photo via BigStock
Guest post from Victoria of Snail Pace Transformations
For years I have shopped yard sales alone while my husband watched the kids. Then one year, a little voice said to me, “Mommy, I want to come, too”. I answered, “Not yet. You’re not old enough”.
But soon, I realized she was old enough. My daughter was old enough to count money, old enough to carry a purse, old enough to walk on her own from sale to sale, and old enough to learn how to be an effective yard sale shopper.
I will be honest, at first it was tough for me to adapt. I was used to jumping from sale to sale at my own pace. However, after just a few weekends of slowing down to train my daughter to make wise purchases, I now miss her when she doesn’t tag along!
If you’d like to try taking your children along, here are a few tips that will hopefully help your experience to be a success.
1. Teach them to consider their purchases.
When my daughter first started yard-saling with me, she wanted to buy everything. Each time she held up an item I would say, “What will you use it for?” “Where will you store it?” “Do you already own something similar?” If she gave me good answers she could buy it; if not, she couldn’t.
Now I rarely have to speak these questions out loud as she has internalized them and answers them herself.
2. Teach them how to ask for a discount.
I have taught my daughter what the average yard sale prices are for things she is interested in. If the item is higher than average, I have taught her that there is no harm in asking for a lower price.
In the beginning, she was too nervous to do this, but now I hear her say, “Would you take…?” before I even have a chance to tell her I think the price is too high!
3. Teach them to set a budget.
Each Friday morning, before my daughter and I headed out yard sale shopping, I began asking her how much money she had and what her budget was. After just a few times of suggesting perhaps it was not wise to blow all of her money on yard sales, she now brings along just a small portion.
4. Teach them the value of their finds.
My daughter was shocked the first time I showed her the retail value of her yard sale finds on-line. Now she stands in the toy aisle and says, “I could just wait and get that at a yard sale for much less”.
Yard sale shopping with my daughter was a little bit of work at first, but it was worth it because now I have the reward of a great yard sale partner!
Do you shop yard sales with or without your children?
Victoria blogs at Snail Pace Transformations where she shares her adventures in inching forward in all areas in life. When Victoria isn’t blogging, homeschooling or cooking she loves running, biking and swimming.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it 
A testimony from Becky
