The new iPhones and the Ritz Carlton

A couple of weeks ago, I took my daughter to Chicago to let her buy (after many months of working and saving) an American Girl doll.   Instead of arranging the whole trip without her input, we sat down together and compared hotel prices.  They aren't giving away hotels in downtown Chicago, folks. 

"The Hilton is $320 per night," I read off my computer screen.  She knows what these hotels are like because Hiltons or Marriotts are usually the way we roll.  "But the Ritz Carlton is $350."  She knows what these are like, due to business trips where we aren't footing the bill.  Honestly, neither of these options sounded good.  Even though we were only staying one night, it seemed a little ridiculous to shell out that kind of money so you can go get a doll.  (To be honest, it was a little more than a "doll-purchasing trip," it was more of a "let's-spend-time-together-as-girls" trip.  But the cost of the doll, plus travel, plus hotel and food was adding up.)

"Here's another factor. I also have points accumulated from staying at hotels so much," I explained to Camille.  "So we could stay at the Hilton for free."

We'd decided to do this, until we realized the "AmericanGirl" package isn't available with the expenditure of points.  This meant the dolls we brought from home wouldn't get the little doll bed in the hotel room on the night of our stay, or the little robes.  We were faced with a dilemma, one I decided to let Camille work out in her mind.  Should we stay at a hotel for free, or spend several hundred dollars so our dolls can use a doll bed.

After much deliberation, she figured out an answer. "We could buy ten doll beds to take home for that kind of money."

We stayed at a good hotel for free and made beds out of the hotel towels for our dolls on the luggage rack. Although these moments are hardly noteworthy or earth-shattering, I think it epitomized, in a small way, the benefit of a "let's-spend-time-together-as-girls" weekend.  Because girls, like moms and dads and brothers, need to be able to both save money and spend it with wisdom and fun.

Relatedly, should you spring for a new iPhone? TechNewsWorld says no.  Read about it here.