What are your spending habits? Are you teaching your child to manage their money correctly and utilizing little moments to teach them important lessons?

The other day we went to Dave & Busters for a little family fun. My husband has been working tons of overtime and our days were starting to become a bit robotic. So I decided to take the family out on a random Tuesday night for fun and games. It's definitely sensory overload for most children, I couldn't even focus myself. There are so many games and lights that I felt like I was in one of those horror movies that take place at the fair. You know when the director starts panning towards all the lights and the film starts moving in rapid circles. I had to sit down for a minute and find something to focus on, like a chair. After Amirah ran to every single game to see what they were, she finally decided on Mario Cart Racing so her father and I had to race her like ten times. We played a lot of games and had a lot of fun as a family. When it was time to leave she wanted to see how many tickets she had. By the way, everything is digital which means no actual tickets. Where is the fun in that? I mean the whole joy of holding thousands of tickets is now reduced to a single card. The flip side is that it's better for the environment because we aren't wasting natural resources.

When we got over to the counter the lady told me we had 2,000 tickets on our card. The past couple of times we've gone I have told Amirah to save the tickets and let them add up so she can get something she really wants. So this time she was super excited and wanted to spend her tickets. After she walked around the store about five times I realized that there wasn't really anything she wanted that was less than 5,000 tickets.

So I sat her down and explained to her that it was better to save them and let them add up instead of just wasting them on something little. My friend who was with me was like, "OMG just let her get something, thats so mean." The difference between me and some people is I'm very intentional with every thing I do. I notice how every interaction and experience molds my daughter's thinking and life habits. I strongly believe that teaching her to withhold and save to wait for things she really wants in life will manifest itself into better behaviors. I want her to look at those tickets like she would a man, her virginity, her money and her friendships. You don't have to jump at the first options people give you just because it's offered. You need to wait for the things that really matter. Save your money and invest in things that will make you happy for longer periods of time.

Sometimes people think that the way I approach parenting is extreme. I also know those people aren't raising my child so I really don't care. I say that because in looking at other cultures and parenting styles I realize what type of parent I want to be. I look at successful people and how they were raised. What habits did they learn from their parents? My daughter doesn't see me spending a bunch of money on random things. I go to the store with her and tell her how much we are spending and teach her to stay on budget. Money management and saving is something that is extremely important for all people to learn. I want to build generational wealth and intelligence. Trust me, when Amirah goes back to Dave & Busters to get that toy she wanted that cost more than she has now, she will feel proud. The funny thing is she may not even want it anymore and that's the real lesson in waiting.

@AshleySirah