The Good
If someone did a survey of how people do their grocery shopping, I'm sure there would a vast number of methods. Caroline chose to do a large shopping trip early in the week, with plans to get a few things here and there as she needs to. I'm a big fan of this method myself, and even more so after hearing Tim complain all week about his more European style of shopping everyday. So Caroline has a firm plan, and we have lots of food in the house.
The Bad
Caroline is bossy. There are numerous bags in the cabinet labeled "DON'T OPEN UNTIL THURSDAY!" As you might imagine, Caroline and Tim have already had a dust up as to whether or not he is going to follow her policy. She also headed off to the store with a comprehensive list in hand; however, when I met her at the car, she was quite annoyed with me. "Mother, you wrote on my list in the wrong color ink!" Okaaayyyy.
The Anxiety
Here's where things get interesting. I have long been under the impression, and those who know her will probably agree, that Caroline is basically an even-keeled person. While she does have the occasional meltdown, most of those are directly related to how tired she is. Easy fix -- listen for a few minutes, bundle her into bed and start over again in the morning. In the past few days, though, I have discovered this project has brought out perfectionist tendencies and worry as yet unseen in our Caroline. Who knew that she would spend every day with that little worry wrinkle in between her eyebrows? So, even after extensive planning, list writing and quality shopping, we had the following conversation:
Caroline: "I am going to run out of money."
Mom: "How much do you have left?"
Caroline: "Two 20s and a 50."
Mom: "You mean $90?"
Caroline: "Yeah, it isn't enough."
Mom: "Are you going to the store tomorrow?"
Caroline: "No."
Mom: "Are you going to the store on Wednesday?"
Caroline (a little panicked): "Yes!"
Mom: "What are you buying?"
Caroline: "Grapes and celery."
Mom (thinking, okay, that's $10): "Are you going to the store on Thursday?"
Caroline: "No."
Mom: "Are you going to the store on Friday?"
Caroline: "Yes!"
Mom: "And you are buying?"
Caroline: "Two $5 rotisserie chickens!"
Mom (again, thinking $10): "You'll have enough."
Caroline (really panicked): "No! I will not have enough!"
Sigh.
This just keeps getting better and better!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteExperience is everything. I used a similar plan to teach our son about money. When he was 11 years old, I just started handing him $200 in tens and twenties on the first of each month. That had to cover everything except food at/from the kitchen (meaning if he packed school lunch at home, the lunch money part of the budget became discretional money for him), housing and, of course, medical and dental. He had envelopes for all the categories of stuff, and put cash in each envelope on the first. The School Supplies envelope was where he learned the power of saving and forgetting about the money. He was very scared that there would not be enough to cover all the notebooks and pens, etc., and was rather stunned to find way more than enough. He went on to become an economist. I'm not saying there was a causal impact, but....
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