Clearly I missed a little something in the explanation...
When DD18 was a new teen and starting to be interested in "fashion", she got a clothing allowance. We went through her closets and drawers, inventoried what she had, and I had her make a list of what she would need for the year. We then estimated the prices of the things she would need, based on where I was comfortable having her shop, we subtracted an amount I expected her to kick in from her babysitting money, and I gave her the remainder in cash as she needed or wanted to go shopping. And she was and is a good shopper. For every splurge, she has lots of bargains. In the last 5 years, she's had 3 pairs of (expensive) 7 jeans, 1 expensive prom dress (in the 300 dollar range) and maybe 2 or 3 other 100 to 150 dollar purchases. Everything else has been Express (sometimes on sale), Old Navy and the like. She was just as happy about her 14.99 jeans from TJ Maxx that she found last week as she has been about her expensive designer things (which she has only a few of.) Her passion, though, is shoes. She'll spend some cash on them, and she probably has 50 or more pairs of all types, from flip flops to three inch heels.
So now it's DD13's turn, and for Christmas I gave her a $500 Visa gift card that was to be her "clothing allowance" for spring and summer. It should cover the clothes she needs for school (she has a dress code) as well as some fun weekend casual things, a few new dressy dresses for church, etc. and some bathing suits and summer things. Oh, and any shoes she might need.
So, DD goes with her dad and stepmom today to another city where Dad had some business. And they stop at a mall, where DD makes her first clothing allowance purchase. A new pair of shoes. From Nordstrom's. For one hundred dollars.
I am amused in a horrifed sort of way. Clearly we are going to have to have a chat about what she needs, since we haven't been through her stuff to see what she will need. I didn't think $100 shoes were on the list!!!! On the other hand, she has just started babysitting, and she has a cool $120 in babysitting money burning a hole in her pocket. So technically she "spent her own money". I think we'll be making some rules about how much she can spend on each item without Mom's approval. And I think we'll be opening up a savings account and making some rules about saving some babysitting money, too.
I hope she really loves these shoes and can wear them for the next couple of years, because they certainly ate up a lot of her year's budget!!!!!
When DD18 was a new teen and starting to be interested in "fashion", she got a clothing allowance. We went through her closets and drawers, inventoried what she had, and I had her make a list of what she would need for the year. We then estimated the prices of the things she would need, based on where I was comfortable having her shop, we subtracted an amount I expected her to kick in from her babysitting money, and I gave her the remainder in cash as she needed or wanted to go shopping. And she was and is a good shopper. For every splurge, she has lots of bargains. In the last 5 years, she's had 3 pairs of (expensive) 7 jeans, 1 expensive prom dress (in the 300 dollar range) and maybe 2 or 3 other 100 to 150 dollar purchases. Everything else has been Express (sometimes on sale), Old Navy and the like. She was just as happy about her 14.99 jeans from TJ Maxx that she found last week as she has been about her expensive designer things (which she has only a few of.) Her passion, though, is shoes. She'll spend some cash on them, and she probably has 50 or more pairs of all types, from flip flops to three inch heels.
So now it's DD13's turn, and for Christmas I gave her a $500 Visa gift card that was to be her "clothing allowance" for spring and summer. It should cover the clothes she needs for school (she has a dress code) as well as some fun weekend casual things, a few new dressy dresses for church, etc. and some bathing suits and summer things. Oh, and any shoes she might need.
So, DD goes with her dad and stepmom today to another city where Dad had some business. And they stop at a mall, where DD makes her first clothing allowance purchase. A new pair of shoes. From Nordstrom's. For one hundred dollars.
I am amused in a horrifed sort of way. Clearly we are going to have to have a chat about what she needs, since we haven't been through her stuff to see what she will need. I didn't think $100 shoes were on the list!!!! On the other hand, she has just started babysitting, and she has a cool $120 in babysitting money burning a hole in her pocket. So technically she "spent her own money". I think we'll be making some rules about how much she can spend on each item without Mom's approval. And I think we'll be opening up a savings account and making some rules about saving some babysitting money, too.
I hope she really loves these shoes and can wear them for the next couple of years, because they certainly ate up a lot of her year's budget!!!!!
