Holy Batman, Robin, how can it almost be the end of October?
That means Halloween is just around the corner!!!!!!
Okay so the truth is we've been dressing in costumes, celebrating Halloween traditions and eating candy since the middle of summer. The boys (and maybe their mom too) like Halloween so much that for us, the party starts in August.
This year, we decided to try to start teaching the boys about the value of a dollar and the truth about how much things cost. This year, the boys had to save up the money they earned from their complement jar to purchase their costumes. To give them an idea of how much money they were going to need, we made a trip to the local Party City store to get some ideas. It has always been Michael's dream (since our first Halloween together) to be Batman. Each year we've found another costume instead and although he deeply wished to be Batman, he went with the flow and settled for being a Power Ranger and Darth Vader.
Over the course of a month they worked very hard helping mom with various chores and doing they best they could to accumulate as many compliments as they could. In addition they became entrepreneurs and started a business of selling their pictures to family and friends as a way to supplement their small income. I think they realized that only getting one penny per chore was not going to get them to their goal very quickly. Jarrett and I were both proud of them for how hard they worked and for using their creativity to come up with their very first business.
Every few weeks they counted their money and finally after 5 weeks of saving, they finally had enough to get their costumes. So off we went back to the store where we picked out the costumes. We had counted out exactly how much they were going to need and as they placed their costumes on the counter to pay for them, they were filled with excitement and a tiny bit nervous that they were making their first purchase. As the cashier told them how much it was, Gabriel quickly realized they didn't have enough money. He looked at me with a panicked face and said, "Mom, I thought we had enough money?" I said, "Gabriel you did have enough but there is tax on the total. It's okay we'll pay for that." And I gave him the extra few dollars he needed.
Walking out of the store, the boy's carrying their costumes and thrilled with what they had done, I was excited for them. On the way home Gabriel realized their compliment jar was empty and that they would have to start all over. He and Michael were talking about all the new chores they would have to do and how they would have to get new compliments in order to get the accessories (some bat-a-rang, or grappling hook, Bat gloves, etc) they wanted. While they discussed the realization Gabriel had dropped on Michael, I filled up the car with gas. Getting back into the car Gabriel said, "MOM - Did that gas cost you $57.00?" I responded, "Yes Gabriel" He said, "Oh my gosh mom, that is a lot of money, that is way more money than Michael and I had in our jar and we worked really hard doing lots of chores to get that money." And in that comment I was happy with the plan Jarrett and I had come up with to try to teach the boys about money. We sometimes feel we are constantly talking with them about taking care of their things, not wasting stuff and that if we break something, we don't just go out and buy a new thing. In hearing Gabriel's realization that just a tank of gas costs way more than they had, it made me feel like our message of learning the value of a dollar is coming through. I just hope they remember because by the time we'd gotten home, the compliment jar was tossed aside and the costumes were filled with warm bodies and racing around the house.
The boys LOVE their costumes and have built many a bat caves, rescued helpless ladies and toss many a criminals into jail. Its a regular comic book story, right in our own home...
Until next time,
Angie
They look so cute!!! Great story about the money lesson. I have been worried about that myself, that the kids will think there is an endless supply of money and we go through the same issues of wanting them to care for their belongings, etc.
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