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Raising Smart Spenders~Philly style!

May 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
For this week’s “Raising Smart Spenders” feature, I turned to some of the best moms in the Philadelphia area–the Philly Social Media Moms. These moms are just oozing with great tips, I was amazed at the smart and fun ideas they put out there for this. So sit back, take some notes, print the check list if you want, and get your kids on the path to being a financially responsible adult. It’s one of the best things we can do for them.

Brown bag lunches for school days and field trips. We pack our lunch and snacks for our field trips. It saves me from paying for overpriced foods my kids won’t eat anyway, it’s healthier, and I am not stuck waiting in line with hungry kids. ~Jennifer from Jersey Family Fun.
 
We have profit sharing in our home. We share the household budget with all the kids and they help with controlling costs. For example, if we budget $200 for our electric bill, the kids focus on cutting off lights etc to make sure we hit budget. If we hit budget we contribute to our vacation fund. If we are under budget, we split the “profit.” If we miss budget, we pay the overage out of the allowance, eating out and vacation funds. ~Uneeka from PowerMommyNation.com.
 

 

I tell my kids to buy small when they just want to try something. When we’re in a warehouse store, they know not to ask for something new because if they don’t like it, they’re stuck with it. Instead, they say “I’d like to try those cookies next time we go grocery shopping.” The price per unit might be more at a supermarket than at BJ’s, but if the huge package goes uneaten then all that money is wasted, too. ~Cindy at Whatever Works.
 
I am giving my youngsters (2 and 5) their own cash, and am learning to let them spend it on whatever they want, without censoring them. I think this will demystify money, and let them see that they can make good choices and bad choices. No reason to make them wait to learn this. It’s only $5 at a time, but they are learning to carry it themselves and make choices about spending. I don’t buy them treats out of my money when we are out, so we don’t have the checkout line battles. ~Darla at HeartWorkOrg.com.
 
My oldest son started out with an allowance, and now he gets an allowance plus the opportunity to earn extra money doing gardening work for me and working for the neighbors. We’ll be doing the same with the younger 4. ~Barb at A Life in Balance.
 

 

Besides my 4-year-old’s piggy bank for his coin savings, we have a dollar box that we use to collect ‘A’ dollars, my son’s first initial. Whenever anyone in the family has an ‘A’ Dollar we put it in the box and talk about how we are saving the money to use as our spending money at Disney, when we eventually go. ~Diane at Knitting Zeal.
 
Right now we use the Save, Give, Spend piggy banks for collecting coins and a tiny “allowance.” We periodically deposit the “save” amount, donate the “give” amount to a charity or church, and use the “spend” for something they want or for our garage sale outings. ~Carrie at Making Lemonade.
 
I have a list of tasks I need done with $ amounts assigned to each one. My kids can do them at will, and they invoice me. I transfer the $ from my checking account to their ING savings account. That money is theirs to spend, but I have found that seeing the interest accumulate coupled with the required two days wait to transfer money back really encourages them to keep on savings. ~Robin at SimpleGreenOrganicHappy.
 


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