At the risk of asking a ridiculous question, do you have any rules about how your kids are allowed to spend the money they’ve earned/saved?

Both of my girls, Elena (8) and Rosa (5), have one American Girl doll each (and several outfits/accessories). They play with these dolls quite a bit — we’ve definitely gotten our money’s worth.

But here’s the thing: Elena is at an age when she’s comparing what she has to what her friends have, and almost all of her close girlfriends have more than one American Girl doll each, so naturally Elena wants another doll.

I wish she didn’t want another doll because her friends have more than one (good luck with that, right?). Also, I am always struggling with how much stuff they have.

I suggested that she spend her own chore/birthday money if she really wants the doll. She doesn’t have enough, but she could earn the rest fairly easily – she’s a conscientious child. Really, I suggested this to gauge her response, rather than to encourage her to spend her money on the doll. Her response was (as I expected), “Aw, man!”

She is a saver, not a spender.

We had a conversation about what it means to have some “skin in the game” – that if she wants something badly enough, she should think about using her own money (and also, incidentally, might take better care of the things she bought with her own money). I think she agreed with the premise, anyway.

But I’m still mulling all of this over because the truth is that I want her to be happy/ok with having just one doll. So, should kids get to spend their money however they want? What if the item (like, for example, an American Girl doll…) is pricey? Do you have limits on how much they can spend, or what they can spend their money on?

Please weigh in – I would really love to hear your feedback (besides the obvious “Aren’t there more pressing global problems to be solved?”).

I have the *best* craft waiting for you on Monday. Until then, happy weekend to everyone!