Budgeting Clothes

Budgeting Clothes

When you plan your monthly budget, do you account for your teenage daughter's clothes? Here's why you should give your child a clothing allowance, once she enters her teens.

Responsibility

By giving your child a clothing allowance, you are giving her responsibility. She can now make her own decisions regarding clothing and how much she wants to spend on something. Also, in this manner she knows that if she wants to buy something expensive, she will need to save up for it, and you will not need to stop her from buying something that you think is extravagant. Let her spend her money the way she wants to . it is the only way she will learn. Even if she spends too much on a particular outfit, she will realize that she has overspent after she visits more stores. The next time, she will wait and visit numerous stores before picking up something.

Remember to stick to the budget. If you give your child extra money every time she pleads with you, this entire exercise will be a waste of time. When deciding an amount, keep your own income in mind, and get an idea of how much your child's clothes cost. What is her favourite store? Does she need clothes or shoes for a sport she plays? Make your decision accordingly.

Priorities

This is also an exercise in teaching your daughter priorities. You can sit with your daughter and help her plan out what clothes she must have in her wardrobe, and then she can keep adding to them over time. For example, her first purchase may need to be a pair of blue jeans, so she can save up for a couple of months before buying herself a good pair. The next month, she can buy 3-4 tops to wear with the jeans, perhaps a belt, and after that, she can get herself a nice pair of shoes. Remember, the decisions should be hers; you can only guide her.

Compromise

Don't get upset if your daughter doesn't pay much heed to your opinion, because remember that girls will want to wear what their friends are wearing. That's the way it works throughout the world, and through the generations. So, if you like something but her friends like something else, she may be more tempted to buy what her friends like than what you like. In such a situation, you can strike a bargain with her and tell her that she needs to have at least a few clothes suitable to be worn to family occasions, and when she is with her friends, she can wear whatever she likes . within your moderated limits. Yes, you may want to moderate her clothes so she doesn't pick up anything obscene. Parents often worry that their daughters skirts are too short, their jeans sit too low, or their tops are too revealing. Decide with your daughter in advance how low her tops should be. Let her know that this is the only area in which you will intervene, and everything else will be her choice. Also, do be practical and observe what her friends are wearing before banning short skirts from her wardrobe.

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