How we do our school shopping - Find it, Make it, Love it

My kids went back to school this week! Sigh of relief, and a little sadness. Summer time is crazy! My house is a complete mess for 3 months straight; and for whatever reason, any kind of structure is completely void during the summer. Am I the only one? But, man have we had fun!
While I am not super happy about summer coming to an end, I am however, excited about the structure that will once again make a way into our lives. : ) These girls? They were excited for the new school clothes!

I have had just enough conversations and comments about how we do our school shopping that I thought I’d do a quick post about it. You might be on the edge of your seat right now, wondering what glorious information I am about to share. I hope you won’t be too disappointed in my lack of genius, but seriously, it’s kind of genius. : ) Although it’s nothing new or unheard of, still pretty genius.

We simply give each girl $50.

Anti-climatic, sure; but just hear me out. : )

They do chores every day all summer to earn their $50. When we’re ready to go, I literally give them $50 cash. (I think it’s important that they physically hold the money and see it go as they make their purchases.) They have to account for sales tax and everything. I mentioned this is not a new concept by any means, but I can’t tell you enough how well this has worked for us.

Let’s point out the benefits:

They learn how money really works.

They learn what we mean when we say something is too expensive because they’ve seen a pair of pants for $27 and realize that’s more than half of their entire budget; so they’ll pass.

It gives them a taste of spending money wisely and staying within their means.

They choose carefully and appreciate what they come home with.

They feel so proud when they see how well they did with their allotted funds.

It takes loads of stress off my shoulders on shopping day because it’s in their hands, and I know I will not over spend.

Let’s not forget the math practice they get while adding up their clothes.

We realize $50 is not much, and we’ll need to figure a way in our budget to increase that amount in the very near future, but it works for now. I do believe any amount would have the same benefits.

They each came away with 2-3 pants and 4-5 shirts to take them back to school in style!