This article was originally written in October 2020 and was last updated in October 2024.
November is Financial Literacy Month in Canada (it’s April in the United States). When educators asked us for more than a one-time workshop, we built the four-session curriculum you see below.
Let’s empower young people everywhere to experience firsthand that thinking before buying doesn’t mean you never get to do or buy anything fun; it simply means planning purchases to avoid buyer’s remorse and help protect the planet.
Here is how you can structure four fun Friday afternoons (or lunches!), in a classroom, online, or around the kitchen table, to help young people understand the awesome power of spending with a plan:
Week One: Recalling Buyer’s Remorse
1) Parents and their children, or teachers and their students, can begin the discussion about the importance of thinking before buying by sharing some of their more memorable shopping “hits and misses”. We’ve never met anyone who doesn’t have at least one purchase they regret…orange pants that fit great, but you know, they were orange and so never got worn…Similarly, we all seem to have those boots we got on sale and wore “forever”. In retrospect, how can these experiences help us make stronger future consumer decisions?
2) Discuss that our loved ones obviously do not set out to waste their time or money on purchases that end up being under-appreciated. Unfortunately, it takes time and money even to buy items or experiences that never get used. Doesn’t paving the “road to disappointment with good intentions” happen more during the holidays every year than at any other time?
3) Introduce mindful spending: The DIMS-DOES IT MAKE SENSE?® SCORE Calculator is our permissionless mindful spending tool that helps young people avoid buyer’s remorse by getting them to pause, gather information, and reflect before spending their own money or anyone else’s. It imposes just enough structure (…it costs how much?) and removes just enough emotion (there’s no fear of missing out when you realize you won’t actually wear the orange pants that often…) to easily but effectively guide children to only ask for items or experiences they will really use and/or appreciate.
4) Practice calculating the DIMS SCORE®. Uploading an image of a potential purchase really adds to the finished product (a shareable summary of all the math and thinking a child has completed). Still, it can be mildly problematic for younger children or on older computers, so getting your first try out of the way sets the path for Week Two.
5) Distribute the Gifting Sense Glossary. You know what Sales Tax and Warranties are – but do your kids? Download our glossary to ensure that everyone understands the basic components of wise spending.
Week Two: “All Purchases Are Not Created Equal”
1) Calculate the DIMS SCORE® for an item and then for an experience to establish that different types of purchases require different considerations. Would anyone like a pet? Discover the difference between initial and recurring costs by calculating the DIMS SCORE® for bringing home a furry friend.
2) Discuss the different factors that add to the cost of an experience versus an item. For instance, the cost of items is typically increased by sales tax, shipping, and duty. In contrast, the cost of experiences can be significantly elevated by service fees, safe travel, and even food costs if the venue does not permit outside food.
3) Research the online purchase of a smaller item whose cost is doubled by the addition of sales tax, shipping, and duty. Kids often see t-shirts, for example, that are “…only $15.00…” but end up costing more than twice that much by the time they land on your doorstep.
In the second half of the month, we start to really empower kids by showing them how much more traction a thoughtfully preferred request can get versus its careless brethren, the dreaded last-minute “Mom, Can I…?”
Week Three: Imagine Having “Carte Blanche” and Discuss Opportunity Cost
1) Have your kids calculate the DIMS SCORE® for five items or experiences they would like to buy if money were no object!
2) Then have them force-rank their “dream purchases”, from highest to lowest DIMS SCORE®.
3) Are they surprised by either the calculated scores or their ranking? Why?
4) Now, ask them to calculate how many smaller regular purchases (such as a weekly milkshake or pizza) they would have to forgo to be able to afford their “dream” purchase. Are those designer jeans worth a semester without pizza? Discuss the opportunity cost of a larger purchase in terms of the sacrifices required to afford it. Point out that this exercise is one adults engage in every month when they are deciding where and when to spend (or save) any money that may be left over after regularly occurring household expenses have been met.
Children aren’t thoughtless when they repeatedly ask to buy; they are inexperienced. This explains why it is so important to give young people practice assessing alternatives before selecting one when their money habits and beliefs are still in development. Better to buy the wrong sweater as a tween than the wrong vehicle as a young adult!
Week Four: Practice Succeeding!
1) Divide students into pairs in a classroom. If you have multiple children at home, you can do the same. Have an only child? Ask them to act out both scenarios. The goal is to role-play a discussion with parents where kids learn to make requests the right way—and the wrong way!
One child should (unsuccessfully) demand an item or experience from their parents. At the same time, the other prepares to have a well-thought-out discussion – by calculating the DIMS SCORE® for a possible purchase and sharing the summary of all the math and thinking they have completed to make a request that might make sense graciously.
2) How does it feel to be asked for a thoughtfully-preferred purchase/ gift, versus one that is not? Have you ever asked for something without even knowing its price, let alone the delivered-on-time cost? Have you ever asked to attend an event without knowing the ticket price, what that includes, or if there is a safe way to get there and back? Have you ever stopped to think about what you might miss out on tomorrow if you make a purchase today? Have you ever personally witnessed an under-utilized purchase (or gift) end up going into the trash?
3) Introduce your students to our visual “Worth-the-Wait Goal Tracker”. It’s a lot easier to forgo an iced latte or pizza slice when you can see that you’re only $10.00 away from that jacket you really want.
4) Remind students that they are setting themselves up for success when they “sharpen their pencils” and calculate the DIMS SCORE, before they ask their parents to help them get something. You can underscore the importance of this lesson by ordering a free Gifting Sense pencil for every young person in your life. It has “What’s the DIMS SCORE®?” printed right on its side.
Of course, you don’t have to spread these lessons out over four weeks; you can take four afternoons or evenings in any week between now and the end of the year to help the young people you are responsible for become money-smarter.
Does this sound interesting? We certainly hope so! Click on the pink or blue buttons below to learn more. Or visit the For Teachers or For Parents pages to learn how else you can give young people what has to be one of the best gifts they’ll ever receive: the awesome power of spending with a plan.
Financial Literacy For Teachers Smart Gifting
