Skip to content

How it works
For Parents
For Teachers
About
Blog

DIMS SCORE^® Calculator
Contact

Blog

The Gifting Sense Blog

Every $pend Counts

We offer practical tips, reflections on everyday life, shared experiences, and book reviews chosen for their ability to help raise money-smart young people. Let's shape a future where kids understand how and why every purchase, big or small, can move them closer to the life they want.

MOST RECENT

Back-to-School . Child Development . Financial Literacy . For Parents . Inspiring Financial Writers .

Can I Pleeeease Have A Phone?

Happy Summer Middle School families! Getting a phone is not just a purchase - it’s a life moment. When handled well, it can teach judgment, planning, and self-regulation. Learn about the list of tasks Adam Ferguson believes kids should complete before becoming phone owners.

Read post

Child Development . Financial Literacy . For Parents .

What June Teaches Us About September

Why are we talking about back-to-school shopping when the current school year has only just ended? To save your family a cartful of regrets in September! Forget BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later), we're introducing a new acronym: TNPL (Think Now, Pay Less).

Read post

Child Development . Financial Literacy . For Parents .

Can We Pleeeease Get a Dog?

Want to answer that question with clarity and context? Now, our mindful spending tool (the DIMS SCORE Calculator) can help! Learn how to equip your family for a conversation that will leave everyone feeling heard, regardless of the answer.

Read post

1 2 3 … 25 >

TRENDING

Child Development . Financial Literacy . For Parents . For Teachers .

Answering Chicago’s “Questions to Pose”

The Financial Education Initiative at the University of Chicago developed a set of questions parents and community members can ask schools to understand if a financial education program is high-quality and unbiased. We answered all of them.

Read post

For Parents . For Teachers . Inspiring Financial Writers .

Why We Need to Teach Kids About Money in School

Yanely Espinal got a full-ride to an Ivey League College - but unwittingly amassed $20K worth of credit card debt while she was there. Her new book is a powerful reminder of why we need to teach kids about money in school.

Read post

Back-to-School . Child Development . For Kids . For Parents .

5 Reasons Families Use the DIMS SCORE® Calculator When Back-to-School Shopping

There are two times in every calendar year when supply and demand for typical childhood purchases line up: back-to-school and the winter holiday gift giving season. Learn why families enjoy using the DIMS SCORE^® Calculator for both.

Read post

All Blog Posts

Back-to-School . Child Development . Financial Literacy . For Parents . Inspiring Financial Writers .

Can I Pleeeease Have A Phone?

Happy Summer Middle School families! Getting a phone is not just a purchase - it’s a life moment. When handled well, it can teach judgment, planning, and self-regulation. Learn about the list of tasks Adam Ferguson believes kids should complete before becoming phone owners.

Read post

Child Development . Financial Literacy . For Parents .

What June Teaches Us About September

Why are we talking about back-to-school shopping when the current school year has only just ended? To save your family a cartful of regrets in September! Forget BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later), we're introducing a new acronym: TNPL (Think Now, Pay Less).

Read post

Child Development . Financial Literacy . For Parents .

Can We Pleeeease Get a Dog?

Want to answer that question with clarity and context? Now, our mindful spending tool (the DIMS SCORE Calculator) can help! Learn how to equip your family for a conversation that will leave everyone feeling heard, regardless of the answer.

Read post

Child Development . For Parents . For Teachers .

One Challenge to Becoming Good With Money

Anyone can learn to be good with money. But there is one very real (but not insurmountable) complicating factor. There's a timing mismatch.

Read post

For Parents . For Teachers . Sustainability .

Earth Day Classroom Activities

Discover four activities that help students understand how thoughtful consumption is an achievable upstream solution to climate change - that doesn't mean they never get to do or buy anything fun!

Read post

Child Development . For Parents . For Teachers .

Our Submission to the Stanford Financial Education Symposium

How could we not respond to a request for papers on the effectiveness of financial education? We've been so encouraged by what we've been able to observe in mindful spending lessons.

Read post

Child Development . For Parents . For Teachers .

Spring Break Planning Activity

Didn’t get a chance to complete the popular Next Gen Personal Finance Holiday Gifting Activity? Don’t despair. Here’s a Spring Break Planning Activity appropriate for January-March.

Read post

Child Development . For Parents . For Teachers .

Childhood financial legacy doesn’t have to be destiny.

Kids who grow up "with money" don't automatically become money-smart adults; this means childhood financial legacy isn't necessarily destiny, which is excellent news!

Read post

For Kids . For Parents . Gifts & Holidays .

The Ultimate Guide to Convincing Your Parents to Help You Buy Something

Talking to parents about money, particularly spending, can be easy. How? Consider entering the conversation having quickly researched answers to the four questions most adults ask themselves when shopping.

Read post

DIMS SCORE® Questions . For Parents . For Teachers .

Reflective Moments Help Kids Learn About Money

Reflective moments are essential when kids learn about money. Meet Kay. She offers young people time-tested guidance about what constitutes ample use (e.g., number of wears) of a possible purchase and other helpful hints.

Read post

1 2 3 … 8 >

How it works
For Teachers
For Parents
About
Press & Recognition
FAQ
Blog

Terms & Conditions
Privacy Statement
Cookie Policy

Get In Touch

Email: info@giftingsense.org

Gifting Sense is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

DIMS SCORE^® Calculator

Book a Workshop

GIFTING SENSE^®, DIMS SCORE^®, and DIMS - DOES IT MAKE SENSE?^® are all registered trademarks.

Designed by

© 2015 - 2025 Gifting Sense. All rights reserved.

How it works
For Parents
For Teachers
About
Blog

DIMS SCORE^® Calculator
Contact

Cookies!

Our cookies might not come with milk, but they do sweeten your experience! Approving them keeps Gifting Sense's features baking perfectly. Please don't forget, we do NOT collect personal information, unless you send it to us via the Contact Us or Pencil Order Form. And we'll never sell it.

Functional Functional Always active

The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.

Preferences Preferences

The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.

Statistics Statistics

The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.

Marketing Marketing

The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.

Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes

View preferences

{title} {title} {title}

Cookies!

To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Functional Functional Always active

The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.

Preferences Preferences

The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.

Statistics Statistics

The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.

Marketing Marketing

The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.

Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes

View preferences

{title} {title} {title}