Being 13, my parents do not let me freely buy puzzles (that I pay for). I can waste my money on anything but puzzles, if nothing else just because they are online. Does anyone else have this problem?
Just thinking out loud,

AW

Limits in anything are probably a good thing. Your parents would probably restrict the amount of money you could spend on other things too.

You should probably talk to you parents about why they've placed a puzzle-buying limit so you better understand why.

Trust your parents. I was in the same position at your age. My parents would only get me things off the internet (or anywhere else, for that matter) if I had the money to pay them back, and even then would often put limits on my buying. You'll be grateful for it down the road.

When I was 13, the notion of buying anything from the Internet did not exist for me, as I live in a society where the law limits those under the age of 18 to cash and my parents barely know how to turn on a computer and check e-mail. Even today, on the rare occasions where my dad buys something online, I am the one that actually places the order as he does not know his way around a computer well enough to do it himself.

That said, my parents never really cared what I did with my money, though they were always a little reluctant to buy stuff beyond what I could afford out of pocket. When I first gained an income sufficient to justify a bank account, my dad was in agreeance with me that it was unfair that someone under the age of 18 could not open a checking account and could only open a saving account if a parent was on the account as card holder, and while he held on to the ATM card, never placed any restrictions on access to my money beyond what the bank's polcies and the law required.. For about 2 years, I had to carry more cash than I was really comfortable carrying because the law would not allow me the security of a debit card or checks.

They probably see puzzles as an expensive fad. They don't want you spending money on something you may not be interested in this time next year. You are at an age where they probably feel they need to protect you from rash decisions yet also allow some freedom. So I suspect they will allow items like Ipods, DVD players etc but not ones they think you will lose interest in.


When I was 13 the internet did not exist.

Well, maybe you can also negotiate with your parents.
The skill of negotation is very helpfull in future, so better start now (you can also tell this your parents).

What is important for your parents?
That you have good school grades?
That you eat healthy?

Maybe you can negotiate that for a good grade they allow you to buy a new puzzle. Or even sponsor you a new puzzle.

This way your parents get what they like to see, but give in on the other hand that you should not focus to puzzles too much.
(but my guess is that to them the latter is less important than the first, so with such negotation you can create a win-win situation for both your parents and you. And that's what effective negotation is about)

I wouldn't worry too much. As soon as you're old enough to make this kind of decision without the aid of your parents you will probably end up married, and then you won't be able to make those decisions anyway.

I am in the same spot. And while it hurts, in the end, you end up saving for that one cube you really want, and often end up with something better than what you would have bought at that moment anyway.

I'm 16 almost 17, I live with my mom and I have to be careful what I do or I get in trouble, that is depending what I do My mom usually only lets me buy stuff online if I have earned it in some fashion. But I'm sure everyone was like that in some point in their life. Oh and @ Tony, Same goes for my mom She had a 1988 MAC and It still runs today. "It doesn't know what the Internet is" That quote always makes me laugh.