Because my son is a total foodie—especially when it comes to snacks, he has zero resistance—I wanted to put a bit of a limit on how much he eats. One day I had a sudden idea: I decided to give him a fixed pocket money every week. He could only use that money to buy snacks, and once it was gone, no overspending.
This way, I had a perfectly reasonable excuse to control his snack intake, and at the same time I could start teaching him the concept of “money.” A five-year-old already has a basic understanding of numbers and a vague idea that things need to be bought with money, so it felt like a great point of entry.
Two birds with one stone ✌🏻.
Learning to Shop at the Supermarket
Every time we go to the supermarket, I deliberately check out separately from him and let him hold the cash and line up to pay on his own. He’s always a bit nervous when it’s his turn, but the moment the transaction is done, he looks instantly proud of himself.
The funniest part is right after checkout: one little hand carrying bags full of snacks, the other tightly clutching the change from the cashier. He’s completely flustered, and it’s impossible not to laugh when you see him.
Learning Simple Calculations
In the first few weeks, he bought very few snacks, usually spending just one or two dollar. I even secretly thought, Not bad—this kid knows how to save and understands restraint.
But when I asked him about it, I realized the truth—it wasn’t saving, he just couldn’t do the math.
He told me he was afraid that if he bought too much, he wouldn’t have enough money to pay at the checkout 😅. And on closer inspection, that so-called “saved money” was never actually kept properly anyway—it often disappeared without a trace before long.
Recently, his math skills have slowly improved. Maybe he’s also realized that buying too few snacks simply isn’t enough, so now he tries hard to do the math and spend as much of his money as possible.
Understanding Earning and Saving Money
After a while, his understanding of money became much clearer, and he gradually began to realize how “powerful” it is. He now actively reminds me when it’s time to give him his pocket money and seriously plans to save several weeks’ worth so he can buy “something big.”
Once, I took him with me to withdraw cash to pay our helper. He took the initiative to ask how much her salary was, compared it to his pocket money, and then asked why hers was so much higher than his. I told him that she earns her own money—and that when he grows up, he’ll need to earn money too; he can’t keep “living off his parents” forever.
I spent quite a while explaining what “living off your parents” means. After listening, he said he wants to “live off his parents” for his entire life.
Me… 😭
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