今天出门前，

娃儿就有些不高兴。

怀里紧紧抱着他的乐高，

一副生怕被人抢走的样子。

后来我才发现，

原来他是在担心我们把玩具拿去退掉。

我说：

“我们那天不是说好了吗？我下个月给你八十块零花钱，你把它退掉。”

娃儿立刻反驳：

“没说好！我没说要退！”

我这才反应过来。

哦，原来是改变主意了。

反正今天本来也不会去退，

我也就没放在心上。

可一路上，

他还是明显不对劲。

动不动就想跟我争两句，

整个人都透着一股烦躁。

后来我都快忘记这件事了，

他又突然冒出一句：

“不要退！”

我愣了一下。

什么不要退？

仔细一想，

原来这孩子一路上都还在纠结那个玩具。

于是我试着跟他讲道理。

我问：

“你觉得这个玩具，是需要的，还是想要的？”

娃儿毫不犹豫：

“需要的！”

我怕他不理解“需要”的意思，

于是解释给他听：

“需要的意思是，如果没有它，你就生存不下去了。”

结果娃儿马上说：

“我就是没有它生存不下去了！”

听到这里，

我差点没笑出声。

心想：

既然都已经上升到生存层面了，

我再拒绝好像有点不近人情。

于是我说：

“买也可以。不过七月、八月、九月三个月的零花钱就没有了。”

结果娃儿立刻开始计算。

“七月三十，

八月三十，

九月三十。”

他伸着手指头认真地算。

“一共九十块！

不行！不能这样！”

我说：

“那你想买玩具，又不肯花自己的钱，这样也不行啊。”

想了想，

我又给出另一个方案：

“要不从你之前存下来的零花钱里面扣一百块？”

这次娃儿马上同意：

“这样可以！”

我好奇地问：

“为什么这样又可以了？”

结果他给了我一个让我不得不服的答案。

他说：

“因为虽然花掉了一百，

但是每个月还会进三十、三十、三十啊。

以后还是会超过原来的一百。”

那一刻，

我突然愣了一下。

原来他的逻辑竟然这么清晰。

他在意的根本不是那一百块。

他在意的是：

未来还有没有持续进来的钱。

只要未来还有稳定收入，

过去存下来的钱就可以放心花。

说白了，

他担心的不是花钱。

而是断了现金流。

听到这里，

我突然觉得，

这孩子以后大概率不会成为一个极端节俭的人。

因为在他的认知里：

花掉还有，

那怕什么？

重点是未来要持续地有。

既然他都已经把自己的消费逻辑分析得头头是道，

那我也决定支持他。

买吧。

结果神奇的事情发生了。

刚刚一路上还闷闷不乐、

烦躁不安的小孩，

瞬间像换了个人一样。

脸上有笑容了，

说话也轻松了。

整个世界都亮了。

还自称：

“Asher Junior No. 1。”

把我给逗乐了。

想想，

我们大人何尝不是这样。

想买一样东西，

明明负担得起，

却因为舍不得而不断压抑自己。

时间久了，

压抑的也许不只是消费欲望。

还有一种深深的“不配得感”。

此刻，

我越来越觉得，

给自己存一笔“吃喝玩乐基金”是明智的决定。

钱，

不只是用来生存的。

它也是用来体验生活、

奖励自己、

感受快乐的。

而娃儿前几天也提过一个想法。

他说：

“我想要一个 Toy Fund。”

专门用来买玩具的钱。

我想了想，

那每个月三十块的零花钱，

不就是他的 Toy Fund 吗？

想怎么花，

就怎么花。

毕竟，

学会赚钱很重要。

学会花钱，

同样重要。

而属于自己的钱，

也应该学着自己做主。

就在我们双方达成协议的那一刻，

我告诉他：

“我刚刚已经给你的教育基金转了100块进去，让钱生钱去了。”

而他，

一回家就把乐高拆开，

开始认真地摆弄起来。

因为他知道，

从这一刻开始，

它已经真正属于他了。

婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.06.03

原创发布： tingtingma.com

写给孩子，也写给正在成长的大人。

未经授权，请勿转载。

Tingma’s Parenting Diary| 277. He Already Understands “Cash Flow”

Before we left the house today,

my little guy was already a bit unhappy.

He held his LEGO tightly in his arms,

as if he was afraid someone might take it away from him.

Later, I realized

that he was worried we were going to return the toy.

I said:

“Didn’t we agree on this the other day? I’ll give you eighty dollars in allowance next month, and you’ll return it.”

He immediately protested:

“No, we didn’t! I never said I would return it!”

That’s when I realized

he had changed his mind.

Since we weren’t planning to return it today anyway,

I didn’t think much of it.

But throughout the trip,

he still seemed off.

He kept wanting to argue with me about little things,

and he seemed unusually irritated.

Later, I had almost forgotten about the whole thing

when he suddenly blurted out:

“Don’t return it!”

I paused.

Don’t return what?

Then I thought about it.

This child had been worrying about that toy the entire time.

So I tried to reason with him.

I asked:

“Do you think this toy is a need or a want?”

Without hesitation, he answered:

“A need!”

I wasn’t sure he fully understood what “need” meant,

so I explained:

“A need means that if you don’t have it, you won’t be able to survive.”

And immediately he replied:

“I won’t be able to survive without it!”

At that point,

I almost burst out laughing.

I thought to myself:

Well, if we’re already talking about survival,

it seems a little heartless to refuse.

So I said:

“You can keep it. But then you won’t get your allowance for July, August, and September.”

Immediately,

he started doing the math.

“Thirty dollars in July.

Thirty dollars in August.

Thirty dollars in September.”

He carefully counted on his fingers.

“That’s ninety dollars!

No way! We can’t do that!”

I said:

“Well, if you want the toy, you have to spend your own money somehow.”

After thinking for a moment,

I offered another option:

“What if we take one hundred dollars out of the allowance you’ve already saved?”

This time he agreed right away.

“That works!”

Curious, I asked:

“Why does that option work?”

And then he gave me an answer that I couldn’t help but admire.

He said:

“Because even though I spend one hundred dollars,

I’ll still get thirty dollars, thirty dollars, and thirty dollars every month.

Soon I’ll have more than one hundred dollars again.”

At that moment,

I was genuinely surprised.

His reasoning was remarkably clear.

What he cared about wasn’t the one hundred dollars.

What he cared about was whether money would continue coming in.

As long as he had a steady income in the future,

he felt comfortable spending the money he had already saved.

In other words,

he wasn’t worried about spending money.

He was worried about losing his cash flow.

Listening to him,

I suddenly realized something.

This child will probably never become an extremely frugal person.

Because in his mind,

if you spend it and more is still coming,

what’s there to worry about?

The important thing is that money keeps coming in.

Since he had already explained his spending philosophy so thoroughly,

I decided to support him.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

And then something magical happened.

The little boy who had been grumpy,

irritable,

and restless the entire trip

instantly transformed.

He smiled again.

His voice became lighter.

It was as if his whole world suddenly brightened.

Then he proudly declared himself:

“Asher Junior No. 1.”

That completely cracked me up.

And honestly,

aren’t adults the same way?

Sometimes there’s something we really want.

We can afford it.

Yet we keep denying ourselves because we’re trying to save money.

Over time,

what gets suppressed may not just be the desire to buy something.

It may also become a deep sense that we don’t deserve joy.

At that moment,

I felt more convinced than ever

that setting aside a monthly “Fun Fund” for myself was a wise decision.

Money isn’t only for survival.

It’s also for experiencing life,

rewarding ourselves,

and creating happiness.

A few days ago,

my little guy had an idea of his own.

He said:

“I want a Toy Fund.”

A special fund just for buying toys.

And then I realized:

Isn’t his thirty-dollar monthly allowance already his Toy Fund?

He should be able to spend it however he wants.

After all,

learning how to earn money is important.

But learning how to spend money wisely

is just as important.

And money that belongs to you

should also be something you learn to manage for yourself.

The moment we reached an agreement,

I told him:

“I just transferred one hundred dollars into your education fund so it can start making money for you.”

And as soon as we got home,

he opened the LEGO box

and started putting it together.

Because he knew

that it truly belonged to him now.

Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on June 03， 2026

Originally published at: tingtingma.com

Written for my child, and for the adults who are still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.