Delayed Gratification...Teaching our boys to create their own savings accounts.

Perry and I have been working really hard with the boys to set long term goals and teach them to save their money for something they truly desire rather then something of quick gratification. It seems there are moments in our parenting that we sit back and evaluate and prioritize our goals we want to accomplish with our kids as they grow. Recently our priorities have been focused and centered around budgeting and teaching our boys to work hard and save their money. A very important life lesson for these soon to be young men and future fathers.

We feel if we can instill the value of money and hard work in the kids at an early age it will be second nature to them as they get older. As adults we want them to be able to be self reliant and not weighed down with debt. We want them to be patient and save their money for the things they need or want. No goal is to far fetched. Anything is possible to achieve and theres no greater feeling of accomplishment then when you can save your hard earned cash and save yourself the terrible thorns of debt. To us its all about Delayed gratification. Reaping what your sow. What a great life lesson we all as members of this family can learn. We want our boys to find joy in hard work and patience in saving money. I agree with what the experts say about poeple having more respect for the things they work for. I have seen great changes in my boys throughout this journey. Chores have taught them to follow through on tasks that are given to them. To conquer your goals and never give up, to have a helping heart and willingness to work hard for something long term. They have been saving every last penny for the past 4 months for their top choice toy. We formulated a small visual savings account in our kitchen and hung our goals were we could wake up daily and be reminded of the efforts in our hard work and the patience in achieving these goals. The kids never once complained or was found frustrated through this process. They gladly did their chores and enjoyed watching their savings grow each week. They had great pride in their eyes as they handed over their 44.00 in savings to the cashier and was finally rewarded with their choice toy and benefited from all their hard work.


*Mom and Dads goal has been to set aside a certain amount of cash for Christmas. We have almost met this goal.
*Tyler's Goal was to save for this super duper Fireman Lego Boat 44.00
*Trevor's Goal was to save for his favorite Toy Story Lego Train Set 44.00
The boys have beat us to it, but we're keeping a steady pace and moving steadily behind them.
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Last week the boys both reached their goals and had finally saved enough money for their reward. We made it a special day. We went to the bank and withdrawld their money from the savings account and let them each pay for their own toy. Trevor was beyond excited to have so much "real" money in his hands and be able to purchase something at the store all by himself. Its was a pretty neat experience for him.


Tylers Fireman Boat was quit the effort to find. A toy he had been looking at for months is now sold out on the shelf. Though it made for a long morning we did discover his Fireman Boat at the other Wal-Mart in town and he was able to finally purchase his dream toy. After giving the cashier his money he immediately fell to the floor with his toy in utter excitement and just sat there staring at this huge accomplishment and long time dream that was now a reality. I could see that respect...that pride in his eyes for his hard work. Its was awesome.



The minute we arrived home from the store both boys dived into their boxes and within minutes were completely engaged and focused in building and creating their toys. Trevor put his together pretty quick, whereas Tyler didnt eat or drink for 5 hours until his boat was done. To him it was super crucial for his boat to be built and ready to play with in his bath that night. I love how he didnt give up, it may have taken him all afternoon but he poured his heart and soul into that lego set and conquered it with such great zeal and pride. I was very proud of him.




Onto our next goal. Tyler is now saving for his very own "Spywear" and Trevor is saving for a really cool "Batman Cave". And once Mommy and Daddy reach our goal, our next big goal will be to save for a new Dish Washer. WoooooHooooo things us Parents get excited about. Ha Ha Ha