The Budget. It doesn’t just come in a battered red suitcase and cause a media frenzy once a year. It’s also something that can and should form an integral part of your family plans this summer.
A summer holiday budget will prevent costs spiralling out of control, provide a chance to bond with your kids and develop a sense of ownership, independence and confidence in your children. It is my number one tip for parents this summer, and will save you more time and effort than hunting down cheap, free entertainment options alone.
Here’s how it works and why you should to do it:
Although most of the advice I offer about entertaining kids is based around budget-busting freebies and activities such as baking,making playdough, treasure hunts, outdoor games, and investing in quality children’s toys it’s also really nice to treat the kids to a fun day out at a theme park or fun fair once in a while.
Not only will a budget will help you identify how much activities are likely to cost and which ones you’d really like to do, it gives you a chance to communicate with your kids over a shared goal.
With this in place, you’ll find yourself saying yes to activities they really want to do, rather than muttering ‘no’ on repeat. In turn, your kids will really understand why the theme park / skate rink / fast food restaurant isn’t an option and help them develop an appreciation and respect for money.
Here’s how to do it:
Ask all your children to come up with a summer holiday wish list.
Provide pens and paper for the older kids (lots of colour makes the task exciting – they can even draw pictures of the things they’d really like to do). Work with younger children to write the list together, or ask older children to help younger kids figure out what they’d like to do most.
Meanwhile, work out how much you can afford to spend over the summer holidays.
How much can you realistically afford to spend this summer? Base this on monthly salary, any allocated savings, and financial support you might get from grandparents and other relatives. Break it down by week to help with the next steps…
Help your kids work out the costs of their activities
Now they’ve created lists of all the things they’d like to do, ask them to pick their top three. Create a master list with everything on it and with the Internet beside you, research the cost of each activity together and jot it down next to their chosen activities.
Weigh in with sensible adult things, like the cost of travel and food
Your role here is to aid their understanding. You’ll have realised by now that the aim of this activity is not to say ‘no’ without reason, but to make your children aware of how much things cost and develop a partnership approach when deciding what to do.
Talk to them about the budget
Discuss what’s fair and how you can divide the budget equally between activities and siblings. You’ll be surprised how insightful and mature kids will be when given this kind of opportunity.
Draw up a list of most wanted activities and agree what will happen when
We all know schedules can change so key to this is letting each child know they’ve been heard and that their most wanted activity will happen. Perhaps allocate an activity to a week, rather than a day, to permit wet weather and other fun opportunities that might crop up.
Put your schedule proudly on the wall
Or blackboard or fridge – somewhere all the kids can see and reference it. Knowing what’s coming will get them excited and prepared. And if new ideas pop into their very imaginative heads, greet their enthusiasm with an all-embracing “Brilliant! Let’s add that to the list for next time…” or “Sure, which activity should we swop it with”.
It takes a bit of practice and I recommend doing it for every holiday – even when you go away – to get your children involved and accountable for what happens.
If you already budget with your kids, I’d love to know how you do it. And if you give this a go after reading this article, let me know how you get on in the comments.
Lisa is the managing director of what2buy4kids. Lisa’s wish is to make your job of finding a gift for the children in your life easier, or help you to take some of the time and frustration out of the search for that special gift for kids.
You can follow her on Twitter @what2buy4kids and Facebook
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