Categories
Spend wisely

Teaching Kids to Spend: Part 1 – Generic vs. Name-Brand Products

The wheels have been turning since I wrote my last post, If I Could Teach My Child Just One Financial Lesson, It Wouldn’t Be To Save (spoiler: it would be to spend wisely). And I really enjoyed doing a five part series on saving, so I thought, why not do another series on spending?

J and I have been going to various stores and doing some comparison shopping, so the first three posts will be the results of our research, including practical advice and lessons about spending. Specific topics will include buying generic vs. name-brand products, looking at price differences between stores and buying in bulk.

Post four will include other ideas for teaching your kids about spending, and the last post will be more philosophical in nature — do I really need to buy this?

Generic vs. Regular

When I first thought of this idea, I mentioned it to J and he said, “What does generic mean?”

Wait, what?

Continue reading “Teaching Kids to Spend: Part 1 – Generic vs. Name-Brand Products”
Categories
Spend wisely

If I Could Teach My Child Just One Financial Lesson, It Wouldn’t Be To Save

Last week I saw a tweet from Adam at Money Savvy Daddy that said, “If you could teach your child just one money/financial lesson… what would it be?”

I love to learn what people are teaching their kids so I was eager to read the responses. Not surprisingly, many people said, “Save!” Saving is definitely important, but saving without context… how can that be successful? What are you saving for?

Continue reading “If I Could Teach My Child Just One Financial Lesson, It Wouldn’t Be To Save”
Categories
Start saving young

February 2018 Interest Report (and Total Savings at the Bank of Mom)

Six months ago, I published a post on how much interest J had earned since the Bank of Mom opened for business.

At the time, he had gone from $45.00 to $231.99 over the course of 15 months.

Today, just six short months later, he’s surpassed the $400.00 mark with a total of $405.21. I love exponential growth in action!

Here’s his statement for this month:

Continue reading “February 2018 Interest Report (and Total Savings at the Bank of Mom)”
Categories
Financial education

Pay Day – Our New Favorite Board Game

I don’t normally go out on Black Friday, but my sister and her husband came home this past Thanksgiving, so a trip to Target was in order. While shopping, I stumbled on a magical game called Pay Day.

A quick scan of the box showed that it was a money management game, and I knew I had to have it. Plus it was the “retro” edition, which made it even more desirable. (Why is that?)

I bought the game (for a discount because the Cartwheel price was lower than the in-store price) and we played our first game that weekend.

The Game

The rules are easy. Everyone starts out with $325 (in the retro edition). The board is a month, and before the game starts, you decide how many months you want to play.

Continue reading “Pay Day – Our New Favorite Board Game”
Categories
Real-life money lessons

We Did It! An Update on Saving for A BIG Lego Set

A few months ago, I had a parenting win. J received a gift that he couldn’t use, and instead of exchanging it for something right away, he returned the item and put the money aside for something he really wanted — The Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon Lego set.

This BIG set cost $99.99, and with 6% tax, he needed a total of $105.99.

He started on August 26, 2017 with $25.17 in a Target gift card.

By saving $8.00 every two weeks (of his $9.00 allowance), he calculated that he would reach his goal on or before January 19, 2018.

The Power of a Goal

Not only did he save part of his allowance, but J was inspired to do chores for extra money and also added in some gifts from relatives. Both accelerated his progress towards the goal.

On November 10 (2.5 months in), he had $90.67.

Continue reading “We Did It! An Update on Saving for A BIG Lego Set”