2019-2020 was an exercise in teaching our elementary school-aged children personal finance, driving independence, and encouraging them to make constrained resource decisions.
The kids love video games. Surprising, right?
When Little Man was eight, had his eyes on a Nintendo™ Switch for a very long time. Target has a demo console available to play and whenever we passed by the electronics department he got sidetracked by it. Truthfully - we even encouraged him to save up for it.
I don’t love video games at all, but the bigger idea was to help Little Man learn to save up for something meaningful to him. His initial inclination was to put every $15 he had into yet another set of Pokémon™ cards. While we tried not to stand in his way from blowing his allowance on them, we definitely screamed loud objections inside our heads with every booster pack he bought. Our house is carpeted with the darned things. Getting him onto the idea of saving his money for a Switch helped shift his attention.
Initially, he thought the Switch costs $60. He was very excited when he had enough to buy one. Imagine the devastation when he figured out that they cost $300. $60 is the list price for games after the console itself has been bought. Those numbers felt unattainable.
Still, he started saving up his lunch money to try for this magical item. It was easier in the summer without the lunch line temptations, compounded with some birthday money that he received in June. He talked about the Switch. He dreamed about the Switch. He watched videos about it and dreamed about playing Pokémon™ Go on the Switch. It became a bit of an obsession.
On his own, he realized that there may be an alternate path to getting this object of his desire. He noticed that his sisters also had money – and they also like to play video games. Picking up from our school supply conversation where he needed to replace a broken ruler:
Mom: “You’re going to have to use some of your money to buy a new ruler that could have gone to a Nintendo™ Switch. Bummer.
Baby Girl (9 1/2): “He already has enough money to buy a Nintendo™ Switch, because we’re splitting the money so it can be both of ours. I’m paying $150, and he is paying $150.”
MP[1]: “It costs $300? You guys want a toy so bad that you’re spending $300?”
Little Man: “It’s a video game”
BG: “It’s a fun game!”
LM: “But we also need to save money to get the discs too”
MP: “And how much do they cost?”
LM: “Eh, about $5 each”
MP: “Are you sure about that? I think they’re probably more than that.” With a tweener grandson, she knew a little something.
Mom: “So let me ask you guys. Do you remember when you went to Game Stop and you bought used games?
LM: “Mmhmm”
Mom: “Did they still work just as well as the new game?”
LM: “Yes”
Mom: “Did you care if it was used?”
LM: “I didn’t care.”
Mom: “Exactly! Was that a good idea to buy a used video game instead of a new game?”
LM: “uh huh”
Mom: “Did it work just the same?”
LM: “uh huh”
Mom: “Did it save you a lot of money?”
LM: “uh huh”
Mom: “And now you can use that money for other things.”
LM: “uh huh”
Just as with reusing school supplies that still have life remaining, we want the children to consider reusing or secondhand shopping when it makes sense to do so. They learn that their dollars stretch further, with the same functionality.
Buying used can improve one of my favorite financial metrics - joy per dollar spent.
Finally, with a brilliant stroke of genius, Little Man negotiated with his big sister to go halfsies on the console and on one game. After a brief consideration, she agreed.
This is HUGE for a few reasons:
Siblings collaborating toward a common goal
Independent negotiation skills
Problem-solving
In the end, Baby Girl didn’t have quite enough to make up her half, but they didn’t want to wait an extra week. Per policy, the First Lennon Bank doesn’t make loans, but there’s no reason that the children cannot negotiate amongst themselves.
Little Man agreed to loan Baby Girl the difference interest-free (his decision). She repaid him a week later from her allowance, going without purchased school lunches to be able to make up the difference. Nowhere in this discussion did parents get involved, and both were satisfied with the outcome.
They still need to stay within their screen time limits, but the children have added to their fleet of devices through their own actions. They have skin in the game of keeping the devices in working condition, and the pride of having saved for and met a goal.
[1] MP is our own Mary Poppins, who adopted our family years ago. She looks after the littles and is our younger bonus family grandma.
Stephanie Brooke Lennon is the author of Family Bank Blueprint, GoldQuest, and What Would Water Do? Simple Strategies for Navigating Life's Obstacles. Her titles are available in Paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com. Follow Stephanie Brooke on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Amazon, and at BrookeLennon.com.