Hey there! It's Talk About Money Tuesday, your favorite day of the week!🤑

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales are behind us (well, mostly), but there's still plenty of time for retailers to roll out more "deep discounts" and can't-miss deals. No matter how fast you scroll, you won't be able to avoid the ads tempting you to buy at every turn.

This newsletter will help you and the young people you care about turn the holiday shopping rush into a hands-on lesson in how to spot a deal that's truly a steal.

Money Stat

36%

If you just can't shake the feeling that some of last week's Black Friday sales weren't really bargains, there's a reason for that. WalletHub compared pre-Black Friday prices to advertised Black Friday prices for a wide selection of items and found that 36% of the items weren't cheaper. Consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch told CNBC: "There's some trickery happening." Some items even cost more on Black Friday than before.

However, WalletHub's data provides some hope for hardcore Black Friday shoppers. Items that were on sale were marked down by an average of 25% — a run-of-the-mill discount in my book. The highest markdown was 85%.

Get In The Zone

Money skill: How to recognize the sales speak of shopping season

​Why it matters: Phrases like "limited time only" or "special discount" are meant to create urgency and excitement. And they work especially well on young people who are still learning how to make careful, informed decisions. Once kids understand that companies try to influence their behavior with certain tactics, they'll become more confident shoppers. Knowing how to question a "deal" is a skill they can use now and later, as an adult.

​Try this: You can help your child to practice this in real time.

☑️ Talk out loud when you shop to explain when something looks like a deal but isn't, or why you're choosing to wait instead of buying right away.

☑️ Ask your child guiding questions such as "What makes this look like a sale?" or "What could we do to check if this is actually cheaper than normal?"

☑️ Encourage them to note regular prices for any items they want to buy so they can instantly tell whether a "sale" is genuine or a marketing tactic.

Smart Money Quiz

You're trying to choose between two rolls of wrapping paper of the same quality. Roll A is $5 for 30 feet. Roll B is $7 for 50 feet. What should you do to show your child which roll of paper is the better deal?

A. Choose the cheaper wrapping paper because it costs less

B. Choose the roll with more paper because you can wrap more gifts with it.

C. Compare the cost per foot, or unit price, on the shelf labels

D. Choose the wrapping paper with the best design.

(The answer is at the end of this newsletter.)

Money Talks

Let's say your child wants to buy a new pair of wireless headphones that are "on sale" during the holiday season for $40, marked down from $60. This is the perfect time for you to say: Before we buy, let's check to see what these headphones have cost in the past.

You can use this question to help your child slow down and avoid getting sucked in by the holiday sales hype. Plus, talking about the headphones' price history will teach them price awareness and critical decision-making, which are skills they can use beyond the holidays.

Here's a simple way to do a price check together:

🎧 Look up the headphones online and check a couple of stores to see their current prices.

📊 Check out the price history of the headphones if the site shows it. You can also use a price-tracking app (like CamelCamelCamel for Amazon) to see how the headphones' price has changed over time.

🔎 Compare the prices. If the headphones were actually $40 a month ago, the "sale" basically amounts to a marketing trick. If the headphones were consistently priced at $60 and only dropped recently, that's a real deal.

This price-check routine helps young people see that a sale tag doesn't guarantee big savings. Smart shoppers double-check before they buy!

Loose Change

🏬 A former mall rat makes the case that bargain hunting just isn't what it used to be.

📈 Sometimes the best deal is the one you make…with coupons. A grocery chain brought back paper coupons and sales are up.

🎁 Shoppers looking to buy the perfect gift at a rock-bottom price are turning to AI for help.

Thanks for reading! If you know someone who cares about youth financial literacy, share this newsletter with them. And if this newsletter was forwarded to you, please subscribe ​here​.

'Til next time,

Audrey
​Founder/Certified Financial Education Instructor​
The FinLit Zone

ANSWER​
​C. Compare the cost per foot, or unit price, on the shelf labels.

How to explain this to kids: Since wrapping paper rolls come in different lengths, the best way to figure out which one is the better deal is to see how much you're paying for each foot of paper. If the label on the shelf doesn't provide this information, you can figure it out by dividing the price of the wrapping paper by the number of feet. The answer, called the unit price, tells you the real cost of the wrapping paper.

Roll A: $5 ÷ 30 feet = about 17 cents per foot. Roll B: $7 ÷ 50 = 14 cents per foot. Even though Roll B costs more, it gives you more wrapping paper for each dollar.

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