Yes, you heard that right – my 5 year old son bought me diamonds for Mother’s Day!
As a lot of kids these days, my kids are notorious for asking for the latest and greatest toy or fad of the day. I am not the type of mom that goes out and buys them anything they want on a whim. And I usually require there to be sale, coupon or both before we make that purchase. Really the only time they get to pick something they want is if there is left over money from a special occasion, money saved from doing their chores, or maybe earning it by completing a huge goal they had for themselves (Honor Roll).
So when my son wanted a color changing doll, my answer to him as always was, ” Add it to your birthday list or do you want to use your Disney money?” (yes, my kids have a decorated envelope they save money in for special Disney gifts or experiences). Even when we are on vacation, they don’t get to have anything they want! And…you may have noticed, this is my way of slowly starting to teach my kids about budgeting (envelope method sound familiar?)
When my kids ask for something they don’t need, they usually add it to a list for an upcoming celebration. However, most items fall off the radar quickly because they didn’t want to use their own money to make the purchase. 90% of the time, that is exactly what happens! Imagine the amount of money wasted if they bought what they wanted when they wanted it!
The Challenge
This time was different…my sons response to me was..”Mom, what can I get you for Mother’s Day that would make you buy me this doll now?” Of course, my instinct was that he did not need this, so if I make the bar impossible to reach, I’ll win. So, my response was “I want a diamond bracelet for Mother’s Day!”
Let the wheels start turning! In the coming weeks, my son was adamant about asking everyone how he could get me a diamond bracelet for Mother’s Day, and the usual response was ASK DADDY! And although Daddy was good at surprising me, he likely knew that in my frugal savings ways, I would probably be a little upset that he would have spent so much money on something like that because I really don’t need it. I still feel guilty for the couple of nice pieces of jewelry I do have.
But…he found the sucker! Grandma! As he was staying at Grandma’s house for an overnight, he found her stacks of store ads and low and behold was shocked when he saw a diamond bracelet in the Kohls ad. He instantly asked Grandma to take him to Kohls because he knew she lived close since they had ventured there before. Because my little guy can be relentless when he gets something in his mind (and we are talking to the point of nagging you by the minute), he won over Grandma.
Smiling all the way to Kohls, he guided Grandma into the store and directly to the jewelry counter where he searched for the perfect bracelet. My frugality and savings education comes from my mom, so I know she already had her stacks of coupons and Kohls deals ready to ensure they could get the best deal on the bracelet.
After he picked out the perfect bracelet, his smile turned upside down as he mentioned to Grandma “I don’t have my money – it’s at home and my mom will know about this if we go get it.” As grandkids usually are, he was wrapped around my mom’s finger and she was gracious enough to offer to pay for it! He was elated!
Best Mother’s Day Gift Ever!
Of course, I was completely shocked on Mother’s Day to open that gift. He was dancing around all day anxious to present it to me. The smile on his face when I opened it was priceless and the first sentence out of his mouth when was “Can we go get the doll now?”
It’s amazing what kids can do when they put their mind to it. Had he just used his own money to buy the doll he wanted, he would have spent less overall, but I appreciate his creative nature and the way he ‘thought outside the box’. Makes me realize that we have taught him something and kids do absorb things at a very early age.
Elation
And if you are wondering if he got the doll – of course he did and, yes, I paid for it! After the creative gift and inventive way he was able to buy my Mother’s Day gift (especially for a 5 year old), I had to take him to Target to get what he wanted.
This was one of those times that saving money wasn’t the priority. Teaching my son the lesson of setting a goal and reaching it was more important. Disclaimer… my original goal was to never have him try to buy me a diamond bracelet! That smile on his face when he realized he had reached his goal and made someone else happy in the process was just priceless. On that trip, it didn’t matter if there was a sale or a coupon for the doll, he was going to get it…but that didn’t mean I didn’t look for one 🙂
What’s your favorite story of a goal your child was able to reach?