Sweetness!

Today, like almost every Saturday, we went out to do some errands. We had some boxes to mail and while I was finishing that up, R and the kids went to check the mail. In the mail was a birthday card for T with a check in it. We've been trying to introduce the kids to the concepts of money, spending, budgeting, etc. This isn't something I would have thought they were really ready for, but the credit union that we belong to here gave the kids a Money Mammals DVD that introduces them to the the basics of saving, spending and 'sharing' (using your money to buy things for others -- like presents).

So today, when T got a birthday card with a check in it, we took him to the credit union and cashed it for him. Then we gave him the choice of going to the toy store on base or going to the German toy store. With the exchange rate right now, the dollar only buys about .65 Euro cents, which means that he'll have less money to spend in the German store even though they have (in my opinion) better variety and selection. T considered his options and finally said he wanted to go to the toy department on base. He spent a good while looking at different things, his first stop was the (thankfully) very tiny Thomas the Train section where he stood for a long time wanting to find something to buy. Finally, the Matchbox cars and other small cars and toys distracted him (since he didn't have any of those) and he finally announced he wanted a toy motorcycle. He looked through all the styles and eventually picked one, but then decided he wanted to get the other one for S. He took it over to her and asked her if she wanted it (she didn't) and then tried to talk her into wanting it. When she wouldn't bite, he put them both back and wandered over to the learning game section where he became entranced with a vTech phonics pad that teaches you how to write letters. With that and a jumbo Thomas the Train puzzle in tow, he went to the cashier and even paid for his own stuff.

We were so proud! First that he considered several things before buying something he didn't already have (that wasn't car, truck, train, or motorcycle related), second that he stayed within budget, and third that he offered to buy his sister something with his birthday money. The fact that he plans to buy as many peanut M&M's as possible with the remainder of the money doesn't even bother us - especially since he's already forgotten where he put it.