The Parent Bloggers Network wants to hear your thoughts on back to school shopping and teaching your children financial responsibility. They have teamed up with Capital One who is offering a free courses in money management.
[photopress:back_to_school.jpg,full,pp_image]A few years ago, I used to dread back to school shopping. My kids would always want to spend outrageous amounts of money on clothes and school supplies. Often, many of the clothes would sit in the back of their closets and not see the light of day until they were finally outgrown and I had to give them away!
Now, my outlook on back to school shopping is very different.
Each of my children receives a budget for clothing for the whole year. The budget is based on what we can afford as a family and is divided in half for each child. They get part of the money in September and the other part in January. They know exactly how much money they have and that it has to last for a whole semester.
My children have learned to spend their money wisely, once it is gone, that’s it. Instead of buying new clothes right before school starts, they save their money until the really good sales start. They definitely get more bang for their buck.
My teenage daughter, who loves stores like Hollister and American Eagle has found the value of outlet stores. She does not want to spend her money on $40 t-shirts when she can get them half price at an outlet or a discount store.
As a parent, I find my children coupons, point out sales and help them make wise decision, but ultimately the final decision is theirs. Recently, my 10 year old daughter found a 40% off coupon at Justice, plus she already has a $25 coupon from a recent purchase with a gift card. She was so excited because she knew how much more she could purchase by combining these great savings!
We have taken this concept to other areas as well. My children receive an allowance based on their chore participation, homework completion and extra chores they do around the house. They must divide this money into three separate envelopes – Savings (20%), Charity (10%) and Spend (70%). If they are looking to make a big purchase (my teenage wants an iPod Touch), they include another envelope and put part of their spend money in that envelope to save up for a special purchase. Their spend money is used to buy anything from a pack of gum, to extra school supplies, to toys and movie tickets.
Teaching my kids to be more responsible for money has helped reduce my stress as a parent and helped my children to eventually become financial responsible adults!
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Wonderful ideas for teaching children financial responsibility! I really like and plan to use the 10/20/70 thing with my daughter. She is only three and she already asks, “Mommy, do we have a coupon?” when we are at restaurants, stores, etc.
Oh, too bad–I still got that 404 error
I know you are trying to fix that!
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