Money Management 101

Food. It's an interesting study to see the variety of ways that middle schoolers meet their need for that most basic stuff of life. Team members are given their food allowance for two days at a time--that is $60.00 for six meals. We discovered early on that the hotel's all-you-can eat buffet for $9.50 (hot eggs, meat, waffles) or $5.50 (cold cereal, fruit, muffins, hard-boiled eggs) is actually a good deal. After stuffing themselves yesterday, some were disinclined to buy anything at Target that might serve as their less expensive breakfast or lunch alternatives to the Convention Center Food Court food. Others, the sensible ones, aka the girls, pooled their funds and bought fruit, soup, and hot pockets at Target to cover the midday meals for the rest of the week. And then there were the few who thought snacks and Gatorade might be fun.

Walking back from the hotel after the midday break today with Griffin, I asked him what he ate for lunch and his response was, "Some pizza bagels and yogurt." He then commented that he wished he had bought more fresh fruit and vegetables at Target, but had made up for that lack by doing 100 push-ups, 30 push-ups, and a 1-minute plank. We all know that nutrition works like that.:)

Dinners have been our together time. Tuesday evening featured excellent Vietnamese food where we discovered fresh coconut milk right from the coconut. Wednesday was pizza and other Italian food delivered to the hotel. So far, no one has gone hungry from lack of money and they seem to be happy with their choices. Parents, you have done a fine job of creating adventurous and responsible eaters and it is a pleasure breaking bread with them. Right now, I have the scouts scouting our dinner options for tonight. They've got skills!