Teenage Shopaholics: The Importance of Teaching The Value of a Dollar
Most young girls go through phases of being obsessed with their personal style, and having the perfect wardrobe is a big part of that. You do everything in your power to supply your daughter with the clothes she feels she needs to be cool, but sometimes, with other expenses piling up, you can’t afford the items she longs for. How can you get your brand-obsessed teen to understand that sometimes, a pricey label doesn’t make for a better item?
Show The Value of Money
Your kids aren’t born with an understanding of how hard it is to make money, so you can’t really blame them for not appreciating why you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on the newest designer handbag. The only way they will learn is if you make an effort to teach them, which you can do by providing a limited allowance each week. Tell your daughter that you will provide certain necessary items for her, but if she would like expensive designer brands, she will have to save up the money herself.
Teach Budgeting Skills
Budgeting is an important life skill, and the teenage years provide an excellent opportunity to gain some experience before the pressures of adult life take over. If your daughter has an expensive item she would like to save for, sit down with her and design a budget that will funnel a certain percentage of her allowance into savings while still allowing for things like seeing movies with friends.
Allow For a Part-Time Job
If your daughter is old enough, she should be allowed to take a weekend or summer job to help earn money for the things she wants. No one can possibly understand the stress and difficulty of work until they’ve done it themselves, and a first job can be a major wake-up call for any shopaholic teen.
Teach Smart Shopping Skills
It’s understandable that fashion-conscious teens want designer labels, but a lot can be said for choosing other quality brands that offer the same look and feel without the expensive price tag. Unless your daughter plans on winning the lottery or becoming a famous actress within the next year, she will need to learn to make compromises. For example, if she really wants to carry a designer handbag, maybe she can sacrifice the designer jeans and t-shirts in favor of more mainstream brands.
Your daughter may not be ready to hear some of this, but it will certainly sink in over time. The harder you can work to create realistic expectations, the easier time she will have managing her money as an adult.
Keep Loving Yourself, Debra
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