As politicians in Australia argue over whether they could live off $40 a day, an American teen continues to make headlines for being unhappy with the thousands of dollars she gets off her mother as allowance each month.
Last week, 16-year-old Nicolette Gray appeared on the Dr Phil Show because she wasn’t happy with the cut her mother made to her allowance. The teen, who resides in Beverly Hills in California, said she was forced to live like a “peasant” when her allowance was cut from $US5,000 ($AU6,650) to $1,000 a month.
In her mind, she’d always grown up with cash to splash and didn’t think it was fair for her mother, Nina, to take the money away from her. On Friday, Nicolette and her mother appeared on British chat show This Morning where it looked like Nicolette’s mother gave in to her daughter’s demands. While the original $5,000 wasn’t reinstated, Nicolette told hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford she now pockets $4,000 a month.
She said she was “pretty happy” with the money she gets, but said she wanted more.
“It’s a huge step-up from $1,000 a month, but it’s still not enough,” she explained. “I keep begging my mum for more.”
The hosts were confused and wanted to know what the money wasn’t enough for. Nicolette said she needed the money for food, shopping, her personal trainers and all the other things she buys.
She added she regularly buys wallets, purses, jewellery and clothing and added she sometimes buys her mum things. Nina explained that she’s a doctor and that she does “pretty well” when it comes to money. She also explained why she decided to start giving her daughter more money after initially cutting the allowance.
“I was just tired of it,” she said. “I’d come home from work and she’d be complaining and whining. Just forget it. We’re taking you back to $5k.
“It’s easier to give her the credit card, just to distribute the money and put an end to it. And I have the means so why not?”
She said every mother tries to give their kids everything they can and that she was simply being honest about the money she gives her daughter.
The hosts questioned why Nina didn’t encourage Nicolette to get a job. Many Baby Boomers would need to cut the grass or wash the car to get some pocket money back in the day.
“I think she’d quit before she’s even fired,” Nina said of her daughter’s work ethic.
Meanwhile, Nicolette said she made money off social media, but insisted she wasn’t going to work a regular job. She didn’t understand why she would need to do that when she is already living a good life. She then blamed her mother for making her the way she is.
“It’s your fault,” she snapped. “You literally caused me to be this way. You caused this, so you have to deal with it. You grew me up in Beverly Hills. You have to deal with it.”
She ended the interview by saying she was happy with her life, but she’d rather have more money.
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