Manage your financial stress and your guilt. Find the balance between overspending on your kids and underspending on yourself.
Back-to-school, with all its financial pressures, can be a stressful time for many families. We're all so busy that it at first feels difficult to find the time, energy and money to plan for successful outcomes. It's not just clothes—there are school supplies, shoes, and requests from the school for extracurricular activity money, yearbooks, and so forth. But you can make this a positive experience for you and your kids. Surviving back-to-school spending is possible!
There are five things you need to do:
- Look honestly at your situation.
It's hard to look at things we feel fearful about. You have to come up with a plan. Know what you want to spend and figure out what you are able to spend. What works for you financially? What resources are available to you?
- Determine what your needs are for back-to-school expenses.
Does your school have a dress-code policy? Help your kids see what they have that already meets their needs. Clear out the clothes that don't fit or that they are never going to wear, so you all can see what's left.
- Ask your kids about what's important to them.
Are there special trends that they want to follow, that are in line with your values? What are your children’s priorities with regard to school activities? It might be a time you’ll have to pick your battles, to make your kids feel heard and part of the decision-making process.
- Plan a successful shopping trip.
Depending on their age, let your kids know what their budget will be. Shop where your budget will fit and make sure they have put together complete outfits. If Target would be a better choice than Nordstrom's this year, then recognize that. And try to make it fun. A bargain hunt can be a treasure hunt, with certain boundaries: “How much do we have left? How much can we spend? What can we get with that?” This is a chance to really connect with each other—you’re having fun, while helping your kids make strong choices so they feel good about their selections.
- Don't give in to the pressure.
You don't have to keep up with the Joneses. The stress on you and your family just isn't worth it. Again, pick your battles. Don't feel like you have to overspend on your kids and underspend on yourself. Kids are amazing and resilient. We're the ones who feel guilty—often for no reason. Our kids will be more adaptable if we are honest, talk to them at their level, and pay attention to their needs as well as our own.
The Karen McCall MoneyMinder® system, based on the expertise of Karen McCall’s more than 20 years of financial counseling experience, is designed to provide the understanding that will lead to true behavior change. It is a system you can use to clarify your financial goals and visualize how money decisions lead toward—or away from—those goals. Using the MoneyMinder® system, you can learn how to achieve peace in the midst of the anxiety, stress, and suffering that are caused by fundamental problems with money.
If you would like assistance in moving forward through this process of achieving long-term financial stability and success, visit the Financial Recovery Institute website to Find A Counselor.
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