of parents paying for 20 euros and 53% in Catalonia, says Arce. “Parents are divided between those who pay regularly and those who give money to their child depending on what they need: snacks, movies, excursions or emergencies.” No one stays at zero.
