It’s almost 2010, and people everywhere are snatching up 2010 calendars in an effort to get organized. Except for my daughter. Oh, she uses a calendar, but she doesn’t buy one. She makes it. By herself. And she’s made her own calendars for the last 3 years.
Stargirl, as we call our daughter, is incredibly creative. She’s also by nature a frugal person, more frugal than I am, in fact. Yes, there are times when my 11 year old daughter reminds me that I am not making the frugal choice.
Anyway, back to Stargirl and her calendar. She could easily buy a tween-friendly calendar for $10 or so. But she loves Webkinz, so she decided to use her creativity to make her own unique Webkinz calendar.
She took pictures of her Webkinz in various scenes, from sitting under an umbrella (April showers) to trick or treating (for October). Then she printed out a blank 2010 calendar, glued on the photos, hole punched the pages, and tied them together neatly.
And now she has one tween-friendly calendar at a tween-friendly price.
There’s a lot to be learned from Stargirl. Too frequently we buy things that we don’t need to buy at all. Perhaps we have something else that could work. Or perhaps we can make something to fit our need. Or borrow something.
And too frequently we settle for store-bought, because it’s what everyone else is doing. Or because it’s easier. Stargirl’s calendar isn’t as polished as one you’d find in a store, and to some that might be a turn-off. But it showcases her personality and it’s unique. One thing that I admire about my daughter is that she has the courage to be different. Even at the tender age of eleven, when being different isn’t easy.
To be frugal, you have to have the courage to be different. You have to manage your money in a way that makes sense for you, even when the rest of the world looks at you funny. Sometimes that means being a bit unconventional, and that’s OK. As Dave Ramsey says, live like no one else today, so tomorrow you can live like no one else (meaning being debt-free).
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Good for her. And good for you. And one of these days I hope I will think good for me. I try great pleasure in doing for myself, recycling, making my own (fill in the blank) and not spending money in mindless consumerism. However, I find myself getting self concious about what others might think. Even when I chide myself that doesn’t matter. She is lucky to have you to encourage her to be her and to walk a slightly different route to the end and hopefully, it will be her end.
Thank you for sending this. It just reminded me that I need to work on my calendar that I have been printing on my own for the last few years now. I realized I never saved them so there was not point in spending good money on a store bought one! Plus I use google calendar online and I can just print it from there! :)
Children learn as much (or more!) from what adults do as from what they say. Looks like Stargirl is off to a really great start, and it’s a good thing she can encourage you when necessary. I bet she enjoys her calendar more than any available in a store! Has she thought of making a separate calendar to keep a small daily journal on? I did that in college; just used plain white paper with a grid drawn for each day of the month, put it on the closet door in my dorm room, and filled it in each evening with things I wanted to remember. I enjoyed looking back at it later.
Sounds like your changing your family tree ! My dd is the same way. She is 17 and earns her own money and when she wants to buy new makeup she will go thru my coupon box and the sales paper for the best deal. And when she is buying online she always looks for a internet coupon for free shipping or a percentage off.
:)
That’s so awesome, it’s nice to see her doing these things on her own – without you having to tell her to do so. Moreover, it’s nice to see her not buying into the tween materiality hype. Cool blog! I’ll be checking back.
Stargirl sounds like a great kid. And I’m most impressed with her talents. She’ll have fond memories of growing up frugal.
Great parents make great kids!
Next year have her add all the families important dates and birthdays, make multiple copies and give them as presents.
We’ve been doing this every year since our first was born. Everyone in the family can’t wait to get them each year.
What a clever and creative girl you have!
One of my favorite gifts this year is a calendar that my 6-year-old son made at school. He illustrated it with a picture he drew of the whole family, including our dogs. It’s so much nicer and more heartfelt than anything he could have purchased, and he was so proud to give it to me.
Love the idea of making multiples as gifts.
The idea of a frugal gene makes sense, although it can spark a little debate on the impact of nuture vs. nature!
For me, I’m not sure it was quite a matter of a frugal gene or even strong frugal example (my parents were happy they had more money then when they grew up and wanted us to experience things they hadn’t.) But more of a independence gene. I grew up with a fierce desire to be independent and being frugal was just one of those necessary steps at times.