From Carter's To Cartier

I created a monster. My sister's son wanted to buy a small can of Pringles at swim school. I smelled markup. Instead of paying more for less my suggestion was to visit Safeway in the same shopping center.

They had a sale on Pringles- the full size can- and it cost roughly the same. I was trying to teach him a lesson. Now when I go to swim school it becomes "When are you taking me to Safeway?"

The children used to be fascinated by the fish tank. Even the loose bike rack outside the swim school was entertaining. Their parents give them an allowance and a lot of their money is spent at the store.

It shows them the value of money. Their daughter goes over budget. A six year old in debt- is she going to learn or will this lead to a cycle of "Someone will cover it"?

She enjoys stuffed animals. Heck, I have a couple stuffed animals attained over the years. I don't sleep with them. They are nice to have. She bought a cupcake purse and stuffed dog. At retail.

They look good. She is now twenty dollars in the hole. With a five dollar per week allowance she might not be able to buy anything for a month. I need to introduce her to Ollie's Discount.

I discovered this chain in my travels. It is a good chain with markdowns. Some items are junk. Don't buy those. It's one thing to let the children loose at a yard sale or thrift shop. How are they going to learn the value of money at retail?

Don't get me started at what Chuck E Cheese has become. When they were on the token system games cost a quarter, maybe fifty cents. Now they buy a card with value and keep using that card until the money runs out or the hour- depending on the plan selected.

It is indoctrination that will inspire these children to piss away money in casinos later in life. I hardly saw children accumulating tickets they could redeem for cheap prizes.

My sister's daughter enjoys claw machines. One of my classmates referred to that as "The Ripoff Machine" when his son wanted to almost grab a stuffed animal. Children have to learn for themselves. It's fine to buy something fancy. They are not earning money and will have to learn the importance of saving. Hopefully not the hard way.