Now is a great time to teach Simple Economics to an 8 yr old

With the economy in the dumps, and people starting to feel the heat, I think it is a great time to teach simple Economics to my 8 yr old. He has already taken a cut in his allowance, not for being naughty, but because as I explained to him, economically right now we cant afford it. Now yes I could afford to give him his full allowance, but I am trying to teach him that when money gets tight, you have to make cuts in some places. Much like Employers, are doing. Cutting jobs, to save money, and hopefully stay afloat. We also have cut out, eating out, except maybe once every two weeks. We dont drive as far, unless we have to. We buy less expensive food, and make sure we eat the leftovers. We have taught ourselves, to grow vegetables, still a work in progress I might add. We would have starved, if we had to count on the garden lol. But we did better than last year. I teach him, and his sister, they have to take good care of their toys. If they break them, being careless, it probably wont be replaced. We send emails, and use instant messenger, to talk to families back home, rather than running up the long distance bill. Writing letters, too, is a great way to practice their writing skills, and not use the phone as much. AC is set at 81, if their isnt a lot of sun, 79, if there is. This has saved us appx 75 dollars per month, over last year at the same time. I am sure there are tons more things, we can do to save money, and it is a work in progress. I hope my children, learn from these things I teach them. When things are a little more abundant, it is ok to splurge a little. But being able to cut back, and save money, is just as important.