Since school begins next week, I thought I'd post my strategy for teaching my son frugality.
Last year was his first year of taking a lunch to school. At the beginning of the year I put the sandwich, fruit, and snack in their own separate baggies in his lunch. His lunch also included a juice box. Each day, he threw away the juice box (whether empty or not) and all of the empty baggies.
As the year progressed, I realized that this was a waste of money. I could send in a thermos of juice and he'd bring it home along with any juice he didn't drink. That worked fine.
But, what to do about the baggies? So, I started asking him to bring the empties home. The plan was I'd wash them out and reuse them the next day. However, he rarely remembered to bring them home and when I reminded him he said, "Nobody else does that!"
Sometimes his fruit was an applesauce cup. I had started buying them in prepared individual servings, but this is significantly more expensive than buying in bulk. If I sent the applesauce in a small plastic cup with a spoon, he frequently threw away both the cup and the spoon!
Then, I came up with a plan. I told him I would pay him for each of the items he remembered to bring home! Each item has it's own value and he would be paid accordingly. So, here's the way it broke down:
1 penny for each of 2 zippered baggies
2 pennies for the spoon
1 nickel for the plastic bowl.
So each day he has the potential of putting 9 cents in his piggy bank, for a total of 45 cents each week. Over the course of 180 school days that's $16.20. It may not sound like a lot to you and me. But to him, it's a new toy! And while he's saving for a new toy. I'm saving a whole lot more than that by buying less expensive juice and applesauce, and by not buying nearly as many baggies, bowls and spoons.
For more ideas on frugal living go here.
4 comments:
What a great idea! I love that each item is worth something different--it's a neat way to teach frugality along with value principles. It's also a very practical math lesson!
I will definitely have to do this with my sons. Ziplock bags are something that I go through quite frequently during the school year. And now that I have two children in school, I can see this becoming a problem. I like using the ticket system with my children because they easily loose pennies. So I'll swap the pennies for the tickets, and I am "stealing" your idea. lol Thank you for the tip.
great post!
http://www.adlynmorrison.blogspot.com/
This is a really great tip. This is the first year I will be packing a lunch and I have already been troubled by the plastic bag thing. Not even as much for frugality as the affect on the planet. THis is a great tip!!
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