Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Let Kids Blow Their Own Money On Gum

Kid Blowing Gum Money Bubble

The old checkout stand gum gambit. Your kids play it well. They wait until you’re harried at the checkout stand. Then they hit you up with the old:

“Dad, can I have a pack of gum? Just one little one? Pllllleeeaaassse?”

We’ve already discussed how to sidestep the checkout stand meltdown by maneuvering the purchase decision out of your hands and into your kid’s. You’ll find the precise script here.

But what if your kids play the old “other parents don’t make their kids buy their own gum” card?

No worries. I’ve got some data from our family finance site to help you call that bluff.

It turns out we see lots of these little gum transactions. In fact, so many that “gum” bubbles up near the top of the common keyword list when we anonymously analyze transaction descriptions.

A quick little analysis of hundreds of gum related purchases recorded by parents in our IOU accounts over the last year yields these fun facts:

  • The average gum purchase amount was: $2.88
  • The youngest purchaser was 3 years old.
  • The 7 to 12 age range is the sweet spot for gum purchases with 12 year olds having the most transactions.

Oh, and warn your kid about leaving those wrappers everywhere. At least one kid got docked with this penalty:

-$5.00 Left bubble gum wrappers on counter

Ouch!

I wonder what the old left-gum-in-pants-pocket-that-went-through-the-wash infraction costs in that household!


Want to turn these tips into action? Check out FamZoo.com.

1 comment:

  1. Gosh, if that isn't a life lesson then I don't know what is! Self control is definitely something that's a hard thing to learn for the kids, and it's more than just the finance aspect about it too!

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