Trump’s ‘Buy 3, Not 30’ Comment Is Actually Smart Budgeting Advice — Here’s Why
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T. Woods
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Cory Dudak
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In May of this year, as President Donald Trump was rolling out his controversial tariff policies against America’s trade partners, he received a great deal of criticism from economists and consumers alike over fears his tariffs would drastically increase prices of goods (especially those imported from China). Critics of Trump’s trade policy even noted that children’s toys and dolls would increase in price. The president’s response was, to put it fairly, typically blunt.
“I don’t think that a beautiful baby girl needs — that’s 11 years old — needs to have 30 dolls,” Trump declared on the May 4 episode of NBC’s Meet the Press, noting that if dolls become more expensive, simply buy less dolls. “I think they can have three dolls or four dolls because what we were doing with China was just unbelievable. We had a trade deficit of hundreds of billions of dollars with China…I’m just saying they don’t need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. They don’t need to have 250 pencils. They can have five.”
While there is an irony to a billionaire — one famous for his lavish wealth and a penchant for 24-carat gold decor — suggesting working-class Americans should refrain from buying multiple toys for their children, and should instead purchase such things in moderation, there is a sound objective truth to Trump’s statement.
Americans Spend Nearly $6,000 on Children’s Toys Over a Lifetime
Per The Guardian, the average American family spends $600 yearly on toys; that’s approximately $6,000 over the course of a decade of childhood. That’s $6,000 not being spent on medical care, college savings or family bills. That’s a staggering amount of money for toys, and likely far too many for a child to focus upon and totally enjoy. That isn’t a political stance, either — whether one loves or hates President Trump, the assertion that a child can enjoy three dolls rather than 30 is not only likely true, it’s sound financial advice.
As self-made millionaire and CEO of Crush Your Money Goals Bernadette Joy wrote for CNBC, when she was previously $300,000 in debt, her problem was not that she didn’t make enough money — it was that she overspent on things that were not needed. She specifically called out children’s toys as one of the six things she spent far too much on.
“I’ve seen parents spend hundreds, sometimes thousands, on toys that their kids lose interest in within weeks,” she noted. “Less is more. Rotate toys instead of buying new ones, and prioritize experiences over stuff.”
While, yes, Trump is a deeply divisive figure, and his advice for moderation with regards to spending should be taken with a grain of salt, his advice in this case actually does align with the recommendations of money experts such as Joy. Further, at a time when inflation is high, and America’s economic stability is uncertain, spending in moderation is always good advice.
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