Are you a spender or a saver?

I took my kids to Disney for the Holidays. I figured was one of those once in a life time adventures that you have to do with your kids before they get too old. We went to all the Disney parks and left no stone unturned. We had a wonderful time.

Louis and Ferne each had $45 to spend on whatever keepsake they wanted to take home with them and they were both on a mission to find exactly what they were looking for. From the moment we stepped through the gates of Animal Kingdom, Louis was swept away in Disney’s ingenious pin trading industry and began to buy and trade pins he thought were cool, rare, and hard to come by. For the duration of the trip he was pin obsessed and visited every single pin booth he could find and stopped Disney Cast Members in their tracks to see if they had that one special pin he was looking for – Mickey’s foot prints. It would complete his set of four. He learned how to trade up – purchasing lower priced pins and trading them for those that were considered higher value and more exclusive. Including the $10 I gave him as a bonus for great behavior, he spent $60 altogether, taking a $5 loan from his sister. He left with an empty wallet but a lanyard full of really cool pins. He was so proud of his collection; he talked about it all the way home and showed everyone who had indicated the slightest interest.

Ferne, on the other hand, had an entirely different strategy in mind. She had a budget – she only wanted to spend a maximum of $3 and keep the rest tucked away for something else (I wasn’t sure what). Anyone who has been to Disney knows that there is nothing you can buy for only 3 dollars. Even the smallest little souvenir is no less than $5 – but she was not going to deviate from her plan. Luckily that extra $10 I gave her for great behavior as well came in handy! She found a picture frame for $12 and including tax, she was able to get something good within her budget! She was one happy girl!

After Orlando, we flew to Ft. Lauderdale to spend some time with my parents. As soon as we landed, Louis asked my mother for some odd jobs to do so that he could earn a few extra dollars. Ferne was automatically included in the deal. They both walked away with an additional $50!

So which is a better way to live? The answer is that it makes absolutely no difference. What matters is that they were each happy with their decisions and that their actions came entirely from their personal desires – without outside influence. What they did felt good to them and corresponded with their personalities, their characters, their interests and their nature