Life changes when you become a parent. I used to love summer… now I dread it. The regular school schedule is gone and true mayhem begins. The amazing amount of free time my 8-year old daughter has no matter how many camps, classes or other activities I book her in exhausts me. All that free time is time with mommy. Though spending time with my daughter is precious and wonderful, it can also be anxiety stricken when I get backed up on work. All that pent up anxiety finally subsides the day after Labor Day when the normal school schedule begins again and I have completely given up accomplishing anything.

This summer I used our weekly outings to researched stores. While trying to research, I thought I’d teach my daughter about money and shopping. Starting with the basics, I gave her ten dollars and said she could spend it on anything she liked, but she wouldn’t get any more. She had to figure out what she wanted and pay for it completely including tax, or she also had the choice of saving it toward the following week. Hopefully this would keep her busy while I nosed around.

The first week she spent all of it and had to also go into her piggy bank for another dollar. The second week she used a little more discipline and only spent half of it on some un- memorable trinket. The third weekly shopping foray had her trying to find the perfect item with her funds of $15. She couldn’t find anything except a Beenie baby for $6. So we got that.

The next week she had a whooping $19 to spend. When her American Girl Catalog arrived that week she learned that $19 bucks doesn’t buy much…especially in that catalogue. As we cruised through and she pointed out the items she wanted and I kept pointing out the price asking her if she was willing to spend that much, plus the shipping costs. I pointed out that with her regular allowance of $2 a week, plus the $19 she had, it could take her 9 months to get what she wanted. The reality of what things cost finally sunk in. She decided to save her money adding it to her piggy bank.

The first lesson was finished. So I let it alone.

Boy, was I completely surprised a few weeks later when while we were starting our back to school shopping (Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale) she started looking at tags in stores to check pricing. It must be in the DNA, cause like me and my mother before me she picked out two pairs of pants on the sales racks and wouldn’t even look at the regular racks.

On our arrival home she burst through the front door eager to show off her new wardrobe additions to her dad and brag about how much money she saved mommy.

A new bargain hunter has been born.

Tell 'em BargainsLA.com sent you!
Suzanne O'Connor