Joel has been learning about coins and dollars, and is quite fast at the math involved with money.
He has this toy cash register that my mom gave him a couple years back. It wasn't half as much fun then as it is now that he understands the value of money.
He has this toy cash register that my mom gave him a couple years back. It wasn't half as much fun then as it is now that he understands the value of money.
More or less.
The cash register has a battery-operated scanner, an attached microphone, bills and coins, and--sadly--a credit card. (It was cute to see Joel had recently signed his name in cursive across the entire back of it.)
Saturday morning he asked, "Mom, will you play money with me? I have a store and this is your money. You can buy whatever you want. Spend it all. You have to spend it all before the game ends." He handed me a stack of ones, fives, tens, and twenties about two inches thick.
"Okay, I'll buy this pencil, this mug, a deck of cards, and a pair of shoes."
He rang up each one like this: 1.00, 2.00, .50, and 9.00. All right. Fair enough.
I still had a lot of cash left.
I then bought a half-used scented candle, a napkin holder, a plate, and a piece of fridge art.
Still had a lot of money left. After a few rounds of spending under 15 bucks, and seeing that it could feasibly take till lunch to blow through my bills, I started racking up what I thought would be larger tab.
"I'll buy this atlas which I think is $30--"
"No--my store is cheap. It's only $20." he informed me joyfully.
Rats. I wasn't looking for a bargain.
"Okay, I'll take the piano," I said, hoping to lay out 300 smackers.
"The piano is also twenty dollars," he said.
"What? Are you crazy? The piano and the book cost the same? "
Saturday morning he asked, "Mom, will you play money with me? I have a store and this is your money. You can buy whatever you want. Spend it all. You have to spend it all before the game ends." He handed me a stack of ones, fives, tens, and twenties about two inches thick.
"Okay, I'll buy this pencil, this mug, a deck of cards, and a pair of shoes."
He rang up each one like this: 1.00, 2.00, .50, and 9.00. All right. Fair enough.
I still had a lot of cash left.
I then bought a half-used scented candle, a napkin holder, a plate, and a piece of fridge art.
Still had a lot of money left. After a few rounds of spending under 15 bucks, and seeing that it could feasibly take till lunch to blow through my bills, I started racking up what I thought would be larger tab.
"I'll buy this atlas which I think is $30--"
"No--my store is cheap. It's only $20." he informed me joyfully.
Rats. I wasn't looking for a bargain.
"Okay, I'll take the piano," I said, hoping to lay out 300 smackers.
"The piano is also twenty dollars," he said.
"What? Are you crazy? The piano and the book cost the same? "
"Yup. Nothing in my store costs more than twenty dollars."
Oh. Okay. I can play that game, happy to see an end in sight.
Well, once I shelled out my last buck, I thanked him and told him he was a good businessman and smart cashier. I got up to head out of the "store."
"Wait!" he exclaimed, waving the plastic Power Card at me. "You still have a credit card! You can buy anything you want. You don't even need money to pay for stuff!"
I think I saw the ghost of Larry Burkett frowning at me from the dining room.
3 comments:
It is hilarious even if he does mean it...I rather like the way he does business, especially since it was not my piano he sold for twenty dollars!
I'm fairly convinced that kids don't really quite understand money value until they begin paying bills (including insurance, Dr. bills and TAXES) on their own!
"Larry Burkett frowning at me from the dining room"...You're so funny!
I like the deals in his store - especially considering he gives out the money in the first place...
My grandmother has a story about my aunt when my grandmother told her that she didn't have enough money to buy something: "Why don't you just write your name on a piece of paper?" At first my grandmother was confused, then she realized that she meant a check.
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