By: Genna Jenkin
The Your Smart Money Moves Mom
In this world where everyone is a self-proclaimed expert, (bloggers included!), it’s often difficult to decipher who is left to take all this advice that so many of us are doling out. As I take a step back and take stock of my credentials I realize that I may not have any life-changing “tips”, but what I hope is that the small items I do share may at least cause a little “shift” in how you look at your spending habits.
To this end, I recently experienced a very life-affirming moment with my teenage daughter. It was a dreary Saturday and I was bracing myself for the barrage of requests to take her to the mall or the movies or maybe bowling to stave off boredom. However, to my surprise, she had something else in mind. Instead of all those money-guzzling activities she chose to invite a couple of her girlfriends over. They proceeded to do each other’s nails, watch some movies (old DVD’s NOT on demand), and discuss shopping for prom dresses at local consignment stores! Who are these creatures and what have they done to my girls?
Is it possible that some of what my daughter has seen and heard through the years from her father and I has sunk in? Maybe just a little. And maybe that’s enough, for now. I’m not foolish enough to think that she won’t take certain parts of her life for granted and that next weekend they will all plan to go play laser-tag and then dinner, and heaven help us when we really need to start making those prom plans! What I will take from this and I will hope you will too is to continue to stress those small, mundane and seemingly meaningless ideas behind mindful spending. It will seek in even if it’s not always apparent.
For now though, I can smile contentedly and know that, for a brief moment in time, some of the endless advice I have barraged her with (as I do to those of you who read this) has sunk in and impacted a small part of her life. What more can a parent (and blogger) ask for?
