Which she then puts in a drawer in her bedroom dresser. This may make some burglar extremely happy one day. Between these two weekly acts I usually end up with about three bucks in my wallet. Beyond the cash trauma, though, there is the ongoing question of whether I'm teaching my kids to be good economic citizens. Obviously I don't want one growing up to be the world's greatest consumer of garbage while the other stuffs her mattress with cash and eats cat food for dinner.
Some balance has to be found.
We thought we'd found such a balance in their younger years. My wife turned to that great oracle of the airwaves, Oprah Winfrey, for guidance. First off, the college savings plan, if followed religiously for a decade or so, might cover a year's tuition at Gumball State. They knew we'd pay for the pizza and miniature golf anyway. So for the past few years they get the cash, all of it.