Cade's Big Week Part II: Saved Money

I don't particularly relish bringing the kids with me to the store. Not because I don't enjoy their company, but moreso because they are exposed to a world of toys and gadgets and games they didn't otherwise know about. I like keeping them in the dark about all the plastic, noise-making, light-blinking gimick contraptions that are out there. Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?

I also don't like the idea that my children could grow up unaware of how to manage their finances, and how to react to the great big world of consumerism once they are thrust into it, left to make their own choices with their own money. I want them to wise financial decisions and to be prepared while learning the importance of hard work. And I still like keeping them in the dark and sheltering them from the toy isle. Oh, the paradox.

Lately I have I tried to make each shopping experience a learning one.In the past I have said things like, "I don't have enough money to buy that [insert whatever magical item on the toy shelf that catches their eye at the moment]." Or, "Sorry, it's not on my shopping list."  I've replaced those phrases with things such as, "if you really want it, you can start doing extra chores at home and earn money to buy it." Or, "I'm not going to buy that because I don't think it's a good idea to spend my money on that. It's over-priced and not very good quality. And, I did not budget that item."  Making an effort to explain further why I won't purchase something seems to satisfy them better than my simple answers have in the past. 

We were at Costco last week and Cade spotted the Super Mario Bros.Wii game. He wanted it. Bad. It wasn't hard for me to tell him I wasn't going to buy it, but I finally decided that it was time to give Cade the option of spending his own money. He's never purchased anything with his money. He's always saved it. Or rather, I don't think I've been real serious about letting him spend it all on something he absolutely wanted. To be honest, I had no idea how much coinage he had in his bank, so for all I knew, he'd be saving up for another few months. So I told him if he had enough, he could buy it. His grin spread so big I wish I had a camera. The memory is good enough though.

In the car Cade said, Mom, for Family Home Evening can we count my money?  Sure!  Cade got a fabulous bank for his birthday-- it counts the coins for you. So, I put him to work. We dumped the coins out of his baseball bank and he began inserting them into his coin counter.  Well I'll be darned, he had just enough money to buy the game, tax included. I couldn't believe what a few inches of coinage added up to. AMAZING.

Savvy's totally thrilled as you can tell:

Off we went to the bank where a very patient teller exchanged (after we counted together using handy little coin trays) all of our quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies into paper money. She was a sweetheart. We were lucky and picked a verrry slow time to come into the bank. :)

Here's Cade with his money in bills, rady to take to Costco and buy his game ALL BY HIMSELF.

Cade was on cloud nine and felt like such a grown-up when he handed the cashier his money for the game. He was particularly excited when he got some change back, something he was not expecting.

Am I thrilled he chose to spend his money on a video game?  Not thrilled. Definitely not thrilled.
Would I do it over again?  Yes, I would. I'm slowly learning how to give my children safe boundaries and the freedom to make choices, within reason. Some would argue that a video game is debatable insofar as a reasonable choice to let my son make. Understood. We have strict rules about video games.
What's next on his list? Cade would like to buy a night light and a butterfly net.
How does he earn money?  It's a hard line to follow, or rather, something difficult to be consistent with as far as what he gets paid for and what he doesn't. He does not get an allowance yet. I want him to do regular chores around the house for which he does not get paid. (cleaning the bathroom and taking out the bathroom trash each day).  Being a member of the family means he is part of the team in keeping up the home so I have set chores for him. Anything extra (cleaning up the toy room when he didn't make the mess, pairing up all the socks in the laundry basket and putting them away, unloading the dishwasher) earn him money. I also paid him for every 30 minutes he was good in the car on our drive to and from Las Vegas last weekend.  That was an amazing incentive, I'll tell you. :) Worth every quarter.