the value of money

[lemanz723]

i have a ten year old son who takes accelereated classes. however, i can not seem to get through to him the value of a dollar or the concept that money does not grow on trees.
first , let me tell you he does not get whatever he wants on shopping excursions. he constantly nags me that i am mean because i don't buy him whatever he wants. secondly, he does not receive allowance. his father and i believe that money should be earned.
for his birthday he received some money from a friend. when we went to walmart later that week he took five dollars with him. believe it or not my son the accelerated student refused to buy two marvel comic men on sale two for four dollars and ninety seven cents, instead he bought the marvel comic man that was not on sale and cost, yeah exactly five dollars. yes, i did try to explain the concept that he would get more for his money with the two for one sale, to no avail.

i feel as if i am beating my head against a brick wall ! please help me !?!?


[COLOR=purple]

[RobertaD]

Well dd1 finally got it when looking for a spring dress a couple years ago the ones at the store were on SALE for $30 we kept looking ended up stopping at Goodwill and she found 2 dresses she liked as well as several other outfits, some jeans and a couple of books. She walked out with a large bag spending $30 (the bag later became a kitchen trash bag) and we talked on the way home which was a better deal spending $30 on ONE dress that was on sale for 30% or the big bag of 12-15 items she was able to get at Goodwill which would have given her enough to wear for a week.

She now always looks at the clearance racks first at department stores after having checked out the thrift stores for things she needs.

Roberta

[ajrsmom]

Originally Posted by RobertaD

Well dd1 finally got it when looking for a spring dress a couple years ago the ones at the store were on SALE for $30 we kept looking ended up stopping at Goodwill and she found 2 dresses she liked as well as several other outfits, some jeans and a couple of books. She walked out with a large bag spending $30 (the bag later became a kitchen trash bag) and we talked on the way home which was a better deal spending $30 on ONE dress that was on sale for 30% or the big bag of 12-15 items she was able to get at Goodwill which would have given her enough to wear for a week.

She now always looks at the clearance racks first at department stores after having checked out the thrift stores for things she needs.

Roberta

I have shown my kids the same thing. Over the weekend we found my son 2 pairs of American Eagle shorts (that are on their website for $40. each!!) and a pair of Urban Pipeline shorts. $10.50 for 3 pairs (they are men's sizes) compared to $80. + + !!

Sounds like your daughter found some awesome deals!!

[KSJEn6891]

My parents were really good at teaching my sister and I the value of money, of course this began in the mid-1970's and stopped in the mid-1980's (we were both over 18 by then). By age seven (7) we earned a quarter for one weeks worth of chores. These chores were relatively simple daily things that any child at that age "should" be able to handle (w/little to no Dramatics - I can say this fondly now). Making our own beds, picking up our own clothes, sorting out our clean/dirty clothes and putting them where they belong (mom would pay extra if we actually folded/hung them up first), setting and clearing the table, washing the "dishes" (mom/dad would deal w/pots/pans) by hand - we were one of the families to not own a mechanical dishwasher (yet), and of course assist with yard work (mostly pulling weeds and planting seeds by hand). And as we got older other chores were added on to these ones, including the "good grades bribe." I wasn't very wealthy growing up on two counts, I was never good at math and so I always had low grades, and two, I loved bubble gum, so when pay day came I was always given the choice of receiving my whole allowance or putting "half" in my piggy bank for later. I think a nickle made it in every week. In the late 1970's and early 1980's my parents made a small switch in how we would receive our allowances - they would start deducting money for what ever chore was not done that week, but we were now offered fifty cents a week... Times were not cheap back then and the "gaming" houses (lovingly referred to as the Arcade) seemed to be making more money then I could save (so was the nickle and dime candy store). My sister wasn't fairing much better, she discovered the "wrong - in" crowd to hang out with. But my piggy bank still had at least a nickle in it. Then came the mid 1980's, and I was itching more so than anything to get out of school and see the world (I wasn't 18 yet, but old enough to work), so my mom being the generous person she always had been said why leave? Stay here, you can give us $25. for your room a month, extra for your share of the phone bill, and your "%" of the utilities - I was working for a McDonald's, going to evening, & self-study High school to get my G.ED. test over and done with. I didn't have my own bank account, but knew I could live on $25. a month for extra activities, so I handed my full paycheck to my mom - who promptly gave me $25.00 out of it, and when I was low on my cash flow for the month, I told friends "no" or "sorry I can't do that right now." Finally the day came - school was done, I moved up from McDonald's to a file clerking position with a temp agency, and opened my own bank savings account. Forgetting all about the money I gave my mom, until one December when I didnt have a job, and wasn't fully out of their house yet (it was good for storage even though I wasn't living there), and my mom gave me a bank book that she opened for me with my very first paycheck from old McDonald's. I wasn't rich, but I was able to buy everyone a "little" something for Christmas and closed out the account (I added it to my other account).
Now I know the times have changed, but the economy is very similar to that of the 1970's, with a tougher impact because back then families could "get by" on one income, but this economy really needs "two incomes" to make ends meet and that's w/o adding children to the financial fold. However, I still firmly believe that in order to assist children to grow, they need to know just how tough the real world is, and that includes learning work and bills from home first...it's usually much easier there than at someone else's door.

[Coll]

Have your son do chores to earn an allowance. Let him be in charge of his money explaining that if he spends it all, that's all there is until the next week, and chores are done.
You could also make up a budget for him, say he gets $10.00, he has to buy his own comics, snacks, sodas etc, see if it all fits in the budget. If not, he has to wait until the next week to get the things he wants. Then show him if he buys stuff that's discounted, he will still have money left over for something else.

[Lifestar]

Ok, I know this post is long, but I please bear with me. I have a 15 y/o and a 19 y/o. I believe in allowance as a tool to help them learn the value of money. My kids get a "salary" for doing chores that were above and beyond their normal chores, and for making the Honor Roll. School is their "job". But there is n allowance too, for the indulgences that I think I shouldn't pay for.

At about the age of 12, I told my kids about all the bills we pay from our slalries. (They were shocked that we pay for water and trash pick-up! LOL) They were also amazed at the difference between the gross and net salary. The concept of tax really boggled their minds. I showed them a month of pay stubs, the list of bills and gave them a calculator. They asked what happeded when there were more bills than money, and I took that chance to explain credit and interest charges. It made them angry at the thought that if if I borrowed $1.00 I'd end up having to pay back $1.25 (as an example).


So as their allowance, they had always gotten $7.00/week beginning in 2nd grade. A dollar a day to use however they wanted. I tried to teach them the lesson of value vs: cost. (As your son's example, perhaps getting the more expensive comic has a greater value for him, than the two that cost less). The older daughter would spend he money as soon as she got it. The younger one stuffed it into a shoebox.

To this day we'll be shopping and one of the kids will show me some "thing" ... a purse or shoes or a necklace. They will come to me and ask "can I get this?" and I say "Sure! it's your money" ... Then they make a decision on the value.. Is it worth the cost to them? ... Most of the time they put it back, but sometimes they run through the "worth" and choose to get it. But it's in their control to make that decision of how to spend their own money.

My 15 y/o still feels deprived sometimes, and I get the "slump and sigh", but that's life. But she's saving her shoebox money for a car. That's her value decision. She'd rather save than have that extra pair of jeans, or that necklace.

Both girls shop at Kohls, and don't understand why people buy designer goods. They like that they can get 10 pair of Mudd jeans, when their friends get two pair of Ecko or one from Juicy Coture.

My 19 y/o has learned the lessons well. She supports herself with a job in college. paying for pizza, coffee, concert tickets, clothes, etc. (We pay tuition, room, board textbooks and will throw her $50 or so a month just as a treat.) She has a credit card in her own name, that she pays in full every month, (and access to our card for emergencies). She has her own bank account (and a seperate account jointly with me that is for emergencies. She hasn't touched that one in three years.) She has a debit card that she has learned to use prudently. She said that it was the lessons she learned during her allowance years that helped her understand financial responsibility, and most importantly, the concept of value vs: cost.

So, I think value is the lesson, not just cash flow. So let him call you names. Just don't give in.