Fall Product

Fall Product Program Gives Something to Celebrate

When Citrus Council presented the Fall Product Program to us, I immediately got excited because, yippee, something for the girls to look forward to!

My name is Dana Allen and my Troop #825 has been around since 1982 and I have been the leader the entire time. I have definitely seen lots of things happen in these 38 plus years. We have sold many products and reached a multitude of goals. However, 2020 has been the most challenging year with the present situation of Covid-19.

Citrus Council has definitely stepped up the game and given (and are still giving) us so many avenues to travel to keep our troops active and connected. I was proud to hear positive remarks from all the parents in our troop as I presented the Fall Product Program and dropped off their order forms to each girl. I am excited to share our ongoing success story for the 2020 Fall Product Program. We are rocking it with (at this moment) $3,020.00 sold. It has not just dropped in our laps. We are emailing, calling, texting, and sharing on social media to all our families and friends all the ways they can place an order. I check our troop dashboard several times a day and send out messages of encouragement to the girls.

Thank you to the Product Team for all you do. This is a great program and I love the M2 Media Group. So easy to navigate, yay!

I just want to say thank you to all involved in helping our troops make the 2020 Fall Product Program work, and my sincere thanks to my girls and troop parents.

 

Dana Allen/Troop #825

Sunrise Community

 

 

[Photo taken pre-Covid-19, before social distancing protocol]

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Troop Funds and Troop Spending

Earning the troop funds this year was hard work, but selling fall product and cookies really paid off in the end. So how will your troop spend their earnings?

Helping girls decide what they want to do, and coaching them as they earn and manage money to pursue their goals, is an integral part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). Your Girl Scout troop plans and finances its own activities, with your guidance. At the same time the girls learn valuable skills that serve them throughout their lives.

Girls can save the money for something big they want to do… like go on a trip or end-of-year party. They can also look to do a lot of little things throughout the year. It really depends on what the troop decides on.

I suggest putting the money into three piles to help your troop decide what to do with the earnings.

  1. Spend a Little
  2. Save a Little
  3. Give a Little

You and your troop can decide how much of your earnings should go into each pile.

Spend a Little

Last year my troop decided to go to Wonder Works and iFly Orlando. Both were fun and entertaining experiences. The girls braved indoor skydiving one day and challenged themselves at the high ropes course at Wonder Works another day.

We also wanted to be sure our troop continued as a troop. So while the girls had fun with some of the money, they were also responsible enough to save for troop expenses and older girl programs. We spent some of the saved funds for badge supplies and Citrus Council programs.

There are many ways a troop can spend their troop earnings. They can decide to spend it on everything from uniforms to summer camp registrations, and everything in between.

Some items that come to mind:

  • Early Bird Registration fee for adults & girls
  • Uniforms
  • Journey books
  • Bridging Supplies or Kits
  • Girl Scout Summer Camp registration
  • Discounted Program events hosted by Council
  • Service Community Camporee

Save a Little

It’s always a good idea to save a little money for a rainy day. You just never when you’ll need that extra bump. It might be tapped to help the troop reach a goal or to help with unforeseen expenses. Generally, it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

This can also be a great way to build for a long term goal. So while the troop spends some of their funds on fun activities throughout the year and troop expenses, they can also put aside a little at a time. The goal being to build enough of a reserve for a big party or a nice troop trip.

Give a Little

Our girls are always thinking of others before themselves. Setting up a pile for them to donate to a charity of their choice can be a great way to support them in this. It was amazing to hear about how so many troops donated a portion of their earnings to help their community and to those in need during Hurricane Irma and Maria.

Some troops also work on Take Action Projects. Often times there are specific supplies needed for these projects. Rather than looking for donations, troops can use this portion of their funds to buy the much needed supplies.

Your Role

As a co-leader it is your role to help guide your girls in their financial decisions. Having them learn about saving, earning, and spending can help them in adulthood.

It is also important to remember that all volunteers listed on troop/group bank accounts are ultimately responsible for troop/group finances. Misuse of Girl Scout funds is a serious offense and will be treated as such, including but not limited to termination as a Girl Scout volunteer.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook @floridagirlscout

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Help Her Be Financially Savvy For Life (Even If…

Your girl is going to need to know how make smart decisions when negotiating pay, budgeting, spending, saving, and investing later in life—and it’ll all be a lot easier for her if she starts learning now.  And the great news is that you don’t have to be a financial whiz to help her learn all about money matters. Borrow these fun (yes, we said fun!) ways to help your daughter get comfortable managing money. She’ll learn a lot in the process, and you just might pick up a thing or two as well!

1.  Play with money
When your girl is old enough to do very basic math (addition and subtraction), get some fake money at a toy store, or make your own using colorful construction paper—your girl can help!—and then set up a “shop” with some of her toys and books. Put prices on the objects and then give her some of the fake money to spend. She’ll love play-acting a situation she sees you in all the time at the market or department store, and she’ll get a healthy dose of financial literacy training out of it, too!

2.  Get competitive
Designate one evening each week to “game night” and choose games that involves buying, selling, budgeting, investing, and money strategies in general. Classics like Monopoly and The Game of Life are obvious choices, but newer games including The Settlers of Catan teach an even richer variety of financial lessons, including the value of relationships and partnerships, patience (she should know there’s no such thing as a legit get rich quick scheme!), and the importance of diversifying your investments.

3.  Let her be a CEO
Running her own business is a sure-fire way to help her understand the value of hard work and the satisfaction of earning, but make sure to help her learn the all-important lessons of how she handles the money she earns once she’s closed up shop. Programs like the Girl Scout Cookie program help girls set financial goals, handle transactions, keep track of her earnings, and budget for the things she wants to spend them on. These kinds of hands-on experiences will help her thrive as she becomes a financially independent adult. So, whether she’s selling lemonade or Thin Mints, make sure to talk to your girl about her experiences and encourage her along the way!

4.  Help her finance a party
Her birthday is such a special time of year—a time to recognize her growth and the joy she brings to your family every day—but it can also be a perfect time to help her hone her money skills—especially if you’re planning to host a party in her honor. At least a month in advance, tell your girl that since it’s her big day, you want her to be able to make some of the important decisions involving what it will be like, how many guests will be invited, and where it will be held. Sit down with her and help her make a list of all the things she’d like to have at her party. Perhaps those include a cake, decorations, entertainment, a fun activity, and snacks.  Make sure to also discuss location—having it at home won’t cost a dime, but hosting the party at the local roller rink or laser tag arena will take a chunk out of her budget! Once she’s come up with her list, help her find out the prices for each of the things she wants (even if they’re outlandish!). If her “dream party” comes in over budget—and it’s not a bad thing if it does—help her prioritize the elements that are most important to her and spot places where she might be able to save a few dollars. If she really wants to have her party at the zoo, but the cost of admission eats up a bunch of the budget, perhaps she invites fewer friends. Or if the fancy cake she’d been thinking of will cost a bundle, perhaps she can make a simpler cake at home. In the end, she’ll feel ownership and pride in the event, and will take away a ton of money smarts, too!

This article originally appeared on GirlScouts.org.

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Help Her Save for a Big Purchase

You love your girl, so it’s only natural to want to fulfill her every desire and dream. In fact, like many parents, you probably sometimes wish you had even more to give her. All that said, there are times when the greatest gift you could give your girl is to not give her the things she wants, and instead to help her earn and save up for them herself. “That’s part of the gift of financial independence, one of the greatest gifts of all,” says Girl Scouts’ Developmental Psychologist Andrea Bastiani-Archibald. “Learning how to budget money and spend it well at an early age can help her confidently make financial decisions for the rest of her life.”

And the truth is, this kind of real-life experience with money is something girls are hungry for. In a recent study conducted by Girl Scouts Research Institute, the top three financial literacy skills girls said they were hoping to learn were how to save money and plan for future goals in general, to make big purchases later in life—like a car or a home, and to pay for their education.

So how can you set her up to be a lifelong saver? Dr. Bastiani-Archibald says it’s simpler than you might think. “The next time your girl asks for something new—not an essential like socks or a backpack if hers has gotten worn out, but something that would be a treat, like a video game system or a new bike—explain the difference between wants and needs and tell her you’re excited to help her come up with a plan to save the money she’ll need to buy it herself.”

If she doesn’t already have a bank account, take her to the bank and help her set one up, then talk with her about how she will use the money she has and future money she may get through her allowance, small jobs she takes on, or holiday gifts.  “Teaching kids the ‘spend, save, give’ model of money management can be really helpful,” says Dr. Bastiani-Archibald. “Together, you can decide what percentage of her money she should put toward her big purchase, how much she should set aside for other spending, and how much she’ll give to benefit her community.”

Depending on her age, you can make a chart to hang in her room to keep track of her saving progress, help her follow along with her passbook from the bank, or encourage her to set up her own mini spreadsheet to keep track of her finances.

Help her celebrate milestones in her savings (the half-way point is a big deal, and also a time when she may need some encouragement to keep going!) and tell her how proud you are of the smart money decisions she’s making. By the time she’s saved up enough to make her big purchase, she will have learned important financial literacy skills that will last a lifetime.

This article originally appeared on GirlScouts.org.