How Does a 15-year old Save for a Car?

Ryan just bought a car. And she’s a beauty, too. 2002 baby blue Toyota Prius with only 57,000 miles. Owned by a 91-year old grannie who used it mostly to drive to church and back. No kidding. Problem is, Ryan can’t drive it; never mind he doesn’t have his license. He barely has his permit. [...]

Spend to Make? But, of course!

I hung out in a second grade classroom last week to talk about saving money and then have the students make their own Money Jar.  It was a fun lesson and the Money Jars turned out unbelievable.  Kids and their creativity never ceases to amaze me. While we were discussing money issues, I asked the students [...]

Divots and Entrepreneurs

“How much do you think I could get for this on eBay?”  Ryan was holding up a  chunk of sod and grass that, in golfers lingo, is called a divot.  It’s what’s left after a golfer takes a hard shot at a ball lying on the grass. We were at the President’s Cup in San Francisco [...]

Gas Money

I don’t like to interfere with the business dealings Nathan and Ryan have.  I am confident that they can handle them effectively and ethically.  A year ago I probably wouldn’t have included the word ‘ethically’ but given what’s happened since then, focusing on ethics has become pretty important. Nathan has a little side business where [...]

Nathan’s Taxi Service

Keeping gas in the tank is painful for a teen when it’s their money that’s being sucked dry.  But it’s also a very important life lesson.  Teens need to learn how to manage money before we send them out into the world. So Nathan was thrilled when he came home yesterday with yet another opportunity to drive [...]

The Risk Continuum

Nathan finally did it.  He bought his first shares of a public company.  Not the company he was orignially looking at.  That was Pacsun and those shares have tripled in value in the few months he waited. No, instead, he bought several shares of Walmart.  He likes how environmentally conscious they are and believes that they can have a big [...]

A New Discovery

Ryan’s been bugging me for years if he could sell stuff on eBay.  I’ve always given him permission but he needs my help to get him started and we never got around to doing it.  So last week, when he asked me yet again, I decided it was time I put down whatever I was [...]

It’s Just That Easy

Ryan and two of his friends were hanging out the other night.  Earlier in the day before either friend came over, Ryan had been MySpacing one of them about buying baseball cards on ebay.  His friend had bought a Willie Mays card several months ago as an investment.  According to him, it has already increased [...]

Life’s Pleasant Surprises…and Lessons

Nathan wanted cash for the movie, Transformers 2, that he and a few friends are going to see this afternoon.  They’re going to the early show to save money but  Nathan still didn’t have enough cash on hand, so he and Ryan just returned from bringing the recycling to the recycling center.  These are the [...]

Soda, Anyone?

So this is how it starts.  5 flavors,1 carbonating canister, 3 bottles and 117 dollars.   It’s the creation of Ryan’s first business venture. Ryan’s paper route has earned him a lot more than just his $41 paycheck each month.  It’s taught him life lessons that only having a job can do.  Being accountable to a [...]