Easter is a time for family, friends, and of course, chocolate! But it can also be a time when spending gets out of control. This year, I decided to take my kids on a financial Easter excursion to teach them some valuable lessons about money.
We started by visiting the chocolate factory outlet shop in our town in Switzerland. My kids were fascinated by the piles of imperfect chocolate bunnies that were discounted simply because of their small flaws. They learned that even though these bunnies were not perfect, they could still taste just as good as the more expensive “perfect” ones.
While my daughter had to learn the full disclosure about the easter bunny’s secret (she [8] now knows for sure it was me all the time…), they learned how to change the fate of imperfect chocolate bunnies. For some small change we “saved” some of them today. I could teach them how to be smart consumers, how to buy bulk at discount prices and how to reduce waste.
They were so excited that they even received free chocolate bunnies at the cashier.
We did the “Great Easter Bunny Hack” financial excursion and saved a lot of money in the process.
Read on for my experience sharing, the lessons learned, and how to have fun while saving money this Easter!
Easter is coming and the Easter Bunny needs to get ready!
The Business behind Easter
A majority of people consume mindlessly and are used to spending more during holidays such as Easter or Christmas. Companies know this and they take advantage by inflating their prices to skim off easily available purchasing power.
As a result, people end up spending more money on things that they could have saved on if they had just been a little more mindful.
Lesson 1: Easter is BIG business!
Chocolate bunnies are fun – and honestly – yes, a must. But hey, we don’t have to fall into the consumer traps around us! There are other ways to have just as much or even more fun with this!
Lesson 2: If you don’t like how it is, find a way to enjoy it your way!
“Easter eggs symbolize our ability to break out of the hardened, protective shell we’ve surrounded ourselves with that limits our thoughts and beliefs. As we break open our hearts and minds we discover a transformation to new, life-enhancing thoughts and beliefs.”
How to be a Smart Consumer
If you’re a parent, would you know how much you spend on Easter candy every year? It might be more than you dare to think.
One of the first steps to becoming a smart consumer is knowing how much you spend and defining your goals and potentially coming up with a budget. However, there’s a much more qualitative approach to this story, let’s go through this step-by-step.
Understand Your Needs and Wants
Start by understanding what you need or want – you can’t optimize something if you don’t know what would be “good enough” for you, your family, or your kids.
Two important factors when considering a purchase are quality and price. Just because something is cheap doesn’t mean it’s a good deal, and just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s worth the price.
Understand what you, your family, and your kids expect. If necessary do some expectation management as well. Do your research ahead of time so you can be sure you’re getting the best value for your money and don’t destroy the magic of a holiday.
Lesson 3: Be a smart consumer – understand what you want before making a purchase! This is the DEMAND side of the equation.
Market Research
Next, understand what is out there in the market to potentially satisfy your demand. Do your research before you buy. Compare prices between brands and outlets. This is the SUPPLY side of things. There are a few key ways to do this:
Look for promotions or sales – retailers will lure customers with marked-down items, so keep your eyes peeled for good deals!
“All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt!”
Compare prices across different stores – each store has different prices for different items, so it’s important to compare and find the best deal.
Use coupons or cash back apps – these can help you save even more money on your purchases!
Lesson 4: Be an informed consumer – understand what’s out there before making a purchase! This is the SUPPLY side.
Special Deals
Now that we’ve covered the basics of being a smart consumer, let’s talk about how to save even more money this Easter!
Pssst, here’s a little secret… many stores sell imperfect chocolate bunnies for a fraction of the price of the “perfect” ones! These are often discounted because of their small flaws, but they can still taste just as good as the more expensive ones. So why not save some money and get an imperfect bunny?
Here are a few tips on how to find these deals:
Check your local chocolate factory outlet shop, but also grocery store or supermarket – many stores have an “imperfect” section where you can find these bargains.
Ask the staff – they may be able to point you in the right direction.
Look online – many websites sell imperfect chocolate bunnies for a discount.
Lesson 5: Go to the source of your supplies and don’t be afraid to ask if you want to look for deals in unconventional places! If you never ask, it’s a “no” for sure.
Create Your Own Special Deals
How so?
Buy in bulk! This may seem like an obvious one but you’d be surprised at how much money you can save by buying Easter candy in bulk from factories but also from discount stores like Costco or Sam’s Club.
Bulk is too much for you?
Think pooling together with other parents from your area. Ever bought a box of 100 chocolate bunnies and shared the cost with a handful of other families?
Another special deal could be the one you make with your kids!
How so?
Suggest to your kids to delay the Easter bunny for one to two days until after Easter. The poor bunny must be so exhausted serving the whole world and might be extra happy if the kids agree to get served with a slight delay.
Ever seen how the price of easter candy drops right after easter?
Yeah right!
That’s your special deal to strike with your kids.
Lesson 6: Create your own special deals!
How to Win Your Kids for Special Deals?
So far so good, right? But hey, I hear your thoughts already, what if your kids are used to perfect chocolate bunnies and you don’t know how to tackle the “demand” side of the equation?
Teach your kids the value of money. A good way to do this is by involving them in the process of choosing which chocolate bunny to buy. Let them know that there are different types of bunnies, with different quality, brands, shapes, sizes, and colors. And each bunny has a different price tag!
“Egg hunts are proof that your children can find things when they really want.”
Your kids will learn to make better decisions and understand their options later in life. Showing them better deals will allow them to win, and if they win, so will you.
Lesson 7: Offer “win-win-deals” for the win!
How to Reduce Waste
Once my daughter saw the pile of imperfect chocolate bunnies, she was so excited about the sheer quantity, but when I told her almost nobody wanted them anymore and that for the price of one bunny in perfect condition she could “rescue” a whole bag of 1kg instead, she was still looking at me… her face was saying:
Nobody wants them anymore???
I won’t let that happen!
Not on my watch.
Not today.
Successful easter bunny rescue mission.
Mission accomplished!
Lesson 8: Easter is about more than just chocolate and eggs!
“I still believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and true love. Don’t even try to tell me different.”
This world needs some magic and fairy dust every once in a while…
Conclusion
This was the “Great Easter Bunny Hack”!
I hope this has helped you understand how to save money, how to be a smart consumer, and how to make this Easter a win-win and have fun nevertheless.
“Easter is the only time of year when it is safe to put all your eggs in one basket.”
Did you find this blog post helpful?
Let me know in the comments below and feel free to share with your family and friends!
Thanks for reading and Happy Easter Bunny hacking and hunting!
Matt
If you’re looking for more tips on how to be a smart consumer during other holidays, check out “The Seven Most Scary Money Traps” (Halloween) or “The Christmas Tree Recurrence Extrapolation”.
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