Y’all asked me to post about how my experiment with putting my teenage son on his own food budget is going. Tonight was our first stab at it, and the testing ground was perhaps the most challenging of all: Wal-Mart. Yes, I turned my 14 yo son loose on a Wal-Mart with $45 and his own shopping cart!
I would call tonight’s shopping expedition a smashing success. I fussed at the teenager to make a list, informed him he had to buy his own milk, juice, fruit, pasta, and what-not. I figure I can cover him on things like condiments and margarine, but he is *SO* on his own with the milk.
Yes, he objected to the milk idea, but I held my ground then pointed out an obvious benefit: with his own milk he won’t hear me throw a fit when he decides to drink a tall glass of it at every single meal and snack time.
I guess it was a huge eye-opening experience for him in the dairy case, since he only bought himself a half-gallon instead of a full gallon!
I went grocery shopping yesterday with my teenage son, since he’s been grumbling that I don’t get him enough of the foods he likes.
How about a useful post? One of the common “excuses” for not doing a budget is “I never know how much money I am going to make/bring home because I am not on a set income.”