My Budding Buffett

Scene on a flight back home:
Vaibhav- Don’t open the wrapper (puzzles+stickers+game), Shriya!!!
Shriya- But, the lady (stewardess) gave it to me so that I can play with it..I'm bored!
Vaibhav- Pleeeeaaase don't open....I can sell it and if you listen to me then I will give you 50 cents

This has been going on for a while. A long while, actually.

Vaibhav LOVES money. His sister and he get two dollars ( it’s the absolute minimum… we started this sytem as an incentive and also as a way to learn to handle money) at the end of the month if they have x number of gold stars (good behavior)  more than black marks ( bad behavior). 

It is Vaibhav’s happiest moment when I hand him his two dollars. He will tirelessly count his money endless number of times, he will compare, add, trade coins with his extremely naïve sister , who will give all her money to her brother. And if I butt in and suggest that she saves, she will turn her cute nose up and defiantly say “I want to give it to him“!!.

I know, I hear, I read that it’s a good thing to like money. But sometimes it can get a tad embarrassing. Like the time, he bought a hair band for 30cents and tried to sell it to a building resident’s daughter for a dollar. The little girl screamed and threw a fit because she wanted it and the mother who knew that it was daylight robbery refused to give in. My little man just stood there, adding fuel to fire with his slick sales talk!

Last month, Vaibhav’s class had a show and tell session where they had to talk about their favorite toy. Our man took a transformers toy that came free with a McDonalds Happy Meal. But when he came back from school, he didn't have the toy. I thought maybe he’d lost it. But he very happily told me that he had  SOLD it for a dollar to a boy who wanted it badly(Grade school allows boys to carry canteen money). I thought of it as a one off case and anyways, there was no more show and tell and so no more toys. The next day he came back with two more dollars. Vaibhav had digged up more of the free toys that came with the Happy Meal and had sold them all for a dollar each!

OMG! I explained to the kid that wanting to make money was a good thing but selling stuff at school was wrong and he must NEVER try it again. He coolly said that this was much easier than waiting till the end of the month for his measly 2$. He had made more money in 2 days than what I give him at the end of a month and that too after considering his behavior!

Ever since he has realized that he can make more money than the 2$ at the end of the month, he’s been AT IT. He has offered his cleaning services to neighbours, relatives and of course ME. He carried all the recyclables to the bin in the basement and earned 50 cents. He cleaned my uncle’s car and earned $5. His  eyes gleamed when I returned from the market with some very juicy lemons. Very innocently he asked me if he could make some lemonade with them. Caught off gaurd, and very touched by his offer, I said, off course you can. Make some for everyone". It hit me only when he said 'Don't worry, I'll make lots ma, but you'll have to pay me 10 cents for a glass"!!