People often ask why a DIMS SCORE® question is worded or scored as it is. We created the DIMS SCORE® Question blog series to take you through the thinking that led to the DIMS SCORE® Calculator you see today. This post explains why the total cost of an item or experience does not affect the DIMS SCORE® for a potential purchase.
Simply put, every family has their own threshold for what is a little or a lot of money.
People often assume that if something costs less, it makes more sense to buy it. Why spend more than you have to? Why spend more, indeed? However, every family has its own threshold for what it considers a lot or a little to spend on ice cream, playing cards, bicycles, or denim.
The DIMS SCORE® Calculator was designed to “reveal all” about a purchase, not whether it should be made. The cost summaries on our site (and subsequent shareable report that young people can generate) are provided for information purposes only. A DIMS SCORE® is directly affected by what we have identified as the more fundamental components of mindful spending. These include questions like how often you will really use and enjoy an item, and ensuring that you have factored in all the attendant (sometimes phantom) costs of a purchase. “Do you need new shoes for a new dress or a case for a new electronic device?”
The decision to make a purchase belongs to families, as it should.
The shareable DIMS SCORE® report students can generate illustrates all the numbers and thinking young people have gone through when considering a possible purchase. It was designed to serve as the agenda for a relaxed, productive conversation about spending, around the kitchen table, or in a classroom. When families sit down to discuss the report, they know exactly how much the young person in their life is asking them to spend. We aim to ensure that the amount shown is as representative and complete as possible. But the decision about whether that amount of money makes sense for your family is yours alone, as it should be.
If you have any other questions, please write to us. User feedback genuinely helps us help people teach their kids to think before they buy. As you know, we believe the habit of slow spending just might be the best gift today’s kids could ever get.
Click on the pink or blue buttons below to learn more about our particular brand of early financial education.
DIMS SCORE Questions Teacher Resources
