Sunday afternoon while I was cleaning out some shelves I found a container of change that I had started a while back but had not labeled for a purpose. I decided to make it a Kindle2 or Not project. Since I am still not sure the Kindle2 would be the best purchase for me, I thought that it would be good to save for one and then decide. I counted up the money in the container, threw in some money from a recent rebate, and my youngest threw in some "just because" money, for a total of $66.72.
My boys are behind my project 100%. In fact the youngest looked around outside his school today and found sixteen cents to add to the container.
I think it is good for the boys to see me save up for something I want that is expensive. It shows them that you don't have to run out and buy something just because you want it.
Some people have told me it is silly to save up money this way, and say I will never get $359.00 just by throwing some change in a jar. Evidently they have never saved up for something this way before, but I have done this many times. There is something about saving up every little penny to make a purchase that makes the item much more valuable once you have it in your hands.
The problem comes in trying to decide what money goes into the container. Since junk food often calls my name, I have decided that any time I am able to put off the urge to buy something like chips, candy, etc. then the money I would have spent on the junk food will go into the container. Found money will also go into the container. (I know that a lot of people do not pick up the pennies on the ground, but I do.)
In the meantime I will be researching and deciding if I really will get my money back through the purchase of a Kindle2.
