by Marlene Gundlach

Created on: April 27, 2008

My preteen boy has just started to care about what he wears. Heaven help me! It has always been his younger brother who has been the fashionista of the family, but now, JC has an opinion as well. The rage of those in his grade is Abercrombie. We have ventured in to the store a few times, and he owns a few shirts and a sweatshirt off the clearance rack! Always head first to the back of the store for that clearance rack! On our most recent trip he choose a pair of plaid shorts which surprised me a bit (since his normal taste revolves around the baggy basketball shorts)....the surprise led to shock when I saw the $50 price tag. I will not succumb to peer pressure for $50, especially at the rate he is growing. Three pants sizes this school year alone.

On the way out of the mall we walked through another store with plaid shorts on sale, buy 1 get 1 free. That was two pairs for $40; a much better deal but still a bit out of our price range. I did point these out to JC, and he made a mental note of the deal. Then when we headed to the local kids thrift store. Low and behold, we found a few Abercrombie shirts for $5. Showing him this did have an impact, and he now says we can check back periodically for those shorts he wants. He found a Cleveland Cavs jersey for $2 and a few other nice shirts to wear to school, all under $5.

I think that preteens are old enough to learn that there is a limit to what should be spent on items, and that if you don't jump and buy the first thing you see, better deals can be found. Teach them to shop around or look for deals on-line. We find most items at the resale shops are in like new condition, and even find items still with store tags attached. If my son in the end decides upon a more pricey item, it always involves him covering at least part of the cost. Sometimes, if any or all of the money is coming out of his pocket, the item all of a sudden becomes less desirable. Even just having your child wait a week to buy something leads them to realize that they don't really need the item in the first place. All of this will lead them to become more responsible with their money as they get older, in turn making them really understand the value of the almighty dollar.

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