Do you see this cute face? Do you see what he has in his arms? It’s all of the money from his piggy bank. Every single dollar that he has earned for helping around the house, as gifts for his birthdays.
Why is he hugging his money you ask? You see my 4yr old son is obsessed with Wii Sports Resort. Wait. Obsessed is not strong enough. He lives and breathes to ask me about buying him Wii Sports Resort. It’s all he talks about it. It’s all he wants to do on the computer – visit Wii Sports Resort.com. It’s driving me crazy.
After trying to distract him/postpone him by telling him that Santa might bring it, I finally caved and told him that if he saved his money, he could buy it.
Little did I realize how much money he had in his bank. You see, the boy hoards money. If he sees a nickel on the counter he snags it. A quarter on my coffee table – he snags it. He loves to put money in his bank.
Well wouldn’t you know it, he gets out his bank, dumps out all of his money… and Bam! He has $54 in bills, enough to get Wii Sports Resort ($49.99 @ Best Buy).
So here is my dilemma. I know he really wants this game. But I am struggling with the price. $50 is A LOT of money, and it would take all of his savings. I know I told him he could buy it with his own money, but just don’t know how I feel about him spending his savings on a video game.
What would you do? Would you honor your promise? I am torn. I want to be fair. I just hate that this would take all his $$.
It would be hard for me to tell him no as well. My kids and hubby are all video game nerds….really really bad video game nerds! Rodney knows when everything is being released, how much it will cost, when the price will drop, etc. He’s a virtual walking GameStop website! I will admit we’ve used the purchase of video games as an enticement to get the boys on the “do homework, clean up your toys, blah blah blah” bandwagon more than once.
My advice is to seriously let him make his own decision, but make sure he’s well informed about it (as much as you can be at that age anyway!). Show him how much money he’ll have left if he buys the game, show him how many days/weeks/months until Christmas and that lovely visit from Santa (aka-you could save your money and possibly ask Santa for it..and in the meantime if you see something else you HAVE to have you might be able to buy it) and if he STILL wants to buy the game take him and let him pay for it himself. When the next “big” thing comes along (new Bakugans, or whatever else he’s into) and he wants it then explain he could have purchased it if he hadn’t gotten the game, and let him live with the consequences.
It’s hard once you’ve put the “save your money” line out there..I’ve been there too. My boys are currently saving their chore chart stickers to gain points to buy ‘knight armor’ at the Halloween store. I know by Halloween they will have changed their minds a dozen times and I’ll end up with yet another costume purchase..but oh well, what are you going to do? LOL
Think you need to honor your agreement.
In our family, the girls have an option. Whatever they put in the bank, mom and dad match and they can’t touch. If they decide to keep it in their piggy bank, it’s theirs to spend as they wish.
Also, when we go out to dinner they also have a choice. Order a soft drink or get the $1 I would have spent on their beverage. Got this tip from the WSJ. Teaches kids to recognize that everything has a price tag and how the little things we do add up.
Good luck!
Thank you guys so much. I am just cheap! I hate to spend that much money on a game. I dont even let him play on the Wii that much. UGH! Why can’t kids just save their money all through their childhoods so parents don’t have to worry when they go off on their own!!?!?!
Amy – That is a great point. I think having him see how much will be left once he has spent the money on the game could be impactful for him. He does love seeing the BIG pile.
Jenny – I love your beverage exchange idea. That is one I might start. So you have real bank accounts for the girls too? I like your system of matching what goes in the bank.
Thank you girls. I really appreciate your help!
I’m cheap too Shannan!! When Rodney says ‘oh, it’s only $35 now’ I still think “for a game??” But boys will be boys and they love their video games more than anything else I can think of most of the time! lol
Yeah, seeing that HUGE pile of money disappear might be a deal breaker for him….especially if he’s a horder (my sister was, I’d throw my allowance away hand over fist but she knew to the PENNY how much she had and would save it forever!)
I like the beverage exchange idea too!! Thanks for sharing Jenny
My oldest would take cold water over almost any other beverage in the world but the youngest is a juice fanatic, I’d love to see him trade up. I’m going to try that next time we are out! Heck I might even try it at home! 
It sounds like if he hoards money he is already a saver. That is good. It does sound like a lot but in the grand scheme of life $50 and a lesson learned at this age could be a small investment if he turns out not to like it or give it up in a week.
Has he actually played the game? Maybe you could encourage him t rent it first to see if that is what he really wants.
In the end, I think that it is a good to teach him things and if he has saved up, he has saved up. He will learn the value of a $ if he decides he wants something else next week. That, and you will have a willing worker.
Yep. I’d let him buy it. Most important is that he knows what you say is what you mean. You’ll lose a chunk of trust if you don’t follow thru. I would choose a good, calm time to sit down & talk about how much $$ it is and how much other stuff he can buy, etc. Maybe even that you don’t think it’s the best way to spend it, but that it’s his choice & you will honor your word.
Most likely, he’ll happily buy it. If he’s soon sad that he has no savings for something else, he’ll learn a valuable lesson thru natural consequences, which is absolutely the best way for kids to learn.
I agree with other commenters that you should follow through with your promise. You can use this as an opportunity to teach your son about trade-offs and the value of money.
Try suggesting that if he waits, he can keep more of his savings (=games) by buying the game used. This also introduces the idea that once you own something you can sell it once you no longer want it.
If he decides he wants it now, you can help instill the value of “letting your fingers do the walking” by finding who has the lowest price with him.
Oh, and you can also teach him to be a little entrepreneur & charge his friends and neighborhood kids to play the game if he wants it now and it’s in short supply.
The game is already his. You have to let him get it because at this point you can’t go against your word that if he saved the $, he could buy it. He has to know you follow thru on your word & that even though mommy disagrees with how he should spend it, Mommy has integrity. So don’t think twice, get him the game, & who cares if it took all his savings. We all make decisions in our lives that we regret, but we also make ones we know are right for only us. That is, let him spend ALL of it on the Wii, & let him decide if it was a worthwhile purchase. Love you!
Miss Jana Crepe Suzette
You guys are awesome. I know I have to let him get the game. I just hate that it’s so expensive.
Thank you all for weighing in!!
My 7yr old saved his money for 13 months and bought a $300 water slide. (lots of lost teeth, xmas money, and chores) I am super cheap and never buy toys. But it was his money. Naturally, I blogged about it.
He purchased it ONLY after I convinced him that it was a lot of money and he needed to help out an organization. So we bought a book bag with supplies to donate to a local organization. Only after that did we go and buy him his slide.
Everyone felt good.
I have the same problem with my daughter – I can barely get her off the computer. Actually, though, I think it’s a good that he is learning the value of money. He has saved a long time for it (saving is a good thing!) so he’ll see how easy it is for all of it to go away. It will probably add to his sense of self-esteem, as well as his excitement about the game, that he was able to save all that money and pay for it himself.
I was at Toys r Us with Chrissy buying presents for birthday parties she’s attending. Of course, she wanted something. I told her she’d have to do chores to pay for it. Well, she didn’t like that. But hey, when she gets older, she’ll learn she has to work for her money. BTW, thanks for your sweet comment on my blog.
A friend of mine has her kids save and pay 1/2 for all big items that they want. About a year ago her kids (7 & 10) wanted a Wii, REALLY BAD. She couldn’t fathom paying almost $300 for a video game system. She made a deal that if they (together) saved up 1/2 of the price she would pay the other 1/2. They saved and they got the Wii. Now she does the same thing with games and other such BIG price items. I think teaching them to save now is a good thing, even if it’s just saving for something down the road. LOL
It is his money and he saved up for it. This is a great lesson to show how saving can get you what you want. Let him buy the game and don’t worry about this taking all of his savings. You can’t take the money with you when you go, but he will have great memories of playing that game and having bought it with his own money! Let the baby shop, Shannan!!!!
I haven’t read the other comments, but if that’s what you told him then let him do it. It can be his first lesson of saving, spending, and possibly buyers’ remorse, (that is if he doesn’t like it once it’s home). He will also have to deal with the repercussions of having no money left to get something else. This is a pretty teachable moment. Use it! And you’ll save the $50!
When Ella gets money for chores, etc. She is allowed to put half of it in a box for spending money, and the other half goes in the piggy bank…eventually ending up in her savings account (because the thought of college for 4 kids terrifies me!). She is allowed to use the money in her “spending” box for whatever she pleases….no input from mom. But this teaches her about saving too, since half gets put into savings.
AND…I suggest buying the game used. Gamestop in Ft. Wright has a great system, they let you test the used games for 7 days, if you don’t like it you can return it. And I think they have a 30 day return policy for messed up games.
-Katie
I agree to let him get it as well. If he doesn’t like it, it may make him think twice before buying another video game. We also request that the girls put 1/2 of whatever they receive in their savings account. It works, because now my older one only counts the money that she has available to her to spend not the savings. Although the other child is a different story.
even though we have that game at the library (and having a program but for ages 8-adult), I’d say hold up your end of the deal and let him get it but first let him know that $54 was earned over 4 years of his life, not over night.
At his previous rate, he needs to save/earn about $1 a month until his 8th birthday.