"I dunno".....she replied "Maybe I could do something for you and you could pay me for it?!" B-I-N-G-O...she ain't no dummy.
I was very excited. What a perfect opportunity to teach her about the value of money, hard work, budgeting, spending, saving and more! I talked to her about it all the way home...by the time we got there she was elated about all the possibilities and was an eager beaver to get to work and start raking in the cash!
First task - Raking the leaves out of the back yard....she started with gusto and quickly tired out. she did finish and before I paid her we sat down and made a piggy bank.....not exactly in the shape of a piggy but it'll have to do. She wrote Isabelle's piggy bank all around the top and I LOVE the picture she drew on it. It's of her throwing the money she's earned into the bank. Great depiction of the money actually being thrown.
The next few days were wonderful! She scrubbed out cupboards, put away laundry, raked more leaves and even changed one of Scarletts poopy diapers! (I had to pay out dearly for this last one but it was worth it. Scarlett is about ready to potty train and she is an eating machine...let's just say her diapers are extremely unpleasant to change! don't worry I supervised the whole thing, but it was genius on my part)
We talked about what she wanted to save for and what she wanted to buy. We told her any bigger purchases she chooses to save for we will pay half and she must save half. Anything else she has to pay for herself. She thought long and hard and decided she wanted to pay for a ride on a mechanical elephant at the local mall and that she would save everything else she earned for our upcoming trip to Canada. She wants to buy something nice there. (I may surprise her with her own wallet to bring her money to Canada in...)
A ride on the elephant costs 10pesos. She carefully counted them, put them in her pocket, and we headed out. She walked right up to the guy collecting the money and said how much for an elephant ride? He said: "10 pesos." She looked up at me with a huge smile, proud as ever, carefully took her 10 pesos out of her little pocket and handed them over.
Even though she has been on theses rides many times before I guarantee that this was the most enjoyable elephant ride ever! Things always taste 100 times better when you have worked for them. I was so proud of her and I could see it in her eye's she was proud of herself. She had earned the money and had paid for and enjoyed the ride. The first thing my tiny little baby girl has ever bought on her own....where does the time go?
It all happens to fast....sniff sniff.
ooh what a cute sweet girl. You know i was reading this other blog, where when their kids got older like teens they do this thing, where they get the same $ for their age per week/month and they have to do 10% tithing,20% savings, 70% for themselves, she was brought up doing that, and has aleays carried on, i wish i would have, always saving 20% before you spend, that way, you are always saving, and you cant say we can't afford to, because you natually do it before you make a purchase for anything else.. very smart!
ReplyDeleteOh, so cute! What a big grown up girl!
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