I used to turn everything I had bought at Target until my children were ashamed

It all started with matching family outfits.

I wanted a family portrait in which my family of seven people wore similar outfits – a combo of rose and white. I spent hundreds of dollars on Target on shoes, dresses, pants and shirts.

After taking the photo, nobody in my family again carried these outfits. My five children, aged 11 to 1, expressed how much they hated clothes. My daughters never liked the shirts in the first place, complaining that they were itchy and tight. The boys did not like pink scratches on their own.

Whenever I saw the pieces that we only carry once in the cupboard, I felt a slow flucture of regret and frustration. The discomfort of these negative feelings finally prompted me to the action.

I did not have the energy to sell the outfits on Facebook Marketplace. My local consignment store does not take the Target brands, and they were not interested in adult items.

I was wondering if I could bring everything back to Target. To my surprise, the target sales partner accepted all the items – no questions asked for a full refund. I did not even have a receipt or tags.

Suddenly, I unlocked a new hobby, but in the end, I was ashamed of my hack.

I continued to return most of the articles I buy at Target

For three years, I have been shopping at Target, using the Circle application and I have returned everything we don’t use more than once.

Before heading for Target, I traveled the house in search of items that I could come back. For example, I recently discovered a cake stand and a launcher that we used for my daughter’s 11th anniversary. If we had another party, she wanted a new aesthetic and the articles would continue to bring the dust together. I returned both and returned $ 20.

I also recently crossed the clothes of my boys, which is mainly the Cat & Jack brand in Target. I found kakis, Hawaiian buttones and graphic t-shirts. They no longer wear these clothes because they grew up.

The Cat & Jack return policy allows customers to return any item to target for a full refund in the year following the purchase – as long as they received the original receipt.

I returned all these clothes for more than $ 100.

There were advantages to return most of my purchases

I found that the purchase, use and return of the items have attenuated part of the financial and organizational mental charge of parenting.

My children could participate in activities – such as family photos, Halloween costumes and school days – without accumulating congestion. I considered it as the ultimate declining technique.

The financial advantages were a little more troubled. Of course, I recovered the money I have already spent a few weeks before – to buy more items.

But the recycling of the same cost prevented me from buying a surprise. I bought what we needed, keeping our low family expenditure budget.

In addition, there was a dopamine price. I got what I wanted at Target without apparently spending additional money.

I’m now ashamed of this hack

I thought I had discovered ultimate parental hacking, but I started wondering if I was doing the right thing.

“Just choose something! We can always turn it over,” shouted my daughter in her sister in a store.

It was then that my “biggest parental hack” looked more like a dirty little secret out of my 11-year-old daughter’s mouth.

This moment forced me to think about the integrity of this behavior. The return of things looked like the responsible thing to do. But was it? Buy something with the intention of using it and going back badly?

Suddenly, I felt like I was having a bad use of a financial escape. My hack reminded me of credit cards: you can buy what you want, especially things you can’t afford, but in the long term, you simply wipe your credit – and you are screwing.

I didn’t want to teach my children to think that when they grew up, they could buy what they wanted as long as there was a flaw. I want to teach them intelligent financial literacy and consumer decisions – not the ones like turning everything you buy.

So, I try to slow down with returns and give my children a good example. Now, when I head towards Target, I try not to bring objects with me.