The £200 Stuffed Toy and the Lesson I Didn’t See Coming
How a ‘Pointless’ Purchase Exposed My Biggest Money Mindset Flaw
A few weeks ago, my daughter rocked my carefully constructed world of financial logic.
She proudly told me she’d spent £200 on a stuffed toy as a Christmas gift for her friend. I’m not going to sugarcoat it—my reaction wasn’t exactly graceful. “Why on earth would you spend that much on something so meaningless?” I barked.
But she didn’t argue. Instead, she handed me her phone with a calmness that only made me feel worse. On the screen was a picture of her friend in a toy shop, clutching the exact same toy, tears streaming down her face. The caption said it all: “I wish I could buy this, it’s my favourite.”
I froze. That stuffed toy wasn’t meaningless at all. It was everything.
What My Reaction Revealed About Me
That £200 wasn’t just a stuffed toy. It was a mirror.
I realised my immediate judgment said more about me than about my daughter. It exposed my own fears and beliefs about money—the ones I’ve been carrying for years. And the more I reflected, the more I saw how the same patterns had been playing out in my life, over and over again.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: we don’t just have money habits. We manifest them.
If we treat money with fear, guilt, or scarcity, the universe has a way of handing us situations that reflect those beliefs, giving us chance after chance to learn the lesson—until we finally do.
The Patterns That Keep Repeating
This wasn’t just about my reaction to the £200. It was about recognising the broader behaviours I’ve been stuck in:
Judging how money is spent without looking deeper at the “why.”
Holding onto money out of fear, as if letting go will mean it’s gone forever.
Avoiding spending on things that bring joy, even when I can afford it.
Sound familiar? Maybe you’ve noticed some of these patterns in your own life:
Overspending to fill an emotional void.
Avoiding tracking your finances because you’re scared of what you’ll find.
Hoarding money or refusing to invest, stuck in a mindset of “what if there’s never enough?”
Over-giving, even when you can’t afford it, to prove your worth.
Clinging to clutter—physical or emotional—because you’re afraid to let go.
The thing is, these behaviours don’t just show up randomly. They’re clues. They’re the universe’s way of saying, “Hey, there’s something here you need to look at.”
The Universe Keeps Trying Until You Listen
When my daughter showed me that photo of her friend, I finally saw the bigger picture. My reaction to her spending wasn’t about the money—it was about control. I’d been clinging to a scarcity mindset, where every pound had to be justified, every decision rational.
But my daughter? She showed me what abundance looks like. She didn’t see £200 as wasted. She saw it as an opportunity to make someone she cared about feel loved and understood.
The universe had been nudging me toward this lesson for a long time, through all the moments I judged myself or others for “irresponsible” spending, through the times I hesitated to invest in something meaningful. This time, I finally heard it.
The Two Questions That Changed Everything
As I sat with this realisation, I found myself reflecting on two powerful questions:
1) What patterns keep repeating in my life and what are they trying to teach me?
You see, the £200 wasn’t just about a gift. It was about me confronting the story I’ve been telling myself about money for years: that it’s scarce, that it has to be controlled, that every penny spent needs to “make sense.”
But the truth is, the most meaningful things in life often don’t make sense. The spontaneous dinner with a loved one, the silly gift that makes someone smile, the random act of generosity that changes someone’s day—none of these things can be justified with a spreadsheet. But they matter.
So, what’s the pattern here? For me, it’s the constant urge to hold onto money, to rationalise every decision, to avoid “wasting” it. And what is it teaching me? That I need to loosen my grip, trust in abundance and remember that money is just a tool—a tool to create connection, joy and experiences that actually make life worth living.
2) What behaviour am I judging without truly understanding the emotions or beliefs behind it?
My daughter’s decision wasn’t reckless—it was thoughtful.
How often do I miss the deeper meaning in someone’s actions because I’m too focused on the surface?
I was stuck in my own rigid money mindset, so obsessed with the number that I couldn’t see the heart behind it.
How often do I do this? With money, with people, with life? How often do I criticise someone for what we see on the outside, never pausing to ask, What’s really going on here?
The Lesson Behind the Stuffed Toy
That £200 wasn’t a waste. It was an investment in joy, connection, and abundance. It reminded me that money is never just about numbers. It’s about how we use it, the beliefs we hold about it, and the stories we tell ourselves.
For me, it was a wake-up call to examine my own money mindset:
To let go of fear and scarcity.
To see spending as a tool for alignment, not control.
To stop judging myself and others for how money is used.
Because, as my daughter so beautifully demonstrated, the universe will keep holding up that mirror until we finally choose to see ourselves clearly.
What About You?
Take a moment to reflect:
What money behaviours keep showing up in your life, and what might they be trying to teach you?
Are you spending, saving, or avoiding from a place of fear—or abundance?
Because once you recognise the patterns, you can start to shift them. And that’s when everything changes—not just your finances, but your relationship with yourself and the world around you.
The £200 stuffed toy? It wasn’t just a gift. It was a lesson, a mirror, and a reminder that sometimes, the universe speaks through the most unexpected moments.
The question is: are you ready to listen?
If this story resonated with you and you’re tired of repeating the same money behaviours, let’s explore how to break those cycles together.
Book a free call with me, and we’ll dive into your patterns to uncover what’s holding you back and how you can finally create the abundance you deserve.
Click here to schedule your free session today!