I'll be darned. I've never seen this kid talk herself out of the gimmes before. Usually the money is burning a hole in her pocket and she can barely restrain herself from going to the store right now. Especially with her shiny new driver's license.
But today she decided she doesn't want an iPhone and she ordered an iPod Touch out of her birthday money. It (and, of course, a few accessories) should arrive next week.
Now that she's 16 years old and the state's child-labor laws no longer apply, she's been working 15-20 hour weeks and bringing home some pretty good bucks. (She's the top W-2 wage earner in this house!) Looking at her enhanced paychecks, she realized that she didn't see any value in spending that money on an iPhone when she could be maxing our her Roth IRA. (Her words.) Then she went on to say that she doesn't keep close tabs on her GoPhone now and she doesn't want to be "one of those kids" walking around all day with her head down looking at an iPhone in her hand. News to me.
A couple of her classmates have iPhones, and based on their experiences she's mildly concerned about setting herself up as a target for envy & theft. She's heard us say that a million times about our lifestyle.
I asked her about familiarizing herself with an iPhone & apps before going to college, and she thought that was pretty funny. She's accustomed to learning how to work just about any piece of electronics in about 10 minutes-- 15 minutes if she stops to read the directions first. It's hard to argue with that attitude.
Spouse and I decided not to talk with her about buying the iPhone and subsidizing its monthly cost. She doesn't seem interested in the responsibility or the extra functions, and I'd hate to undermine her independence by fostering a sense of [-]affluenza[/-] entitlement.
We've been joking that this recession's holiday presents will be socks and an orange. So she hedged her bets with a gift list that includes SolidWorks or AutoCAD Revit... I'm thinking Google SketchUp. Or maybe she'll want to see if she can get some form of Snow Leopard to work on a Mac Mini.
Looking back at the beginning of this thread, it looks like we've survived the sweet-sixteen gimmes. And I'm lovin' life with a wireless network!
But today she decided she doesn't want an iPhone and she ordered an iPod Touch out of her birthday money. It (and, of course, a few accessories) should arrive next week.
Now that she's 16 years old and the state's child-labor laws no longer apply, she's been working 15-20 hour weeks and bringing home some pretty good bucks. (She's the top W-2 wage earner in this house!) Looking at her enhanced paychecks, she realized that she didn't see any value in spending that money on an iPhone when she could be maxing our her Roth IRA. (Her words.) Then she went on to say that she doesn't keep close tabs on her GoPhone now and she doesn't want to be "one of those kids" walking around all day with her head down looking at an iPhone in her hand. News to me.
A couple of her classmates have iPhones, and based on their experiences she's mildly concerned about setting herself up as a target for envy & theft. She's heard us say that a million times about our lifestyle.
I asked her about familiarizing herself with an iPhone & apps before going to college, and she thought that was pretty funny. She's accustomed to learning how to work just about any piece of electronics in about 10 minutes-- 15 minutes if she stops to read the directions first. It's hard to argue with that attitude.
Spouse and I decided not to talk with her about buying the iPhone and subsidizing its monthly cost. She doesn't seem interested in the responsibility or the extra functions, and I'd hate to undermine her independence by fostering a sense of [-]affluenza[/-] entitlement.
We've been joking that this recession's holiday presents will be socks and an orange. So she hedged her bets with a gift list that includes SolidWorks or AutoCAD Revit... I'm thinking Google SketchUp. Or maybe she'll want to see if she can get some form of Snow Leopard to work on a Mac Mini.
Looking back at the beginning of this thread, it looks like we've survived the sweet-sixteen gimmes. And I'm lovin' life with a wireless network!
