Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Make Kids Really Save On A Bargain

Today’s fantastic family finance article is:

Discount tag


“Hey Dad, I just bought these shoes on sale for 20% off and saved $10!”

“Well, technically, you didn’t save anything. You simply spent $40 instead of $50. Yes, you spent $10 less than you could have, but you didn’t actually save $10. Your savings account didn’t increase at all, did it?”

Eyeballs rolling, “Oh, Dad, you know what I mean. Sheesh, don’t be such a killjoy!”

And we wonder why our teenagers don’t talk to us any more...

If you want to keep the money dialog open, try this compromise: make your kid actually save the discount amount. In the case above, your kid would have to turn the ten theoretically saved dollars into ten real saved dollars by transferring that amount into a separate savings account, card, or jar. If not right away, then before the next purchase can occur.

That way, your kid can spend less and really save more at the same time. Now, that’s a bargain.


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