Save or Spend

There were so many to look at…designs, themes, characters…the possibilities for creativity were endless. But unfortunately, his wallet was not.  

“Please, Harper! I know you have at least twenty-three dollars, I saw you counting the other day. If you lend me the money, I will pay you back!” Harley pleaded with his sister as he blocked her exit from the Lego aisle at the store.  

“No!” Harper remained firm, “It will take you forever to pay me back and I want to buy new accessories for my Barbie today anyways, I won’t have enough.”  

“Barbie? Really? You don’t need any more things for that silly doll of yours!” 

Harper glared at him, “Do you need any more Legos?”  

Harley quickly realized his mistake. If he had any hopes left of winning over his sister, he shouldn’t make any jabs at her current toy obsession.  

As he repositioned himself to make an apology as a last-ditch effort, Mom came into view, “Are you two almost set? I have everything I need.” Her shopping cart was full of odds and ends for the house.  

Harper opened her mouth to answer, but Harley quickly interrupted, “Almost, Mom, can we have two more minutes?” He looked back to his twin in desperation, the desire for this Lego set welling up, “Harper, please…” he whispered with urgency.  

Mom took a sip from her coffee cup not knowing the intensity of the battle of wills occurring a few feet from her.  

Harper took a deep breath in mock thought before shaking her head abruptly, “No,” she looked him square in the eye, “Mom, I just need to grab something one aisle over.” She pushed past her brother with an unnecessarily dramatic flair. 

Mom nodded, watching her go and leaving behind a defeated looking Harley, “You okay, Buddy?” 

Harley hastily shifted gears knowing his last chance to secure this Lego was through Mom, “I’m alright, Mom, how is your coffee?” 

Mom laughed uncertainly, “Haha, it’s good?” She raised her eyebrow, “What’s up?” 

“Nothing, nothing,” he said too quickly, “I was looking at the Legos and saw this new set over here,” he gestured to the one he wanted, “I was showing Harper.” 

“I see,” Mom came closer to look at it, noticing the price tag, “Why don’t you buy it?” 

“Well, the thing is…I don’t have quite enough for it today, I am a little short…” He put on his cutest face, “Would I be able to get an advance on my allowance?” 

Mom set the coffee in the holder on the cart, “What happened to the money from your last allowance?” 

“I still have a little bit left.” He said strongly 

“What about the Christmas money you received from your grandparents and aunt?” 

“I still have a little bit left…” his strength fading. 

“I see, and what did you spend that money on?” 

He thought back to the candy, sports cards, smaller Lego sets, and other items he bought at random. He looked at his feet, letting it sink in that he would not be leaving with this new Lego set.  

“Harley, it seems that whenever you receive a dollar, you spend it faster than a firecracker on the fourth of July.” 

“Well, that’s what money is for – to spend!” He shrugged, frustration mounting, he really wanted this set.  

“Hold on there,” Mom brought the cart into the aisle, “Harley, something that might not have occurred to you and perhaps your dad and I should have encouraged more of, is to save your money. Maybe if you hadn’t purchased all those smaller toys and things, you would have enough money now for this larger item.” 

“But I wanted those other things too.” 

“I see, but sometimes you need to prioritize what you want most and focus on saving your money up for that.” 

“Saving isn’t fun though; I don’t like seeing the money I have sitting around…it makes me want to spend it right away.” 

Mom tapped her foot and chin, “I can understand that, how about this: what if I buy you a Piggy bank today? This way you can save money without seeing it every day. Dad and I can help you create a chart that you can update every time you put something in it so you always know how much you have but aren’t tempted to spend it. How does that sound?” 

Harley looked back at the Lego set taunting him on the shelf. He knew that he could be better with how he spent his money, and Mom’s idea would help him be more accountable with savings, yet this didn’t take away the desire he had in this moment, “It sounds good,” he sighed, “I just really wanted this today.” 

Mom touched his shoulder in support, “It will still be here when you have enough, and using your own money to buy it will feel so much better, trust me.” She squeezed.  

“Alright, let’s start saving.” Harley said with a deep breath as he said goodbye in his head to the Lego set. 

**What do you do when you receive money? Do you save it or like to spend it right away? Talk to your parents about creating a budget to responsibly keep track of your money so when the desire arises, you have a path to obtain it.