Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt follows real people on their journey to debt freedom — with tips on the debt snowball, budgeting, cutting expenses, and staying motivated.

by Ashley

Back in February I started a radical experiment…. I started giving my 14-year old twin girls a budget of $100/month each. They have to use that money to buy all of their clothes, shoes, accessories, make-up, skincare, and fancy toiletries (I buy the basics).

I gave a one-month update back in March. But now that we’ve been doing this for much longer, I wanted to give an update and share how its going. There have been a few surprises!

We never did a big “back to school” shopping haul. 

This one surprised me! My girls are shoppers. It’s fascinating to me, because I loathe shopping. I’m a get-in, get-out type of girl. I don’t like window shopping or trying on clothes. I don’t care about name brands (though I do care about quality). In fact, I buy lots of clothing on Amazon! Ha! 

During the first few months of our budget though, it was money in, money out. The girls shopped every month and always had plenty of items on their wish lists.

By the time back-to-school season rolled around, both girls felt like they already had a nice, new, up-to-date wardrobe from the pieces they’d been picking up consistently throughout the spring and summer. They didn’t need anything specific for the start of school, so we skipped the traditional back-to-school shopping entirely.

Both girls have started saving!

This surprised me too! There was definitely a learning curve during which they spent nearly everything they received. Eventually though, their immediate wants were met.

I also think the “fun” of spending someone else’s money has worn off now that it’s their money.

They often say they’re “broke,” and I have to remind them that they have hundreds of dollars sitting in savings specifically for clothes, makeup, and similar purchases. They’re beginning to save for winter items like fashionable boots, sweaters, and hoodies. (As an aside, we live in Arizona, so our winters are extremely mild and no specialized snow gear is needed. I know that stuff can get pricey!)

Sometimes I have to remind them to spend their money.

This is still shocking to me, but the girls talk as if they have no money at all. I have had to remind them to buy new socks and underwear, for example.

Having to use their own money makes them stop and think: Do I really want this enough to pay for it myself?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But often, they decide they don’t want it quite that badly after all.

They’re learning to save for larger purchases.

Both girls have started thinking about new shoes. They like name brand shoes, and the styles they want routinely cost between $100-150.

That’s more than an entire month’s budget, so buying a pair requires some planning. They have to decide whether they want to use money they’ve already saved, set aside money over multiple months, or wait and ask for the shoes as a Christmas gift.

They now understand that spending $20 here and $30 there can prevent them from buying the bigger thing they really want later. They’re learning to prioritize instead of treating every want as a need. And they’re learning to wait instead of expecting to get something immediately.

They are learning the value of a dollar.

Sometimes I worry that I spoil my kids too much. They really have everything they could ever want and more. Far more than I had when I was their age.

That includes everything from the fancy, individually packaged snacks they request (I got generic snacks from a big bag portioned into Ziplocs because that was cheaper!) to holiday decor, vacations, Starbucks trips, and plenty more.

I worry that they sometimes take these things for granted or have come to see nicer purchases as the baseline rather than something special.

Managing their own budgets has made the actual cost of things more visible. A $150 pair of shoes feels different when they know it represents a month and a half of their entire spending budget. They’re also more likely to recognize an expensive gift as something meaningful rather than simply another item they expected to receive.

They still have a very comfortable life. The $100/month was never supposed to be a lesson in deprivation! But they’re beginning to understand that money is finite. Choosing one item often means giving up something else.

Overall, I’m pleased with the experiment. The girls haven’t become perfect budgeters, and they certainly haven’t stopped asking me to buy them all.the.things. But they are saving, planning ahead, questioning impulse purchases, and thinking more carefully about what they truly want.

And honestly, those are habits that many adults are still trying to learn. For now, we’ll keep the experiment going. I’m curious to see what happens when Christmas shopping and winter clothes enter the picture!

Did you learn to budget as a teenager, or did you have to figure it out as an adult? What helped you understand the value of money?

Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Early 40s, married mother of twins, and working in academia. Currently working toward financial independence with the goal of (hopefully!) retiring early at 50.