Back to School Money Questions: Why Don't We Do Cool Things?

This is my third blog post on the topic of the money and job questions that my kids and I talked about over the summer.  The first two blog posts can be found and .

This next question came from both of my kids, almost word-for-word in detail.  That is, “How come we don’t do all the cool things that (insert name of friend’s family here) does”

I further clarified this question to really be about why our family did not repeatedly go on exotic vacations, spring breaks, camps, etc. Here was the way I took on this concern of my kid’s.

Most parents realize that all kids compete with clothes, phones, camps, vacations, spring breaks, etc.  What they don’t realize is that kids don’t understand why there is a competition in the first place.

I explained to my kids that no family is more superior or “cooler” than any other family.  For them to think so was foolish.

Also, I reminded them that every family makes a decision on how they spend the money that they earn. Just like houses, cars, and phones, families decide how they spend their other money as well.

I told my kids that the personal items that you have or the places that you go is not a contest.  There is no prize at the end of the year.  No family wins or loses based on the amount of money they spend every year.

Next, I did my very best to explain what the term “Keeping up with the Joneses” means.  I think I got my point across.

Last, I reminded my kids of the places they have been and the things that they have.  They understood that they too shared in the family money decisions that were made in the past. And they felt much better about that fact.

Ric Lager
Lager & Company, Inc.