Catch ‘em while they’re young

The credit industry is so tired of hounding Mr. Golightly and I to take on more cards they’ve finally given up. Hallelujah!

Now American Express is offering both our daughter’s free airline tickets for becoming esteemed card members. They even sent along fakey boarding passes with their names printed right on ‘em. Litte Pie’s convinced she’s going to Paris. That ticket looks pretty real when you’re eight and why should a silly little word like “sample” spoil the fun? The kid is packing and ready to give any ticket agent a big what for that denies her.

There’s a few hitches with the credit application process for my children. What do we list household income? We haven’t reported allowances or babysitting income. We thought reporting would land us in a trap with child labor laws.

Forget the Golden Ticket in a Wonka Bar, can’t you just hear Veruca Salt with that snappy British accent, “Oh Daddy I want an American Express Card and I want it now!” Pray that never be my child! What would my Mamaw or Grandmother Hardin think, lending agents after their grandchildren!

Fond Memories of Thrift

Earlier this week, I received the following comment from the January 17th post, “Children want spending power too!”

"Twenty years ago, when I was seven, my parents started thrift store shopping. They were looking for the obscure. My two younger siblings and I were each given a quarter every Saturday to spend. We ran to the outdoor area known as the As Is Yard. It was a horrific mess! We loved it! I could pile my arms high with pieces of Barbie's Dream House and castaway dolls. The man at the front would write a ticket for the price for all the items we collected. Eventually, he caught on that we had a quarter each to spend. Funny how our tickets always added up to just that amount.

As with age, my allowance grew and I learned to save for the wonderful pre-priced paper back books found inside the store. Over three quarters of my toys were handmade or came from the As-Is Yard at Goodwill."
~ Kat Shumar of Indianapolis, IN

I realize that some adults do not have fond memories of thrifting as children. But I also know there are many who do.

For those of you who were teased about having to thrift, I am sorry. I ask you to understand it was not the thrift store that was the problem, it was the spoiled children. These spoiled children were ruthless. I was cruelly teased because I wore Keds sneakers. These kids called them Roach Killers. So, after my mother left for work I would take her Adidias sneakers and stuff the tips with socks so I could fit into them. I may have been wearing shoes two sizes too big and looked ridiculous in clown feet but the teasing stopped. It really did.

Many Americans might find it appalling that I take my children thrifting. But, like Kat, they love it. Besides I think most Americans are completely unaware of how wasteful they’ve become. I’m ready to catch that new Sundance sweater, new handmade mukluks, new Anthropologie sweater, new Banana Republic jacket, new purse, and new shoes you so casually toss over your shoulders and I’ll pay less than 5% of the price you paid. Poe, my 12-year-old daughter, has more cashmere in her closet than the average American. Little Pie Goligthly grew her own pair of Snake Eyes and now can spot cashmere off a 10 ft packed rack of sweaters. Most seven-year-old’s don’t even know what cashmere is.

The other day, Little Pie Golightly found a brand new wallet that the thrift store without a price tag. Little Pie took it to the cashier and asked for the price. The cashier smiled, “You really like that wallet?” Pie nodded. “Hmm. How about 50 cents?” Little Pie reached into her pocket, paid for her wallet and walked out of the store with new treasure.

Thank you Kat Shumar for sharing your story.

Children Want Spending Power Too!

We have an hour before we run over to the neighborhood thrift, the Goodwill at Archer and Broadway in Denver, for the Saturday 50% off day. The whole family goes.

Would you believe me if I told you my children love thrift stores? Believe me if I told you their friends love it too?

Would you believe me if I told you my Pie loves receiving hand-me-downs from her sister Poe? Pie loves anything from Poe because she loves her, looks up to her, and thinks she’s the coolest. Poe is truly an idol in Pie’s crowd. Many of these girls have asked their parents for a Poe, like she’s a commodity. (Note: I’m tired of writing oldest daughter and youngest daughter so from now on I refer to them as Poe and Pie.)

Would you believe me that these notions of children wanting only new things is a retail-based strategy with the sole intent to drive sales to meet predicted quarterly gains on the stock market?

They did a damn good job of pulling the wool over America’s eyes in having us think if “it’s not new its EWW!” Or how about this one, “if it’s not new, it’s unfair!” Okay, sure if it’s a ratty t-shirt, who wants it? But if it’s a beautiful dress coat, who doesn’t? Wait, scratch that comment on the ratty t-shirt because there are many children in third world countries who would want that t-shirt.

My girls love thrift because they can afford it and they know it is good for the planet. When we were young (back in the old days when we walked five miles to school barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways) our 50-cent allowance had spending power. It really did. How sad it is that today a $5 allowance buys squat or junk that falls apart the day of purchase. Do you think the store really cares that the thing fell apart after two hours of play?

Take the children thrifting and they can buy sweaters, CD’s, purses, books, jeans, jewelry, scarves, shoes, dresses…I think you get the point. And they do this with their own money; Mommy doesn’t have to swoop in and save the day with a few extra dollars. The children are empowered. They don’t need help and often they don’t want it. Check out the slide show of some items children have purchased with their own money, third slide show down on the left, "What Kids Buy."

Children want their very own purchasing power. Is that too much to want? Hey, us adults want that too. Wouldn’t it be a bummer if there were loan officers in the corners of stores ready to receive applications from those who need more money to make a purchase? Oh yeah, we kind of have that already; it’s called maxing out the credit card and we usually don’t max out just one. “Oh, that card didn’t work? Well, let’s try this one.” If the second doesn't work, then fill out an in-store application for a store credit card and get 10% off your purchase. It amazes me how creditors are willing to take money we don't have. Is this only in America? I know their are readers in other countries out there. Can you comment?

Many years ago when Poe was four, she received $5 from a grandmother and was so thrilled about the prospect of having her own money to spend. Stupid me took her to Target. This was before I got smart and started thrifting. Poe’s shoulders slumped when she saw the prices. Seeing your child's shoulders slump is heartbreaking so my shoulders slumped too and my heart sank. It was a giant let down. It was also before Target had the dollar section but, a lot of that stuff is…I’ll let you fill in the adjective. I might say, “unnecessary.” Does one buy this stuff out of honest necessity or is it bought because it costs a buck and so few things do today?

That day at Target, I ended up supplementing Poe’s $5 but it sucked all the joy out of making her own purchase. It really did.

Let’s teach our children how to spend as you go. Give them a healthy sense of purchasing power. If they always have to borrow from mom and dad then they’ll grow up borrowing.

If grandparents must give them obscene amounts of money to buy a birthday gift, children will grow up spending obscene amounts of money.

My crystal ball tells me that today’s children are going to hit the job market with heavy debt from college, especially since 529’s have tanked. Who knows how long that correction will take? Then factor in the years lost on earnings. So, do we want our children to tack on massive credit card debt to their negative economic self-worth fresh out of the gates into adulthood? I think not.

This is one of the hardest parts of parenting. Your children are always watching and learning lessons you don’t think you’re teaching. Remember that when you go shopping. And, you may be surprised to learn that they'd rather be thrifting.

There and Back Again

My oldest daughter wanted a friend to sleepover this Friday with a night trip to the thrift store. Apparently, word is out at school and thrifting is hot. My girls wish to continue to charge the lead.

A few unexpected things happened during this adventure. In their foraging they learned more than how to save money, reuse, and support charity; they learned a little history.

They found an old perambulator. It captivated them. It captivated me. To think this vintage pram could still run smoothly through a park and sway a little one into a deep slumber. How I’d love to nap in that! Let’s contrast that gorgeous pram to the plastic nightmares of today. What happens to them when the child out grows them? Hopefully they are handed down, but eventually break. Do people solder plastic in their workshops at home? Probably not, it probably releases some kind of toxin and besides plastics require molds. Off to the landfill!

This reminds me of my pursuit of a high chair over a decade ago, I wanted a simple wooden one and searched the town up and down and finally found one at an unfinished furniture store. One of our contributors, Thriftfully Modern Mommy, wanted the same and found a darling high chair for under $10 at the thrift store. If you’re not a parent, you’re not aware of the plastic constructs people sit their little ones in for dinner. They are so huge and complex, I imagine them turning into one those robot transformers and crashing through the front window as a car, with baby inside. This is no insult to those who have one. The mass market doesn’t offer a choice. In the end, it’s the landfill for those plastic high chairs. Me? I have stored away my wooden one and it waits for grandchildren.

On Friday night’s adventure, we found a beautiful hot chocolate service set in the glass cabinet. I don’t think it was on par with Limoge, but it was pretty. The girls were enamored and daydreaming; I know they were thinking that someone like Anastasia had sipped cocoa from it. Where is our ceremony these days? Our hot chocolate is mostly steamed up in a paper cup a la corrugated cup holder. A plastic lid even smashes the cloud-like whip cream and covers the inviting color of the cocoa. It’s like we’re hiding this childhood delight.

"By relaxing our culture with
plastic strollers and paper cups,
have we relaxed our imagination?"

By relaxing our culture with plastic strollers and paper cups, have we relaxed our imagination? How does one make up a fanciful story about a princess sipping cocoa from a plastic cup with an ad on the front?

The girls came home with wonderful finds but they also came home with a sense of the way things used to be, a time when we placed more value into everyday items and everyday ceremony.

Take children to the thrift store and see what items they find that encourages their imagination or makes them ask about items from the past like my silver plate sugar scuttle with scoop.

We also touched on color theory and learning to assemble clothes that match your personal color print. But that is a story for Thriftfully Modern Mommy to tell as a graduate of Savannah College of Art.

They’d Rather be Thrifting

My children were on holiday yesterday in observance of Veteran's Day. It was cold and cloudy and my home was full of four girls with a bad case of cabin fever. This seemed like a good day for a lesson in thrifting figuring that soldiers can be some of the thriftiest people. I am a mother. Is it not my duty to teach my daughters and their friends to shop wisely?

I once thought my close friend was innately savvy until she told me her grandfather’s lesson: “Money is a game. It comes in and it’s up to you to decide how much goes out and how much you keep. Along the way, people will tempt you and you must decide to whether to buy into their temptation or hold on to your money.” Oh! Had I known that in my 20’s! I’d have been to Europe four times by now in lieu of long, blurred nights club hopping in Chicago. Those cover charges are brutal on the pocket book and the nights, torture on the body.

Each girl was given $10 and cut loose at the neighborhood thrift store. Our next stop was a closeby, a major discount retailer so the girls could spend the remainder of their funds. Yes, they still had money to spend after the first store.

To hammer in that final golden pin of learning the value in thrifting, we visited that discount retailer where two of the girls had $10 gift cards. While at the discount store I listened to the girls compare prices. They were shocked by the difference.

At the end of our day the girls came home and proudly modeled their finds. I think they have a special bond with their scores because these items are one of a kind. Who cares if they’re reused? Isn’t that good for the environment? And, these were smart buys that are building smart shoppers. Two girls bought sweaters and purses. One bought a dress, blouse, medallion belt and purse! Another bought a specialized hair dryer under half the retail cost. Our girl on the left was so proud of her purchases, she brought them to show and tell today. Note the look of pride in her smile. The girl above wore her dress today to school and plans to wear her new blouse tomorrow. The other brought her new purse to school and plans to wear her new green sweater (at top) as soon as her mother washes it. (Uh, that's me.)

What did they buy at the discount retailer? One bought a seven-pack of Lip Smackers and the other a sleeping mask (made across the world) and lip gloss.

We honored Veteran’s Day today and called my grandfather who fought in Europe and my father in Vietnam to honor their service and told them of yesterday’s adventure, which made for proud grandparents.