Savin', Spendin' and Shoulder Buddies

If you have no idea who these two are then consider yourself lucky...

For months and months Lo has been talking about these Shoulder Buddies non-stop. I now know the name of EVERY kid at school that has one, where you can buy them and how much they cost ("Six dollars and some cents"). Basically they are plastic troll dolls that have a magnet. You put the little magnet disk under you clothes and then the Buddie sits on top. They all have cute little names and have their own "smarts" (a positive message to share), they sit on your shoulder and remind your child of whatever their focus is. Great concept, but it's totally lost on my girls-they like them because they are cute and "EVERYONE else has one." 

As you may remember, the hubby and I have really been trying to make the girls earn the things that they want so the ONLY way Lo was getting a SB was to earn the six dollars and "some cents" herself. After buying her Bitty Baby her cash flow was pretty much gone so it took another few months to get all the money she needed. Finally after weeks and months of waiting she had enough! We went to the store yesterday and she is now the proud owner of Tempo, the music loving SB.

She is truly ecstatic and I hope that by earning it herself it means more to her than if she was just given the Buddie. I think it was a good lesson for her (and myself). She got to make the decision to save or spend her money they way she wanted to. I really tried not to give my input or coach her one way or the other. She has been more responsible with her money and I have noticed that she hasn't been asking for things as much as she used to. We are really focusing one being grateful for what we already have and little-by-little I think it's sinking in.

Noa bought a SB for herself too. Her name is Sam and she is a patriot. She also has the same hairstyle as Noa so it's a perfect match!

The next big save is for their birthdays in December and January. They have both decided that instead of a party they want to go to the American Girl Doll store in Chicago. The deal is that Mommy and Daddy will buy each of them a doll for their birthday, but they'll have to save for the accessories themselves.

I see a lot of extra chores in their future.