superdumb supervillain: (Don't) Show Me The Money!
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Saturday, September 13, 2008

(Don't) Show Me The Money!

We're in kind of a bizarre economic situation: we don't have a ton of money (stay at home mom and artist dad, you do the math) but thanks to overly indulgent grandparents, our lifestyle is way nicer than our means. We have a great house on almost three acres in a lovely, quiet neighborhood. This is a double-edged sword and I am hoping it doesn't turn our kids evil. Like the BMW convertible-driving teens from down the street who interrupted our family walk one fine morning by pulling up, puking, then driving away with nary a word. Nice.

When Roo was about two, I had to tell my mother to stop bringing presents every time she comes over. I know it's very Japanese to give omiyagi but she lives a block away and stops by several times a day… it got to the point that Roo would say "what did you bring me?" before saying hello to her grandma and that really depressed me. Plus we had an insane collection of toys from Walgreen's. Thankfully, we seem to have nipped that in the bud. These days, Roo is very pragmatic about wanting toys, she will demand to look at everything in the store before settling upon one item. And she still holds to the hope that even if she doesn't get it today "maybe I can get that for my birthday!"

Now that she's four and a half, she is starting to be more responsible and capable of helping out around the house. She doesn't necessarily like it, but she CAN clean her room by herself and pick up her art supplies and toys. Within the next year or so, we will probably start having her do weekly chores and come up with some kind of allowance system to teach her about money. Because, sadly, her mommy and daddy still haven't figured it out…

In my defense, I must say that I spent a good half hour in the AT&T store staring at the beauteous iPhones last week before leaving empty-handed. I just couldn't stomach the thought of spending an extra $30 per month on my cellphone bill, on top of the initial expenditure. Plus, my rate plan is somehow grandfathered in and I get an extra 150 minutes and still pay less than the cheapest family plan currently available. I am noble in my Nokia usage. Of course, I would shell out that monthly gratuitous cash in a second if I won an iPhone in the Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast this weekend. I can almost justify it as a way to stop me from getting a laptop. So it would really be saving me money in the long run, right?!




This week's Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast theme is "Money Doesn't Grow On Trees," inspired by Capital One's new interactive Moneywi$e eLearning tool, a collaboration with Consumer Action.

4 comments:

  1. Yeah, yeah. That's the ticket Naomi. The iPhone could save you money in the long run...

    It's quite commendable that little Roo has learned to wait for things already; waiting is half the battle and it's something I still have trouble with.

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  2. Love your post...my mom brings stuff all the time. We now have her bring a special game that she shares with my girls then takes it home. That way she has something unique to do with them and I don't have a stock pile of stuff..Just went through the stuffed animals and got rid of yet another large sum. Do they multiply??

    I phone hmmm...

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  3. Oh, I hope you win one! And I can SO relate- we are the same way with too generous grandparents!!

    Steph

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  4. Nicely written post! We used to have the same problem with my husband's parents and had the same question asked by my daughter. Mortifying!

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