A Teenager’s Money Management Lesson
My oldest daughter was always a very independent person who hated to be told what to do and how to do it. When she was 15, she insisted that she needed name brand clothing. All teens want to fit in, but the clothing she wanted did not fit into our budget.
Weary of her begging, I came up with a plan for teaching her about money management. Since I was a working mother, I proposed that she take over the house cleaning and the yard work for the entire summer — and I would pay her for her labors.
The rules were not difficult.
1. The house must be cleaned top to bottom once a week and must pass my inspection. (Top to bottom was defined — in writing.)
2. The lawn must be mowed once a week and any obvious weeds pulled. (There were few weeds in the yard we had at that time.)
3. She would be paid a lump sum at the end of summer to buy her own school clothes and/or spend as she wished. If she chose not to spend it on school clothes, she would have to make do with the clothes she had.
As it turned out, she was a good worker (not to mention motivated) and did an excellent job. So as promised, I gave her the lump sum in cash at the end of summer and allowed her to go shopping for school clothes by herself and buy whatever she wanted.
As I mentioned earlier, she just HAD to have name brand clothes. Well, the transformation of this daughter when she arrived home was gratifying to this mother. As she displayed all her purchases, I noted that none were name brand articles.
When I inquired why she didn’t buy the brands she wanted, she replied, “They cost too much. I would have had to buy fewer clothes.†She continued excitedly, “Look at these pants! There were on sale, so I bought two pair. And . . . †As she bubbled on about her great finds, I kept my composure (and my mouth shut) and listened like I’d never seen such great bargains.
The most rewarding part to me? She is now a mother with teenagers of her own, is still frugal with her money and, she’s teaching her children the same money management lessons.
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Joan has created the web site, Family Survival Planning, to help families prepare for the inevitable crises that sprinkle themselves throughout our lives. She believes that being frugal and prepared involves good planning.