Kids and money

Why We Let Our Kids Make Small Money Mistakes

By Giovanni · September 29, 2026

If one of my daughters spends twenty dollars on something she ends up not liking, my official response is: oh well.

That sounds casual, and it is a little deliberate. A twenty dollar mistake at a young age is a very cheap lesson. The same kind of mistake at thirty tends to arrive with a bigger price tag and a lot more shame.

I know this from the inside. In my twenties I used credit cards without thinking much about the future, and nobody was around to let me practice with smaller stakes. I was fortunate not to get into serious debt, but I also learned slowly and expensively.

So I try to resist the urge to make every decision for my daughters. Being protective is tempting. Parents like to be the safety net. But if I always choose for them, they never get to feel the small, useful sting of a choice that didn't work out.

There is a balance. I'm not trying to let them learn everything the hard way. I'm trying to keep the stakes small while the lessons are cheap, and let those lessons belong to them.

It connects to the three buckets we use at home. Their Fun bucket is their own. If they spend from it on something that turns out to be a letdown, they feel it. Next time they pause a little longer. That pause is a skill, and it is worth far more than twenty dollars.

If you are an adult reading this and wishing you had been allowed to practice earlier, you can still do it. Pick one small, low-stakes money decision this week and make it on purpose. Notice how it feels. That is practice too.

Educational purposes only. Not financial advice.