By: Mia L. Hazlett
7/19/14
There was a time when I used to feel guilty for what I couldn’t do for my kids. In all honesty, those times continue to drift in and out of my life, but now in the blink of an eye they’re gone. They no longer bring tears or reckless spending to compensate.
Instead of trying to plan a big summer vacation I can’t afford, I keep my eyes on my goal, buying a house this year. Will my children have exciting vacation stories to swap when they return to school on September? I doubt it.
But the one lesson I need to instill in my children, NEVER live outside of your means. It was funny to me as I walked around the grocery store today with my youngest. If you’ve ever gone grocery shopping for your home before, you comprehend the difference between the errand grocery shopping and doing a “big run”. You know what I mean. Your house is out of all the condiments and I don’t know how I let this slip, but only three coffee K-cups left.
So the grocery cart was on full and she was worried about the cost. You see when we were going through it, we never had a full grocery cart. I was honest with them about needing bread for their sandwiches for lunch and wanting Popsicles for dessert. Luckily with this “big run”, she was able to throw in all her wants.
If there’s another thing I can share, let your kids read the receipt. It will tell you the total, how many items you purchased, and how much you saved by buying sale items. You see I spent enough to take them away for a nice little road trip, but I would have sacrificed feeding them. It sounds stupid, but I know people who have made that ridiculous sacrifice.
I almost felt guilty for my daughter being so worried about a full grocery basket, but it was quickly replaced with pride as I realized she understood the value of a dollar. Yeah. There’s no guilt here.
Copyright © 2014 Mia L. Hazlett
Mia L. Hazlett 