Spending Money for Kids - Your Tips?

[MissJanice]

We love gift cards for my ds7. He likes that he has his own "debit" card and the receipt will say how much he has left. There are rules. 1. He must carry whatever he buys. 2. If gets candy, he has to share with his sister. 3. He isn't getting any more money after he spends all the gift card. 4. We get to ask him if is something he really wants and he has to think about it for X minutes and look at other things before he decided or we can come back at another point in the trip to look again.

 

[JacksLilWench]

When I was younger, my parents used this technique where I was given X amount of dollars, and when they were spent, they were spent. I was allowed to spend my money on anything I wanted to, but I didn't get anymore after that.

I know a lot of people say the "Gift Shop Tour" works--that way you see almost everything that's available for purchase (and with the way the gift shops are at Disney now, when you see one, you've seen them all!) HTH!! Enjoy your trip!!

 

[JacksLilWench]

When I was younger, my parents used this technique where I was given X amount of dollars, and when they were spent, they were spent. I was allowed to spend my money on anything I wanted to, but I didn't get anymore after that.

I know a lot of people say the "Gift Shop Tour" works--that way you see almost everything that's available for purchase (and with the way the gift shops are at Disney now, when you see one, you've seen them all!) HTH!! Enjoy your trip!!

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

I agree with the posters here. Once DD was old enough to get money for gifts and have an allowance and understand what that meant, she had to spend her own money when we went on vacation. We would buy one t-shirt and/or sweatshirt and 1 other souvenier of her choice (we had veto power), but anything else she had to buy with her own money. This really curbs the wanting of every little thing she sees and really makes her think about her purchases and not be impulsive. We do get pins for trading ahead of time on e-Bay and that has become a big part of our trips when we go, they make for great rememberances and also great additions to our Disney memorabilia.

Have a great trip.

 

[pixystickgrl]

When I was younger we would do chores to earn Disney dollars and then on the trip she bought us an autograph book, and a passport for EPCOT everything else was on our own. I think it worked well and really made us think about what we were buying.

 

[CathieArms]

DD will be almost 12 when we go this year. She tends to be an impulse buyer. I try my best to guide her ( you can buy this stuffed animal or 2 of these toys... ) but unless it's something I totally disapprove of (usually candy! ) I let her choose.

Having said that - what are your tips for allowing kids to spend at Disney? How much? What guidelines? I want to let her know in advance what the expectations are going to be.

I honestly don't have any guidelines, but I don't give them spending money, either. DS6 and DD15 are required to save their own money to spend at WDW. We went 2 years ago, and DS was then 4 and he saved his own money to go then, too.

It's their vacation and, if they've saved their own money, they should be able to spend it on whatever they want...IMO.

Personally speaking, I prefer them to not spend it on food/candy and I remind them of that when they start buying. But, if it's a huge thing for them, then I revert back to the philosophy that it's their money afterall.

 

[Rekenna]

Hi! I have found that Disney gift cards for each child work best. I have a DS12, he knows how much he has on his card, we talk before we leave about what he is thinking about buying and how much it costs. When he wants to impulse buy I remind him of the items he was looking forward to and that helps keep him in line. Also, I make him write down how much he has spent and he has to keep the reciepts, he can do math-this way he knows how much he has left to spend. It's actually a good tool to teach financial responsibility-you have this much, you want to buy something that costs xx-do you have enough money for it?

DS5 actually caught onto this pretty well. He can't do the math just yet, but understands if I tell him, "if you buy this, you can't buy this." DS3 is just super cute and gets whatever he wants (dont' tell my other kids!).

Secret-actually I am the one who doesn't keep track of what I spend-maybe I need a gift card too!

 

[stacynak]

DS3 is just super cute and gets whatever he wants (dont' tell my other kids!).

 

[leebee]

I have friends who give their kids a set amount they can spend, and tell them they can keep anything they don't spend. Mom and Dad determine the amount and keep track of purchases. It doesn't save the parents any money, but it sure cuts down on the pile of junk at the end of the trip!

We are pretty strict about spending money. It's hard for us to save up for Disney trips (I make about $12K a year), but we manage to go almost every year. DD is now 17 but buying has never been an issue. I am in charge of the budget, so I determine what is spent. I just say "no" if it's not in the budget, and she's never been one to nag or whine for something (maybe she learned at an early age that that's the BEST way to turn a 'not today' into a full, concrete "NO.") Even if she has her own money, which is rare as we don't have gift-giving relatives, I have veto power; if kids didn't need direction, guidance, and support, they wouldn't have parents or be kids, they'd be born fully-grown! This has kept the spending, and the junk pile, to a minimum. I usually buy DD ONE gift per trip, and it has to be affordable or justifiable (and not by her). The past few years, it's been pick-a-pearl, and one year there was a dress from AK (she was sweltering, the dress was $25, and I knew she'd wear it all the time, which she has) in addition to the pearl. Jeez, I sound mean and stingy! I always get her a Disney tee-shirt before we go, so she has a collection of (sanely-priced) DIsney shirts, and an autograph book and pen (although not anymore, sigh...), and we always have a snack (dole whip, mickey bar, etc) every day from my money, because I buy the food and pay for the trip! It's harder when we travel with other families and kids, and I give in more easily, but DD usually never really wants a bunch of junk. She'd rather have another nice dinner at a restaurant, or do something "special", like see Cirque du Soleil, take the Behind the Seeds tour, or go to MNSSHP. Don't get me wrong... we do have a few stuffies, and some Disney kidsjunk jewelry, and some pierced earrings for each of us, but for the most part, DD would rather have another trip than lots of stuff from THIS trip. I guess I am pretty lucky that way. Last August, DD's souvie came from WWHP; it's a Luna Lovegood tee shirt that she's worn about a dozen times since then. I splurged and bought myself a flexible Disney cutting board for $3!

 

[lizzyb]

My kids are younger but they are actually taking their own money that they received for christmas from their grandparents (their idea). We always have to remind them that they cant buy anything to big as we have to pack it but we have never had an issue as of yet.

 

[Bell30012]

My DD8 gets a gift card each trip. When she was six she spent that sucker the first or second day and then wished she hadn't. The next two trips since then she puts the card in the room safe when we get there.

Each time she sees something she wants to buy she shoots a picture of it with her iPhone. The last day she picks and we go find those items.

 

[Fjobe]

This summer we will take our kids to Disney for the first time. My mom has said repeatedly that she wants to provide the spending money for our kids. I have had fabric envelopes with each child's name on it made for my wallet (purchased at etsy) that I use to keep the kids money in. We used these last year on vacation and it was great! So, we will put the money that my mom provides for each child in their envelope. We will allow them to shop one time each day for souveniers. I will try to encourage them to wait on spending until the last day. We have hopper passes, so I am willing to go anywhere they want the last day to make sure they don't spend their money on a whim. BUT, if they really act like they want something and have the money to spend, it is their money and I will let them spend.

When I was 6 and went to Disney with my Grandparents, we were allowed to get one thing while we were at Disney. The first day we were there I found a Japanese Minnie Mouse that I wanted. My grandma made us wait until the last day to get what we wanted and I still had my heart set on that Japanese Minnie. I loved that thing forever and I can still remember how bad I wanted that thing. I think waiting several days really helped me appreciate it!

When I was older (13/14/16) my mom would just give us a set amount for the trip and it was never a problem. We worked hard around the house and we earned the money. A lot of times my brother and I would even pool some of our spending money together to buy my mom a tea set (which she collects).

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

We have found that giving the kids a Disney gift card works really well. We usually do about $100 for my teen (clothes are pricey!) and $75 for my middle child and $50 for the little one. Plus I typically buy them a hat and a t-shirt or hoodie out of my souvie budget. If we don't do the gift cards I find we tend to overspend.

HTH!

We do this and usually do $50 from us and sometimes the grandparents send money too that we then add to it also. It works great, my kids love it, and I don't worry about overspending.

 

[angelat]

Well, I can tell you what we did our first time at Disney in 2008. Our kids were DD 8 and DS 10. We allowed $50 per park we visited. This was the first time we went so we went a little overboard with the spending money, I know. But with that said, DD spent all but about $15 on junk. Stuff that she stuck in her closet and never used again and candy or snacks that we weren't going to buy for her.

DS on his own, looked around first and then when we went to DTD he purchased what he wanted there. With the exception of a couple of things he bought in the park that we didn't think we'd find at DTD. He came home with over $100 in his pocket and everything he really wanted.

The guidelines we gave them were as follows:

1) Remember that you only have $50 per park. If you don't spend your $50 you can carry it over to the next park and have $100, etc.

2) Think about whether or not you are going to use it more than once. Is it worth spending the money in Disney or can you get it cheaper at home?

3) Whatever money you have leftover at the end of the trip is yours to keep.

We'll give them less money next time we go, but with the same guidelines to think about. This August when we go, we're probably only doing 1 day at WDW, so they'll get about $30-$50.

 

[ckrieger]

My girls, 8 and 12, take $2 out of their weekly allowance and save it specifically for vacation. Also, we have a Kind Heart Jar that they are allowed to take the money out of for vacation. The jar is something we put coins into when we see the girls doing something nice just because. They usually end up with about $80 to spend on whatever they want. My 8 year old usually goes through hers faster than the 12 year old. I also tend to buy them one thing out of my money.

Carey

 

[alayne]

This will be our first big trip to Disney and my kids are DS7, DD 9 and DD11. We told our kids about the trip about three months before Christmas. This gave them six months to save for the trip. It also gave them the chance to ask for Disney Gift Cards for Christmas and to of them have had birthdays before the trip. All of the kids have received gift cards from grandparents and have added their own cash too.

I found the Creative Board and had a few of the designers make me some coupons for specific items - like Pick a Pearl, $10 Animal Kingdom Item, One Free Disney Pin. Things I wanted them to have and things I was willing to pay for. The coupons are the only things I will spend my money on and they don't have to use the coupon if they don't want. But it has no cash value.

They must use their spending money on anything they want. I use to have so many rules regarding how they could spend their money but I have recently down sized that list which really made for a better trip and my kids have really shown wise decisions without all the rules.

I think that as long as you talk about it before hand and set what ever rules you have then you should be OK.

Hope you have a great trip.