Pocket money should be spent judiciously

Updated on: Monday, December 28, 2009

Earlier, pocket money was given to children to meet unforeseen expenses in emergency situations or as a reward for a job well done. Of course, it was limited in quantity and was expected to be spent judiciously. However, this simple phenomenon which was meant to boost a kid's morale and also give him/her scope to develop financial discipline has metamorphed into an undeserving privilege for many.

Pocket money has become a means for ostentatious display of 'brand' conscious kids who derive a pseudo pleasure of financial independence. This is unfortunate, particularly in times of economic recession and political chaos. The reason for this upswing may be attributed to three main factors viz. mass media (movies, television, internet, etc.), busy work schedules of parents and peer pressure.

This can only be solved when children realise the effort that goes into earning even a penny and develop the maturity of understanding the difference between essentiality and extravagance. Of course, treating oneself once in a while as a refreshing measure is acceptable but vigilance only can prevent from indulgence. Children must be encouraged to save money by minimising wasteful expenses and maintaining track of their expenditure. This is possible only when parents interfere (periodically only) to provide some fiscal awareness to the child and encourage him/her to verify the investment-worth equation of their transaction. If this is corrected, then automatically the other two factors would be subdued in their impact.

Niveditha S

Dept. Of Chemical Engineering National Institute of Technology Warangal

Handsome pocket money makes a student look handsome, smile beautiful and live confident. After all, students know that their pocket money is more precious than money. Today's educational system is not just to top the academics and have the black hat on, with the bundle of certificates in hand.

Life style has become inherent to the modern education system. It is with the pocket money one can participate in team activities, build networks, develop skills, be cognisant with the world around him. To keep pace with the world and catch up with the modern world, strict academics alone will not suffice. Academics can give one a career but not life. Of course the volume of pocket money depends on the parents' financial potential.

Parents should let their children know the value of money before they feed their pockets Children should be told that the safest way to double the pocket money is to fold it over once and put it in pocket rather than expending for the unnecessary things.

Veera Karthik G.

PIRMEC

In the olden days parents used to give little amount of money to buy a chocolate while children go to school but now-a-days, it has turned into huge amounts in the name pocket money. I feel there is no need of huge amounts because they can ask their parents for anything they want.

If they have more money, they will not hesitate to spend on unnecessary things, without thinking twice. There is even a chance of some of them getting accustomed to bad habits like drugs, drinking smoking etc.

Parents should keep a check on how their children spend money and should advise them on money management.

V. Yasaswani,

SVCE, Tirupati

“Is the spending of pocket money purposeful?” It depends on different factors. Socio economic conditions of a family, attitude of parents and students and their background influences this in a major way. It is mentioned that ‘best of clothes and best of restaurants' as the pleasures of college life. But when it comes to eating at a restaurant, some students check their pockets for exam fees. So, we should not spend hard earned money for restaurants and other luxuries brought in by Western culture.

J. Surendra Babu

Pocket money is the only source of funding for many students. I would like to ask how many students in India do part-time jobs to earn extra pocket money like in the US or UK for instance? Students who spend pocket money may do out of two circumstances – one, peer pressure (thinking 'if he/she can spend why can't I?' and the other who get handful of pocket money whose parents don't monitor their activity).

Any amount of pocket money is less, especially when it comes to students who are at graduation level as they have to spend for little parties and get-togethers; who can forget those lovely gifts for their friends and unforgettable moments at ‘panipuri wala'.

Life is at its best during college days and nostalgic memories are all that remain in stress-filled times of the future. Parents should give a second thought and give extra pocket money to their kids.

V. Deepesh Surana,

Bolarum, Secunderabad

One must do the ‘right thing at the right time'. We all know that today's students are tomorrow's citizens. Pleasure is a vague term in student life because student life is the time when we should build a strong foundation for our career which has long term benefits rather than wasting our time and money for pleasures, which give only short term enjoyment but lead to long term losses.

Parents give us pocket money thinking that it will be utilised for some educative purpose but most of us simply misuse the pocket money and trouble our parents every now and then asking them money for academic purposes like books etc. I strongly feel one should use their pocket money strictly for academic purposes. However, using pocket money for occasional enjoyments like a dinner at a restaurant or a movie does no harm. It will only help us forget stress and relax us for a while.

Shaik Iffath Kareema

Pocket money is very useful to college-going students so far as it is spent carefully. Some are interested in buying linen or other expensive things which are not really necessary in everyday life. What I think is one should wear only those things that suit you rather than go by brands or price tags.

It is better not to go for fast foods as they lead to lifestyle diseases. On the other hand, part-time jobs are not really preferred as we lack the respect to dignity of labour. So one should get a degree and earn before building on their career. Young people who have intentions of celebrating parties, going on tours, etc. should realise they are good as long as they within the limits.

Sirisha Pingali

Pocket money is like salary given by parents to their children while they are studying, although it depends on economic background of parents. Most students think this is right age to enjoy all sort of luxuries with friends. Nowadays students spend a major part of their pocket money towards buying costly clothes and other accessories to look smarter and attract attention of others. Many students are looking at college life as a way to enjoy themselves. Parents should keep an eye on their children and monitor how they are using their pocket money.

B.T. Vishnu,

G. Pullaiah Engineering College, Kurnool

A good student utilises pocket money in a planned manner, spending on the priorities basis firstly academic activities, next on little savings and lastly on recreational activities. Someone who demands more pocket money for entertaining friends, indulge in bad habits, overspending on movies will ruin the money given as pocket money, it is wasteful expenditure. They should realize that every penny spent by us is the result of hard work done by our parents.

Dhanuri Vinod Kumar,

Nishita P.G. College, Nizamabad

Pocket money depends on the financial status of th

Pocket money should be spent judiciously

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