We started implementing a variation of some of Lermitte's ideas with our kids late last year (before I read the book). We used to buy their clothes, give them a small allowance for spending money, and then argued or grudgingly acceded whenever they hit us up for more. It was frustrating at times.

One evening we were out Christmas shopping and my daughter saw a pair of slacks she wanted. We bought it and I cringed at the price - around a hundred bucks. I asked my wife how much we spent on the kids on average per month for clothes. With only a rough idea of what we were spending and no consistency from month to month, we decided we would be better off with a fixed monthly expenditure rather than pot luck.

Besides, I was tired of "Please, Daddy, Daddy, I really need this dress," or "Please, Daddy, Daddy, I gotta have this computer game." Or begging for candy bars, soft drinks or whatever trinket caught their eye.

The kids were 12 and 14 and we thought they were old enough to make their own clothing purchase decisions. So what we did was to increase their allowance substantially - enough so that they could buy their own clothes, pay for outings to a movie with friends, buy CDs or buy candy as they wished. The only rule we stipulated was that they were not to ask us for money. If they blew their money in the first few days and had none left, well, that was just tough.

Amazingly, it has worked. The nagging and whining for money has all but disappeared. We have a better handle on how much we spend on the kids - a fixed amount, rather than a fluctuating amount, and the kids are learning how to handle money better.

At first they tended to blow their money on candy. I almost choked when my daughter blew twenty bucks on candy on the first day we started giving them their new allowances. But they have learned from their experiences and now tend to buy durable items rather than candy and trivia, though they still buy some.

My daughter is very clothes conscious and spends most of her money on that. My son, on the other hand, is quite content with older clothes and spends more on video games and even bought himself a second hand TV recently (so he doesn't have to fight with his sister over the channel - a bonus for my wife and I - fewer arguments to settle).

We still have a problem with the kids asking for advances on their allowance. In general we won't do it, though we made an exception on our recent trip to Las Vegas. And, unfortunately, we did not ask them to save regularly as part of the arrangement. (Though I did promise to match dollar for dollar whatever they had saved by the end of the year. So far I won't owe them a dime.)

But overall, the experience has been a success.

In case you're wondering, we give each of the kids $50 every two weeks. We give them an additional $300 each for back-to-school expenses with the stipulation it must be spent on clothes. We pay for books, pencils, notepads, etc.

The kids are responsible for all their own clothing purchases including shoes, boots, and jackets. They're also responsible for their own recreational items - video games, software, movies they choose to see or rent and candy. We pay for family outings and rentals and any lunch expenses at school.

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