Teaching Teens Budget – Review

Over six months ago, I wrote a post about an interesting parenting tactic to help teach teenagers how to budget.

At that time I wrote about it in the generic “What an interesting idea” kind of way, but I also thought my kids were too young for that.

Smash cut until today.

I let my kids go on Facebook when they entered 8th grade, and they’ve been sending me Facebook reels about this same idea. If you haven’t read that previous post, the idea is basically this: find out how much money you usually spend with your child, estimate it per month, give it to him, and let him learn to budget and spend it wisely.

So I already had this in the back of my head. As in, yes, i think this is a good idea (or some modified version).

And then – TRAGEDY TRUCK (slightly euphemistic here).

When my teens were getting ready for school, one of my girls TOOK OFF HER JEANS and was left in a pool of tears crying, “I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!”

This was very frustrating for me, considering that her closets are full of clothes, including 70 different pairs of jeans.

Am I the only one who has found that sometimes when I take my kids shopping for clothes, they find something love…and they don’t wear their home? Just me?

I can’t think of much that I hate more than seeing my baby outgrown something new AND TAGS ON!

So with all these thoughts swirling around in my mind I realized it was time.

I give the girls their budget.

In my previous blog post on Teaching Teens to Budget, the idea was to give money to kids everything related to the child (eg, registration fees for sports, recreation and entertainment, school events and other courses). But that felt like too much too soon. And, honestly, none of those things are a real problem. Our problem is the classic things for girls: makeup and clothes.

Photo credit: Ron Lach/Pexels

Here is my plan:

KIDS BUY:

Clothing and Accessories

• 100% off all clothing, including:
• Shirts, top
• Pants, jeans, shorts, skirts, bottoms
• Bras and panties and socks
• Tennis shoes, dress shoes, flip flops, boots, sandals, crocs
• Any accessories, including belts, jewelry, hair bows, scrunchies, etc.
• Pajamas/blankets
• Swimsuits and cover ups
• Jackets, hoodies, sweaters
• Hats and glasses
• Purses/purses/purses
• Special costumes or clothes (eg, spirit week, theme days, holiday, school dance)

Makeup & Skincare

• 100% of all cosmetics and skin care, including any related items
• primer, setting spray, makeup, clips or hair puller, etc.
• Face or lip masks
• Makeup remover wipes
• Chiefs
• Makeup brushes or sponges
• Nail polish, remover, files, etc.

Toiletries

• Good shampoos and conditioners
• Hair masks
• Hair dye and related products
• A premium hand soap, lotion, or body wash
• Styling products (gel, mousse, curl cream, heat protectant)
• Dry shampoo
• perfume/body spray
• Sweet lotions
• Bath bombs, bath tub

MOM IS BUYING

Clothing and Accessories

• NO

Makeup & Skincare

• NO

Toiletries

• Basic deodorant
• Basic hand soap, lotion, and body wash
• Razors
• Toothbrushes
• Mouthwash or floss
• Sun protection
• Feminine hygiene products

Setting Ground Rules

I wrote a simple contract where we all agree to the terms. No borrowing. There are no developments. When the month is over, the money is gone.

We can check in from time to time and discuss if any repairs are needed.

How much money are we talking about?

I budget carefully, but I budget at the household level. I don’t cut back on spending money on each child. It’s “clothes” or “house,” not whose thing was.

As a result, I wasn’t entirely sure what made sense.

My first guess was $75 per child per month. Some months we spend very little – $50 or less. Some months (hello back to school) are more expensive, especially when shoes are involved.

After some Googling, I found that USDA estimates suggest that families spend about $100 per month per teen on clothing – and that’s not even including makeup or hair products.

I am free to start at $100/month/new.

At first that felt like a big leap. But this is not new money. It’s money I’m already using – it’s just been reallocated to a new budget line called the Youth Budget.

This is not a promotion. Reorganization.

What I think will happen

I fully expect both kids to immediately want to spend the entire $100 on a few cute tops and jeans, and then realize they’re out of money when the mascara runs out.

But I actually think that kind of small failure can be a valuable learning experience,

I’m training them to think ahead about big expenses. They start off in a good place (ie, full of makeup and lots of clothes), which gives them a place to save for going back to school in July (school starts in August).

Final thoughts

So…I wish you luck. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is $100 too much or too little? Is 13 too small?

Raising children is dangerous. A very important task, but there is no rulebook and every child is different! I have high hopes for this little experiment. I hope any missteps become learning moments. And hopefully the missteps will be few and far between.

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