A Penny Saved

For several months now, Caroline has been saving money for a new Barbie. We explained to her that we couldn't just buy her toys for no reason all the time, and her birthday and Christmas were far away, so if she wanted something she was going to have to work, save, and be patient. She did really well with this, and had a bank that she collected coins in. If she found coins on the street, or if Dave gave her change from his pockets, or if she did extra "chores" to earn money she would put it in her bank and every now and again she'd pull it out and ask us to help her count. Some of the chores that Caroline can do for money are:
-Dusting the living room with a Swiffer duster
-Cleaning her room with no help (if she asks for help she doesn't get the $)
-Wiping the kitchen table and counters with a washcloth
-Setting the table for dinner


After several months of this, Caroline started to get restless with her money. She no longer wanted to save and wanted to spend it on things like Icee's at Target. So we told her that if she would keep earning and saving that in 2 weeks she could go get her Barbie and we would pay the difference if she was short.


She knew exactly which one she wanted ahead of time. She has had her eye on it for quite a while! When we went to Walmart and they didn't have it, I was a little worried, thinking that they stopped making it - it's been a long time since she started saving!


But we went to Target and there it was! She was so proud to hand her money to the cashier who was nice and patient (we didn't use all the pennies and nickels- she gave those to Dave who gave her paper and quarters).


She loves her Bicycle Barbie and hopefully since she had to work and wait for it, she'll take good care of it too!