So I've been busy Christmasing. :) Let me tell you some things that have gone on.
Today I got out a new box of Chocolate Cheerios for my breakfast and there was a coupon for $10 off a Leapster Explorer. Jayne and Tom got Seth and Hannah one of those each for Christmas, and they're going to be beyond excited. Anyway, Hannah gasped and said, "MOMMY! I can save up 10 of my monies and buy one of those video games!" I told her that wasn't the price of the game, only a coupon. She was a little disappointed, but she understood. I told her she could save up more money and buy one. Little does she know...
OK, so my children are learning resourcefulness, which I think is great. I realized tonight where some of that resourcefulness comes from. I used parchment paper for some of the turtles I made this week, and when packing them, I'd cut off a piece of parchment paper and put it in the bag, so they wouldn't stick. I continued doing that until I was finished, and thought that I needed to save the remaining piece because I'll be doing the same thing this coming week for more turtles. I believe they learned their resourcefulness (which I see as frugality meets stinginess) from their influential mother.
We're making videos for the kids from Santa. I do not want to do this. The only reason we began it was because our niece is getting one from Santa at Dusty's parents' tomorrow, and we don't want Hannah to feel left out. So here we are, at 11 pm, entering the information for the videos. Dusty said we can have them, and if we feel that it's necessary to eliminate any feelings of sadness, then we can "check our email" and find one for each of them. It's a great strategy. I hope it's not necessary. Hannah wants a doll house and a Dairy Queen. Now, mind you, she doesn't want a Dairy Queen building, but she does want a Dairy Queen Blizzard maker, which I looked at getting her, but it was a HUGE amount of effort for soft serve ice cream with toppings. I can do that, for much cheaper, and have it be just as good (better). As for the doll house, we bought one at a garage sale, but it doesn't have anything in it. Now, she played with it with some of her dolls she already has, but I think her biggest hangup with it is it doesn't have stairs. How can her dolls go from downstairs to upstairs if there are no stairs. Seems logical to me, I just don't want to pay for a new doll house. (Resourcefulness leaning more toward stinginess.) Actually, I just don't want her to think it's OK to upgrade to something brand spanking new when she already has something perfectly useful. I must remember she's four, and life lessons have yet to sink in (or even begin to be understood).
Tomorrow we Christmas. And away we go...
"I believe they learned their resourcefulness (which I see as frugality meets stinginess) from their influential mother."
ReplyDeleteFrugality meets stinginess is a good description, I guess, except I don't necessarily agree with the stinginess part. Frugality is something that my generation learned from their parents, just like Hannah and Seth are now. Those parents had gone through the great depression of the 30's and this greatly influenced the way they viewed frugality.
In our house when I was a child nothing that could be reused was ever thrown away. Things that cost money were saved for, and the limited amount of money meant that you had to seriously prioritize your wants, because there was never enough money. I can remember being horrified as a child watching a man drink half of a bottle of coke and then throwing the rest away. It was beyond comprehension. We never had soda at home and this fellow is throwing his away!
The upside is that these experiences made it easier for me as an adult to spend less than I made and to have a serious savings program. My kids think I am wealthy, but this is just money that I did not spend earlier and which has grown over the years. They're spending all of theirs now as they get it, which is another mystery to me.
Jennie, I think you are instilling great lessons into your children, and when they are grown and mature they will realize how wise you were.
Merry Christmas to you!
Tommy