[USER]

We are on FIRE track for my husband to retire from corporate sales management career at age 55 in 5 years!
We are fine long term with the plan.

But in the meantime….man! Teen girls are expensive.

We have 3!
Trying to stay on track for our goal. I swear the girl come to me every other day saying they are “out of this or that toiletry/makeup/perfume….” you name it.

I feel like they must be losing it or leaving at friends houses. Im ready for them to take on more responsiblity and buy their own stuff so that they can keep up with stuff better.

How have you done this?

[David]

Honestly make the teens get a job to pay for their “wants”. I have teen boys. 1 is of working age so he pays for his wants.

Plus, it teaches him some responsibility.

Kids need to learn the concept of working for things they want

[Debby]

We have friends with 3 teen daughters and their grocery/toiletries costs were sky rocketing because the girls were constantly adding name brand products to the grocery list, using too much product, wanting expensive hair products, etc.

Dad decided to give the girls $25 each every month and told them they had to buy all of their own personal items and whatever money they had left every month was theirs to keep.

The girls quickly switched to Sauve and store brand names and mom & dad now see the girls cutting open the toothpaste tube to get every last bit of and sharing with their sister’s if they run out.

In fact so the sister’s do not use too much, they will monitor the amounts.

My friend says it’s great to see how much longer their products last now and how they stretch every penny.

BTW, even with inflation, the girls still get $25 a month and are still saving money.

[Erica]

When I was a teen my parents covered all basics/essentials that were needs. I worked a part time job to cover anything that was a want.

I have had other friends give a monthly budget to their kids for their toiletries, and they say it works out well.

They learn to budget and seem to spend less

[Melissa]

Honestly I give a lot of cosmetics and toiletries as birthday and holiday gifts to my tween. They make good stocking stuffers and often you can find “cutely packaged” options.

Or if it’s not an immediate need like razors or deodorant, (looking at you, rainbow eyeshadow palette) have them add it to their Amazon wishlist for relatives to gift them on occasions like a graduation etc.

[Haseeba]

Strict allowance for those items. If they want pricier things they can save up. Provide the basics though like shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste.

My dad used to teach me appropriate usage of shampoo and conditioner helped me realizing I was over using.

[Melissa]

Gen X here and my mom complained about buying toilet paper for my bathroom. I had to have a job and buy my own necessities.

Even feminine hygiene products were bought by me. Not saying that was right.

But they can contribute to their own stuff and learn in the process.

[Susan]

I buy basics like deodorant, face wash, moisturizer, shampoo, shave stuff. My daughter buys her own makeup, perfume and hair products.

She has a job to cover her needs and all her friends tend to gift each other makeup and body spray for birthdays.

She asks for Ulta gift cards too. I put stuff in her easter basket and Christmas stocking too.

[Kerri]

I provide basics like body wash, razors, deodorant, etc. If she chooses a premium or high end brand she uses her money to buy it.

She works but I also suggest and give gift cards for places like Ulta, Sephora, etc.

[Heather]

My three got jobs. Even my three sport a season girl found time to work.

They wanted phones and cars.

[Jenny]

My parents made me get a job at 15 yrs old…they said they’d give me room & board and I had to pay for my own schooling, clothes, etc…

I even had to pay for prom myself & I didn’t get my highschool grad pics cuz it cost too much But this paid off as I was able to invest young and pretty much stopped working at age 38…

[Serena]

Calculate how much you are willing to spend on them per month, give them the money into their account, and have them purchase their items.

They will quickly learn to value their stuff more this way.

I started with with my kids around 10ish, and now at 21 and 19 they are every mindful of how they spend money and know how to keep a budget.

I didn’t connect it to chores, it was just the money I would normally spend on them, but instead I would give it to them and they could decide if what they wanted was worth the value.

It gets rid of all the “can I have…”’s

[Jill]

My parents did this with me, and I with my daughters
A weekly allowance

Direct auto deposit to their account
They need an atm card

Teach them how to use it at stores and to get cash
Teach them how to check the balance
Teach them how to thrift shop
Teach them how to shop sales

Teach them how to sell/buy their clothes at consignment
Remind them that Christmas/homecoming/prom are coming

Our allowance was to pay for:
Makeup, clothing, entertainment, gifts, lunches if they left high school campus

I bought their regular shampoo toothpaste tampons etc
I made sure they had coats and boots. I treated an updo for prom at the local beauty school.

I treated a dress tailor for prom. I would sometimes buy bras because we have weird expensive sizes that run in the family.

My girls are now 26 and 30 so the dollar amount I paid is irrelevant.

This method teaches them budgeting, responsibility, priorities, and peer pressure resistance. Plus, it eliminates parental/child control issues.

Their friends were always welcome at our house, and I kept the kitchen stocked for healthy teen eating/cooking.

Tip: no advances given – ever! Or else you’d start a vicious cycle.

[Valerie]

Somewhere I read years ago that kids are more frugal when they spend their own money. I have 2 teens. It’s worked so far for me.

I give them weekly chores they should do anyway in exchange for a fixed amount.

They also use bday and holiday money for this type of stuff.

[Kelly]

Some combination of paying for things themselves and/ or a reasonable allowance for toiletries, and they have to decide how to spend it.

Then if they need something, they have to decide how important it really is

[Jess]

I was given a set amount per month to buy those items out of. So, shampoo, conditioner, makeup, razor blades, etc.

I think $25 is way too low, but maybe sitting down and seeing about how much is currently being spent per month and deciding a % to cut it down by.

(This is coming from someone who is totally fine with drugstore brands, but for the health of my curly hair and acne prone aging skin, also choose to spend on certain name brand items.

Example- my mascara is always drugstore, but my foundation is a specific name brand bc it works better with my skin.

It’s ~$50 per bottle, but obviously a bottle should last me more than a month lol)

[Yona]

There’s a precedence of “buy whatever I want as much as I want”, which works if you don’t need to have a family budget. Reset expectations and give them a budget.

Before you know it they’ll look for part time jobs.

You’ll do them a favor (training for the first adult/independent years when income is typically lower.)

[Holly]

We have allowance for our teens. At the moment we still pay for clothes (my daughter doesn’t really want that much and teen boys aren’t yet into fancy names).

That being said my daughter discovered couponing on her own (which I had done years ago) now we play the CVS game and use ECBs to get her hair products cheaper or free.

So far this year we have a little over $150. Including deals on shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, makeup, and paper products.

[Ashley]

Part of it is just teen girls. I can think back to alot my parents never complained about that probably deserved it.

First is leading by example, and helping them understand why you make personal or family choices without it making it seem like you are strapped.

“We set aside a bucket for eating out each month – I prioritize a weekly coffee date with dad over running through a drive through out of convenience”. Let them know you are reaping the benefits of saving!

Second is awareness. A debit card helps when reconciling spending at the end of the month.

Approach it as a way for them to see where their money goes so, they can budget…also it can hopefully encourage them to see that all that Chipotle could have been a Sephora trip instead.

Put a set amount in their account for the month and let them make toiletry/food purchases.

Hopefully at 15 or 16 they start wanting their own money and look for a job – saving half of course.

[Lutz]

Yes, my one girl was definitely more wanting for nicer clothing /skincare /makeup. She started working at the local grocery store after school and weekends.

Age 14 because she wanted to and I think started to feel guilty of her spending. It was the best thing for her. She even opened up

A Roth! Doing sports both seasons can be tricky for kids so if they do a sport one season have them work the other plus summers.

They can save a lot. Budget for what they want.

They can also pool their resources and share clothes if they are willing to

[Author]

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