Week Two: Teenager on a Food Budget Experiment
March 31st, 2008 by Ana
I know somewhere out on this great internet is someone waiting eagerly for this update LOL What a beautiful fantasy world I live in, huh? This evening was the Teenager’s second week of grocery shopping for himself! I am happy to report that I think he did better this time :) (For new readers, I have put my 14 year old son on a food budget of $35 per week and am allowing him to do his own grocery shopping.)
- He did not spend the entire allocated weekly amount. Instead he bought $25 worth of food, leaving him with $10 for a mid-week grocery run should he need it. If not, he is free to roll that money into next week’s $35.
- Yes, he bought a full gallon of milk this time! He is free to drink milk at every meal, at snack, and drown his cereal in it if he so chooses. Don’t laugh too hard: it IS a possibility.
- Since he still has fresh fruit left from last week, he did not need to purchase any this week.
- He bought those fruit and grain bars to take to school or for snack.
- He bought Kroger’s version of Spaghetti-O’s (yuck) which I had been refusing to buy for him. Personally, I prefer real pasta. It tastes better and costs less, but I have told him this before. He says he likes the Spaghetti-O’s.
- He bought stuff to make his own quesadillas.
- He bought his own doughnuts.
When hubby and I hit the doughnut case, we were happy to see it still had doughnuts in it, so we picked out half a dozen. After we checked out, I asked hubby if we should share with the Teenager and he said he didn’t see why not (we’re not completely heartless after all). Imagine our amusement when we pushed our cart alongside son’s cart to see an identical box in his! We had a chuckle (but we can be easily amused I suppose).
Over the past couple years, I have emphasized to son the importance of NEVER ever going grocery shopping when hungry. In fact it has become a ritual to eat out somewhere before going to the grocery store. It just occurred to me, that all three of us (myself, hubby, and son) shopped last week on empty stomachs. This evening, we stuffed ourselves before ever stepping foot into Kroger. That might have made a difference along with last week’s experience.
So for the second week into this experiment, I am quite pleased with the results. Son says he is enjoying it as well, as it gives him the freedom to choose his food along with the bonus of getting experience with an important life skill. Hubby says he is enjoying the peacefulness of no longer listening to us bicker and fuss about food bought or not bought.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:33 pm
There was one person waiting
Wahoo! It looks like you all are making great progress
I’m proud that he only spent $25. I was going to say something about that before… about how the first trip you always spend more because you have to buy things that will last a while, but I didn’t bother. It’s good to see that he’s left himself some money to give himself the option of buying more this week, or buying something even more next week 
April 1st, 2008 at 8:12 am
Curiousity question:
The $35 weekly that your son is on. What does this cover? My assumption would be breakfasts, lunches, and snacks - are you still providing dinner for him when you cook for the ‘family’?
Alright, I know what happens when you assume…but I am curious. How far does he have to make $35 go?
April 1st, 2008 at 8:26 am
I am really looking forward to trying this out in a few years.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:48 am
wohoo… so its working? That’s awesome. I’m glad he is having fun too. Good for you guys. It’s a great idea. I will probably do the same thing with my kids as they get older.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:01 am
Great idea, Ana! Wish I had tried that one with my teenager when she was 14!
April 1st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Seriously, Ana. I don’t even have kids, and I’ve taken a keen interest in this story.
Schools do not provide much, if any, financial education, and you are showing people a way to begin to teach their teens some financial responsibility. If Americans had a firm grasp on finances, far fewer would have taken out mortgages they could not afford and more people would be in better shape for retirement.
It has to start somewhere, doesn’t it?
April 1st, 2008 at 7:19 pm
This is such an intriguing idea. It’s nice to see new learning in week 2!
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:07 am
Thanks for the update. Honestly, I’d never heard of your blog until Clever Dude mentioned putting your son on a food budget … now, you couldn’t pry me away. My husband and I pour over each post with interest. Even our two youngest (12 and 14) had a chuckle when I read them the first post. Just ahead of where you write “… big mistake” they had already voiced it. When we got him being down to 1/4 of a gallon of milk in less than a day and, somehow, being surprised they were on the floor rolling with laughter.
All four of my kids have been food budget helpers from way back (I appreciated the help finding which items cost less per pound , ounce, or package and it also reinforced math skills). That being said, they both groaned at the thought I might follow suit and put them on a budget!
We look forward to the next installment. In the meantime, enjoy the peace and quiet around your house. Good job, Ana.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:09 am
You will have to tell your son that there is at least one person in the world who is very impressed with his astuteness in shopping and in learning quickly. I have to agree with you on the spaghetti-o’s. Spaghetti-o’s and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese were among my kids favorite foods. Ugh. No nutrition at all but if I included them in our meals, they would eat almost anything else.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:19 am
Thanks for all the positive input, y’all
To answer Melissa’s question, my son chooses to be a vegetarian, so his participation at “family dinner” is eating the side dishes as long as I have not “contaminated” them with meat. So the $35 covers pretty much most of what he eats. About once a week I will make a pasta dish that we all will eat.
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
What a fabulous read! Not only are your articles well written and entertaining, you have great ideas. I’ll be adding you to my favorites.
April 24th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Hello Ana,
What inspiration! I learned of you via The Simple Dollar, and I’m loving it. My older son is newly 13 and also a milk guzzler, I showed him your posts and said we could try it if I thought his consumption got out of hand or if he’d like to give it a go… Thanks!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Fantastic idea. I have no children of my own, but am constantly horrified by how much our kids just don’t know–I’ve turned my two older nieces on to The SImple Dollar, and know they would enjoy your blog as well. Too bad this isn’t a required high school course!
April 24th, 2008 at 11:25 am
This teenager on a budget series is totally awesome! What a great idea. Keep us updated! BTW, I’m a new reader- came to the teenager on a budget via link on simple dollar. Love your blog so far.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:48 am
What a terrific idea! I have five boys, the oldest of whom is my first teenager. This is worth considering….
I found your blog via “The Simple Dollar”. I am looking forward to reading more!
May 29th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I have just found your post on teenager on a food budget. We are having some isssues with our 18 yo and I am thinking this will be really helpful. She has recently purchased a car with a loan from us but there are some issues.
Anyway, I am wondering how much food is he purchasing? Is it just breakfast and lunch stuff and you are cooking supper for the family or how is it working?
I would love to know the details so I can implement this in our home.
Thanks so much
SA
June 17th, 2008 at 9:05 am
You’ve given me some real “food for thought”.
I found your blog while looking for ideas concerning a dilemma I am now facing. I am about to marry and get two teenage stepchildren as a bonus. Now mind you, I have already successfully raised two children who are now 26 and 30. But that was on my terms, and according to my views on not being wasteful.
(I also had great success when they were both 13 and 17 with giving them a set amount to purchase their own Christmas presents. Suddenly they wanted to stretch that as far as possible and the “I want this and that’s” disapperared. They also became concerned with the quality of what they were buying. I was so pleased, and so were they).
Anyway, I digress. My otherwise wonderful stepchildren have successfully learned how to use guilt and pleading to get their parents to get them fast food and spend money on things they clearly do not need. All of us will be on a tight budget as it is, and I really hate being wasteful, so I stand a good chance of coming into this family as an evil stepmother trying to change everything. I am all for spending money for good nutrition and wholesome meals, but they are both very picky eaters and have really bad eating and spending habits.
I have tried talking to my fiance about this, but he feels he doesn’t have the heart to turn them down, even if he ends up in the poor house. Money isn’t high on my list of priorities, but not having enough money to pay our own bills, (while his children “need” to have $6 for a candy bar and a soda because they didn’t feel like eating lunch at home before we left, or $60 to dye one’s hair proffessionally for school pictures) is wasteful and wrong in my book.
I am actually having second thoughts about marriage, just so that I can try and keep my own financial boat from sinking under their weight. So that is how I found your blog, while looking for a lifeline. Some little pearls of wisdom that I might try. It sounds like your son has learned some really valuable lessons, so perhaps there is still hope to enlighten all three of them so that we can still become a family. Thanks for sharing.
Best wishes and God Bless, Kim