Back to School Shopping

Back to school shopping time! As Lauren is only child left home (our caboose), GoodGrandma℠ went shopping with Lauren and spent some much needed one-on-one time with my baby. This year, I asked Lauren to earn her own school clothes money this year (okay, I paid her for doing chores). She wasn’t thrilled with idea at first, but quickly caught on. I found it interesting when I overheard a few of Lauren’s friends commenting that they wished they had a way to earn their own money. To make it easy on me, I created a checklist, and Lauren earned money for each completed chore. At the end of the week, she would add up the check marks, and I would pay her. She was good about keeping her money in a safe location and wasn’t tempted to spend it on other stuff. It was also a no pressure summer earning program. If it was a busy week, and she didn’t get a chore done, it was okay. We both had to be a little flexible with our busy and eventful summer schedule. I added in some “exercising chores” to help with her strength and conditioning for gymnastics.

Lauren enough money for her back to school clothes. Between her chore chart, a Beanie Boos and lemonade stand, and a few babysitting jobs, she was set. We scheduled a day and we mapped out our plan. We went to several stores looking for the pants she really wanted. I don’t get it–why do we spend money on ripped, worn-out jeans? All in the name of style, I guess. Lauren mostly needed some new shirts, and luckily, Rue 21 had a “buy one get one half off” sale, and she liked the style. Lauren walked away with seven new shirts and an eighth shirt she paid for and gave as a gift to her cousin Logan for his birthday.

When I was first parenting, over 27 years ago, I taught my older girls to look for the sales, go to the clearance rack first, and find clothing items that can mix and match, creating the feel of a larger wardrobe. I took the opportunity to teach Lauren, but we also enjoyed some time walking around the upscale local mall.

I believe Lauren came away from our shopping excursion pleased with her purchases with her own money and happy to have my attention all to herself. I know I had fun and loved seeing her beam from ear to ear finding the perfect outfit for the first day of junior high school.