Not too long ago I began to feel like a hypocrite. Even worse, I felt like a hypocrite because of what I said to my son. I told him we didn’t have enough money to buy a new kitchen gadget for him to play with. (you do remember that he’s a chef wanna be right?) It wasn’t the first time that I hadn’t been completely honest with him about our finances and it made me feel terrible. He doesn’t need to know that we have a healthy emergency fund or how much our mortgage debt is etc. But it is important for me to be honest with him on a level he can understand, and to be honest with myself and my friends as well.
Instead of telling him we don’t have enough money, I can say “we’re saving our money so we can ______ instead, since we already have one of those”
Instead of telling him we don’t have money for candy, I can teach him that the candy at the register costs the same as a new toy from the dollar store but doesn’t last nearly as long (or that the larger bags are a better buy)
Instead of telling a friend I don’t have money to go see a movie and promptly order a banana split at DQ, I should just tell her I’d rather spend the $4 on ice cream than a movie.
It’s got to be confusing to a child to see us eat dinner out after saying we didn’t have money for a new toy. We want our children to grow up to make wise financial choices and not resent the sacrifices that our family has made in order to be 100% debt free, while still enjoying a bit of life. If we’re not honest with them about the choices we make with our money, they could grow up to squander every dollar they earn. Or worse yet – live with their hand held out asking for assistance to pay their cable bill!
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