Allow-Mints

So 2/3 of the Rose children are now wage-earners. Of course, the wages they are earning are from me, so it's not like it's going to help pay down the mortgage or anything. In fact, it's kind of putting me in even more debt. But, now, instead of hanging up the post-swimming gear and folding towels, I get to nag my children about it 100 times a week and then pay them for that privilege. Everybody wins?

I have noticed two distinct methods to money-earning and spending:

The Saver
Ariella saves her weekly 5 shekel. Her wallet is bursting with coins. This is helpful for me, because I use her as my personal bank. Need to break a 100? Just visit the World Bank of Ariella. I've asked her what she is saving up for. She has no clue. She just knows that having money is good and by spending it, she will no longer have it, so that's bad. Frugal. Thrifty. Between her fat pile of coins and her collection of Everything She Drew Touched Made or Received Ever Ever in Her Entire Life, she'd be a good candidate for one of those preparing for the apocalypse shows. Or maybe Hoarders. I do make her pay for certain things on her own, but other than a few shekel here and there, she is saving, saving, saving. For her, the whole point of having money is having money.

*This reminds me of certain friends of ours, who made aliyah nearly 6 years ago with a stash of Bounty paper towels. It remains untouched, because our friends are waiting for the Big Spill. And you just never know when that will come, so better save up those soft absorbent squares. I hope when the Big Spill happens, they will call and let me know. I want pictures.

Anyway, that's type #1. Type #2 is:

The This-Money-Is-Burning-a-Hole-in-My-Wallet-er
Yaakov, on the other hand, has had his eye on a Zord for quite some time. A Zord, by the way, is a registered trademark of Power Rangers, and it is NOT to be confused with a "sword." When I, ever so dumbly--where was I born, under a Power Rangers-free rock?--suggested that the Zord is a special kind of sword, Yaakov rewarded me with a look of utter contempt. The same ohmigod-how-is-my-mom-so-clueless look he gave me when I wondered once why his shirt was covered in all sorts of colorful stains ("BECAUSE my desk was dirty so I had to clean it!" With your shirt? "Well it was the MIDDLE of class! I couldn't leave to get a paper towel!" Too bad he didn't have any Bounty ...)

Anyway, once I had made my complete lack of Powers Rangers knowledge abundantly apparent (I'm still not sure if Power Rangers Jungle Fury are the same guys as Power Rangers Mystic Force, but I'm afraid to ask. I want to keep some shred of dignity.) Yaakov explained that the Zord is ... damn, I totally forgot what he said. Anyone?

Well, whatever this non-sword-Zord is, Yaakov wants it. Bad. And he is saving up for it. He had a nice head start with some money from Saba last summer. And last night, after receiving his 5 shekel piece, he realized he had exactly 100 shekel! Just enough for a Zord! (Although, I think he may have been counting his agurot as shekel. A sad day when you count all those 10 agurot pieces and realize that after all that effort, all you have is ... 1 shekel. Not even enough for the 1.5 Shekel Store.)

After his exciting discovery, he ran over to me and asked if we could go to the toy store. Now. (It was 9:00 at night). Okay, fine, tomorrow? he asked. He cannot spend this money quickly enough. It does not bother him that owning this Zord (although, really, does one ever truly "own" a Zord?") will bring his balance back to zero. For him, the money is a means to an end: MOAR TOYS.

Anyone else give allow-mints? Do you have savers or spenders?