Save on Tween+ Clothing

My eleven-year-old-daughter (a.k.a. Bargain Huntress Jr.-in training) found some cute stuff at Kohl's.

The 7 For All Mankind denim shorts fit her perfectly.

She asked me not to put her face in the picture above, so I added this picture (don't tell her), because her face is beautiful. I can say so as her mother.

Let me get to the point, though. One of my favorite parenting ideas of late came to me after many frustrating episodes of buying clothing my kids begged for then having them never wear it. What a waste of money! Even if they were on sale...

So I solved this problem by figuring out what I spend on clothing for them in a year, dividing it by twelve, and including the money with their monthly allowance. Now they have a vested interest in buying items they love and will wear. In addition, it gives them an opportunity to develop money management skills.

Tips:

• Age 10 seems to be an appropriate age to implement this system.


• Be consistent. My kids always want me to make exceptions, but I don't want them to learn that someone will bail them out. For instance, my son had spent all his money on Guitar Hero, but all of a sudden "needed" track shoes for the 110 hurdles. He begged me to buy them, but I declined and instead offered to help him find some used ones. He ended up solving the problem on his own without any additional money from me, and now he seems to keep a little more in reserve.