As each one of our kids gets older they start to learn to handle money in different ways. Three girls equals three different forms of money management.

Of course we have the frugal spender. Saving money for larger purchases and rarely spending on amything else. We also have the philanthropist, willing to give all she has for what seems to be needed by anyone else. Lastly we have the opportune business partner. Ready to strike a deal whenever profit can be seen.

As Sparkle is getting older she has started to learn to save money. Now she doesn’t always understand how much money is worth but she knows it’s valuable. Always asking about exchanging money from dollars to quetzales and vice versa.

Now that she has saved some money, its ready to be spent. 

I have seen things like bikes, ipads, cell phones, games, candy, and meals all become the next big purchase but I am not a huge fan of Sparkle’s next purchase.

She wants a guinea pig.

What?

Why?

Where have I gone wrong?

Nothing against guinea pigs but they’re not what I would have chose to spend her money on.

But how can I say no?

It won’t hurt us. It won’t even be noticed most days by me. So what’s the big deal?

The big deal is me. I wouldn’t choose that. I would have done something different. So the problem is me. I wanted to choose for her.

I must learn to be supportive with these new decisions, understanding that it can be another way to learn responsibilities, decision making, and many other life lessons.

Let’s be careful and let our kids make what we would consider a mistake. We can all learn together.

We can’t make every decision for them and definitely can’t decide how to spend their money.