I may have mentioned it before, but if not... Emily bowls with my mom and the other kids on a Sunday morning league. It is a lot of fun for them, and they are getting to be pretty good bowlers.
Today while I was there a young girl that was with them, started going through the Target Ad. She then proceeded to go on and on about all the things she wants. For instance, Target has the Ipod Nano 8gb for $145. She wants it. Forget the fact that she just received the iPod Shuffle for Christmas. I thought she told me her parents gave her the iPod, but as it turns out Santa did. I am so bothered by what she said. She now wants the Ipod Nano. Regardless of the fact that her Shuffle has been in her possession for about 60 days.
I'm bothered because her parents both lost their jobs last year. Her father was out of work for almost a complete year and has luckily found work at a warehouse recently. Her mom is still out of work. They do the best they can to provide for their kids and are just getting by. Santa giving her this iPod basically tells me that he gave it to her because maybe her parents couldn't afford it. Yet she is constantly WANTING more and more things. Maybe this doesn't bother her parents at all, but it makes me sick to my stomach.
Now I look at my own children. My parents did the best they could while I was growing up and I never learned how to "save" money. In this society of instant gratification, we buy whatever it is our hearts desire. We still save money, but many people wouldn't be in the predicament they are in now, if they had learned this major life skill.
Emily has holes in her pockets. If she has a quarter, sure enough it will go into a vending machine. If she has a dime or nickel, she will blow it at the school spirit store. She can't save money to save her life, and I don't know how to teach her how important it is. As parents, we try very hard to not let the kids feel the negative impacts of the economy, as we felt them for most of our lives. I guess this is why we are all now an instant gratification society!
Regardless, I am totally stumped as to how to teach my kids about saving money. They need to know WHY they are doing it, rather than for me to force them to put half of their money in the bank when they just don't understand. I am so bothered by this whole thing today. The kids just want, want, want, and when they get what they want, it isn't good enough and they want more.
While there is nothing I can do about this other little girl, I can do something about my own kids. But the thing is... what? How do I teach them something I was never really taught? Please post your thoughts and comments. I'm am racking my brains on this one.
hmmmm...I'm kinda in the same boat. I never really learned or appreciated the value of saving money when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to appreciate it now and it's a pain in the can. Plain and simple.
I guess I consider myself lucky...not married and no kids...I got some more time to figure this saving thing out before I have to teach my own kids. A luxury that you don't have.
I guess if you were to accept any advice I might be able to impart, it would be because of something I learned as an instructor. Keep at it, explain why and keep reinforcing it. Get a piggy bank or something like that, and help them put money in it. Show them what can happen when you save your money.
Something my parents did that kinda sunk in was when we went throught the toy catalogs at Christmas time. We'd always circle the things we wanted. We kinda knew back then that Mom and Dad had to scrimp and save at every turn back then and we knew we'd never get everything we wanted. But we kept dreaming. So, what Mom did was to find something cheap(er) that she knew we always wanted (or thought we wanted) like a big wheel. She'd find a newspaper or catalog ad with a big wheel and put it up on the fridge. Then she'd find a similar ad for a real bike (that we reeeeeaaaalllly wanted more than the big wheel but cost a bit more). She'd show us that we could buy the big wheel right now if we wanted...but how much more fun would we have with a real bike and this (saving money) is what we had to do to get it.
We started doing household chores when we were 5. Dishes, vacuuming, clearing the kitchen table, cleaning the bathroom, etcetera. We all earned an allowance back then that we could do as we pleased with. Sometimes we'd buy something we wanted right now. We usually kept some mad money available for the candy store near grandma's, but we always put some money in our piggy bank too!
Very good tips Mike. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWell Im completely confussed on this subject. It dos'nt take much nowadays for that to happen.
ReplyDeletelets start by saying this is your mom responding to this last comment.
You live in a beautiful home with classy furnishings, you drive nice cars, theres food on the table, you have a savings acct, checking acct etc. How did you get all of this? By working for it. You wernt blessed with rich parents, nor inherited it. You learned along time ago in order to have these things you had to earn it. You set an example everyday to you children on how to save money. Both you and Dennis are doing a great job with those children. keep in mind kids will say anything they always want it bigger and better. You bought your own car before you were married, How did that happen? Because you were tought you had to work for it. I can say this proudly my kids are not lazy when it comes to supporting themselves they will do just about anything for a buck. Take them to the bank and let them sign up for there own savings account. Let them handle there bank book. Start by putting in the first ten dollars. Then if they earn an allowence each week ask them if they want to put some in the bank to make it grow, or spend it and not have any money. You would be supprised.
I know some banks prefer a larger deposit, but I would check around at different banks. I always believed a kid always needs some money in there pocket then there not tempted to go the other way. Anyway this is my thought. You may not agree. You had to earn it by working make them earn it by working. Simple! Quit buying things thats waht nana is for.....
Love you!