Spend

Spending is sometimes the easiest thing to do with your money, and sometimes it’s the only thing people do with their money. Then, later they need money but might not have it.  Spending money should be set aside for less expensive things – like a new deck of Pokémon cards, candy, etc. What is considered expensive or less expensive will be based on how much money you have. But, spending money should be easily accessible so that it is available when you need it.

Sometimes you will not have enough money to buy what you want and will be tempted to borrow money. Remember you can only spend the money YOU have. If you borrow money, you have to pay a fee (more money) called “interest” to whomever you borrow it from. It is better to wait to buy something until you have all the money you need (we will talk more about this in the SAVE section).

You also may be tempted, if you do not have enough spending money, to take money out of your savings. Before you do this, consider very carefully if it is worth sacrificing what you were saving for to buy what you want now. For example, if your friend calls and wants to go to the movies and you have $5 in your spending money, but you need $15 for the ticket and snacks. You have been saving to buy a new video game. You need to decide if taking $10 out of your savings is worth going to the movie now.  Going to the movie will mean you have to wait longer for what you are saving for.

Spend Action List:

• What do you really, really want most? Put them in order: money to spend on vacation, to buy snacks when you are out and about, to go to the movies, a new toy?
• Use a wallet or purse to keep your spending money in to make it easy to carry with you.
• When you leave the house, take the spending money you need for your outing, don’t borrow because you forgot!