For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 16, 2012

A sucker and his money are soon parted.

It was a lesson on how you shouldn’t trust people so easily. Also, it was a lesson on “A deal’s a deal”.

Some day, you’ll be old enough to understand.

There’s probably more than one lesson here, but I’d say the main one is, “Just because you got your money’s worth, doesn’t mean it was worth your money.” Mike can spend the summer blowing his earnings on renting Gordon’s skates, or he can show a little patience and save up for his own.

I love Lizzie’s observation in the last panel….

Michael spent the money and now he regrets it. I would tend to think the lesson here is to think things through before spending the money. And then there’s the idea of saving for your dream rather than fritter the money on a moment of pleasure.

Thank you for posting Lynn’s Notes. I was just about to do the same thing but spotted your post first. I usually check out what she has to say about a strip, especially if it is creating a stir in the comments here.

Elly has a good sense of child psychology in her head!

Thanks. So often, I wonder if anyone really reads my comments. Even though you argued with every last gall-darned thing I said, at least I know you read it!

Lizzie’s just too cute!!!!! ;-)

And yet, if a kid starts a savings account and puts all his money in there his friends call him weird, and his parents get suspicious. Kids and money just can’t win.

Not all lessons are negative. If Michael enjoyed himself $4 worth, he learned that sometimes, it’s best to just go and enjoy. If he finds that $4 went away in 20 minutes, he might learn to be mroe careful. Natural consequences are great teachers.

Excellent strip. Elly is infamous for screeching at many problems. In this one she behaved more rationally, almost like John. The lesson likely made a better impression on Mike than would a screaming bout.