Learning to manage money wisely and developing habits of thrift, honesty and self-reliance are some of the really important skills your girls will learn as you plan your trip. For family trips the parents figure out how much a trip will cost and how to save up for it, in a girl scout trip that becomes the troop’s job!

Spending
Budgeting money is the first step of learning how to manage troop funds. Girls should be aware of how much the troop has in the troop bank account and understand the idea of making that money last until the next product sale. “We have this much…what can we afford to do?” becomes part of goal setting and choosing activities.

It’s important to explain the value of things in terms that the girls can understand. I think it helps to explain the cost of an activity in terms of # of boxes of cookies the troop will have to sell “we would have to sell 15 boxes of cookies to go bowling or 10 boxes to go rollerskating” or to contrast the cost of two activities that cost the same amount…”We could go horseback riding for $50 or go to a weekend encampment at Whispering Oaks for $50.” This is the skill they’ll use when they’re deciding if they want to stay at a hostel or in a hotel, if they should drive or fly, if they will share a pizza or splurge at a seafood restaurant for dinner.

It’s also great for girls to learn the difference between wants and needs. When you are planning for a trip you will need to pay for transportation and lodging and food; you may want to take a boat trip in the bay, see a Broadway show or get ice cream.

Saving
When you’re budgeting, put aside money for a future activity (not too far in the future for young girls). Girl Scouts recommends spending most of your troop funds in the current year but you may take two years to save for a trip to San Francisco. Talk about adding to your savings, talk about how it’s growing, celebrate finally using the money you’ve saved. This is a great technique to use during cookie goal setting. Make a trip one of your goals!

Earning
Product sales give girls an opportunity to earn lots of money to be used for troop activities! Troops are also allowed to do as much recycling as they like. I met a girl through Destinations who had earned over $1000 that year by recycling! If your troop has maximized their cookie and fall nut sales and recycling they also have an opportunity to do another money earning project of their own choosing. Good money earning projects include troop garage sales,  running badge workshops, lock-ins or overnight camps, he and me dances, she and me tea parties, doing a pancake breakfast or spaghetti dinner, writing and selling a cookbook, potting and selling plants, wrapping gifts, offering babysitting or dog walking, gardening or car washing. You can learn about council money earning guidelines and get other ideas for fundraising on the back of the Money Earning Application available in the forms section of the council website.

Giving
Learning philanthropy is another important part of managing money. It’s exciting for a troop to understand that they can make a choice of where to donate money, time or talent to benefit a cause or help someone in need.  Sometimes the purpose of a trip will be to learn about organizations that are trying to make a difference in the world…like a trip to the zoo to learn about endangered species or to the animal shelter to learn about homeless dogs and cats. Seeing people working to help others can inspire your girls to be helpful and generous and perhaps give them ideas about take action leadership projects.

Handling Money
Girl Scouts gives girls great opportunities for handling money! Our product sales give girls the chance to count money, give change and understand the denominations of our currency. When on field trips you may want girls to carry money for public transportation, lunch or admission so that they learn about that responsibility or have them bring a small amount of their own money to use in a gift shop. Learning how to keep money safe and secure is a terrific lesson girls should learn before traveling.

Earn a Patch
Council has some wonderful Money Madness Patch Programs that will give you ideas of activities to practice all these skills at a Daisy, Brownie or Junior level! Check them out in the forms section of our council website.

For questions about Troop Finances please consult the Troop/Group Financial Guidelines available on the council website.