Finnish teenagers have less pocket money than their Nordic colleagues
Finnish teenagers lag behind their Nordic contemporaries on the income front. Where a Danish youth has an impressive EUR 152 at their disposal per month, a Finnish teenager has to survive with a mere EUR 48 of spending money.
The primary source of income for the Finnish 13 to 17-year-olds is their parents, but the Finnish providers are fairly tight-fisted compared with their Scandinavian counterparts. In Finland the average amount of monthly allowance for a teenager is EUR 40, against Denmark’s 50, Sweden’s 63, and Norway’s 70 euros per month.
Furthermore, four out of ten Finnish youngsters do not get any spending money at all. In Sweden, on the other hand, very few parents deny their kids a monthly allowance.
These are the findings of a study conducted by Nordea Bank, in which 670 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 were interviewed in four Nordic countries - Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark - in early September.
Another finding was that besides going to school the youth in the other Nordic countries included in the study also work more than their Finnish colleagues. Of the Danish teenagers, more than half work regularly after the school day. In Finland the corresponding figure is just 12 percent.
"There is a distinct cultural difference here. In Denmark it is customary to start working at an early age, even though the young people there also receive more pocket money. A Dane wants to be in charge of his or her own economy from early on, and of course there is a very good employment situation there at the moment", offers Nordea economist Tarja Svartström, who specialises in household financing.
According to Svartström, some of the most notable differences between people from various Nordic countries lie within the labour culture. Particularly between Finland and Denmark the gap is huge.
"In Finland the laws concerning underage working are stricter than in Denmark, and despite the good employment situation it is difficult for very young individuals to find work here, even in the summer months."
Still, summer jobs are much more common in Finland than in the neighbouring countries. Where the Scandinavian kids put in a couple of hours of work per day throughout the year, the Finnish youngsters may work full days for the entire summer.
There are also similarities between the studied nations. In all four countries boys get more pocket money from their parents than girls.
In Finland the greatest disparity was in the age group of 13 to 14-year-olds. A boy gets EUR 37 per month, whereas a girl has to settle with EUR 28. The situation reverses, however, at the age of 15-17, when girls start getting three euros more than boys each month.
All age groups included, a Finnish boy receives from his parents a couple of euros more per month than a Finnish girl.
"Maybe boys are simply more vocal with their needs", Svartström ponders.
The girls, however, are slightly more hard working, and all in all the boys and the girls have more or less the same amount of cash at their disposal.
As far as the usage of money is concerned, the boys are much more economical then the girls.
"Boys tend to save money for larger purchases, such as a moped."
The girls' money is primarily used to buy cosmetics, jewellery, clothing, and shoes. The boys spend on sweets, drinks, and snacks. More than one in ten of the underage also use their money to buy alcohol and cigarettes.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 9.10.2007 - TODAY |
 Finnish teenagers have less pocket money than their Nordic colleagues |
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