Although frugality comes more naturally to some people than others, it’s also a bit of a learned art—you can perfect techniques to save and get better deals. As you try to teach your kids how to be frugal, a lesson not to skip is that of heeding unit price. Getting a grasp of this principle might keep your child from costly purchase mistakes through his entire life.
The Basics
Unit price is the cost assigned by a retailer to a given item for sale under a particular measurement label. For example, you might see price per ounce, per pound, per bar or per box. Unit price matters because retailers and manufacturers have different sized packages, such as regular and family-sized cereal. Looking at the unit price gives you a consistent tool by which to determine which package is cheaper—although discounts often happen with larger amounts, bigger doesn’t always mean you’ll save.
As you talk about unit price with your kids, explain to them that it’s very difficult to tell which item is cheaper if all the measurement units on the items are different. Tell him it’s a little like wanting to play a game but having all the players have a different set of rules—no one really can start playing until the players have a standard agreement on what to do.
The Importance of Conversion
The easiest way to introduce your child to unit pricing is in your grocery store. Most stores indicate unit prices clearly on the shelves, so you can point the unit prices out on different brands and sizes to compare costs. The problem is that stores don’t always have a consistent unit. For example, they might use per ounce for cheese and per pound for meat. Part of the unit price lesson therefore is to guide your child through converting one unit to another. At first, it can help to have a chart for this. You also might be able to get your child to use a mobile application on your phone or similar device as you shop. Once your child knows the conversion rule for the items you’re looking at, have him do the math on his own to figure out what item is the best financial choice.
When Your Child Might Want to Set Unit Price Aside
Unit price assumes that, as you compare items, the items are similar in terms of materials and quality. This isn’t always the case, though. For example, a bag of whole wheat bread might be more expensive per unit than a bag of plain white bread, but nutritionally, the whole wheat bread has more to offer your child. Get your child in the habit of listing specific “must haves” from what he buys, such as candy that uses real cocoa instead of just being cocoa flavored. Your child will become more comfortable determining for himself whether a higher unit price is justified if he has some standards to look for. You might need to give him some basic information before he can come up with his “must have” list.