Kids And Finances

How I’m Using Jeans To Teach My Son About Finances

My son is extremely picky about his jeans. I dread going shopping for new jeans with him, because he will pick out, try on, and approve jeans, but then decide somewhere down the road that he no longer likes them. One year I simply gave up and he wore shorts and warm up pants through the entirety of a Midwest Winter.

This year, I thought we finally had found the solution. While shopping in August, we had a very frank discussion regarding brand names, and what jeans he preferred. As an adult that cares nothing about brand names I find it a waste of money. But I do remember the pressures and difficulty of fitting in as a high school student, so I figured I’d cut him some slack.

We purchased five pairs of jeans from Aeropostale, two different styles. He had seen both styles in the store, but they didn’t have his size so we ordered them online. When they arrived, I had them try them on. I purposefully made a huge deal about it.

“Do they all fit?” I asked.

“Yes,” he responded.

“Do you like every pair?” I asked.

“Yes,” he responded.

“They are all approved?” I asked.

“Yes,” he responded.

“You’ll wear all of them?” I asked.

“YES!” he responded, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, you know why I’m asking. Right now the tags are still on them. If you don’t like them, that’s fine. I can return them, and we’ll keep looking. But if you like them, I’ll take the tags off.”

“I’ll wear them all, Dad,” he answered.

I took the tags off, and put all the jeans in his dresser drawer.

A few weeks later, on a Monday morning, he came down from his room and asked if I had any of his jeans clean in the dryer. I told him that they had just been put in the dryer, and would not be ready in time for him to wear to school that day.  He would have to wear one of his other pair.

“I don’t really like the darker ones.”

It was at this point I literally pulled out every remaining hair from my head. He had two more pair of brand new jeans he would not wear, and that I could not return. I’ve simply had enough of this. My son periodically shows signs of understanding the value of a dollar, but other times he seems completely oblivious to consequences of wasting money.

Image courtesy of John Kasawa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There were two things that came out of my son’s latest reversal of acceptance of jeans:

1. I took the latest jean rejects, and placed them in a plastic bin with all the others that I had recently assembled. I will be advertising them at Craig’s List as “almost new.” I’ve accumulated quite a selection over the last four years.  Hopefully someone will buy them cheap.
2. I’m incorporating a new jean policy that will hopefully get his attention. If he approves a pair of jeans, and then later decides he will not wear them, he will be purchasing the jeans from me. I refuse to waste any more money on the jeans.

I could have went a little more harsh and required him to pay for his own jeans. But, as his parent it is my responsibility that he has clothes. If he decides he no longer likes a pair of jeans, he will then pay me for the pair of jeans he doesn’t like allowing the purchase of a new pair of jeans he will wear.

Hopefully he’ll put a little more thought into his answer before he says approves a pair of jeans.

Have you had a child that has been extremely difficult with buying clothes? How did you handle it?

Brought to you courtesy of Brock

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Brock Kernin

Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children,  Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.