Kids Kept Asking for Money - Page 2

I am not afraid to say that costs more than we have money for right now. I always explain that we do not have an endless supply of money so we have to pick and chose the activities we do and the thngs we buy. I am a strong advocate of teaching children to budget. Ds is 4 and he gets $2 a week for doing two chores, these are in addition to basic clean up which I expect without being paid for it. When we go to the store he takes his wallet, if he wants something that he does not have enough for I tell him he will have to wait and get it when he does have enough. If he is close we go home and check the price online to see if we can get it cheaper. He likes this and sometimes asks us to do it when it is a rather expensive toy he wants.

When we go to the water park I tell him he can get one refill n our cup and a few jelly beans. When he asks for anything I state if he gets that he does not get the refill and the jelly beans. We never eat at the park, usually I pack a lunch to eat on the car ride home. If I want to make it special we will stop at McDonalds on the way home. I love the snack budget idea and will have to see if there are things I can apply it to in other circumstances.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomsgem 

I am not afraid to say that costs more than we have money for right now. I always explain that we do not have an endless supply of money so we have to pick and chose the activities we do and the thngs we buy. I am a strong advocate of teaching children to budget. 

I agree, it's never even crossed my mind to make up alternative reasons. "We don't have the money for x, y, or z" and depending on each circumstance they may get a more detailed explanation. I just keep it simple and honest.  And the kids aren't up nights with antacids

Its more stuff then money still. We watched a movie from the library today and I get the. "Mommy why can't we just buy the movie so it doesn't have to go back?" 

I have been telling her that we need the money more for other things. Like food and whatever else it is that we need to buy . 

The snack budget thing works for adults too. I have been budgeting cash for things like eating out and activities once the cash is gone for the month it is gone. 

I plan to introduce budgeting the way my mom did with me this Christmas. Give DD cash and let her decide how and what she will buy for gifts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Missystuy 

Alot of people agree on this board that we shouldn't tell our children 'We can't afford that...' because it might give them anxieity about money. 

 

My kids just know I'm cheap and its not that we can't afford it (well most of the time I can't)  I just find the prices ridiculous and a waste of my money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karen1985 

I agree, it's never even crossed my mind to make up alternative reasons. "We don't have the money for x, y, or z" and depending on each circumstance they may get a more detailed explanation. I just keep it simple and honest.  And the kids aren't up nights with antacids

My problem with telling kids "We can't afford that" is that it's not always true. You could probably grab a snack at the pool without going broke.  I usually just say "we're not buying that" but an alternative to "we can't afford that" is "that's not what we're choosing to spend out money on right now".

I know people who pretend to be broke and act like they are.  Although they have plenty of money, they're cheap and use the "I can't afford it" excuse.  I'm not worried about giving my kids anxiety, but my husband did get a bit of a complex when growing up he always heard "we can't afford to eat at McDonald's" but saw the things his mom DID spend money on.  I don't think it's at all wrong to say "we can't afford that" when you can't, but I do think it's wrong to use it as an (untrue) excuse not to buy your child something, especially without an explanation.

M never asked for things (and still doesn't) so I'm dealing with this right now, rather surprisingly, from baby boy. All of a sudden he's started saying "Buy those!" to anything and everything. sigh.