Piggy Banks to Paychecks

by Mohr, Angie

• ISBN13: 9781554552108
• ISBN10: 1554552109
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-01
• Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd

Summary

The need for financial savvy is ever increasing. With university tuition and housing costs rising, parents want to ensure that their children learn the basics of earning, saving, and managing money. This is an indispensible life skill, yet it is not taught in most schools. Parents are left to pass on this skill to their children- even though they usually lack tools at hand to teach it. And, sadly, most parents do not have the underlying knowledge of finance and budgeting to be able to help their kids. "Money $marts: Common Sense Ways to Teach Your Kids the Value of a Buck" is a practical approach for parents to help their children learn the critical money skills that aren't taught in schools, like earning and saving money, budgeting, understanding taxes, and running a business. Each chapter tackles a different skill and includes interviews with parents and kids from across the country, and worksheets and checklists to help both parent and child on their financial journey. Mohr also includes fun games and activities to reinforce and hone kids' (and parents') money smarts! p>Angie Mohr's extensive experience as a professional accountant and management consultant guides the book's content and scope, but it is her face-to-face experience with thousands of individual clients and readers in both Canada and the United States that gives Money $marts its uniquely readable style and tone.

Author Biography

Angie Mohr is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, and financial consultant. She has worked with thousands of clients over the years from mom-and-pop startups to rock bands and celebrity chefs. She is the author of the best-selling Numbers 101 for Small Business series of books and writes for Forbes, MSNBC, the Globe Mail, Yahoo! Finance, Investopedia, and Motley Fool, among other financial publications. She splits her time between Canada and the United States and currently lives by the ocean with her husband and two children, who have finally learned that money doesn't grow on trees.

Table of Contents

Notices to Readers
Acknowledgments
Real Money Stories #1: Lynn's Story	p. 1
Raising Money Smart Kids	p. 3
Why I Wrote this Book	p. 3
A Word about Money Philosophy	p. 7
Why Kids Need to Learn Money Skills	p. 8
The Six Bad Money Habits Kids Learn from Their Parents	p. 11
Why Rich Kids Need Money Skills Every Bit as Much as Poor Kids	p. 15
Money Lessons Translate into Wider Value Judgments	p. 16
Teaching a Child to Fish	p. 18
Be a Money Mentor to Your Kids' Friends	p. 19
Summary	p. 20
Real Money Stories #2: Kay's Story	p. 22
The Pot & the Kettle: A Look at Our Own Financial Habits	p. 25
Introduction	p. 25
What Money Myths Are You Still Carrying Around?	p. 26
Are You Handling Money Like Roseanne?	p. 29
A Name for Every Dollar	p. 30
The Language of Money	p. 31
It's Okay Not to Be Perfect	p. 34
Test Your Money-Handling Knowledge	p. 35
Summary	p. 45
Real Money Stories #3: Dianne's Story	p. 47
Supply & Demand: Economics for Kids	p. 49
Introduction	p. 49
The Birth of an Economy	p. 50
What Is Money?	p. 52
Can't We Just Print More Money?	p. 53
How Goods & Services Trade Hands-Microeconomics	p. 55
How Countries Trade With Each Other-Macroeconomics	p. 58
What Causes a Recession or Depression?	p. 61
How Good Money Skills Can Lessen the Impact of Financial Downturns	p. 63
Summary	p. 65
Real Money Stories #4: Samantha's Story	p. 66
Pay Day: Teaching Kids about Earning Money	p. 68
Introduction	p. 68
The Need to Earn	p. 69
Why Don't Kids Have Jobs?	p. 70
Sources of Income	p. 71
Employment	p. 72
Commissioned Sales	p. 73
Business	p. 74
Investment Income	p. 75
Introducing Your Kids to Earning Money	p. 78
Summary	p. 79
Real Money Stories #5: Bonnie's Story	p. 81
The Penny Jar: Teaching Kids About Saving Money	p. 83
Introduction	p. 83
Helping Young Kids "See" Their Savings	p. 84
The Savings Buckets	p. 86
Helping Kids Split Their Money between Buckets	p. 86
Setting Savings Goals	p. 87
Changing Savings Goals	p. 88
Transitioning from Piggy Bank to Bank Book	p. 89
Why Move to a Bank Account?	p. 90
Canada - Registered Education Savings Plan	p. 93
U.S. - 529 Plans	p. 94
Calculating the Cost of University or College	p. 96
The Basics of Interest	p. 98
Alternative Savings Vehicles	p. 99
Summary	p. 101
Real Money Stories #6: Rachel's Story	p. 103
Paying the Piper: Teaching Kids about Wise Spending	p. 106
Introduction	p. 106
The Scourge of Advertising	p. 107
Lessons of the Grocery Store	p. 113
Five Grocery Store Lessons for Kids	p. 113
Introducing the Concept of Budgeting	p. 118
Who's in Charge?	p. 119
The 24-Hour Rule	p. 121
Tithing & Donating	p. 121
Summary	p. 124
Real Money Stories #7: Kathy's Story	p. 126
Piggy Banks & Plastic: Teaching Kids about Banking & Credit	p. 128
Introduction	p. 128
The Banking System	p. 129
Bank Account Options for Kids	p. 134
What to Look for in a Kids Savings Account	p. 135
PayPal Student Accounts	p. 138
Investing Your Money	p. 141
The Basics of Borrowing	p. 148
Credit Cards	p. 150
Credit Reports and Scores	p. 151
Summary	p. 154
Real Money Stories #8: Lyn's Story	p. 155
Lessons of the Lemonade Stand: Business Principles for Kids	p. 158
Introduction	p. 158
Working in the Family Business	p. 159
Preparing a Resume	p. 160
How Will Your Kids Make Money?	p. 162
The Ubiquitous Business Plan	p. 163
Profitability	p. 164
Attracting Customers	p. 165
Financial Statements	p. 166
Money-Making Ideas for Teens & Pre-teens	p. 171
A Quick Word about Income and Sales Taxes	p. 173
Entrepreneurs: Pay Yourself What You're Worth!	p. 174
The Small Business Investor	p. 177
Sample Business Plan	p. 180
Summary	p. 184
Real Money Stories #9: Jeremy's Story	p. 185
A Little Off the Top: All About the Taxman	p. 187
Introduction	p. 187
Why Kids Need to Know about Taxes	p. 188
What Do Kids Need to Know about Taxes?	p. 189
Income Taxes	p. 189
Sales Taxes	p. 191
Property Taxes	p. 192
Where Do Our Taxes Go?	p. 193
Bringing the Lesson Home	p. 194
Taxes and Allowance	p. 194
When Do Kids Have to Start Paying Taxes?	p. 195
Summary	p. 196
Real Money Stories #10: Jo's Story	p. 198
Guarding the Castle: The Basics of Insurance	p. 201
Introduction	p. 201
Types of Insurance	p. 202
Life Insurance	p. 202
Child Life Insurance	p. 206
Health Insurance	p. 208
Property & Casualty Insurance	p. 212
Business Insurance	p. 213
What Kids Need to Know about Insurance	p. 214
Summary	p. 215
Real Money Stories #11: Amy's Story	p. 217
Earning Their Keep: The Pay-For-Work Allowance System	p. 219
Introduction	p. 219
When Are Kids Old Enough for an Allowance?	p. 220
Why Kids Need to Work for Money	p. 221
Family Do's	p. 223
Decide What Your Kids Will Be Responsible or Paying	p. 226
Setting Up A Work-for-Pay Allowance System	p. 227
How Much Should I Pay My Kids?	p. 228
The Savings Imperative	p. 229
Are There Tax Implications in Giving My Kids Money?	p. 233
Summary	p. 236
Real Money Stories #12: Karen's Story	p. 237
Harnessing the Flow: Teaching Kids to Budget	p. 239
Introduction	p. 239
Writing It All Down	p. 241
Setting Up the Budget	p. 241
Discretionary versus Non-discretionary Expenses	p. 243
The Envelope Method	p. 244
Comparing What Happened to What Should Have Happened	p. 245
Re-tooling the Budget	p. 246
Summary	p. 247
Real Money Stories #13: Patsy's Story	p. 250
Money Games: Fun Ways to Hone Your Kids' Money Smarts	p. 252
Introduction	p. 252
Ages 3-6	p. 253
Ages 7-9	p. 254
Ages 10-14	p. 256
Ages 15 and Up	p. 258
Summary	p. 260
Real Money Stories #14: Lisa's Story	p. 261
Money Words	p. 263
Resources	p. 271
Money Resources for Canadians	p. 272
Money Resources for Americans	p. 273
Index	p. 274
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

• The number 13 is featured extensively on the American dollar bill. 13 represents the original 13 colonies. On the bill, there are 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle, 13 bars and 13 stripes on the shield, 13 leaves and 13 berries on the olive branch, 13 arrows, 13 letters in the Latin words Annuit Coeptis and E Pluribus Unum, 13 hats, and the number of characters in the year 1776 and its Latin form, MDCCLXXVI, equal 13
• Standard editions of the game, Monopoly, have $15140 in the bank, consisting of 20 $500 bills, 20 $100 bills, 30 $50 bills, 50 $20 bills, 40 $10 bills, 40 $5 bills and 40 $1 bills
• If you flip an American penny a thousand times, it will not land on tails 50% of the time but closer to 51%. The side with the head weighs slightly more so it lands (literally) face-down more often than not.
• The word “salary” comes from the Latin word for salt, salarium. Roman soldiers were paid for their services in salt as it was a critical commodity. To remain in active service, soldiers had to earn their salary or be “worth their salt.”