It's also helpful for their development to have them "help" fix things after they've broken them. Having them help fix things is often more frustrating than when they originally broke the thing but it helps them develop an understanding of responsibility. They begin to understand that if they break something it's their job to fix it. This is a mindset that many adults lack because it was never taught to them growing up.
I certainly second the idea of waiting in the nicer things in life. Not just to avoid breaking nice things but also because it's wiser to put extra money into investments during your parenting years to get some of that compound interest early. Then, once your kids head off to college you'll have way more resources to play with. :)