Ryan just spent $204.44. He didn’t do it lightly. That’s because he knows just how long it took him to earn that money. His one-day-a-week paper route earns him $11/week. That’s 19 weeks of folding and throwing papers.

But he also gets $10/week in allowance. Enough to help him get some of the things he wants, but not everything. (That explains the paper route.)

With the allowance, his total time was reduced in half. To a 15-year old, that’s still a long time. The good news is, he had the money saved already. But knowing the work hours needed to spend the money is a good way for kids to understand the value of the dollars they’re considering spending.

Ryan came in to my office this morning wanting to know whether he should buy an iTouch, which was $180 (minus shipping). I had no idea he was considering this; I don’t even know what an iTouch is. But Ryan rarely spends his money, so I was glad to see that something had piqued his interest.

“What are the pros and cons of getting the iTouch?” I asked him.

We set out to make a list. This is an excellent way to have kids think through a decision.

His pros:
-the iTouch can use lots of apps
-30 hours of battery (his current iPod is so old he only gets one hour of use out of each battery charge)
-it’s more stylish
-it holds 8 gigs

His cons:
-the $180 cost (he told me this counted as two cons)
-he already had an iPod
-he doesn’t really need the 8 gigs

I was leaning towards having him buy the iTouch but I didn’t want to make the decision for him. Then he throws out, “Or I could get the iPod nano fifth generation which is $60 cheaper.”

He said that he wouldn’t be able to have the apps on the iPod.

“You really like playing games,” I reminded him and his eyes lit up.

“That’s like the main thing,” he replied. That’s when I knew it was the iTouch or nothing.

Letting go of money can be just as hard for some people as saving money is for others. Teaching kids this balance is important. I couldn’t stand it any more.

“Buy the iTouch,” I said. “You’ve worked hard for the money and deserve to spend some of it on something that you’re going to get a lot of joy using.”

Within five minutes I received an email from eBay for the purchase of an APPLE IPOD TOUCH 3RD GEN 8 GB MP3 PLAYER WI-FI + BONUS.

I’m not sure who is more excited about the purchase. Saving money is good. But knowing how to spend it wisely is just as important. I’m glad to see that Ryan is developing this healthy balance.