Child Spending Money Tips

[Senk]

My kids are way different when it comes to money. It burns a hole in the pocket of DD (8), she will spend it as fast as she can. DS (10) is a saver and will think very hard about what he wants before buying anything. We have never been to WDW so I'm not sure what shopping will be like but I plan to give them each a gift card or cash, maybe $100, to spend while we are there. I think I'll give it upfront instead of spreading it out. I'll buy them each a shirt and might buy some surprise stuff before going. It will be interesting to see how they use their money.
I will have to really try to let they buy whatever they want. I am constantly redirecting at home when we buy stuff because I don't see the value in their picks but i'm going to try not to do that on this trip.

 

[Nancyg56]

My DD has given my DGD an envelope a day with $20 in each envelope. She could buy what she wanted, and if she had money left each day, she could add it to the next day's envelope. Kady is 15, and has not needed the envelope system since she was about 8, but she learned how to manage her spending quickly when she was younger with this as a Tool.

 

[Surgie2]

If you lose the gift card, then all the money is gone

This is not quite true. It's important to keep a copy of the gift card number on the back of the card. Disney prints this number clearly on the gift card carrier for cards ordered from their website. Disney has a policy to deal with lost or stolen gift cards.

Promptly call 1-877-650-4327 to report the card lost or stolen. You will need to provide the first 12 digits of the Disney Gift Card account number to the agent. Your Disney Gift Card will be 'frozen' and funds remaining on the card (at the time of the call) can be transferred onto a new card. An original proof of purchase receipt for the Disney Gift Card is required to transfer the funds onto a new Disney Gift Card.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

This is not quite true. It's important to keep a copy of the gift card number on the back of the card. Disney prints this number clearly on the gift card carrier for cards ordered from their website. Disney has a policy to deal with lost or stolen gift cards.

Promptly call 1-877-650-4327 to report the card lost or stolen. You will need to provide the first 12 digits of the Disney Gift Card account number to the agent. Your Disney Gift Card will be 'frozen' and funds remaining on the card (at the time of the call) can be transferred onto a new card. An original proof of purchase receipt for the Disney Gift Card is required to transfer the funds onto a new Disney Gift Card.

About two years ago at WDW My husband lost a Disney gift card, it was $25 I think. It was a gift from a co-worker who knew we had a trip planned so I had the gift receipt with numbers and all. It didn't matter, no one would help. Basically said there was nothing they could do.

 

[Surgie2]

It didn't matter, no one would help. Basically said there was nothing they could do.

That's very puzzling. Did you call the toll free number? This information is currently on the Disney gift card web site so I would think it is current. Maybe that wasn't the policy 2 years ago. On the other hand, if you just tried to get an onsite CM to help you, that may be where the problem lies.

 

[BLAZEY]

My daughter is 11, almost 12. She loves to shop, especially on vacation. Since she likes to spend, I really try to make money a "teachable" moment. When she receives monetary gifts for holidays and birthdays, I tell her at least half has to go in the bank. I tell her "pay yourself first!" It's working because when I card comes home and she opens it and there is money in there, I ask her "where does it go?" And she responds "in the bank." Once she had some money saved up and wanted to spend it on either American Girl or Lego store. Took her to both stores, went over prices. Explained if she purchased a Lego, she'd have money left over to save or buy something else but if she spent it at AG, it would be gone. I tell her "once it's gone, it's gone." I give her a lot of credit, I can tell she was thinking thru her options and she went with the Lego and saved the additional money. I have seen improvement in her urge to spend as soon as she gets some money. I tell her all the time, it's not what you make....it's what you spend. So I'm hopeful she's learning. When it comes to vacation, I guess I'm not in the norm as far as putting money on gift cards. I give her cash. I want her to see the physical cash when she spends. Plus, I don't want all the money sitting in one place (gift card). If you loose the gift card, then all the money is gone.

My daughter is turning 8 while we are at Disneyworld and I also prefer her to have cash for the same reason as you. Its more tangible to see it being spent and doing math when getting change back.

 

[Klayfish]

We let the kids bring cash, but they do have a gift card or two that they've received as presents. They come down with a pretty nice chunk of change, though we really won't let them spend it all.

We've taught them spending lessons over the years and trips to WDW. We've forced them to wait until later in the trip and shop around so that they could decide what they wanted. We also have given them say $20 and said "get what you want, when you want it". Of course, they all spent it right away on nearly the first thing they saw. Sure enough, within a day or two they saw something else they wanted, and they learned the hard way what budgeting is all about. Only took one or two lessons like that for them to grasp the concept. They're now 12 (turning 13 next week), 9, 9. They understand that whatever money they bring has to last the entire trip, and they're really good about it. DS9 almost always comes home with a lot of money left over.