New way to resist impulse purchases

**PetMom** · 04-09-2010, 04:14 AM

I think this is a great idea. Plus she is learning about the cost of food and food shopping. I read somewhere where one enterprising teen offered to shop and could keep any spare dollars she got from cutting a few coupons or finding some really good specials.

**irmanator** · 04-09-2010, 04:27 AM

I figured $61 for what I put on the list, she spent $58. That includes the bottle of pop I let her get that wasn't on the original list. And I agree it is a good life lesson. When I was figuring the list I wrote what I thought it would cost for each item in the margin, She added the actual cost next to it.

**am_vanquish** · 04-09-2010, 07:17 AM

That's great! You'll probably need the extra $3 to pay for extra gas now that she's going solo.

I have a fun little way to keep my wife from making impulse buys too. I keep a spreadsheet on my phone where every time she asks to buy something, I put in the price & it projects it out to age 65. Then I show it to her and ask her "is that $200 purse worth $3,000 of our retirement income?"

**snshijuptr** · 04-09-2010, 07:48 PM

I ran errands for my parents in exchange for gas money until I got a job. It was fun and I usually just walked to the store anyway.

**1milliondollarchallenge** · 04-09-2010, 08:46 PM

That is so good. It's a great way to teach your kid and an excellent way to curb impulse buys! I'm sure you'll save heaps.

**irmanator** · 04-12-2010, 05:59 PM

@ am_vanquish, where did you get this spreadsheet? I might like to use it on mu husband.

**ea1776** · 04-14-2010, 04:53 AM

Originally posted by irmanator View Post

@ am_vanquish, where did you get this spreadsheet? I might like to use it on mu husband.

If you can't find the spreadsheet, you can always use this formula:

(Price of Item) x (1.085) ^ (Number of Years Until Retirement)

That assumes an annual return of 8.5%. You can change it to your expected return.

New way to resist impulse purchases