it all adds up

If I had a dollar for every time I heard the words "it was only $5" I swear I would be a millionaire. This is for a few reasons. First, because usually it is my husband saying those words. And second, because if he (let me rephrase...WE) stopped spending the $5, $10, $20, whatever, we probably WOULD be millionaires. Well, maybe not millionaires but you know what I mean. 

When I was a kid my parents taught me how to save money. I didn't like it, but looking back I realize it was an important lesson. I sound like my mother when I say this but I honestly think it's true- it seems these days when people want something they just go out and buy it. Believe me, I am so guilty of this (hello, Anthropologie boots!) but I really want to strive to teach my children what it means to save and earn special things.

I can still remember the Saturday morning my dad and I counted all of the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters I had saved for the Ronald McDonald Watch. We rolled all of the coins, tallied up the total, and on that special morning at McDonald's I finally received the watch I had been dreaming about (my oh my how my dream watch has changed). I wore that watch with so much pride, I volunteered the time to just about anyone, even if they didn't ask. I made sure I took really good care of it and even made a special place for it on my dresser so it wouldn't get lost. Yes, I valued this particular item because I worked hard to earn it. 

Last week we cleaned out the playroom with Elizabeth. As we sorted through her toys I noticed a common theme- she really didn't care much about any of them. In a way this made the process much easier, but at the same time I wondered why she was so laissez fare about the whole deal. Then it hit me. 90% of the toys we were bagging for Good Will were random "only $5" toys we'd picked up over the course of her 3 years of life. Well good grief, all of those toys certainly add up to a pretty penny. My husband and I nodded in agreement (I think he could read my mind) and decided that this was the beginning of the end. The end of buying random toys for no apparent reason. When I was a kid I only got new presents for my birthday and for Christmas. I am implementing this rule in the Sanford house. Go ahead, call me the Big Bad Mommy. But the last thing we need are two spoiled brats running around with every toy on the planet and no appreciation for any of them (wow, I really AM turning in to my mother).

When we decided to book a trip to Disney World for Christmas, I told Corey we were going to teach Elizabeth how to save money. We decorated an old juice bottle with some of her favorite Disney pictures and started collecting random change. Over the course of 6 months our jar was practically overflowing. The other day Elizabeth and I dumped it out and got to work. Check it out.

This is our "Disney Jar"- Elizabeth fell in love with the picture on the top of Cinderella and the little girl. She said that was going to be her when we saved all of our money! So cute!

GRAND TOTAL:  $269.02!

(yeah, yeah...I know $269 isn't going to get us very far at Disney World but at least it's something!)

All in all I think it was a good lesson. Most importantly what I've realized is that we set the tone for saving and appreciating things when you work hard. As parents it's our job to set a good example for our kids, and sometimes knowing that they're watching us is enough to whip us into shape.