A Savings Plan
I try to pretend the kid has a choice in the matter, but the reality is she doesn't. Since the day she was born, any time Alexis gets any money from anyone, half of it goes into her savings account. I figure she doesn't need a single thing right now, but when she's headed off to college some day, she might appreciate having a few bucks stashed to buy books or whatever. Of course, by the time she does head to college, books will probably be non-existent, but maybe she'll be able to post her own bail after she gets arrested for stalking Sidney Crosby. Or whatever.
In the past year, I've started to give the kid a little more power over how she handles the half of her money she sort of has accessible. And by "power," I mean I've made her life complicated. Instead of standing in the toy aisle at the store and helping her find something that she has enough money to buy, I've been asking her if she really wants to spend that money, or if she wants to save it for Disney World or so she can buy her playhouse.
The answer 99.9% of the time is that she wants to save it to buy a playhouse. Shhh. . . don't tell her, but we're planning to buy one sometime this summer. In the meantime, I greatly enjoy watching her stuff every penny she has in her piggy bank. Saving money builds character, right?
So tonight we were on our way home and were talking about the playhouse she's hoping to get. She has figured out that she wants to paint it bright pink (NOT HAPPENING, but she can dream if she wants to). She wants polka-dotted curtains in the windows. She plans to take her blue moon blanket out to the playhouse, just in case she ever needs to rest for a minute. Really, she has it all figured out.
As we drove down the bumpy country road talking about the playhouse, I realized that the weather was entirely too perfect for us to just drive past the field filled with horses. I pulled off to the side of the road and we jumped out to greet Alexis' furry friends that don't live with us.
As Alexis petted and talked to the horse she has name Abby, her thoughts returned to her dream playhouse. She scrunched up her face and then her face exploded into enthusiasm and glee.
"Momma!" she said. "I figured it out!"
"What did you figure out?" I asked.
"I figured out where Abby can live!" she continued.
You probably know where this is going, but I am too dense to have realized I was about to walk right into a giant trap.
"Where is Abby going to live?" I asked.
"Since you won't let her live in my bedroom, she can live in my playhouse!" she said as she bent to pick up some straw for Abby to eat when she moves in.
I told her she would have to save up enough money to buy a horse trailer before she can even think about that. DON'T ANYONE DARE SEND THE KID ANY MONEY.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Reader Comments (20)
So this basically means now I have something new to do with my spare change, give it to Alexis so she can get a horse trailer :p
That photo is pure perfection.
@tehamy--Sure! Meanwhile, I'll be saving my spare change to buy your boys a drum set!
Ahem. Can I have your address? hehe
Shoot you don't need a trailer. You can ride horses!
HAH! Awesome. We tell the twins that they need to save any money they get so they can buy Disney passes. That's what we will (hopefully) be buying the family in 2012...Annual Passes to Disney. I can't wait. And in the mean time, I love watching them try to count their money, and I really love hearing them swindle the grandparents/friends/their father out of a penny so they can put it in the piggy bank.
:-)
Next she'll be saving up to move to a farm! ;)
Love that picture!!!!
Dang, woman. You are in for one bumpy ride when that kid hits adolescence. Good luck with that! :)
Just a thought - I don't know what her current "savings" rate is or how much the playhouse costs, but it might be worthwhile to let her save her money and pay for it herself. It would give her the satisfaction of seeing how her current sacrifices achieve something more down the road. However, if she finds that Mom and Dad are just going to buy it anyway, it may change her current spending decisions. Even if she doesn't have enough money, you may want to use some of it when you make your purchase this summer. It also may help avoid another American Girl doll experience.
Feel free to tell me to butt out.
@PG Wodehouse--She'll be parting with all of the savings that she knows she has. No doubt about it.
I was all set for the ending of this post. I knew where it was going. And then....THEN I saw the photo.
Just to be sure I have the correct info, e-mail me your address ;) I want to be sure the donation check gets to her promptly. Hehe.
Such a sweet heart though...
I never had a playhouse, (or a horse, for that matter) but my best friend had a playhouse and man did we have a ton of fun in that...
Oh My God that picture of her kissing Abby made me burst into tears. Thank you Alexis for being such a gentle kind soul, thank you Momma for taking her picture.
I'm setting up a paypal account for her right now.
It's good to have a goal. You are in so much trouble...
The horse trailer is small potatoes. Tell her that when she can pay for the horse doctor and the horse dentist and the horse "podiatrist" and the horse vitamins, then maybe.
First, if I know you, she'll have more than just book money saved up by the time she goes to college, and I am INCREDIBLY jealous of how disciplined you are about that. Something to aspire to.
Second, if she gets a horse, I'd like to ride it. That's all.
We currently put all of the kids' gift monies into their respective college funds - but they think they get to spend it. In other words, we have a matching fund program. ;)
When I was growing up, my dad forced us to give every penny to him to put in our savings account for college - no room for negotiations. This doesn't seem too bad except for the fact that when time came for college there was NO money in the accounts. I couldn't even buy a DAMN book. Needless to say, I have had zero respect for him since. And because of that, my kids have college-specific accounts, lest anyone be tempted (which would never in a million years be ME).
Whoever set up the paypal account for Alexis's horse trailer, can you please send me the link? ;-)
You realize your child has a steel trap for a memory right? She's going to buy a horse trailer one day and you're screweddddd. Also I'm going to send Alexis a picture of a mini pony. Because I'm a bitch.