A Lesson In Hard Work, Sacrifice And Saving

Several years ago as we were right in the thick of Bret earning his PhD Bret and I had a thought that wouldn't it be great to take our family on a Disney cruise as a graduation present to our family. 

Last year came along and things happened so quickly with the next step in his career that we didn't have time to do anything between the defense of his dissertation and our move.  But that didn't mean that we still couldn't do something to celebrate this wonderful accomplishment!  So we decided we could do the cruise during Bret's spring break.    Pushing it off gave us a wonderful opportunity to provide some valuable lessons to our children.  

We held a family council and told them what we wanted to do as family.  But if we wanted to have this experience together they needed to work and save a large portion of the cost themselves.  We decided that we would pay them for extra chores they did and they could contribute their allowance if they wanted.  The main way we saved money was by making choices as a family.  If we were going to go do an activity or eat out Bret and I would tell the kids how much that would cost our family to do and we would give them the choice...we could do that activity or we could put the money in the Disney jar. We really wanted to teach our children the value of working and saving for something, sacrificing something you might want in the moment for something better in the future.  We kept the jar in the kitchen as a constant reminder of what we were working for and we created a thermometer that we colored in when we reached certain dollar amounts.  About every three weeks or so we would dump the money out on the kitchen table and count the money to check our progress.

These kids have worked hard I tell you for FIVE months.  They have done extra chores, they have chosen not to see movies, not to eat out, eat simply meals at home, they even made the choice that they wanted a smaller Christmas so they could put money in the jar.  It has been marvelous to see their work ethic and determination.  It has really been a wonderful experience to see the kids work and save a large amount for something big.  I feel like they have learned a valuable life skill in a unforgettable way.   I have to say that McKenna and Gavin were the ones who worked the most doing extra jobs for me around the house.  They were always asking me things they could do.  McKenna's go to was always folding laundry for me.  Gavin became a master at vacuuming and cleaning windows. 

Tuesday was a big day in our house.  It was the day they met the goal!   

That night we got a phone call from Mickey Mouse himself telling the kids how excited he was for them to come cruising with him in a week and a half!  And now the countdown for what they have worked so hard for has begun!  And I'll wager that they will enjoy and appreciate this trip all the more because they worked so hard to earn it.