This Summer Broke The Bank

[crisi]

Thanks to everyone that replied. I think I am going to take her down today and open a teen checking account at my credit union. I have toyed with this idea for a long time. She will get an Visa debit card and I can show her how to balance her account...without the fear of her overdrawing. I can deposit her allowance in there and keep track of her spending. Now I do have one more question. Obviously since her summer expenses (actually she has been costing me an arm and a leg since early spring) have been quite costly I have not given her a regular allowance for some time. What would a regular but fair allwance be for a DD13 (turning 14 next Sunday)? We pay all of her necessities.

My kids get $10 a week, plus $5 into a long term savings account. The long term savings account can be used for things like bikes. Around here $10 will get you to the movies once a week.

I supplement my kids - I buy them a season pass for skiing, for instance. But they have to cover their food while they are there.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

And if she wants to earn money, have her print up a flyer. She can weed flowerbeds, mow lawns, pet sit for people on vacation. She can have a garage sale at the beginning of the year and get rid of her old stuff to fund her summer. My kids do a start of the year garage sale - they (and my mother) do all the work, they get all the proceeds. We don't make a ton of money, but they make some pocket money for the summer.

It really sounds like your daughter needs to become familiar with the words "we can't afford that" As in "we can't afford $15 a few times a week for you to go to the waterpark." And she needs to learn the value of a buck. She'd have to work for a full time week at minimum wage to pay for her month of fun (and that is before she has SS taken out of her check). Do her the favor of having her figure this out before she ends up a grownup who lets $15 slip out of her fingers all the time and then says "I can't cover rent."

This is a great idea. I'm not sure how much babysitting is in our area but it's worth a shot along with other outdoor work. We have a lot to talk about.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

My kids get $10 a week, plus $5 into a long term savings account. The long term savings account can be used for things like bikes. Around here $10 will get you to the movies once a week.

I supplement my kids - I buy them a season pass for skiing, for instance. But they have to cover their food while they are there.

This is a great idea. I think I will do something similar. If she doesn't spend all of her money and saves a bit she can have a good summer. If she does that and gets a part time job (around the neighborhood) she can have a great summer.

 

[J. Galt]

Not sure about your state, but around here the libraries run a summer reading challenge. Basically, for every hour your kid reads they get to pick a coupon to a local attraction (zoo, baseball game, dinner out at a restaurant, museums....). My kids are avid readers so we rack up enough coupons to fill a good chunk of our summer. Another thing we do every summer is get an annual membership to one of the local museums that is a part of the ASTC passport program. For a $70 - $100 investment in one of our local museums I get free entrance to different museums around the country (including many I can drive to for a day trip). Last year, I got 1/2 price membership at our Discovery World Museum through Groupon ($45) and used that membership for free or 1/2 price entrance to museums in Chicago and Minnesota. Bargain of the century! We are going to California this year and I plan to check out some of the museums that are part of the passport program.

 

[splash5]

I was going to add to others posts - in regards to her days at the waterpark, maybe next year you tell her that she can only go once a week or whatever number you are comfortable with.

 

[tlh0726]

One way we were able to keep our summer spending in check was to buy livingsocial and groupon deals for activities and experiences as they came available. I started looking prior to the summer and made sure the expiration dates were far enough away that we could still enjoy them during summer break.

The other way I kept spending in check was to say NO. That seemed to help.

This and putting her on a budget.

 

[HeatherC]

I recently started giving my ds (13) a $10 a week allowance because he is terrible with money.

My older and younger daughters are great with it and don't want the allowance. They don't ask for much and are pretty happy with using birthday or holiday money if they want something special.

But my son wants it all!

So..I am giving him $10 a week, but he has to save 20 percent of it. Trying to instill the fact that if he can get used to automatically saving 20 percent of his income right from the start he will be MUCH further ahead of the game down the road.

So he can basically blow $8 a week. He also just got birthday money so he has a couple hundred right now...after his 20 percent. It is so funny to see how his money is so much more important than ours. First he wanted an XBox. Then a baseball bat. Then fancy sneakers.

But...it is paying off already. He has decided not to part with his cash and put the Xbox on his Christmas list and realized he doesn't really want the bat or
shoes after all.

Maybe this could work for your DD too.

 

[tink15823]

I recently started giving my ds (13) a $10 a week allowance because he is terrible with money.

My older and younger daughters are great with it and don't want the allowance. They don't ask for much and are pretty happy with using birthday or holiday money if they want something special.

But my son wants it all!

So..I am giving him $10 a week, but he has to save 20 percent of it. Trying to instill the fact that if he can get used to automatically saving 20 percent of his income right from the start he will be MUCH further ahead of the game down the road.

So he can basically blow $8 a week. He also just got birthday money so he has a couple hundred right now...after his 20 percent. It is so funny to see how his money is so much more important than ours. First he wanted an XBox. Then a baseball bat. Then fancy sneakers.

But...it is paying off already. He has decided not to part with his cash and put the Xbox on his Christmas list and realized he doesn't really want the bat or
shoes after all.

Maybe this could work for your DD too.

You maker me so happy my DB and DSI think we are the meanest parents in the world. Not only do my kids have to bank money they have to come up with 1/2 of their spending money for Disney. They may spend their money on anything of their choice but when they are out of money they get no more. We buy them special things Pins, Shirts but the other things they just have to buy because we are at Disney comes out of their money.

 

[dclfun]

OP- I think it's great that you're having this discussion and planning ahead for next summer's entertainment. While it IS okay to say "no" it's easier if you two are partners vs. adversaries. She'll probably enjoy her summer activities so much more if she's a part of saving and planning for the things she enjoys. The waterpark is likely where her friends all gather- maybe they can find other, less costly options?--- Kathy

 

[puakinikini]

We have taught our kids that if they have the things they "want" at home, they will nto have experiences away from home (i.e., vacation). We have a list pinned up to the calendar and everytime they give up a "want" that they would normally get we write it down and it becomes part of our "disney fund". So if we go out to eat (which is rare) and they order water and not a soda/juice/milk, that money goes in the fund. They are little and already get the concept that if we do not have the money we will not go on vacation. I say to them that in order to eat with Mickey Mouse (at Chef Mickeys) it means eating at home every night and not eating out. We go to budget movies and do not buy drinks and popcorn or share more than we would (that $ goes into the fund). I find by making it more their decision and making it visible via the list, it really helps. My twins, who are almost 6, also peer pressure each other not to spend the vacation money, which actually warms my heart. Our 13 year old has really benefitted from this system, but I am happy to report that the younger ones have really taken it quite seriously. They are motivated to save for the mouse!

 

[momof3ds]

Maybe sit down and do an excel spreadsheet with her?

That's how we do our budgets.

If she gets an allowance, she can figure out how much she wants to save towards summer entertainment.

Seeing the total for a week at the waterpark vs the same time at the pool might put it into perspective for her. Plus, a column for food expenses, etc.

as far as a fair allowance is - I have heard double their age for the month. I would probably round it up to $10 a week. Either giving it to her at the beginning of the month or every 2 weeks so she can budget where it is going to go. And, if she wants to blow it all in one week, then no money for the rest of the time and no asking for an advance.

 

[Mommy Of 3]

I know this may sound crazy at first, but you may want to look into buying a pool if you have room in the yard for it.

We have an above-ground pool and it's not nearly as expensive as you might think. (The worst of it is the electricity bill for running the filter, but that's a lot better since we have it on a timer now).

For what you spend for the water-park, this may actually be cheaper and something your whole family could use all summer. You can also get them cheaper at the end of the summer.

 

[bopper]

In a similiar vein...I had always given my kids an allowance but payed for any "activities" they wanted to do. But when my oldest reached high school age it seemed every weekend she wanted to go to the movies or go ice skating or whatever with her friends. At that point I increased her allowance but told her she was responsible for paying for her own activity fees and she could budget accordingly. She also at that point got an additional chore assigned to her.

 

[crisi]

OP- I think it's great that you're having this discussion and planning ahead for next summer's entertainment. While it IS okay to say "no" it's easier if you two are partners vs. adversaries. She'll probably enjoy her summer activities so much more if she's a part of saving and planning for the things she enjoys. The waterpark is likely where her friends all gather- maybe they can find other, less costly options?--- Kathy

Agree with both these points - start working with her now on funding next summer's fun. And that this is probably about hanging with her friends at the waterpark - in which case you may not be the only mother in the crowd looking at the end of summer expenses with an eyebrow raised. If you know her friends' mothers, it might not be bad for you all to talk and figure out some alternative suggestions for other places to hang out. If "EVERYONES" mother is letting them go to the waterpark everyday its an uphill battle - if "everyones mother" agrees that Wednesdays are waterpark days, it might be an easier battle to fight (depending on the crowd and the moms.)

The good news is that for any crowd, this only lasts a few summers and then the girls get busy and fewer of them have time to hang out at the waterpark. They'll start getting jobs or have summer activities.