After her teenage daughter spent $80 on her Halloween costume, her mother deemed it as a waste of money since she would only be wearing it once for a few hours.
The mom took it upon herself to show her daughter that it was an irresponsible spending choice.
Now, she’s wondering if her decision crossed a line.
The mom returned her daughter’s $80 Halloween costume she bought with her own money because she thought it was financially irresponsible.
Sharing her story to Redditthe mother explained that her 16-year-old daughter and a group of her friends decided to enter their high school’s Halloween costume contest.
The teenager works part-time five days a week and has been saving money for the costume.
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“I picked her and her friends up from the store and they showed me their costumes,” the mom wrote. “My daughter spent $80 on hers.”
The woman was not happy with how much money her daughter spent on something she was only going to need for a few hours. “ (A) very irresponsible use of money,” she insisted.
Despite her daughter using her own money to buy the costume, the mom forced her daughter to go back to the store and return it.
The mom’s daughter was left without an outfit, and her friends replaced her in their group costume.
“Her friends found someone else to take her place in the group and they won the contest and a $100 Visa gift card to split,” the woman shared.
“My daughter came home from school on Halloween upset she claimed she had to sit and watch while her friends had fun and she missed out on everything.”
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“I pointed out to her that after splitting the gift card it would be way less than she spent on the costume and it was only a few hours but she didn’t want to listen to reason.”
Now, the mom said that her daughter is still giving her the cold shoulder, and she is wondering if her actions were truly wrong.
“My ex-husband told me I made her miss out and she works so much she missed out on a lot of stuff with her friends and I could have let her have this,” she wrote.
“But at the end of the day, I saved her $80. I am just trying to teach my daughter how to be responsible with money she could have gotten a cheap costume especially since she would have only worn it for a few hours.”
The average cost of a Halloween costume in 2024 has risen over 9% since 2022. That puts the cost of a costume at over $30. That’s the average, however. Does $80 seem like a lot to spend? Yes, but without details like including accessories and makeup as well as cost of living in her area, it might have been a reasonable purchase.
Even if the mom saved her daughter $80, she cost her a core memory she should have had with her friends.
“Congrats, you just strained your relationship with your daughter for $80 that wasn’t even yours. Hope it was worth it,” one Redditor commented.
“Your daughter works. She earns money. HER money. As long as her obligations are taken care of, what does it matter if she splurges $80 on a costume?? She can reuse it another time! Just being her parent doesn’t give you control of the money she earns through her work,” another user noted.
“What you wanted to teach your daughter: the value of saving. What she learned: Her mother cares more about money than friendships and her daughter’s happiness. Congratulations, your lesson on $80 will prompt her to spend that money on rent, utilities, and groceries at her first opportunity! Hopefully one of her friends will be her roommate,” another wrote.
There is nothing wrong with parents wanting to teach their children about responsible spending choices. However, there are ways to do so that don’t involve forcing them to return a costume and forbidding them from participating in a memorable activity with their friends.
You can involve your teens in budgeting so they understand the importance of saving money for certain expenses. Encourage them to set financial goals and set aside money for a new outfit or video game they may have their eyes on.
While teens should be aware of how to spend their money wisely, there is also nothing wrong with splurging occasionally.
If the woman’s daughter is already working five days a week while juggling high school, she has already proved herself to be responsible.
Let her live a little and buy the costume she worked so hard for!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
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