Teaching Kids About Money: Giving Kids Money for Back to School Shopping

As a parent one of our most important jobs is teaching kids about money.  Each year we have a fantastic teachable opportunity with back to school shopping when there are school supplies, lunch boxes, shoes, clothing, and more to buy.   There are 13 years of school (including Kindergarten), which means we have 13 awesome opportunities to teach our children about budgeting.  By the time your child is in college and solely making important financial decisions he or she will have years of experience buying the items they need within a budget with you by their side.  Stepping into the real world won’t be so scary for either of you!

This year we decided to do something entirely different than what we have done in the past.  Starting this year we gave the girls cash for Back to School shopping.  They each received a budget for back to school clothes (including underwear, socks, and shoes) and accessories.  I am responsible for saving money on school supplies and we have a stockpile of supplies that have been on sale over the years, so the girls are not required to buy their own school supplies…..just yet.  Inspiration for changing our way of shopping came after reading Smart Money Smart Kids (it’s a Must Read for Parents).

Let’s talk numbers.  Our girls are going into 1st and 3rd grade.  Each girl has $120 in their Back to School Budget.  $107 for clothing and $13 for accessories.  Why $107?  The extra $7 covers sales tax.  I have a love hate relationship with Tax Free weekend.  I love that you get a tax break on Back to School merchandise, but I hate the crowds.  I would rather get ready for school slowly and cover the 7% sales tax than cram all of our shopping into one weekend when everyone else is frantically shopping as well.  Just to be clear, their money stays in envelopes in my purse.  We are using a cash envelope system and I created a fun printable to help us keep track of our School Budget.

In the past week we have shopped at the outlet mall, 5 Below, and TJ Maxx.  As I sat in the changing room with Big Sister she really thought about what she wanted to buy with her Back to School money.  She even asked “Are there coupons for this store?”  and “Which store has the best deal on socks?”  As we browsed the Sunday paper we looked at shoes in the Rack Room Shoes ad.  The same Sketchers that we saw at Costco for $19.99 a few days ago are “on sale” for $45.00 at Rack Room Shoes.  Big Sister asked if we could go to Costco tomorrow to buy the shoes that she wants at a $25 savings.  She is only 7…and she is learning that she has a finite amount of money.  She knows that with coupons and deal hunting that she can make her budget stretch.  And I know that I am here to help her every step of the way.  We are creating solid steps now to ensure financial success down the road.

Get this School Budget Printable  in pdf form by {clicking here}. Print this PDF and tape (or glue) it onto an envelope.  Tuck your child’s back to school budget money in that envelope to have on hand while you are shopping.

How do you tackle Back to School shopping?  Have you created a budget this year?  Do you think we are crazy or right on the money by giving our girls their own school supply money to spend as they wish?