The girls get a (virtual) weekly allowance. Allowance at our house is not tied to chores, though on rare occasions I have been known to fine the girls when certain rules have been broken, most notably CDs and DVDs not getting put away. I’ve considered fining for gum wrappers on the floor and apple cores left lying around but haven’t yet.
Anyway …
I don’t buy “stuff” for the girls (very often); I don’t buy books, toys, games, and so on. If they want something, they have to save their own money to buy it. I admit that I have placed limits on what they can buy with their money — I don’t like the girls to buy junk food or toys that cross some line of horribleness.
Last Thursday, Chloe wanted to buy a new gymnastics outfit at the gym. I had *just* bought her a new one at Target a few weeks earlier, so I said she could buy it, but with her own money. Unfortunately, there was no one in the office to take our money, so we decided to hold off a week.
Over the weekend, Chloe bought herself a very cool Harry Potter Lego set. It is cool, yes; lots of great figurines and accessories. But it cost $60 and we already have a house full of Legos ….
This week on our way to gymnastics, she started talking about the gymnastics outfit. I asked if she had enough money left to buy it. Uh-oh. She started to cry, saying that she could decide to just owe me money. Nope, sorry. You made the choice to buy the Legos, and now you’ll have to wait to get the outfit that you don’t need…. She’s now counting the weeks until she can afford to buy the outfit.
Such a mean mommy, but I hope it is a lesson that sinks in.
I do usually remind them if they have dedicated their money to something else. Usually makes them think twice, and sometimes makes them think twice about both purchases. I think you can be pretty certain this will be a memorable lesson.
I suppose I would have if I could have, but I wasn’t there when she bought the Legos … and I am not sure I would have remembered she wanted the outfit, even if I had been … It will be interesting to see if she decides the outfit is worth it.