Chapter 14: Saving makes "cents"

So the other day Scott and I were talking with the kids about a possible vacation to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole this summer, and we were explaining to them that if we want to go we need to save our money. Well of course the kids were all for the vacation, and they said that they already have money saved (Well, 2 of the 4 anyway), from birthdays and allowance and such. So Scott, being the wise old man that he is, said that we need to look for other ways to save money, and not necessarily just with coins and bills(yeah the kids had the same look too). So he explained that we can save money as a family by reducing wasteful actions, for example:

-when brushing teeth, shut off water.
-turn off lights when not needed.
-less t.v. and video games.
-make sure the clothes in the laundry are indeed dirty.
-eat all your dinner (do not waste food)
-do not stand in front off the fridge with the door open.

and so on and so forth, soooooooooo later that night I was cleaning up and Scott overheard the kids in one of their bedrooms, they had decided a good way to earn some money was for them to sale some of their things they no longer wanted or needed. GOOD IDEA!!! right, well except for the fact that they were just selling the items to one another. Huh! well at least it is the thought that counts, I guess they figured that way their stuff would still be around and they could just take it back if they wanted to.

So as if that wasn't funny enough, this morning before school, I was having the kids clean their rooms, and it is still dark enough in the morning that you do need to turn on a light or two. Well everytime I would go by the boys' bedroom I would turn on their light for them so they could see their "mess" better, and then when I would go back by their room the light was off again, after needing to turn on their light a few more times, I finally just asked Bradley (as he was using a dust buster to vacuum in the dark) why he wouldn't leave the light on. His response; "I am saving money by not using the lights and using the dust buster since it has batteries." Ha Ha, clever kid, sometimes their logic in doing things just makes me smile. Needless to say, after he went to school, I turned on the lights and drug out the big vacuum using all the electricity I could to finish cleaning their rooms. I guess we will have to see how this "family savings plan" pans out, and if the kids can keep up with their creative plans for saving.