I think the parent's habits often dictate how their kids shop, but it's helping that the media is trending toward frugal, too. Even teens born to thrifty parents can have atrocious spending habits. I have a daughter that, like her mother, has gravitated to sale racks from a very young age, and a son that will buy only one shirt to get the name brand instead of three off brand. The biggest change I see lately in their habits is the amount of driving they do. They stay home a lot more than in the past few years!

Plato's Closet is a great shop of recycled closhtes for teens, and they seem to be quite popular in this part of the country. I've always marveled at my one daughter, who could make anything from a thrift store look like high fashion the way she wore it. she has some inherent style or something. Everytime I tried it, I looked like a bag lady...

Very wise for teens to bo thrifty.   Times will be getting harder, especially with the rise in gas prices.

Thanks for blogging.  Lu

I think that it is a wonderful thing that these teens are learning to be a little bit thrifty. It should serve them well as adults with bills to pay!

I always thought that kids should have mandatory classes on budgeting and credit starting from elementary school.  Some kids have no idea how much things cost and are hit pretty hard when they're on their own.  Like Shannon, I think kids pay attention to what their parents do.