Reply to Guac and queso if you make over $450k

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We never get extras like that, but we make less than 150k. I feel like if we made over 450k, we'd splurge more often. But I do agree with making sure kids understand that extras cost more. A lot of kids don't get that at all because their parents have never explained it, and never put ANY limits on what they get based on cost. You can tell this in the behavior of a lot of kids.[/quote]

I don’t agree.  My parents didn’t put limits on stuff like this when I was a kid, but when I left their house and my food budget was $200/month, I figured it out.  
I mean, getting guac on my burrito didn’t make me stupid. I could still do simple math.  
[/quote]

It's not just about learning to budget. It's about learning how the world works.

I have kids in elementary, and[b] it's very easy to tell the difference between the kids whose parents are teaching them that stuff costs money and that money is not infinite, versus the ones whose parents just buy them whatever without any discussion or reference to money.[/b]

I've watched 9 year olds tease a kid for not having an X-box, for never having been to Disney, for having the wrong shoes. They do this because they literally think the only reason not to have that stuff is being so uncool you don't know you should get it. Because for them, that's the only obstacle -- knowing about stuff they want. Once they know, they just tell their parents and their parents buy it. So the concept that a kid might know what an Xbox is, and want an Xbox, but not have one because his parents can't afford one, doesn't even cross their minds.

And people who grow up with that mindset carry it into adulthood, even after they learn how money works. I'm in my 40s and I still encounter people who will look at you just totally baffled because you don't have something they have. I've learned this is actually a good way to vet how down to earth someone is -- mention something you would like but note that it's just not in your budget right now. The way people react to that tells you a lot about them. The people who are just totally confused or try to argue with you about it (that's my favorite, the people who will sit there and explain that of course you can afford something, despite not knowing anything about your finances) are just clueless, and you have to be careful around them.[/quote]

How could you possibly know this? Unless you’re in the house with the parents observing how they’re raising their kids, you only ASSUME you know based on observations of the kids’ behavior. It’s a common assumption made by folks who don’t understand that kids are people.[/quote]

Sure, kids are people. People who are heavily influenced by their experiences. You can absolutely tell what kind of parenting kids are getting at home. It's not a question of expecting kids to be perfect or get it right all the time, it's their general demeanor. By 8 or 9, you can tell which kids never hear "no" and don't know what money is. When you are hosting kids in your home, chaperoning field trips, etc., this stuff becomes very clear. It's not about expecting kids to behave like adults or be perfect all the time. You can just tell what they know and what they've been taught based on their behavior and what they say.

And just so you know, when we discover a kid is clueless about this stuff, we aren't judging the kids. We're judging their parents.[/quote]

This is ridiculous because my kids were always big eaters. Some families would let them order off the regular menu at 11, some would say only kids. But then they were hungry. They weren’t trying to pull a fast one. [/quote]

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