How much do you spend on school clothes for your teen?

[Ref]

SD emailed DH asking for help with school clothes. Her mom ended up spending all her money on car repairs, so SD says she has nothing left from CS for clothes and school supplies.

Things haven't been good with SD. She didn't do well in school last year and missed over 20 days. This will be her senior year and not only would it be in her best interest to graduate on time, but also DH's interest because he has to keep paying CS until she graduates or turns 19.

BM has painted DH as stingy and controlling because of him not buying SD a car this year. (He required SD get good grades and be respectful neither did she do.)

This was my thought. $100 gift card now. If she gets perfect attendance before her progress report , one month from now, she will get another $100. If she misses 1 day she will get $50. She has to have passing grades at that point too.

 When report cards come out in early Nov, she will get $50 for every A and $25 for every B.

What do you think? I think that is plenty for clothes and I think that may help give her incentive to get decent grades and attend school regularly.

How much do you spend on clothes for your kids?

Thanks
Ref

[Giggles]

last year I spent a total of $80 for school clothes for 2 kids!!  I shop clearance racks and watch the sales.  Thankfully, my 2 are younger (9 & 11) so I am able to pick up many things at the end of season clearance sales.

I think your plan is a good one.  It puts the responsibility on SD to do well and be rewarded for it.  Now you and I both know that BM will spin it and DH will still be the stingy controlling jerk...but you tried and are doing it the RIGHT way!!

Now days too many kids are being handed things with no responsibility and then later in life when they get into financial trouble they want bailed out again....BM is NOT teaching her good fiscal habits and I see a storm on the horizon!!  

Since when should a parent buy a kid a car???  Or anything out of the realm of food, shelter and clothing?  I tell this to my kids ALL the time...hehehe  If there is something they WANT...they have to save their money to get it.  If it is something they NEED...then of course I will buy it.  

Does your SD NEED school clothes...or does she WANT school clothes...You are making it up to her to get the max or min...good policy!!!

[MixedBag]

If that's what you/Dad can afford, sounds like a good plan.

I tried to spread out school clothes over the last 6 months and have been shopping for new jeans for a while.  I think I got enough

Shoes alone were $70 and he got ONE pair.....and since the old ones are worn when they should be, it works for him.

Picking up T-shirts here and there, to round out his wardrobe.

Considering SD's history -- and your goal, I think you have a good plan.

AND based on her age, she hasn't outgrown last years clothes!

[Giggles]

Oh good grief!!!

I'm doing my kids the same way my parents did for me growing up!  They set a limit as to how much they would spend on school clothes and shoes and if we wanted more than that, then we had to come up with the additional funds.

For example....the budget for shoes was $20.  I liked these certain pair of Nikes that were $39...So I had to fork over the additional $19 for them.

I've been lucky in my clearance shopping for shoes.  I just picked up YD a pair of cool Sketchers for $10 at Sears!! :-)

[wendl]

I am lucky my sons grandma orders his clothes for him, he emails her the links with what he wants.

I think she spends about $200.  We live in a small town with no real malls, so we shop online alot.

My parents used to give me like $150 so I had bargain shop. Clearance racks etc.


**These are my opinions, they are not legal advice**

[Kitty C.]

DS is out of HS and going to a tech school, but this used to be an issue every year.  I 'never' bought school clothes for him prior to school starting unless it was something he absolutely needed.  About the only thing I would buy extra is a nice shirt for school pictures.  

I told both DS and SS a long time ago that we would furnish the basics, but if they wanted something over and above that, they would have to earn the money to buy it.  Both DH and I have stuck to this, but SS's BM will go way overboard with both her boys.  How she does it, I have no idea, because she makes a whole lot less than we do and only has one income coming in.  A few years back, SS was whining about how he was being teased for wearing 'Wal-Mart' clothes and practically demanded designer clothes, ie. Old Navy, A&F, etc.  BM bought him anything he wanted because (quote her) 'I want my boys to be HAPPY.'  (That's a whole other issue, LOL!) We knew that SS had bigger issues at school than kids teasing him about his clothes, so we stood our ground.  And he's never said a peep about it since..........even tho we still won't buy more expensive brands.

Our parents raised us this way and it works for us.  I have never spent more than $30 for a pair of shoes, $20 for a pair of jeans, and $10 for shirts brand new for school.  And now that DS is on his own, he is seeing first hand why we did this.  He's going to school at Wyotech and needed more jeans (durable, like Carhartt) and was complaining to me how much they cost.  I started to say 'I told you so' when he cut me off and said 'I KNOW, Mom!'  :-)   It's definitely taught him a lesson and we'll have to wait and see when SS graduates if he learned it, too.

[MixedBag]

yea -- my one splurge.  And nope, he doesn't have a wardrobe of shoes to choose from as a result.

That's the balance to me....

[olanna]

My youngest kid is lucky.  We went through so many hard times together that today, I spend big money on his clothes and shoes.  I do it because I want to, not because I feel obligated to do it!

He gets $70 shoes and $70 pants, too.

He's also cool with $30 levis.  And he used to be cool with gifts from friends, good will clothes and hand me downs.

:)

[olanna]

but for my own son, who is in 8th grade and 13, I spend about $500 including shoes and a new coat.

This will last him for awhile.  He goes through shoes about 3 months...really hard on them. He is a skateboarder.

[I cry_ in_the_dark]

What about a custodial parent that refuses to spend ANYTHING on clothes, be it school clothes or not?