|
Back to school, or back to the poor house? |
|
|
|
|
Articles, How-To's and Interviews -
Being a Mom
|
|
Written by Tawra Kellam
|
Back to school is a time when many moms witness their money sprout wings and take flight, finding their homes at retail stores across America. I know that consumer spending is good for the economy, but I don’t take it upon myself to keep the entire US economy propped up, so when my first-grade son announced that he wanted a backpack with rollers, I saw this as a wonderful financial teaching moment. His school is small, and he doesn't walk to or from school. He didn't need rollers.
I told my son that I would give him $8 toward a backpack. I told him that if he wanted a fancier one, he could put up some of his allowance money for the difference. That's the rule at our house. Mom and Dad buy the basics the kids buy the extras. It was amazing how my son’s perception of the need for rollers changed when his allowance was on the line. Yes, he has concluded, a regular backpack will do the trick this year.
Thousands of parents are buying back-to-school supplies. From crayons and notebooks to calculators and lunch boxes, the list of what to buy can be as long as the list of your kids’ excuses.
I know that you are anxious to get your kids back into school, but there is no need to take out a second mortgage just to get rid of them. Instead, use some of these money-saving tips from www.LivingOnADime.com and you can happily send your kids to school and keep some of the cash for mom’s back-to school celebration!
*Wait for the list to come out and stick to it, otherwise you might buy
things you don't need. Remember, the Bank of Mom doesn’t pay for
frills. Any extras the kids want will have to be funded from their own
cash reserves. I do understand that it is nice for kids to have “hip”
back-to-school supplies. I look at yard sales and thrift stores for
brand-name finds. For instance, I recently found a gently used Barbie
backpack and a Barbie lunch box and no one would know that I paid $1.00
each instead of the $32 that Becky Johnson’s mom paid. Who says stay at
home mom’s don’t make any money?
*Don’t buy back to school clothes. Children don't need an entirely new
wardrobe every fall. Some mom’s act as if aliens clothes-napped their
kids’ clothes the night before school and the fashion police will come
arrest them if they don’t buy the latest designer clothes right away.
The kids wore clothes all year long, didn't they? If they need
something like a new pair of shoes or new jeans then buy what they
need, but don’t just buy a new wardrobe because it’s the thing to do.
*Use back to school sales to your advantage. If you know your kids go through a package of socks, underwear or jeans
every six months then stock up while they are on sale. The same is true
of crayons, paper, notebooks, backpacks and lunch boxes. My son went
through two backpacks and two lunch boxes last year, so this year we
will buy two while they are on sale instead of waiting until the middle
of the year when they are full price. We will also be checking garage
sales between now and then to find any good deals on those items. Don’t
be tempted to buy things that you wouldn’t normally use, though, just
because they’re on sale.
*Go through last year's school supplies to see which things are still
usable. If my student has a working calculator, the Bank of Mom will
not extend credit for a new one.
*Limit activities to one at a time. Activity fees can add up fast. One
at a time is the rule at our house. If you can’t afford the activity,
it doesn’t hurt for the kids to use their own money to pay for it. The
best way to teach them money management is to let them manage their own
money when they have nothing to lose, instead of after they have maxed
out the credit cards someone persuaded then to sign up for in college.
Tawra Kellam is the author of Dining On A Dime Cookbook. For more free
tips and recipes visit her web site at http://www.LivingOnADime.com.
In 5 years, Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 personal debt on an
average income of $22,000 per year.
|
