Flexible Family Frugality

Eric and I have always made it a priority to share our frugality with our children. We discuss smart spending with them. We talk about why certain things are just not worth the price. And we make sure to instill in them a feeling of responsibility for the things that we own.

Our kids understand that we buy only what we truly need. But Eric and I have learned that sometimes, a small treat goes a long way. We want our children to embrace the wisdom of frugality and not grow up resenting it. That's why we like to be flexible with our frugality at times.

I just shared a perfect example of how we adults were flexible with our frugality. The kids benefit from this mindset too, although on a smaller yet more frequent level. After all, the treats for kids tend to cost less than my new winter jacket!

Last weekend presented the perfect opportunity for flexible frugality. I took the girls to a bookstore while we were waiting for Eric and Alex to finish up some errands. In the car and as we walked into the store, I reminded them that we were just looking. As we walked around the Children's section, Isabelle spotted The Tale of Despereaux.

Now, I knew this was a book she really wanted. When we were visiting my family over Thanksgiving, she read the first few chapters in her cousin's copy of the book and really enjoyed it. She picked it up and started flipping through it. I made a split-second decision to buy it for her. This girl helps out so much and loves reading as much as Eric and I do, if not more.

However, I didn't tell her right away that we'd get it. I told her to hold on to it and maybe we'd get it. When we were getting ready to leave the children's section, we spotted a special Tale of Despereaux display. The cover on those books looked different than the one Isabelle had originally picked up. Upon closer examination, we realized that her copy was a move tie-in and not the full book. Isabelle checked the price on the full book and saw that it was $2 more than the other one. I just told her it was okay and we'd get the full book, even though it cost a little more. I really don't think she believed me first, but she was pleasantly surprised.

Small actions like that don't add up to very much, but they sure go a long way in keeping the kids from feeling resentful of our lifestyle.

Pick up more of Friday's Frugal Ideas at A Cowboy's Wife and stop by Crystal's blog for more Frugal Friday.