Turn shopping into a learning experience.

Because my children like to buy Christmas presents with their own money for their Dad and I, we take an annual trip to a store where every item costs exactly one dollar. I use this opportunity to teach my children about shopping, saving, spending, and paying tax. 

My children bring their wallets that are filled with one dollar bills received from gifts or earned from completing chores. I remind them that each item costs one dollar and that they must save one dollar to cover tax. I give each child a basket, and my boys go in different directions feeling grown-up as they shop independently. I wait at the front of the store in case they need my direction. My sons fill up their baskets and go through the check-out line by themselves. They pay the cashier and place the receipts in their wallets. 

When we arrive home, my boys cannot wait to go to their rooms to wrap the presents that they bought. My husband and I receive many of the same items year after year, such as scented candles, Christmas coffee mugs, and candy, but the excitement on my children’s faces as they share their love for us is priceless.