This week my WFMW tip is something that I have recently discovered in my parenting life. I am TERRIBLE when it comes to shopping and sticking to a list. One of my purposes as a mother is to teach my children to do things better than I do them. I am determined to teach my children to be better managers of God’s gifts than I am.
With this in mind, I have begun taking Girly Girl with me to the grocery store with me. Before we go in, we talk about how God has graciously blessed her father and me with good jobs that pay us more than we deserve to be paid…and how we must use this money wisely, and therefore we must stick to our list! (this is a great result of Monday Menu Planning)
I hope this is the beginning of some great lessons we both learn when it comes to managing God’s gifts….and it WORKS FOR ME!
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I love this idea! Grocery shopping with my 3 year old son is not fun at all–you’ve inspired me to check my attitude and present the outing with the goal to foster what we call “having a thankful heart!”
Having a list sure makes it easier! But I would always have a little discretionary money for those surprise ‘manager’s specials.’ For instance, a favorite cut of meat that’s on sale because it’s the last day they can sell it. (Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. I do this all the time and it saves me a lot. Just use it or freeze it right away.)
If you use coupons, it might be fun to let the child match the coupon to the item you are buying. Or…cut a picture from the store’s circular and have her/him look for that item!
mom2fur, I love the idea of the coupons and them matching up! Actually this week my dd and I did buy one thing that was not on our list, but it was bogo free and there was a coupon for $.55 off!!! We paid like $1.00 for two boxes of name brand graham crackers!
What a great tip! I think it really gets to the heart of why we need to watch our spending at the store. This is wonderful.
Great tip! I usually let my kids pick one thing they want to buy. For instance, if cereal is on the list, they can pick which kind (from choices I give them) or they can pick a favorite fruit or veggie in the produce section. It helps them feel like they are getting a special treat, but its healthy, and I stick to my list.
Jen @ Lords of the Manor