Subscription Kaniptions

Just a short one today. Make sure when you sign up for a month’s subscription for your son with “Webosaurs” (think Club Penguin with dinosaurs beating the hell out of each other), that you read the fine print carefully.

Having purchased multiple single-month-only subscriptions from Club Penguin for youngest son over the year, I assumed things would work the same with the new guys. IE., you purchase a month’s subscription and you get a month’s subscription and when it runs out, it runs out.

Oh no. You purchase a month’s subscription and if you don’t cancel it before the month runs out, you automatically purchase a second. (That’s a diplomatic way of saying “I feel like Webosaurs went into my paypal account and stole 6 bucks from me but I’m probably at fault here somewhere and even if I’m not, I’ll be made to feel that way – and in fact I was when I contacted Webosaurs…” etc).

Hey, it’s only $6 right?

Yeah, but it was my $6 and I didn’t want them to have it.

So word to the wiser-than-me, read the terms and conditions, read the parent’s guides on these sites carefully, ask them a bunch of questions and unless they’re owned by a reputable company like Disney, you should probably buy your kid a comic or a ball with the $6.

Saving $$$

I don’t know about you, folks, but teaching kids to save money has been an important thing to me, and something that I practised from the time they first earned pocket money. It was always an uphill battle, as kids see money and want to spend it (just like I do).

One of the disciplines I instilled in them was to give them a saving target – either an item they wanted to buy or an amount (say $20 for an 8 year old). I also for a while insisted that they save half of their allowance while free to spend the remainder as soon as they wanted (= immediately).

And then I have relatives whose kids own shares by the time they’re 13 or buy their own xboxes in record time because of the saving habits and work ethics they’ve developed.

So what practises do you use in your family when it comes to kids and finances?

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In other news, I’m currently on holidays, so if I don’t reply, I”m not ignoring you. Feel free to comment and have a grand old conversation amongst yourselves without me. Just don’t be one of those jerks who tries to fill my comments pages with swearwords and links to naughty sites .

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• What Would MacGyver Do?
• New Dads