A (First) Money Lesson

Okay, peeps.

Settle in for a story.

That’s a lesson.

So a story about a lesson that I’m trying to teach my eldest.

Because now that she’s a bonafide first grader (for two whole days, hehe) it’s apparently time for her to learn about one of the most important things in life.

Money.

How to value it. How to save it. How to responsibly spend it.

No biggie right???

Ha.

I have no doubt this will be a (lifetime) of work in progress, but I’m planting the seeds because the opportunity presented itself.

And it all started with this:

That would be a costume from the Disney Store of one of her recent favorite TV characters.

Chica saw it and wanted it, and we discussed it at length, since it’s not exactly cheap when you purchase all the components, and there isn’t a major holiday or occasion in the near future that would warrant it as a gift.

Of course, when this not-right-now edict was passed down regarding the costume, she responded in the way most six-year-olds would (with a little whining and complaining and negotiating, but no major meltdown).

But then. A couple days later, a brilliant Fancy Nancy television episode aired that featured Nancy pining for a pair of beautiful, expensive and impractical shoes that her mother just couldn’t justify buying.

So (after quite a major tantrum), Nancy and her mother struck a deal that Nancy could raid from her own piggy bank—and when it still wasn’t enough, she earned money through chores and good deeds so that she could purchase her beloved shoes.

Well, as you can imagine, a gem of a lesson all laid out in a single, ten-minute television arc was just too golden for me to pass up. The universe was throwing me a bone.

So I took Chica aside and talked with her about her vampirina costume she wanted and what it meant to earn it herself if she wanted it so badly.

Of course, the first step in my lesson plan involved going to her piggy bank and cataloguing her saved funds so we could determine the additional money she would need to “earn.”

But lemme tell ya what a major backfire that was. 

Because we poured out her money and soon came to find that she had...

Nearly $140 dollars in that ding-dang-dong sheep bank!!

I mean...holy cow.

We’ve apparently been putting literally every coin and dollar she’s ever been gifted or handed in that bank without thinking twice. And look how it’s grown!



The poor girl kept asking if she was in trouble for having so much money because I kept shaking my head and mumbling in disbelief.

And, yes, I was a little disgruntled—but not about the giant sum of money, per se, and certainly not at her.

I was just peeved that my lesson plan was going up in smoke right before my eyes because she had more than enough money to buy the costume and all of its accessories—two times over!



So...I had to switch tactics and really get into the weeds of a big money talk that she generally understood, but might still be a couple years ahead of her time, ha.

First, I went through what God says about giving a portion of our money to the church. And it led us down a hilarious six-year-old mind’s path of: but how to we get the money up to God? Ha.

So then we took a detour of talking about what constitutes God’s work, and helping those in need.

Next up, I had to talk about savings for a rainy day, and making sure to always keep a bit of your money in case of important things or emergencies. (You want babies of your own some day? Well, you’ll need to buy them diapers and food, right? Insert her giggles.)

So here my poor girl was, watching me take a handful of her coins and set them aside for church. And then another handful for savings. And then talk about how she still had enough to buy the costume, but it just wasn’t wise to spend so much on just one thing when she’s spent six years squirreling away far more money than I realized she had!

Oye.

It was right about this time that I was thinking no good deed goes un-freaking-punished and I should have just left it with no you can’t have that costume right now. Ha. 

But again, we powered through, and struck a plan that I hope we can see through.

We basically agreed that she could take half of the money she needed (about $30) from her piggy bank. And the other half, she would earn. Through good behavior and extra deeds or activities. 

She can roughly earn a dollar a day (and has for the past four days), which I think will amount to a good month of working towards earning the right to purchase this costume.

I figure if her attention lags between now and that month, it wasn’t worth the cost anyway. And it will be so good for her to learn even an inkling of the discipline it takes to see and want and work and earn. 

Who knows how this will all work out, and who knows if it’s over her head or coming at the perfect time for it to start sinking in.

But I will say that it’s certainly made me evaluate to a greater extent the answers I give the kiddos when they ask for something. Because more often than not, it’s just a no or a you don’t need it, without really getting into the money part of the equation.

And the money part is important.

And how I talk to them about the money part is important.

And how I lead by example about the money part is important.

And darn if that isn’t the hardest part—because how do I talk to my kiddos about our personal savings and 401K and college savings and all things we try to do responsibly so that we can enjoy any discretionary income???

And if I want to spend my discretionary income on my kiddos, shouldn’t I be able to???

But what if doing that sends the wrong message or makes them spoiled or causes them to have false expectations about wants versus needs and instant toy gratification, and...oh my freaking holy cow, do you see how this topic can snowball in a blink??? Do you??

Before you think I’m insane and over-thinking it (though I am), I’ll say that I know this is all baby steps, and the point of this post is that we’ve just taken the first one.

And it hope it bears fruit and becomes one of many life lessons about money—because heaven knows, we can all use them, am I right???

Over and out.

P.S. I feel like so many posts lately have been more Chica-centric, and though I know it’s just due to her birth order and milestones she’s hitting, I have plans to give a little posting love to my other beautiful babies and their milestones ahead. Again...baby steps with the posting time I’ve got. Mama needs sleep, too!

Happy Tuesday, peeps!