Real Money, Real Families

Should kids buy whatever they want?

By Luke Erickson

When my kids earn money we jumped into part II of my seminar about how divide it into three categories another option was to save her money for for saving, sharing, and something bigger and better later on. And I spending. With their spending totally convinced her to save her money (not a money we usually try to give them some true story at all). Okay, so she didn’t much like guidance along the way, while still allowing my ideas. Instead, she returned to the shelves them to make their own decisions. After all, of plastic and emerged with something I knew learning from their own spending mistakes she would like…but at an exorbitant price. while they’re young can spare them much One last time I asked her if this is what bigger spending mistakes when they’re older. she really wanted to spend her money on. At least that’s the story I told my wife when I didn’t use the term “opportunity costs” my four-year-old brought home a giant stuffed because, well, I’m a hip dad, aside from the unicorn that was surprisingly cheap but Luke Erickson fact that I just used the word “hip” to mean literally twice as big as she is (true story). cool (i.e. sick, lit, dope – you’re welcome for

One of the hardest lessons to learn for our kids so far is the translation kids), but I did explain that by spending her that of opportunity costs. Yes, opportunity cost, that old money on this overpriced toy she wouldn’t be able to buy economic principle that we all learned of as freshmen. It anything else with that money. She rolled her eyes and said, always helped when my economics professor used Taco Bell “I know dad.” And off we went to the checkout line. tacos and burritos in his examples (true story). “If you have We got home, and she opened her toy and enjoyed it well 10 bucks and order ten tacos, you won’t have any money (or enough. Then – you can tell where this is going right? Only belly space, professor?) for burritos. The opportunity costs a few days later we were at a family friend’s house where one of your order of tacos therefore are the burritos you could of her close friends had a baby Grogu toy (aka baby Yoda) have enjoyed instead.” So yes, eating tacos doesn’t just cost from the Disney series the Mandalorian. She instantly loved us money, it also costs us the burritos that we shall never the cute little green baby Grogu and asked if she could get consume (however, clogged arteries and digestive tract issues one. Like the dutiful professor I am I seized the moment would come with either choice FYI). to amplify her pain and help her see the error of her ways.

Recently my ten-year old came into a considerable sum of money (for her anyway) due to a confluence of birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and allowance. She asked me to take her to the store, so like the good father/professor that I am, I chauffeured her whilst discussing the limitations of her money. “This sounds like a lot of money, but it won’t take very long to spend it all if you’re not careful with it…” and The author's daughter, Adalyn, age 4, was allowed to buy whatever other equally valuable words of wisdom. she wanted with her own

“Okaaay daaad…” Tough crowd. Not her first time money, and her choice was hearing one of my seminars apparently. We went into the a unicorn bigger than she store, and I let her peruse the wares of the fine establishment. By the way, am I the only one who finds it ironic that this is. Dad tries to impart some of his grownup wisdom to his kids when supposed “Wal-mart” doesn’t even sell walls? They don’t they make independent even have walls, just a bunch of shelves. They should have purchases of their own. called it “Shelv-mart.” And don’t even get me started on this But was this a “spending so-called “Target” store! Where were we? mistake”? See answer in this column. (Photo provided by

Ah, so my daughter spent a good deal of time looking Luke Erickson) over her options. It seemed that there just wasn’t anything that really caught her attention. I told her that if she didn’t find anything that she really wanted she should just save her money and we could do some more shopping online or at other stores. Of course, I seized the moment and quickly Continued on Page 9