Clothing Allowance

 

For those of you living on a budget I wonder if you’ve ever taken your child clothes shopping only to end up in a battle over which jeans to buy. Your child wants the $100 jeans, and you think the $20 pair is just fine. Your child needs a pair of jeans- but which ones do you purchase? Tensions may rise and this shopping experience is anything but a pleasure. I know I hated the incessant bickering over jeans and shoes and… then we hit upon a wonderful solution, a clothing allowance.  First choose a dollar amount that makes sense based on your own budget and income. For example you decide your 10 year old will get $100 clothing allowance a month. Next decide exactly what the allowance is expected to cover; are shoes, winter coats & hats and undergarments included? Third, clearly communicate all this to your child.

I recommend giving your child the cash on a set day each month; we held the clothing cash for our children so that they couldn’t spend it on other stuff. Now when you and your child go shopping allow your daughter/son to purchase what they want using their own money. When the money is gone, it’s gone; they will have to wait until next month before they can buy anything else. If they choose the expensive jeans then that is all they can buy that month. And if they don’t have enough money for the latest fashion item then they can save their money for a month or so until they have the money to buy it. Since they are responsible for their purchases the battle over what to buy is gone. Often your children will make different clothing choices than you would have made for them, you have to learn to live with this and resist the temptation to coerce them into buying the things you think they should buy.

You know your child and their capabilities; the goal is to teach them responsibility. It remains your job to make sure they have the essentials. If the allowance you choose isn’t capable of purchasing a winter coat and boots then don’t include those items in the list of clothing they are responsible to purchase with their allowance. You may want to begin by having your child buy their own school and play clothes and you will take care of shoes and coats. Age 10, depending on your son/daughter’s maturity, is generally a good age to start giving your child a clothing allowance.

By using a clothing allowance, your child will learn that there is a limit on the amount of money they can spend on clothing, and will learn to choose what is most important to them. A clothing allowance is a practical way to teach your child how to live on a budget- something all adults need to know!

A closing allowance worked wonderfully for our family, let me know how this works for you and your child.