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Children and spending

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  • #1

    Children and spending

    I'm just curious about what your children spend money on??? Ours do not get an allowance. We do buy clothes for them( jeans from Walmart or sale at department store, they have gobs of t-shirts they've gotten from various events, a pair of tennis shoes, socks and underwear, a couple of nicer shirts for church.) They normally get $300-400 of gift cars or money from relatives at Christmas and again for birthday. That is their spending money... They don't need any. They might go to a movie once a year. They use their iTunes a lot. They occasionally buy food on a youth group outing. I do pay for their youth camps, but not for spending money or for trips to Six Flags. They have used their own money for haircuts...

    What do yours spend money on? Mine are like me and don't buy a lot of stuff. My freshman in college got 1,000 of money from graduation gifts. He still has 750 of it left.. We haven't given him any money. He did have to replace his graphing calculator he lost...
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  • #2
    Children and spending

    Mine didn't spend on much of anything until late high school. Now, it's mostly food. Chipotle, Dunkin Donuts, after school snack runs or Friday night hanging out pizza. We don't buy that for him. They have to buy their own gifts for family at birthdays and Christmas. My daughter uses money for music.
    Angie
    Gyn-Onc fellowship survivor - 10 years out of the training years; reluctant suburbanite
    Mom to DS (18) and DD (15) (and many many pets)

    "Where are we going - and what am I doing in this handbasket?"

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    • #3
      My kids don't get money from relatives. They just get some gift cards, but a total might be 20-50$ worth.

      My teen girls buy clothes, my sons buy some video games or baseball cards or toys, and my youngest daughter buys toys. They get to buy fun stuff maybe 1 trip every 3 months or so. They save a lot of money for souvenirs.

      I buy clothes, and sport equipment. We pay for their haircuts and basic stuff. They only buy truly extra stuff.
      Peggy

      Aloha from paradise! And the other side of training!

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      • #4
        Wow - they pay for their own haircuts?!?!? I don't think I paid for my own haircut until I was out of college.

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        • #5
          depends on age.. since my kids are in grade school, i cover everything. my plans is to cover all basics (food, clothing, etc). anything beyond that, i'm not sure what to do.

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          • #6
            My kids also don't get GCs from family - they get toys, clothes, books, etc. EVERY time I take them in a store, any store, they are asking for things. Now that they get allowances, they can buy whatever crap they want as long as they pay for it - they need to learn that if they spend their money on crap they won't have money for things later and that has already happened to both of them, I don't think they completely got it the first time but after it happens a few times they will.
            Wife to NSG out of training, mom to 2, 10 & 8, and a beagle with wings.

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            • #7
              See mine are older: 19, 17 and 12. Once my boys hit 12 or 13 they no longer get toys and such. They generally get 100 dollar visa card from my mom, a 100 dollar check from my in-laws, then an amazon card or itune cards for 50 dollars each from each of the aunt and uncles.. (For birthdays the aunts/uncles often give them 75 each.) They buy our gifts for Christmas out of this money... They just don't have much they want. Plus I guess they are cheap like me. I remember my oldest wanted the Star Wars DVD trivial pursuit game when he was little. It was 50 bucks. Too expensive. So he waited and it went down to 30. He waited... He bought it when it hit15. He also does things like buy the previous version of Madden for 10 bucks instead of 70 for the new one...

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              • #8
                Sounds like my kids. That's why I called them hoarders! Lol. That said, they don't get that kind of money for gifts. Maybe $50 total from relatives. Around here, some people make their teens pay their phone bills. That can add up if you want a data plan.
                Angie
                Gyn-Onc fellowship survivor - 10 years out of the training years; reluctant suburbanite
                Mom to DS (18) and DD (15) (and many many pets)

                "Where are we going - and what am I doing in this handbasket?"

                Comment

                • #9
                  I got an allowance growing up, but once my sister and I got older, around middle school, it changed to a set of extra chores we could do to earn money instead of having it given to us each week.

                  I like the idea of using allowance or regularly earned money to teach kids about money. While it's helpful to just not spend as much, I learned a lot by saving up my $2 a week for bigger toys. It's something that I can tell DH never learned. He'd either wait for birthday or Christmas, or his parents would buy it for him, but it was always a "windfall" situation, never a long savings process. It really irritates him to wait and save up for things now, rather than just buying and paying it off when he wants it.
                  Laurie
                  My team: DH (anesthesiologist), DS (9), DD (8)

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                  • #10
                    To answer your original question, I used my money for extras. My parents gave me $100 a semester for clothes, and that was enough, but I'd save up to buy more when we went on shopping trips. (We lived in a small town, so we only went shopping in a big city 2-3 times a year.) I also used money for souvenirs on school trips. My parents gave me enough for food, but I liked to get t-shirts for events I participated in. I also used it for gifts for friends' birthdays and food when we had after school activities that ran late. Seems like I always had plenty, but I liked not having to ask my mom for money every time something random came up.
                    Laurie
                    My team: DH (anesthesiologist), DS (9), DD (8)

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                    • #11
                      My 5yo buys 10 cent candies at the candy/toy shop with her $1 allowance. My 7yo is saving his and won't even go to the candy shop. He wants a Lego, but we just proposed that he can buy his own copy of Minecraft for PC...he's freaking out a little because $2 a week won't easily get him both a Lego and a computer game anytime soon, but we've offered some extra chores if he wants them. Last summer it was $.50 per quart of weeds.

                      Before he had the goal of buying a Lego, he saved for college and housing expenses once he leaves home.
                      Alison

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Sheherezade View Post
                        Sounds like my kids. That's why I called them hoarders! Lol. That said, they don't get that kind of money for gifts. Maybe $50 total from relatives. Around here, some people make their teens pay their phone bills. That can add up if you want a data plan.

                        Data plan????? My kids don't get phones until they are 16 and it is a dumb one like mine.. They cost 10 dollars a month on hubby's plan. ( He does have a smart phone.)

                        I don't know. They don't ask me for money either... I guess they will learn at some point. Oldest seems to be doing well so far. We went over the Dave Ramsey stuff, so they know. They just don't get a chance to practice.. We are homebodies for the most part..

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                        • #13
                          The kids receive GCs from family for holidays/birthdays and use those for various items that they want. Depending on the kid it's music from iTunes, clothes, or toys.

                          The girls both babysit a lot so they spend their own money at the local coffee shop for tea/cocoa/coffee when they want it. We're in the middle of nowhere, so there isn't much shopping, anyway.

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                          • #14
                            I think learning and living a lifestyle of not "needing" extras is real life practice
                            -Ladybug

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                            • #15
                              Apparently my 7 yo has been buying the entire after school program chocolate bars that the junior class is selling for fundraising. Thankfully she doesn't have that much money saved since I'm so inconsistent in paying allowances. .
                              -Ladybug

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