Our New Treat Shop

I simply had to do something.  My kids were constantly eating any special treats I brought home within the first day I bought them.  Then, I'd be heading out the door to the grocery store, and I'd hear, "Hey Mom, can you please grab some....(fill in the blank)".  And what's worse, when I was AT the store, my phone would ring, and low and behold, it's one of my kids asking for me to bring something else home!  It got so old!

And so, I had to implement a system for handling our special requests.  I don't want to be a mom who always says No to anything not healthy.  We all need to be able to enjoy treats and special meals out once in a while...but this was ridiculous.

After thinking long and hard, I created our very own Treat Shop.  I stocked up on some of the family's favorite treats, and put them in a locked cabinet.  I sorted the items out into bins according to price that we pay (I rounded up).  Sodas are $0.25.  Small bags of chips are $0.25.  Peach tea is $0.50.  Cookies are also $0.50.

Each person in the family will get $30 a month (we'll see if that's the right amount later) to use towards buying treats in the shop, or eating out.  This includes grabbing snacks at the ballgame, popcorn at the movies, eating lunch out at Chickfila, etc.  I think it's a decent amount that means we can eat out once or twice a month, and still have a little wiggle room for some junk food snacks...but not too much.

We will each have a jar with cash in it (kids learn better with real dollars in their hands!), and then we will have a Treat Shop Jar, where we pay into for our treats.  At the end of the month, I'll use the Treat Shop Jar money to replenish our snacks.  The kids can put in "Treat Requests" that I will consider when I go to the store ONCE A MONTH when it's time to replenish the stash!  I will not accept requests at any other time.  So they can write them down and stick them in the Treat Shop Jar anytime, but we won't discuss these requests until it's time to replenish the stash!

I am hoping this helps with 3 things here.  First, I am hoping it really cuts down our budget.  It's so easy to just grab something while we are out about town, or get a snack at the ballgame.  But at $5-10 a pop, for 5 people, that means we are paying $25 for everyone to get a snack at the ballgame...or about $40 every time we grab lunch out.  That's a TON of money to not be keeping a handle on!

Secondly, I hope this teaches the kids about planning ahead.  Sure, you can get a $5 treat at the ballgame, OR you can plan ahead and grab a $0.50 treat from our treat shop before you leave the house.  Also, if you hope to eat lunch out, you need to make sure that you are prepared for that and have cash in hand before leaving the house.  This will help teach them (and remind me!) that we shouldn't be buying on impulse!

And lastly, I'm hoping this helps us to eat healthier.  We have gotten into some bad habits lately, and I want to correct them now.  We eat out at least once or twice a week just because it's so convenient.  Also, with all the special requests I get when going to the grocery store, even though I try to keep track of my grocery budget, I don't track how much is going towards healthy foods, and how much towards junk food.  This will really put a limit on how much we are snacking on unhealthy foods.

I will add more later about what our meals and healthy snacks look like these days soon!