back to school
Helpful resources for
money-smart kids
STEVEN LAIT
WHEN IT COMES to teaching kids about
the grown-up world of cash, lots of information and resources are available:
Reading, writing and ... money Teaching kids finances is a skill for life
; Moonjar Moneyboxes ( www.moon
jar.ca) offers a new spin on the old-fashioned piggy bank. Or get a free Money
Smarts 4 Kids Kit ( www.moneysmarts
4kids.com).
; Try online money games at www.
practicalmoneyskills.ca, the Great Piggy
Bank Adventure Game from Disney (piggy
bank.disney.go.com), and FamZoo (www.
famzoo.com).
By Kelly Putter
; Money apps include RBC’s
Learning Money with Leo (iPad, free) and
Kids Money (iPhone/iPad, free).
Kids, she says, can be entrepreneurs by
generating money based on their particular
passions, gifts and abilities. She also recom-
mends that parents teach children how to
leverage their time and money, bone up on
the magic of compound interest and explore
the freedom that comes with passive income.
“I want to empower kids, and this is my
way of doing so,” says van der Gulik. “If you
have to ask or beg for money, it doesn’t feel
good. When you create your own money, you
feel so confident. You’re giving something of
value back to the world.”
So how do kids create their own cash? If
they excel in dance, karate or French, they can
offer to tutor other kids in the neighbour-
hood—for a fee, of course. Or, they can make
a video of their special soccer moves or face-
painting techniques, which they can sell
online. Simple lawn and garden services, dog
walking or running errands for seniors are
good entrepreneurial jobs kids can take on
fairly easily. Even the classic lemonade stand
may work well if you live in a warm climate
and are near a well-travelled area or street.
A former teaching assistant and tutor, van
der Gulik uses storytelling as the main teach-
ing method in a 12-module course at www.
teachingchildrenaboutmoney.com. Through
audio, video, cartoons, storybooks, novels
and workbooks, students learn about setting
goals, how to value money and how to stay
focused on the road to financial success.
“One of the best ways to approach your
children about money is to come up with a
collective goal, such as a trip or a Wii system
for the whole family,” advises van der Gulik,
HELPING KIDS DEVELOP money smarts is
something many parents overlook in their
quest to raise well-rounded, happy members
of society. But a home-schooling entrepreneur from Uxbridge, Ontario, is working to
change that. Amanda
van der Gulik believes
that upping kids’ financial IQ is as important as
any traditional subject
taught in school.
; Read updates about financial literacy at www.financialliteracyincanada.com.
; Non-profits dedicated to financial
education include the Canadian
Foundation for Economic Education
( www.cfee.org), the Canadian Centre for
Financial Literacy ( www.theccfl.ca) and
Money School Canada ( www.money
schoolcanada.com).—KP
“Why would you
not teach your child how
to swim, if you knew that
once they grew up they
would have to swim to survive,” says the
Amanda
van der Gulik
39-year-old mother of two. “I say, don’t allow
your child to drown in debt due to a lack of
financial intelligence.”
JULY/AUGUST 2013 ;e Costco Connection 33
who practices what she preaches as a real
estate investor and cake decorator. “Kids feel
so bonded when they see their parents treat-
ing them as an equal.”
In the four years she’s been offering her
online course, van der Gulik has acquired
hundreds of students, mainly in North
America, but also in the United Kingdom,
Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and India.
Van der Gulik, a Costco member, has
designed a home-study program that teaches
the ABCs of money matters. For starters, she
says that parents need to conquer their “big
bugaboo” around money—and the sooner
they open up about family finances, the better. She says financial illiteracy is affecting
marriages, more of which are ending due to
money troubles, and driving up bankruptcy
rates, especially among those under 30.
Underlying her entrepreneurial spirit is
the firm belief that all children get an automatic boost of self-esteem by applying the
skills learned from an education in economics.
“By saying things like ‘We can’t afford it,’
we program children with a scarcity mentality
of ‘I don’t have the money. I can’t afford it. I’m
not good enough,’ ” she says. “If you change
that into ‘How can I make it happen?,’ it
changes your brain and you’ll think ‘OK, I
have to find a way.’ ” C
Kelly Putter is a freelance writer based in
Beamsville, Ontario.
