Grandchildren and their money

I'm sorry but its his money and he earned it so if he doesn't want to take their advice then he's entitled to spend it how he wants even if it seems unwisely. He won't learn to budget with his own money unless he's allowed to make his own mistakes and learn from them which I'm sure the RAF is going to be teaching him too.
I'm pretty certain lots of us didn't take parental advice at his age.

Give the boy a break! And well done him on his apprenticeship.

A 16-year old who is earning his own money does not need a 'qualified financial adviser'.

Legally and morally he is completely free to spend his own wages as he sees fit.

In their first few weeks at university my DSs spent most of their loans - they soon learned!

He earns it, he can spend it as he likes.
When he runs out of money before the next pay day or needs some for something he "really needs" he will realise how things work and, as long as no one lends him any or pays out for him, he will soon learn to manage his funds. Do not bail him out if he gets in debt either. Tough but he will get the message.
Good luck to him, hope he gets on ok.

Goodness, his parents are going to find 'qualified advisers' to help him use his money sensibly...

He's young, he's got no responsibilities, he'll learn, just let him have a bit of freedom or neither his parents nor you will see him for dust!

Yes I agree, well done on his apprenticeship. tanith has it exactly right, although young he has responsibility with the RAF and needs to make his own mistakes now as well as having some fun. I agree there is no need to help him out financially if he does have problems, explain that to him when he goes back to Base.
Good luck to him.

It's a learning curve and he's very young. He'll settle down soon enough. My son was also earning a decent salary when he joined the RAF (many moons ago now!) - he'd never had so much money - and it will go to his head a bit to start with, but the odds are against him blowing the whole lot month after month. Alarm bells will soon start ringing somewhere up the line if he is seen to get himself into a shed load of debt.

Time to let him grow up and make his own( quite mild) mistakes. He only spent £100 of what he had. He could have blown the lot!

Brilliant that your GS has secured such a marvellous apprenticeship, do hope he enjoys it.
I am with the other posters here, he already has his board and lodging taken out so what he has left is disposable income to him. His first (presumably) pay packet, who wouldn't splurge. Give him a break maybe, there's plenty of time to act responsibly. At his age I'd imagine the RAF are big on pastoral care and will be handing out advice by the bucket load. Before much longer he will probably want to save for driving lessons, a car, insurance, the list goes on. What a start he has.

My DGd is also 16, at college with a bursary and parental support but has chosen to work 1 to 3 shifts a week in a care home. A few weeks ago, she discussed finances with me ( with parental approval) and we opened a junior isa using a chunk of the savings we've built up over the years. She can't access this until she's 18 and she has earmarked that for her first car.
She has added several hundred pounds to her 'small' account - saving for driving lessons.
She still has cash for travel, books and lunches but enjoyed splurging some on shoes and clothes for winter.
She also insisted that she would buy some Christmas presents independently and presented me with a cosy cowl-neck sweater.
Have faith in him - he is clearly well motivated - and let him settle into handling his cash. It's part of his learning curve. Good luck to him as he embarks on his career ( DGD is focussed on being a midwife). Any chance we could introduce them???

I agree with all the posters 1st salary package and you want to get in a financial advisor - give the boy a break!

did you regulate how his Mum/Dad spent their wages? Or did your parents get a financial advisor for you when you got a job? £1000 isn't a massive amount of money these days ...honest.Its a couple of hundred pounds a week and if he has a night out or two it will soon go,My son tells me its impossible to go for a meal and the cinema on less than £80 nowadays especially if he's treating a girlfriend.So just give him the chance to enjoy being young,with age comes responsibility and that will happen all too soon

A friend once said to me teenagers have to learn how to waste money before they learn to use it wisely or save it.

I was reminded of my Dad saying 'you can't put an old head on young shoulders', give him time and try not to worry.

If he has no other expenses as clothing, board and lodging is provided what do they want him do do with the money? At 16 having money to burn is hard to resist. If they want him to save then they need to provide an incentive..certainly current interest rates don't! If the family can afford to why not offer to match some of his first year savings. ie if he saves £300 a month = £3,600 say you (the family) will round it up to £4000 or whatever you can afford! Or promise to fund a course of driving lessons if he has saved enough for a car! He has to learn for himself the folly of being prodigal and the benefits of some level of frugality!

If he gets in a mess because of reckless spending, and most young people do in the first couple of years of managing their own money, then I recommend his parents bail him out, but insist he repays the money within an agreed and tightly monitored repayment plan. Once he realises that bad money management has consequences and that his parents are not going to give him a free 'Get out of Gaol' card, he will wise up and manage better.

It worked well with my children who are very conservative money managers, so I would expect it to work with other youngsters.

He has done well so far and should be allowed to make his own choices...and, perhaps, mistakes. He will learn, if he overspends initially.
Good luck to him!

£500 IS NOT a large amount (comparitively or not) a large amount of money. If he as in a 'normal' job, even on minimum wage for his age he would be bringing in double that a monyh. No financial advisor would waste their time, or his money, giving him advice for such a paltry amount.

Oh come on! First pay packet and he cannot spend it on what he wants? Be fair. Let him splurge for once in his life. He will soon want to open a bank account for himself. He needs to 'cut the ties' and be his own man. Encourage him to put his money in the bank, in fact I think it will be paid in to a bank by the RAF so he will have to have an account. He will be given advice by them and he is more likely to take it than from his parents. When he wants things such as a car, a bike, whatever, do not be tempted to fork out and tell him now he is earning he will have to save the money himself. Open an account for him yourself in secret which is what I did for my GSons. When they are 18 they have a nice surprise coming. Well done indeed to him for getting an apprenticeship which will set him up for life.

To put it bluntly he's a young fool and wants his head looking at. Talk to his commanding officer and tell them about your concerns and I'm sure that they have personnel able to advise and deal with this kind of irresponsible behavior. Getting an apprenticeship with the RAF is like winning the lottery and they won't want to see the opportunity wasted on anyone unlikely to complete the course.

These days we seem to regard 16 year old son as children. I left school at 15, started work and was treated as an adult. I had to pay my fares into London, buy my lunches etc and pay rent to my parents (which they put into a savings account but I didn't know it then). The wages I received were a lot of money in those days and whatever l had left was mine to spend

Just wanted to add a word of warning. It is illegal to give cheques for money you do not have to cover it. Also the RAF will charge him if he is caught doing that. When I say charge I do not mean ask for money, I mean he will be on the carpet in front of his CO. They do not tolerate people running up debts so tell him that because I know, having worked for them for 21 years in the civil service. He would be in a lot of trouble.

If you can't be frivolous with money at that age when can you? He will probably soon see something big that he wants to save for but will probably not want to save just for the sake of having savings. I started working (and saving) at 17 because I was in Canada and wanted enough to be able to come back to England. I wish I had been able to just spend and enjoy my money.
I agree with the comments about a financial adviser. If they are really independent they will not be cheap and I can't see how it would be money well spent at that stage of his life so not a good first lesson.

i don't agree foxie - but i agree with all the other posters. he's 16 and this is his first pay packet - can't you remember what you felt like when you brought your first pay packet home? i know i felt like i could buy absolutely everything i wanted. came back down to earth quite quickly though when i realised i needed money for bus fare, lunches and to pay for my keep [yes i know this young man has his keep paid for].
no - it's HIS money and it's up to HIM to do what he wants with it. he'll soon find out that money doesn't buy everything but he'll have fun trying.
leave the poor boy alone to make his own mistakes and come to his rescue [although it might go against the grain] if he comes a cropper - he'll soon learn how to budget [factoring in how to pay you back].
good luck to him and well done on getting what he wants.

Thanks for your observations. I'll pass them on to his parents. I would like to point out, though, that his £1000 per month will be pocket money! Over time that is a substantial amount - in their view anyway. The RAF teach him to drive, lucky boy.