The Frugal Teenager
Oct 13th, 2008 at 9:25 am by Susie
A helpful piece about how parents who are used to indulging their kids are saying no for the first time. (One family showed their teenagers the household bills for the first time - one of the kids thought the mortgage bill was an annual payment, not monthly. I know at some point I did sit down with my kids and showed them the basic math - namely, that there was nothing left after paying bills and buying food and gas. They weren’t happy, but it gave them perspective.)
Any of you dealing with this now?
Maybe all the kids are like those in the article, I don’t know, but I suspect that the attitudes are reflective of the journalist’s socio-economic perspective and not representative of the country at large. Most kids don’t shop at Abercrombie & Fitch.
My own daughter was horrified at the thought of spending $50 for a t-shirt and is content with discount stores, thrift shops, and sale racks. When she turned 15, instead of buying her school clothes, I gave her a set amount (something like $200) and turned her loose in the mall, with the idea that, if she shopped carefully, she could buy a goodly number of pieces and have enough left for one really cool thing. She loved it, combed through the sale racks, and came back with a pile of cute clothes.
Of course, I trust her completely and she’s always known that we live modestly. Maybe we’re the statistical outliers.
As a single mom, I’ve had to be frugal for years, and have always tried to limit my son’s greediness, having him wait for b-days and christmas to get requested toys, etc. At 11, though, he still doesn’t seem to have any real concept of the income/outlay system, no matter how I try to explain it to him. And he continues to be acquisitive to a degree I find distasteful. If I can’t afford something he’ll start scheming how he can get his dad to buy it or whatever, and as much as I hate his father, I have to say he doesn’t give into those requests very often either. I’m not sure how I got such a materialistic kid but it bugs me.
And yeah, I’m pinching pennies even more lately so the “discussions” over purchases have gotten more frequent.
My kids have never seen commercial TV so they are not programmed for any overpriced name-brand stuff. Comfort and function are more important than fashion. My daughter will be 14 in November and she still shops the boys department for jeans because all the girls jeans have such a low waist and a 2″ zipper.
Yes, I have talked to my kids about cash flow for years. My daughter is FINALLY getting it thru her head and we shop at low priced stores (Forever 21 is a good one) that have current styles–although the modesty rule is a biggie too. My son, on the other hand, thinks getting a job at UPS for $11/hour is all he will ever need in life–he’s clueless to expenses. What I’ve encountered around here are parents who consistently overspend on their kids and don’t make them do chores to help out or earn money. It makes my job that much harder because my kids then think I’m just being cheap! What they fail to understand is that I have very little debt and I suspect their spending friend’s families are in over their heads.
I’m seventeen years old and have always been aware of my expenses. I do like to indulge myself in a new gadget or something really nice once in a great long while, but I understand the value of a dollar. I know many teenagers that just don’t understand what their parent go through every month. My mom has always been very open with me with money from a young age. I’m glad she was, because even though it can be a burden knowing such things, I know it’s going to help me in the long run