This has become the responsibility of the parent(s), and with the knuckleheads out there today with kids and serious debt, we’re in huge trouble!
We teach our children (9 yrs old and 7 yrs old) about the value of money and why it’s important to save a portion of their money for the proverbial “rainy day.” My 9 yr old has over $6K in the bank, my 7 yr old over $4k. We’ve saved every penny they’ve ever received as a gift and we have a policy of dropping $100 in their accounts on birthdays and Christmas.
My kids wear clothes my wife buys for them at garage sales, which are high-quality clothes that we pay next to nothing for. I mean, my daughter wears Roxy stuff and we typically pay .25 or .50 per item. My son isn’t into labels, so he wears cargo shorts and t-shirts. My wife shops at Target for herself and I buy my work clothes at Ross. I really can’t see a discernable difference in how I look compared to anyone else in the office. I’m wearing Pierre Cardin and other name brands at 1/4th the price of main stores. My kids have these values now as well. My kids will see the way something is priced brand new and say “That’s a rip off.”
It all comes from the parents. Some of you may be 180 degrees out from either a radically conservative or liberal spender, but I would suspect you learned a lesson from their radical ways and decided not to follow their example.
