It wasn’t until I had kids that I came to realization that the toy market is a massive racket and marketing scam preying on young impressionable minds. The Toy Industry Association (TIA) states that the global toy market exceeded $90 billion in sales in the last year. According to their recent study, the average parent will spend $6,500 on toys per child before they reach their teens. At any given age, the average American child has between 70 and 100 toys—and some as many as 200. More sobering, 3.1% of the world’s children live in America, but they own 40% of the toys consumed globally. Spending an excessive amount of money on so many toys each year seems to benefit only the toy industry.
Don’t pay retail for toys
After nearly fainting from sticker shock by perusing the toy aisles, I made it a goal to avoid buying new toys (and paying full retail) as much as possible. For the most part we’ve done just that. I’d say about 80-90% of the toys we have were bought used or given to us as hand-me-downs. We’ve experienced tremendous success with sites such as Craigslist, eBay, Nextdoor, and Facebook marketplace. Additionally, we’ve found several favorite items at thrift stores and garage sales. Below are some specific examples of how we’ve potentially saved thousands on toys so far:
- Cozy Coupe Kids Car – Retail $50/Paid $6 (Goodwill Store)
- Motorized Kids Motorcycle – Retail $120/Paid $0 (hand-me-down)
- Kids Trampoline – Retail $65/Paid $20 (Craigslist)
- Xbox 360 Console – Retail $299/Paid $30 (eBay)
- Xbox 360 Games – Retail $59.99 each for popular new titles/Pay an average of $10 each (eBay)
- Kids Roller Coaster Set – Retail $100/Paid $15 (Kohl’s)
- Balance Bike – Retail $80/Paid $20 (Craigslist)
Replace toys with imagination
Instead of spending money on meaningless toys allow kids to use their imagination and be creative. According to the National Toy Hall of Fame, some of the best toys of all-time include the stick, cardboard box, and paper airplane. These items are golden especially when kids are younger – before they want what their friends have.
One thing that I’m very conscious of is that having too many toys will not only create clutter in your house but also anxiety (or optionitis) among your kids. The Eureka moment for me was when my oldest son, who was about 3 at the time, walked into his room and said, “Daddy…I have too many toys.” Josh Becker has taken it a step further by writing a book called ClutterFree with Kids. He supports the notion that fewer toys are more beneficial for children because they promote creativity, help develop attention spans, and teach kids about taking care of their possessions. “A child will rarely learn to fully appreciate the toy in front of them when there are countless options still remaining on the shelf behind them,” he said.
Becker notes other benefits for kids having fewer toys:
- Better social skills
- Learn to take better care of things
- Spend more time reading, writing, and creating art
- Become more resourceful
- Less arguing
- Become less selfish
- Go outside more
Final Thoughts
Make no mistake, the children’s toy industry is a huge racket. New toys are terribly overpriced. Nothing was more eye-opening for me than to see my 3-year-old son have more fun playing with a cardboard box (“Daddy look at my new home!”) then all his high-priced, brand name toys. I quickly learned that you can save a tremendous amount of money simply buying used toys or accepting free hand-me-downs. Thrift stores and yard sales are your friends here. Also, my son has developed a trade and borrow system with all his friends which I appreciate. Remember, kids are going to lose interest in their toys quickly, so why pay full price when you don’t have to. Think of the compounding savings that can had over the course of their childhoods.
For more on my financial journey and thoughts from other unique individuals, check out my book Margin Matters: How to Live on a Simple Budget & Crush Debt Forever.