Honey has been saving her money from birthdays, little chores and when I sell their old toys, books, games etc. Her sisters tend to go through their funds a little more quickly with buying things for the online games they like. When asked what she was saving for, Honey didn't really know, until recently. Suddenly she was very interested in having her own iPod to play games on so she wouldn't have to borrow our tablet or let her sisters mess with a game she'd started etc.
When I gave her the most recent earnings for the used items I'd sold, that put her very near her goal. Then when we browsed the flyers this week to see what the exact price of an iPod was, they were on sale at Future Shop. Murray told her that if she had enough for the price tag, we'd pay the tax for her. She ran to count out her pile and it was pretty close. Lovey decided to raid the laptop savings bucket that never got used and gave Honey a $20 and suddenly SHE HAD ENOUGH!!! She could hardly get to sleep that night for being so excited about it.
Mondays are very busy so Honey knew she'd probably have to wait til Tuesday to go to the store and was OK with that. I picked them up from school on Monday and made sure we had enough extra time before dance to make a detour at Future Shop!
She kept saying "I can't believe it!!! Is it real??? Am I dreaming??? Someone hit me!!!" It was pretty cute to see her excitement and enthusiasm. She was so worked up that she forgot to be shy in the store and told the sales guy what she was there for, how she was paying for it with her OWN money and everything. Even after she bought it and we were back in the van, she still kept saying "I don't believe it!!!"
This event
of course has launched a major case of the "I WANTS" with other
household members. Lovey actually had enough money since she never spent
any of her violin prize money but I told her to think about it because
she doesn't look after things as well as Honey. Only one day of watching
Honey play her games and listen to music has solidified her position on
the matter. She is getting one!!! The rest of the laptop bucket fund
was quickly dissolved to enable this purchase.
Sweetie
hasn't been as diligent in her savings and had no prize money to fall
back on and was quite a ways behind on being able to make the purchase
before the sale ends on Thursday. She is scrambling for jobs to do and
her sisters are campaigning hard for her. Lovey counted out what she's
going to need for hers and then donated the rest of her money so Sweetie
would be closer (roughly $30 I think). They all did an hour of weeding
tonight to add another $12.50 to her pile (we really hate weeding and
pay the kids $5/hr if they'll do it but Honey lost interest after half
an hour). She's taking the compost out every day ($0.50/trip) and plans
to vacuum the vehicles tomorrow ($2/each). I may do some laundry so she
can fold & put away and bring her a little closer. She's at $170
right now and needs to earn another $10 by the end of Thursday... stay
tuned for exciting progress reports!
