Dad, what are you doing with your money?

As if she didn't get enough presents over the holidays, my daughter has decided that she wants to buy another Liv doll. Now, she's not even 6 yet, but I've told her that if she wants this doll, which costs around $18-$20, she would have to save up her money and buy it herself.

So the first thing she does is start asking me if I have any dollars in my wallet. I tell her no. She starts running around the house looking for change. Every time she finds a penny, she runs up and tells me about it.

So, when my husband gets home from work, and the first question out of her mouth is, "Dad, what are you doing with your money?" My husband is aghast, and wonders where this is coming from. She then goes into a diatribe explaining to him that she has $4.32 and she needs to find more money to pay for her doll. It was actually quite funny.

Now, we don't give her an allowance, so I told her that if she could think of any projects around the house, I would pay her a little money to do them. She starts getting all upset because she can't think of any and the thought of not having enough money to buy this doll is just killing her.

Then her big brother (who's 22) steps in and tells her that he will give her $10 if she folds his laundry. Now before you say anything, this kid had a lot of laundry to fold, and he's tall, so it was big laundry for her. She diligently runs downstairs and spends hours struggling with folding his laundry to earn her $10.

Then hubby goes down there and comes back up and tells me she didn't do a very good job. I said, well, she's only 5 after all. I told her that I was very proud of her for taking the initiative and working for something she wanted.

Isn't it amazing the lengths kids will go to when they want something? And on the flip side, when they don't want something?