A Reward So Sweet

Caleb has become quite the money man over the past few months.  He keeps his allowance and earnings safe in his billfold and counts it at least twenty times a day.  Just in case.  He was so excited yesterday when I offered to trade him a twenty dollar bill for his twenty ones.  You would have thought that I had given him a million dollars.  He told me his wish had finally come true.  Obviously, he had never had such a large bill take up residence in his little wallet.  I think he checked his billfold twenty-one times yesterday to make sure his twenty was secure. 

He has learned a lot about saving over the past few months, which brings a smile to this frugal momma's face.  We raised his allowance at the beginning of the summer to $5 every other week.  After he tithes and puts some savings in his piggy bank, he gets to put the rest in his billfold, which has also become a little savings account.  I really thought Caleb would be a kid who would take his money and run, spending it before it had time to hit his pocket. He has proven me wrong on that.  He learned pretty quickly, that unless it was his birthday or Christmas, Momma and Dada were not going to be supplying his Star Wars Lego collection.  So, he knew that in order to leave the toy aisle with a prize in hand, he would have to save the money and buy it himself.  And those things are costly.  The first few he bought were in the twenty dollar range.  Steep for a five-year-old, but doable after a few months of saving his allowance, birthday money, extra chores and a grandparent slipping an extra buck or two his way. 

But his last goal was a whopping sixty dollars!  Honestly, I didn't think he would save up the money until after his birthday, when he might have some birthday money to give him a boost, but again, he surprised me.  He did extra chores and jobs for anyone who would throw some work his way.  He even asked his buddy, Elliott, for a dollar and of course, his generous friend obliged.  Although I wasn't too happy about that, it was hard to refuse with Elliott's enthusiasm to give toward Caleb's cause, so I let him keep it with the promise that he would not panhandle his friends anymore.  He worked and saved for over four months and I am still not quite sure how he earned all of that money, but he did!  And boy was he proud.

His final job came from Aunt B, when he only needed three more dollars to reach his goal.  Aunt B offered him the job of cleaning out her car and with a little help from Dada, he tackled it and did an outstanding job!  Oh, the joy of finishing a job and realizing that your hard work has paid off.  He got his Star Wars ship and as an added bonus, Aunt B got to help him assemble his little beauty!

Caleb's initial reaction when he found out he had met his goal.

Viola!!  The finished product!