In my last article, I talked about ways of teaching kids to understand the value of money by means of their allowance.
Today I’ll explain more ways of teaching them the value of saving, and how to save.
It isn’t easy to see eye to with teens. Technologically they’re further ahead, as they are with modern culture, fashion, and trends. Try and tell them of something trendy that you saw on Youtube? They’ll give you the “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” speech, except they won’t be speaking, they’ll manage that with just one look.
If you think your child is open-minded, of course you can try using apps or software. Personally Three Jars is my favorite, targeted for kids 5 to 13.
Let’s try more mundane things.
Vintage clothing (this won’t work with many boys, by the way)
Nowadays (and thankfully) thrift is in. Of course that depends on your adolescent daughter’s attitude towards clothing. If she’s a fashionista, likely thrift shopping isn’t for her, at least until vintage is trendy in her world.
But if your daughter is individualistic and of a curious nature, or even a mini fashion goddess, you can have them tag along to thrift shop at least once. You can tell them that they don’t have to buy anything but that it’s always interesting to see what other people want to sell. Sometimes there are honest treasures to be found at these shops; vintage dresses of the right brand can go upwards of $2,000 on resale.
She may start by tiptoeing between the aisles looking disgusted, but sooner or later curiosity will win over and she’ll start looking around. Don’t show her anything, let her discover. If she comes to show you something before you leave the store, rest assured that she’ll want to come back.
At the grocery store
Ask for your kid’s help in picking out the best priced items. Teach them to look not at the tag price but the price per unit/pound/gallon tag. Explain to them how buying small because it’s cheap doesn’t mean saving if the price per pound is higher.
Sales and Coupons
Sign up to the websites of the stores where your teen shops, be it clothing, games, sports stuff, or makeup. That way you’ll be in the loop with whatever sales they have coming up and get your teens to take advantage of reduced prices. Also, forward to them any link of online sales that might be of interest to them, and forward to them any coupons that those websites send you for use in their stores.
Also, explain to them how they can save on regular items that they buy often: makeup, clothing, sports shoes, gear, and equipment, and even electronics, by using coupon and discount websites like Coupon Mountain (great coupon site where you can search for coupons by store name), Current Codes (coupon codes listed by store category, and then store name) Wow-Coupons, BeCentsAble, Coupons.com, etc.
Large Purchases: Shopping Research and Contribution Methods
Do they need a new iPad, a smartphone, a game player? Have them research it. Tell them to go online and find the best quality-to-price item that they need. When shopping online to have the item mailed, tell them to pay attention to shipping costs as they are part of the final price.
Ask them to show you their top three picks and explain to you why they are their top three. Discuss what you’re willing to pay and work out the best one to buy.
If you always or often agree to buy the best your child asks for, remember that they’re likely to ask for the uber-best, the top of the line and top of the price tags.
If you ask for three samples, at least you can negotiate. There’s yet another tool to teach them how to save: don’t pay for all of it.
Depending on the type of allowance that you give your kids (link) you can create a contribution plan, like employers do. Meet them 50/50 on these big-ticket purchases (as long as they aren’t necessary for school or extracurricular activities), or request that they pay for at least a certain percentage of it. This will teach them to use their money –and yours- more wisely, as they’ll be investing themselves on these purchases.
Continue to the second part.
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