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The start of school – at least for my kids – is still four weeks away. But my wife and I will spend at least some time – a half-hour, an hour? – this week talking about back-to-school shopping.

This is always a challenge for us. We have very different views on fashion, kids and how much we should spend on clothes, backpacks and such.

My take: Kids are kids … and they don’t need to wear brand labels. I’d be perfectly fine shopping at a consignment shop for them (and myself, for that matter).

My wife’s take: Kids are kids … and other kids will make fun of our kids if they aren’t dressed nicely or wearing a cool backpack.

This is why we’ll take time to talk about how much we have to spend and how to allocate the money (clothes, backpack, folders, pencils, etc.). Then we’ll look at deals at Target, Kohl’s, etc. and then she’ll go shopping (we have very different shopping styles, so we don’t go together). She tries to stick the budget as much as she can, within reason. And I don’t get mad if she goes over budget, as long as it’s within reason (often times we come in under budget, which is always nice).

This is a good example of how I think marriages and money should work. Talk about what you need, come up with a plan and try to stick to it as best you can. But also realize that a plan is just that – sometimes things don’t only go as planned and you have to adjust.

I hope our kids will appreciate the new clothes and school supplies. And someday I hope they’ll appreciate that their mom and dad were responsible with their money, too.