2. Maya Learns to Comparison Shop By: Jacqueline Robinson For ages 5-8

3. Today was Maya’s 5 th birthday, and Mom was taking her shopping to pick out her presents. “Now, Maya, you have $75 to spend. What would you like to buy?” Mom asked.

4. “I want a a pink dress, a new Barbie, the Backstreet Boys CD, a princess Wii game, sparkly high heels, new markers and crayons, a talking baby doll, and a baby husky!” Maya exclaimed.

5. “Whoa, now. That’s a lot of presents for one little girl. You aren’t going to have enough money to buy all of them.” Mom explained. “But, mom! I have to have all of them!” Maya exclaimed.

6. “Then I am going to have to teach you about comparison shopping and price matching,” Mom said.

7. “What’s do those words mean, Mommy?” Maya asked. Mom began to explain, “Comparison shopping is when you compare the prices of something with competing brands and stores in order to get the best deal. Let’s say you want a pink dress, and there is one at Justice for $45.00. That’s more than half of your money. So we compare prices at different stores like Target and Wal-Mart. You can also compare the prices of different pink dresses at the same store, so that we get the lowest price.”

8. “So can we just take the dress to Target or Wal-Mart, and then they make it cheaper for me?” Maya asked.

9. “No. You go to Target or Wal-Mart, and look at their pink dresses. You might not find the exact one that Justice had, but you can find other pink dresses you like for less money,” Mom explained.

10. “What about other stores? Can we compare their prices too?” Maya asked.

11. “Yes, of course! You can compare prices with any store, any product, and any brand. There are also some stores do price match,” Mom said.

12. “What does price match mean?” Maya asked. “Price match is when a store matches the price of a product that another store has it listed for. Usually with coupons,” Mom explained.

13. “So before I buy my toys and clothes I need to check and see if other stores have them for less money.” Maya proudly stated. “Yes! I think you are ready to start shopping now,” Mom exclaimed.

14. “Mom, look! This talking baby doll is $19.99, but at Toys-R-Us it’s $29.99. We should get this one because it’s less money,” Maya said with a big smile. “Very good! You are learning fast,” Mom stated.

15. The day continued on, and Maya and Mom shopped, compared, and matched. “Well, Maya, were you able to get everything you wanted?” Mom asked as they were leaving the last store. “Yes! I got all the toys and clothes I wanted, except a puppy,” Maya said. “That’s ok, we’ll save that for another year…” Mom said with a relieved look.

16. It is important to teach children about comparison shopping and price matching young so that it becomes a habit. It will prepare children to start saving money and getting the most for their dollar. Teaching them young will be very beneficial to them in the future when they are in charge of buying groceries, gas, clothing, etc… NOTE:

17. All clipart from Microsoft Office 2007. WORKS CITED

18. Questions How can you make your money go farther? Define Comparison Shopping. Do all stores do price match?