Do you let your kids make financial mistakes?

When dd was 15 or 16, she wanted to go shopping with her friends instead of me, at the beginning of the school year. She had xx amount of money to spend (I like it was around 250 or 300) but this had to buy clothes from Aug to December when she would get clothes for Xmas. Instead of making her money stretch she bought 2 pair of jeans that were 60 each. She also bought 3 shirts that were around 35 each. So she ran out of money fast. But hey she was in "style".

Next time, she decided that she wanted me to go shopping with her, so that I could make her money stretch so that she would have more variety in her clothes.

It is really hard to do, but yes I have.  I always give them my opinion and tell them the decision was theirs.  Sometimes they listened, other times they didn't and regretted it.  Too many years have passed to remember an exact one.

Yes, I do. It is not easy, especially for me! But, they have to understand that it's their call, and I am not to blame if they regret it later.

Yes, DD has already made several mistakes, but she's actually pretty good with money now. I'm sure there are more mistakes that she'll make in the future but I prefer she learns those lessons now when she is younger and the mistakes are relatively small.

She has already learned that borrowing money isn't everything that it is cracked up to be.

I guess the biggest thing is that HE may not see it as a mistake.  Riley is 11, but he is my saver.  If he spent his money on a big set of Legos, he would have carefully thought it through and decided it was worth the cost.  He LOVES Legos.  And he wouldn't ask me for money for something different later on, either.  What is a mistake in other's eyes, may be worth it to the one doing the spending!!!

But in answer to your original question...yes, I HAVE let mine, including letting them go in the negative in their bank accounts (with overdraft protection).  Is it spending $30 unnecessary?  Well, again, it depends on how you look at it.  Yes, I could have saved them that money by continuing to stay on top of them about balancing their checkbooks....or I can let them learn the hard way..and have them not repeat it.  It took Katie all of ONCE.  We had some MAJOR tears...and she and her husband now are anal about making sure their checkbook balances!!  Zachary is learning that same lesson right this very minute.  Let's hope he learns as well as big sister did!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessed_with_6 

I guess the biggest thing is that HE may not see it as a mistake. 

I agree with this.  If you look at it another way, he saved up $60 to buy a Lego set he wanted, and that's pretty awesome.  

I haven't really given my kids any money yet, so I guess I don't let them make mistakes yet.

yes i have and now they think long and hard if they really really want it.

I am wondering why you think it was a mistake on his part?  Just because he hasn't got much money left?  

If the return on investment is good, than it could be a good buy for him.   Plus, lego are so popular, if he decided that he doesn't want them, or doesn't play with them in a few months I bet he could get at least half his money back by selling it on ebay or elsewhere.  

I had a post a few weeks back about how dd bought something so stupid, just a plastic piece of nothing that she HAD to have and it gave no return to her.  That was a financial mistake, and yes, I let her buy it to make that point!  

I think that theses contained money lessons are good and will help them in the long run.

Yes I do but I don't count the decision your ds made as a mistake.  He might be totally cool with it.  I have let ds buy something he could have gotten online cheaper but he'd have to wait.  I told him the whole deal, how he'd have less $$.  He was fine with it.  I myself am that way as well.  Some times it Pays for me to pay higher and have it when I really wan/needt it.  (I'm talking small things).  Then with other things I pinch pennies because it doesn't matter to me.

But yes unless it was going to be something really horrible - like giving everything away he had saved for something really silly, or being taken in by someone/thing, I do let him make his own $$ decisions.