Comments on: How To Tell Your Kids Something Is Just Too Expensive

By: James Ryan

James Ryan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:47:52 +0000

been reading alot of your articles on this site, but i like this one the best

By: Patrice

Patrice — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:51:02 +0000

I usually explain to my kids that I can’t afford to buy those things at the moment. I have to save money first before we can buy such things. Or maybe, i’ll buy it as a present on your birthday. Sometimes, I also challenge them to be good in school and as a reward of being one of the topnatchers, they will be rewarded.

By: Twitted by RobFreeze

Twitted by RobFreeze — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:51:55 +0000

[...] This post was Twitted by RobFreeze [...]

By: Kacie

Kacie — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:56:25 +0000

I love your ideas!

Parents, don’t tell your young children that you can’t afford something. It can be scary for them, depending on their age. It can make them worry that you are broke and heading for the poor house! Seriously.

Even if you are, don’t put that kind of stress on your kids. Find some other way to tell them you can’t afford something.

By: I’m kinda boring lately — and some links | Sense to Save

I’m kinda boring lately — and some links | Sense to Save — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:50:32 +0000

[...] Here are some good ways to tell your children that something costs too much. Rather than make your children worry that you’re broke, you can use some of these methods to [...]

By: Virginia

Virginia — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:36:28 +0000

Something I read somewhere a while back, and that I use now, is to tell my kids that “We haven’t budgeted for that.” I like that spin on it because it’s teaching them that we have to make choices for what we budget our money for; it doesn’t put us in a victim mode but a proactive role of planning for our purchases.

I grew up being told constantly that we didn’t have the money for things and quickly began to feel like I was the poorest kid on the block (whether or not that was true). I like the idea of being able to pass on to my kids that yeah, we might not have the money for it, but it’s because we’re choosing to budget our money to other areas.

By: Milehimama

Milehimama — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:00:29 +0000

Set the budget ahead of time and then tell the kids – before you hit the store.

“We have $100 each to spend, and you need new shoes, a backpack, and another pair of jeans”. Then when you get to the store, and he wants $100 shoes, remind him that’s the total budget and you need a backpack and jeans, too.

By: dani

dani — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:54:04 +0000

Whenever we went out to buy shoes, or something like that, my mother told us how much she had to spend. If we wanted something more expensive, we either had to pay the difference or do without. As for clothes, she would put it all in front of us and tell us which ones we could have (you can have these 3 shirts, or this one pair of pants…which do you want?)

Of course, my parents divorced when I was 10, and my dad felt bad about not spending time with us, so a lot of the time it was, go ask your dad, maybe he’ll buy it for you (he usually did).

Another good thing my parents did was the “wait a month and see if you still want it”. This pertained a lot to toys and such. If we still wanted it in a month, they would either help us pay for it, or get it for christmas, birthday, etc.

My little sister is 16, and so my mom has come up with an interesting solution to her love of clothing: my mom uses her store charge, it’s usually cheaper, and my sister pays her back monthly, just like a credit card. My sister has a part time job so this works well for them, and my sister learns about budgeting.

I have seen a lot of spoiled kids out there, so even if you DO have the money, I think it’s still good to set boundaries.

By: Chele

Chele — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:36:15 +0000

My teenagers are very aware of our financial concerns, only because I have been completely honest with them. They are okay with that. They would rather have the roof over our heads then the $100 pair of sneakers. We are to the point that they really don’t ask for much anymore. I’ve been blessed with that! But my two little ones have no clue what money means, so I have used some of your statements above. Thanks for sharing!

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:57:59 +0000

With really little kids, just make sure they keep telling you what they are wishing for! I learned early that money was tight and the answer in the store was probably no, so I stopped asking… but I realized later that my mother would have been more than happy to provide beanbags like the ones at my nursery school, had I only mentioned how much I wished for my own!