Interesting question minx. I make big purchases for my girls. I might ask them to front minor costs if the cost of me sending the item is higher than the value of the item. But big ticket items? No - I cover those myself.

My girl rosebud is coming to see me, for example. I bought her ticket and sent it to her. I'd never dream of asking a girl to cover that large a cost herself. And in this case - because of the border crossing - I did ask her to look into getting the ticket at her end - and would have wired her the money - but it was cheaper for me to book from my end. There werre hurdles to jump because I was buying a 3rd party ticket that involved an international border crossing - but it can be done, and I did it. She has her ticket - and will be here soon.

The extra effort was no big deal - my girl's worth it!