@aster The movie example to me is about value. For me, no matter how much money I make, I am not going to spend $3 on a $1 box of candy, I just cannot handle such an unjust price. True, I would buy myself a more expensive car than my child possibly, but the process about what to buy, evaluating what makes sense would be the same. It is about the process, how someone spends money, and how they decide to spend their money. If you have seen me on other Q’s you probably know I have some pretty fancy cars in my garage, because of my husband’s car obsession. But, my kids would know we waited until our late 30’s to buy these cars, and only bought them when we could afford them. That when we were younger we drove Miatas and Civics, and very moderate cars and that is how we could afford the Porsches in my garage later. My child getting a Honda when I have Porshes is the same as me, because at their age I had the Honda too. I think we are agreeing there sort of. For whatever reason, the movie popcorn is different to me than the car, I guess I just have a thing about the movie popcorn, maybe it is illogical.
I would buy my child lobster the same I would myself, I would not have my children eat cheaper food if they were at the restaurant with me, not a 13 year old anyway. Most likely they aren’t at the restaurant with $50 lobster. Although, I have taken my niece and nephew for steak while they were teens, and that was not cheap for sure, I didn’t tell them what they could order. What am I going to say, you can only order chicken or salad?
I disagree about the coat too. When I buy a coat I try to get it on sale, I would buy a teen child the same coat I buy myself. The difference being the child probably as one coat for the winter, while adults might have more of an assortment, simply because we don’t grow out of them.
Disclaimer: I don’t have any kids, this is what I suppose I would based onhow I was raised and how I treat money.