You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink…or insert any familiar proverb with same meaning.  Financial literacy is something I’ve strived to teach my children from day one, and especially beginning in earnest in middle school.  It comes more naturally to some, I’ve learned.  I may as well have been speaking Greek to my eldest (affectionately known as college boy) or perhaps in this olden language in an early attempt to prove a point.

Hwa is thet mei thet hors wettrien the him self nule drinken

(roughly…who can give water to the horse that will not drink of its own accord?)

And my plain, old, to-the-point (some might say blunt) Canadian english sure didn’t cut it.  Some unexpected financial crises this summer have not curtailed his spending habits.  So a recent conversation about “decorating” his apartment included wanting a new, larger bed (for reasons I can only imagine and won’t share as that would be TMI for my readership), a desk, bookshelves, dresser,  blah, blah, blah.  Some stuff back home could work, but his desk is unwieldy as is the mammoth dresser.  Given that he’ll probably be moving every year for several more and Mr. F&F will be a moving assistant, I agreed to look at some easy-to-move purchases. 

College boy called from an antique store the other day (I wondered if he was feeling okay), so I met him there and looked at some desks for $60-$100.  I told him with his budget that he better learn the art of thrift and fast.  We hopped over to Habitat for Humanity and here’s what we found.

…the plan is to prime and paint door off white then add cork into panelled area to even out the surface.  The lovely legs will be painted hammered silver (pictures of finished product in later blog).  We also found a serviceable filing cabinet that just needed cleaning up and a cool galvanized metal table that will act as a nightstand in his bedroom.

…totals, you ask?

• door $10
• sawhorses $12/pair
• filing cabinet $15
• galvanized table $8
• for a GRAND TOTAL of  $45

Time spent with son?  Priceless…but he’s still starting a Money Management 3-session class as I write this. Thriftiness don’t come easy and this mama is determined.