I accidentally made the grandboy cry one day while teaching him about money.
He understands about the concept of money. You need it to do certain things but not for others. He knows this personally because he plays “free” games on a tablet and knows some areas or items are locked and can only be unlocked if you pay money for them. We don’t pay for upgrades, so for him, these are unattainable. And that’s ok.
He also knows that certain “real-life” activities cost money while others don’t. Opening the hallway door doesn’t cost money. Opening the bedroom door doesn’t cost money. Opening the bathroom door doesn’t cost money. Opening the refrigerator, outside or closet doors DOES cost money (the closet lights come on when you open the doors).
We were doing some cleaning one day and he was “helping” by adding soap to the water in the bucket. He plopped too much soap in the water and I corrected him by saying we needed to use less, because the water would be too soapy and it would take more water to clean off the items than needed now. He replied, “yah… and costs money too…”
I laughed and said, yes, it costs money too.
“So Gwumpa,” he pondered, “Water costs money. Soap costs money. Bucket doesn’t cost money?”
“Yes, bucket costs money. I had to pay for the bucket once, but not every time I use it now.”
“Ooooh.” [thinking some more, then seemingly distracted as the dog came sniffing round to see what food the boy might have dropped in the kitchen]. “Puppy doesn’t cost money!”
“Haha,” I laughed, “O yep puppy costs money. He needs doctor visits and food and stuff.”
“Oh.” [thinking] “People don’t cost money.”
“Well…” [me, trying to think of how to phrase this correctly] “yes, people cost money too for the same reasons. I need to pay for things to keep us alive and happy.”
“I cost money, gwumpa?”
I chuckle, “Yep, you cost money too.”
Then comes the sadface and the hiccup of a little cry. “Gwumpa I don’t want to cost money!”
I realise then that he’s thinking of his games and the lessons we’ve had about saving expenses. I don’t freak about expenses but he knows they are something to avoid.
“Honey,” I give him a hug.
“It’s ok for you to cost money. I love you. We save money on some things so we can spend more on you and me and your momma. You are more important to me than the other stuff.”
“Ok gwumpa.” [dries his eyes then looks at the bucket] “Don’t put too much soap in the water, gwumpa, we need to save some for later, ok?”
Photo credit – Dave Ramsey
