This kid is certainly grounded — in more ways than one.
A nine-year-old Minnesota boy has gone viral after lecturing his parents on why they should stop buying him presents on special occasions and, instead, start putting money away for his college.
The boy, Peter Linscheid, made the argument — one written out on construction paper — that he’d have $1,800 in savings for school if his parents were to start allocating the funds right away, Kennedy News reported.
“I care about my future,” he succinctly says on camera.
His mother, 41-year-old Nikki Linscheid, encourages her “little thinker.” After all, Peter had started his own candy business at the whopping age of three.
“Earlier in the day, my son said to me ‘How much do you spend on Christmas and my birthday?’ and I was like ‘maybe about $100,'” she said.
“He said ‘Go back upstairs I have a presentation in a little bit.’ “He presents stuff to us all the time. It’s funny and endearing.”
Nikki, who works in economics along with her husband Neil, 40, says that their career paths are clearly having an effect on young Peter.
“We talk about it in our household. It’s something he hears a lot. “I think he’s following in our footsteps.”
Since the clip went viral online — amassing 18.3 million views, 2 million likes, and over 36,000 comments — not all were supportive of the fiscally tight parenting style.
“There have been comments saying ‘he shouldn’t have to be thinking about that’, but we do teach our kids to think about money and the future,” Nikki said. “He’s not stressed out, it’s just the environment he’s been brought up in. He still rides his bike and plays video games and has toys.”
Others came out in support of Peter and his family. One commenter said, “This is literally a future millionaire…love to see it!”
Nikki also said that Peter’s presentation was a showing of gratitude more than anything else.
“[I think what] Peter was saying was ‘I have everything I want’. “[He was] saying ‘I already have everything that I want, I don’t need much else,'” she said.
“We were proud, we thought it was funny and cute. “We always encourage our kids to be grateful for what they have.”