My kids are too young now to enjoy a cruise (3 y/o and 1 y/o). But when the time comes I m all over

As many of you know, we just returned from our Mediterranean Disney Cruise, which we had planned and saved for the past two years. We spent 5 days in Barcelona and 12 days on the Disney Magic, visiting the French Rivera, Rome, Greece and Turkey. The trip lived up to our ship s name and was truly magical.
In total we visited eight countries and had a wonderful time exploring each stop. One of the highlights for the girls was climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Being able to see and touch things they had only seen on TV/Movies or in magazines was an amazing experience for them and fun for Mom and Dad to witness too.
The Disney cruise itself was fabulous in every way. We are big Disney fans so we had high expectations and they delivered a memorable experience. After long days on land excursions, we would head back to the Magic for great shows, red roof inn anaheim food, a lovely spa and kids clubs. It was such a perfect balance of history and pure Disney fun. I am sure the girls will never forget their first trip to Europe!
When we were planning this vacation, money lessons were not at the forefront of my mind having a great time and making red roof inn anaheim life-long memories with my family was my top priority. But money lessons were taught and best of all, I wasn t even the teacher. They were.
During our first night in Barcelona, we went for an evening walk to enjoy Goudi’s amazing architecture when we spotted a street vendor flipping a twirling light high up in the air. It, of course, caught our attention, and we spent a few minutes watching red roof inn anaheim this dazzling display. My husband, Chris, and I could see the girls discussing these amazing little lights, which the vendor was selling for 5 Euros.
red roof inn anaheim Chris asked Lauren if they would like one. She simply responded, “I really like it, but know it will not make my heart happy for long and would be a waste of money.” And with that, both girls turned and continued walking red roof inn anaheim down the street (as Mommy did her happy dance behind them!).
During the trip, we made some wonderful new friends. One family generously invited us to their cabin to enjoy popcorn and a movie. Their cabin was gorgeous, easily three times the size of ours with a wrap-around porch. Taylor red roof inn anaheim wanted to know why our cabin wasn t as big. Before I could even say a word, Lauren jumped in and answered for me. She said, “I am so happy that they have such a beautiful cabin and were willing to share it with us. We made a decision when we booked the cruise based on what we wanted to spend on this trip, and I love our cabin!”
Once again, I just smiled. Lauren is only nine years old, but she gets it, and I love how she s helping her little sister develop an abundance mindset too. Lauren is genuinely happy for the family with the amazing cabin, rather than envious and that makes her Mom very proud of her. There will always red roof inn anaheim be people who have things that we desire. The secret in life is to make sure we are making careful decisions with our money to ensure we use it in a way that makes us happy. And when others do the same, we need to celebrate their decisions and good fortune!
This trip served as an overall great reminder about the importance of talking to kids about money. As I have shared before kids observe their parents and often mimic the language they use. Stop and think about what your kids observe you say and do. And most importantly, are you talking to your kids about how you choose to spend your family money and why? This cruise meant so much to all of us that we were willing to save for nearly two years. When friends went on vacations that made us want to grab our passports and head to LAX, we slowed down and reminded the girls (and maybe ourselves red roof inn anaheim too) that saving for our big trip would be worth the wait.
When we were booking our cruise, we selected our cabin because it suited our needs. Rather than spend extra money for a larger cabin, we chose to use that money to instead go on private land excursions because that meant more to us. And we didn t keep it a secret from the girls. We told them and when appropriate, we let them help us make decisions on how we spent our money.
My girls are 7 and 9 years old. I started talking to them about money when they were toddlers and probably couldn t even fully comprehend what I was teaching them. And yet, those lessons stuck. In part because I consistently talk to them about money and how we use it as a family. And every time they choose to not spend money because the item won t make them happy long enough to justify the cost or they feel joy for someone else s good fortune rather than a need to keep up with the Joneses, it makes my heart swell with pride.
We loved our Disney red roof inn anaheim Cruise adventure red roof inn anaheim so much that we re eyeing another adventure with Disney. This time to China in 2015. It s another big goal but one we re happy to work towards together as a family.
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Shannon Ryan, CFP® is a Mom on mission to help busy parents teach their kids simple, value-based principles that guide their money decisions and support their long-term financial well-being. She resides in Manhattan Beach, CA with her husband, Chris, and their two daughters, Lauren and Taylor.
Shannon, my heart just swells when I hear those stories about your girls and how they truly get it! Isn t it a wonderful feeling to know that your kids are going to grow up appreciating all that they ve been given, instead of constantly searching for the next immediate gratification item? Great job, both of you!
My kids are too young now to enjoy a cruise (3 y/o and 1 y/o). But when the time comes I m all over Disney. red roof inn anaheim We flew from North Carolina to Alaska red roof inn anaheim in June and I m still recuperating. These are great money lessons and it s inspiring to see how strongly your girls grasp the concept of money. Bravo.
I completely understand. I remember traveling with the girls when they were that age and it takes a lot out of Mom and Dad! I highly recommend the Disney Cruise. red roof inn anaheim We had a great time and it worth waiting nearly two years to go!
That is awesome that your daughters were able to turn down the light. It just shows that your teaching is paying off. On a side note how amazing was Goudi s building. I could have stood there and stared at it in awe for hours.
What wonderful stories! It s awesome as a parent when you see the lessons begin to stick in the minds of your children. And you ve just convinced me to look into Disney for our next cruise. Sounds like a blast!
Thanks, Brian! Even though we ve been talking to girls about money for a long time, it still makes me do my happy dance when I see them apply their learnings without any guidance from Mom or Dad. And yes, definitely look into a Disney Cruise. They are spendy but worth saving for!
Wow! Sounds like you had an awesome trip! And I m impressed at your girls money smarts at that age. That deserves a nice pat on the back! It s nice to know all your efforts red roof inn anaheim are working on them. Great job!
That is really wonderful that your daughters are learning red roof inn anaheim to appreciate how you spend your money and why. You are right that there will always be someone who has something bigger, better, or shinier than yours, and it is hard to make little ones understand that, but it sounds red roof inn anaheim like they do get it at some point if we walk the walk as parents. That looks like a fabulous way to see Europe with kids. We might have to look into that type vacation.
I really want to cultivate an abundance mindset in the girls. I think one reason why so many people get themselves into trouble is because they feel they must keep up with everyone. But if we learn to appreciate what we have and not compare ourselves to others, then we don t feel the need to keep up. I bet your daughter would love it. Taylor is a little over a year older and she handled the full days very well.
China would be amazing! I am excited for your family, and it s awesome how your daughter Lauren is starting red roof inn anaheim to understand how money/life/choices/etc. all work together. Good for you for instilling those values!
Thanks, DC! Yes, Lauren has really started to grasp more complex financial situations and I love how she s helping her sister understand them too. Big sisters have a lot of influence! We are definitely looking forward red roof inn anaheim to exploring China as a family.
Wow that looks amazing! A bit of advice about going to China (I ve been there a few times). Definitely go off season, because there are literally milliosn of people everywhere. (Although China land mass is the same as that of the States, half of it is desert. China is also insanely mountainous, so it s around 16 times more crowded than the States b/c no one can live in mountains).
All I can say is wow you have some amazing kids (and btw you have some serious guns in your pics-dang!) And I say that also because I just worked with two girls about your girls age teaching red roof inn anaheim beach volleyball, and one is so rude and disrespectful towards me that I decided it wasn t worth the money to teach them. So thank you for raising such awesome-sounding young ladies. Oh and that trip (expect for the fact that I hate Disney-lol!) red roof inn anaheim sounds AWESOME! I didn t know you could even get in the leaning tower anymore let alone climb it!
Thanks! I think my girls are pretty amazing too and unfortunately I m seen some pretty rude kids too. I can t blame you for not wanting to teach them. I am workout fiend, so I m glad it shows. And if I remember correctly you re rocking strong arms and legs too Miss Beach Volleyball Queen.
It s so good to see your girls living the lessons you ve taught them and they sound like awesome little ladies! Lauren red roof inn anaheim is too cool for being a great example for her little sister! Because yes, big sisters red roof inn anaheim are a major influence on little sisters. Has Lauren red roof inn anaheim ever mentioned she d like to follow in your footsteps?
I love how Lauren is being