Do your kids know how much your healthcare costs?
December 15, 2010
“I sat in on a group of teens to discuss healthcare a few months back. We watched Michael Moore’s movie, Sicko and then had a open discussion. These kids were all amazed at how folks that HAVE insurance are screwed by health insurance conglomerates (sp)!! They are didn’t know alot about the healthcare (coverage or lack thereof) in their own homes. They were very interested in the cost for them to be cover by their parents, if their family had insurance. The kids that were getting to the age where they would have to get their own coverage were very worried, if they could afford it and if the insurance companies would disqualify them (b/c nowadays this happens OFTEN)! I think that students should be exposed to the conversation/dialogue just so that they are aware b/c in the long run, it will affect them as individuals and as folks that end up caring for the boomers and us X’ers.”
OK, I don’t know where I got this quote. And I apologize for that. I found it way down in my pile of things to do for this blog. If it is yours, please let me know.
But, yeah. Do your kids know how much your healthcare costs? Do you have health insurance? Do they know that you do or don’t? Do they know what it costs you to go to the doctor each time? Do they know what it costs your insurance company each time you go to the doctor? DO YOU?
This is a great discussion to have with your kids. And a great thing to teach them. Especially in light of the discussions we have been having in this country over the past year. It’s important to prepare our kids for adulthood by teaching them about the cost of healthcare. And to help them get smart so that they, as a generation, can find new, innovative solutions for our country.
Justine
Max, the eleven-year-old, goes shopping on eBay.
September 2, 2009
Hello everybody. We have a guest column from my younger son, Max, today….
Hi, I’m Max, Justine’s son.
I have an iPod nano 3G MP3 player. My sister Hannah has an iPod Touch. I have noticed how fun the iPod touch looks recently and I decided to buy one. But instead of buying one from the Apple store I decided to buy an under-priced one on eBay.
Since I can’t have an account because I don’t have a credit card I used my dad’s account. I spent a lot of time searching for a good deal and finally found a couple that were pretty cheap. I tried bidding on a couple of them but the bids all rose. So I tried to find a good deal on an iTouch that I could buy then and there.
After a lot of searching and a lot of figuring out things about eBay I found a brand new one for $200. The Apple store sells them for $239 dollars so I was very happy. When my dad got home from work that day I showed him the deal and he told to look and see what the person’s feedback was like and how many transactions the person has done. The person had done hundreds of transactions and had 100% feedback so we decided to buy from him. But when I went to get my money my dad found the same product for $195.
So my dad bought the iPod from his account and I paid him back with $175 dollars in cash that I had in my room and my $20 dollar allowance for next month.
I have learned that eBay is a great thing and I hope to get a credit card very soon so that I can get an account.
I have also recently bought cases for my sister’s pink razr phone that I got from her when she left for France. The main reason I got the cases was to hide the color.
Justine: “Pink. Nuf said.”
Max
Jon: “My money does not grow on trees.”
July 2, 2009
Our family recently took a weekend trip to our nation’s capital. We made sure to visit the National Archives, where our kids could see the Declaration of Independence and many other important hallmarks of our county.
As with so many museums in this country, we had to pass through the gift shop to exit from the exhibits. Such a clever way to try to get people to spend money. How can one deny her child the learning experience of spending $30 for his own copy of the Declaration of Independence.
Except I don’t buy stuff for my kids anymore. If they want to buy something at a gift shop, they can use their OWN money to buy trinkets and junk to fill the house. And because of this, a lot fewer trinkets and junk get bought to fill my house.
My middle child, Jon, wouldn’t even enter the shop.
Me: “Jon, how come you are standing out here?”
Jon: “Because.”
Me: “Are you not buying anything in the store? Are you not even going to look?”
Jon: “My money doesn’t grow on trees.”
Wow. My dad used to say that to me. I didn’t like it when my dad said that to me.
Now, my kid is saying it to me.
Music to my ears.
Justine
The Tobin Kids’ Water Pistol
May 4, 2009
The Tobin Kids' Water Pistol
I love this water pistol. It sits on the counter, by the sink, in our kitchen. The kids keep it there so they can get to it quickly. It is one of their favorite toys.
Look at this thing! It is a little cheap water pistol that one of the kids got at a birthday party or in a box of cereal or something. You can tell that they played with it some. And then it started leaking. But no! The Tobin kids don’t throw it away! They go and fix it with duct tape so they can continue to play with it! And note that the duct tape has been carefully trimmed to a certain width so that it fits around the water pistol. You and I both know that duct tape does NOT come in this specific width. I love that the water pistol is full of dirt or something yucky on the inside. But that doesn’t keep the Tobin kids from playing with a water pistol that they got for free and that costs them nothing to maintain.
I can’t say that I’ve actively taught my kids a lot about frugality. But my kids certainly know the value of a dollar. And I really figured that out when I saw this crazy water pistol sitting on the the kitchen counter for a few weeks, sometime full and ready to be deployed, and sometimes fully exhausted.
Justine
