SMART STUFF

Hi everyone! Meredith here! Today I want to talk about those summer jobs you are all working hard at on your breaks from school!  Are you babysitting your little brother & sister, doing chores and getting an allowance or even selling glasses of lemonade to your neighbors?  I wanted to find out how to make the most of the money we are making at our jobs this summer, so I asked my friend Laura Adams, personal finance author blogger under the name Money Girl on the Quick and Dirty Tips digital media network, for some tips on how to make a little bit of money, turn in to a lot of money!  Here’s what she had to say!

Topic #1

Did you know that there are 3 things you can do with money?

Even if your grandmother gives you money for a birthday present, you can:

1.    SPEND it on things like downloading music, the newest gizmo-gadget toy, or chocolate-covered peanuts at the movies.

2.    GIVE it to charities that do good things, like helping people or saving endangered sea turtles.

3.    SAVE it so you can make it grow into even more money!

That’s right, there’s actually a way to grow your money into more money . It’s not a magic trick. It’s more like planting a seed that begins to grow … and gets bigger … and bigger … and bigger over time.

How does money grow? It’s very simple, actually. When you put your money in a savings account at a bank, the bank says “thank you very much” by paying you extra money (and you don’t even have to do chores for it!). When a bank pays you extra money, it’s called earning interest. Wouldn’t you like to earn lots of interest? I thought so.

Let’s say your parents help you open a savings account at a bank. If you put $50 in the account, after a year you’ll have about $51 or $52, depending on how much interest the bank pays. Having a few extra dollars may not seem like a whole lot—but as you save more and more money, you keep earning more and more interest. That’s when your savings account will start to grow faster than Jack’s beanstalk!

Even though saving your money might not be as much fun as spending it, saving is a smart thing to do. So remember that when you put money in a savings account, you make more money because the bank pays you interest. That’s like getting a birthday present from the bank every day of the year! Plus, if you save money, you’ll always have some for when you really need it or want to make a donation to help the sea turtles.

There are really fun Web sites and games for kids and families to learn about spending, saving, investing, and earning money. Two of my favorites are  MinyanLand at minyanland.com

 and Planet Orange at orangekids.com

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TOPIC #2

Have you ever wondered where money comes from? I mean, how do people actually get money to buy things like pizza, hats, or scooters?

There are different ways that both kids and grown-ups can earn or make money. You can:

1.   Work as an employee

2.   Operate your own company

3.   Invest your money.

Work As an Employee

Employees do different types of work for an organization or company. For example, your teachers are employees who work for your school. The people at the grocery store who stock the shelves with food, bake bread, and take your money at the check-out, are employees of the supermarket. You get the idea.

Operate Your Own Company

If you’ve ever run a lemonade stand or were paid to wash your neighbor’s car, that’s similar to operating your own company—another great way to earn money.  When you give people a product or service that they want, you’re in business!  You might even get so busy that you have to hire your own employees to help you complete all the work.

Invest Your Money

After you’ve saved up some money, you can use it to make more money. Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a best friend named Lulu. She really wants to open up a lemonade stand, but she doesn’t have any money to buy lemons or sugar.

You, on the other hand, just got $10 for graduating with really good grades. Yaahooo! But there’s a problem: You don’t know how to make really tasty lemonade. You come up with the brilliant idea to give Lulu $5 so she can open up a stand and partner with you in the business!

In return for using your money, Lulu promises that she’ll:

·        Pay you back the $5 you loaned her

·        Teach you how to make tasty lemonade

·        Split all the money she makes with you 50/50

For ideas about fun ways to make money this summer check out PBS Kids at pbskids.org/itsmylife

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 Enjoy your summer and be sure to follow these tips to make the most out of the money you are earning!

Laura Adams is a personal finance author who blogs under the name Money Girl on the Quick and Dirty Tips digital media network.  She also hosts the weekly top-rated Money Girl audio podcast that can be found on iTunes  or at quickanddirtytips.com

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