When we first started trying to teach our daughter about the value of money, as most children, she didn’t get it. But as I was tired of her begging at the checkout for new Pet Shop pets (oh, and thank you Target for starting to offer those in the checkouts, ya great), we decided to have her buy her own toys at the store. But what happened was amazing.

Instead of being all excited to spend her hard earned allowance ($1 a week for her chores), she was apprehensive. The first time I took her she bought two toys, both about $7 a piece. The look on her face when all of those hard earned dollars left her little fist was priceless. Even though she was rather sad that she didn’t have the money anymore (and still shocked that we didn’t buy it for her) she was none-the-less proud to have bought them herself.

The next time we went to the store and all the times since then, she has blown my mind by saying she wants to save her money. My little kindergartener wants to save her money! What? Not buy toys? Mommie is confused.

Since then, the value of the dollar has become more important to her. We have not gone back to buying her anything at stores just to buy them, if she wants something; she knows she can always buy it. If only Mommie could pass up all the impulse buys like her 6 year old and instead save every penny.