Green Hair and Green Money

My boy loves to have green hair.   Ben and I feel like his hair is his thing and if he wants it green, well, okay.  But we draw the line at paying for it.  We pay for cuts, but coloring is totally optional and we told Paul he has to handle that himself.   He had the tips of his hair bleached and colored a couple of months ago by Wendy at Floyd's Barbershop, but it had worn off quickly and he's been running around with white tips which I actually quite liked -- a kind of surfer boy look.   But he wanted his hair all green.  

Floyd's had the best price in the area, about $50, but that seemed pretty steep for a kid who was used to spending his generous weekly allowance for gems to use in the online Clash of Clans game and upgrades to his Minecraft rank.  Weeks went by without his being able to pay for his new hair treatment, but finally he decided to take the money out of what he had been saving to buy souvenirs during the spring band trip to Disney World.   As we had told him, you have to make hard decisions when it comes to money because no one has enough for everything they want.  Wendy, the nice hairdresser, agreed with this, telling Paul she sometimes had to wait weeks to save up enough money for a haircut.  He received this news quite soberly.  

Along with his economic lesson Paul now has a head of green hair.  He is so happy about the result that he readily posed for photographs today when we were out walking with friends, including that handsome dog Gus.   I was so happy about the pictures that I posted one on Facebook, which I rarely do. 

My green haired boy continued his economics training today by applying for a credit card, one tied to his savings account and a $200 charge limit.  Mom balks at using her card or Paypal to buy upgrades for online games and in-app purchases, and Dad won't even consider it, so Paul decided the solution was to get his own card.  Nice Dad took him to the credit union this afternoon where Paul had a very grown-up chat with the bankers about how credit cards work.  Due to the excellent credit rating of his parents, Paul's card was approved and will be activated on Monday.  He'll be able to get online to see his statement and make payments at the credit card branch conveniently located at the high school.  It's a big step towards growing up and should be quite an education!