Motherwise Cracks

To this day, even though my kids are older, I don’t understand why people spend so much on their children for Christmas gifts. And all this talk of how times are tight and yet, we are off and running at 4 PM on Thanksgiving day to go break the bank. No, I don’t get that. And if you are talking about expensive gifts, neither do my kids. Still.

So when I hear parents start to complain about the bills, I have no sympathy. Why would you spend what you can’t afford? Seems like simple math to me. Why would you want to teach your kids that it is okay to live beyond your budget? When did the word “budget” become a dirty word? Seems like some people assume that all people are born to be rolling in the dough and living the life of excess. I live on a budget. I feel no shame for it.

So am I “mean” for limiting my spending to about $75 per child. If I am, like I was just told I was, so what? Things like Wiis, iPads and Smart Phones are not little things and one should feel some pain when they get one or one will never learn to value a dollar. If they need those things (which they don’t, they want them) they can get a job. That is how you learn the value of a dollar – when you have to work for it. It doesn’t happen when it’s given away at no cost.

Mrs. Scrooge?

I prefer Mrs. Balanced Bank Account.