How Can I Teach Kids About Being a Smart Shopper?

$24 billion. It sounds like a number straight from the Congressional Budget Office, but the North Dakota State University Extension Service says it represents the personal money spent annually by kids age 4 to 12. And their preferences play a part in another $188 billion in family spending each year. Shopping is clearly a serious business. Smart parents teach their kids how to become smart shoppers.

Smart Money Management

• 1

  Give your kids a weekly allowance for practice in managing their own money. Teach them to "pay themselves first" by depositing 10 percent in a savings account.

• 2

  Offer your kids opportunities to earn extra money for bigger jobs beyond regular weekly chores.

• 3

  Tally all family spending for one week to find out exactly where the money goes and to decrease wasteful spending.

• 4

  Do the math for carrying credit-card balances. Show your kids how interest charges add up over time. For example, if you only pay the minimum due each month on a credit card balance of $4000 at 12 percent interest, it will take 20 years to retire the debt. Interest will total $3500, almost twice the original amount owed.

Smart Grocery Shopping

• 1

  Make a shopping list with your kids before your next trip to the store and promise to stick to it. Teach them how stores increase sales by displaying more expensive products at eye level and by placing impulse buys in every aisle and at the checkout counter.

• 2

  Put your kids in charge of clipping coupons and organizing them in a coupon holder alphabetically, by category or by expiration date. Let them match the coupons to items on your shopping list.

• 3

  Read ads together and discuss the tricks of the advertising trade. Make a game of judging how well the product inside matches the picture on the box.

• 4

  Compare products before buying. Show your kids how to decide which brand or size is the best deal by reading shelf labels that display cost per ounce.

• 5

  Experiment with generic brands. Buy them, along with comparable brand name products, and conduct blind taste tests at home to find out which ones measure up.

• 6

  Add up the money you saved after each shopping trip and set it aside. Spend it on a special family activity once you have enough to cover the cost.

More Smart Savings

• 1

  Learn the markdown schedule at your favorite clothing stores and wait for sales. Store buyers often share markdown dates if you ask.

• 2

  Keep an ongoing gift list for the months ahead. Teach your kids to be on the lookout for good deals on birthday and holiday gifts for friends and family. Last-minute purchases almost always cost more money.

• 3

  Shop at discount stores, outlet malls and resale shops. Teach your kids to check out Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, and other nonprofit stores, which often sell never-worn clothing with original store tags for a fraction of the original price.