$250 is plenty for a week . . . Really?

When asked his opinion on how his first week of grocery shopping went, Tim said that it was "pretty terrible." He didn't like going to the grocery store every day (his choice initially) and he didn't like all the complaining he heard from his sisters.

I, on the other hand, think his first week was far from terrible, so I pressed him to find some positives in the experience. This is when he said:

"Well, $250 is plenty for a week."

Really.

He did, in fact, have money left over, $40. (Let me just mention here that I have now heard the following question from each child, "what happens to the money if we have some left over?" Now, we all know that my enterprising youngsters would like the answer to that question to be, "it's all yours, spend away!" Never going to happen, my friends!)

I asked Tim if is was possible that the complaining he heard from his sisters was any relation at all to the fact that he had money left over, since their biggest complaint was, "Tim only buys food HE likes!" and "there are NO snacks here!" I see a direct correlation between leftover cash and hungry, complaining sisters.

I will grant that I hear a lot of complaining when I am in charge, too, but my complaints come from a lack of preferred choices, not a lack of any choices. No one goes hungry in my kitchen!

So, my analysis is this. Tim had it pretty easy. Why? Because I gave him complete control, and I did not complain. When a cucumber was served as the green vegetable, I went with it. When pasta -- from the pantry -- was served for a second meal, we ate it. He also had it easy because his was the first week; the pantry was pretty full and he did not have to purchase several things that I would normally buy. The pasta? $2.29 per box (Barilla, gluten free, really tasty), and we served three boxes this week. Had he been home for the Alfredo, it would have been four boxes -- there goes $10 of his $40! He used cereal as the primary choice for breakfast; at well over $3.00 a box he saved money by not having to buy that this week as well. Caroline, on the other hand, has to buy at least two boxes of cereal tomorrow.

I think it is going to be important that each child take on the project for two weeks. Tim is pleased that he has extra money, but started with an advantage. He should also learn some things from the weeks the girls shop, about Rule #7 especially, since they are likely to not buy anything he likes. What goes around comes around, so he might be the next hungry teen!