A Smart Girl's Guide: Money. Nancy Holyoke
let’s go shopping!
the wonderful world of shopping
Quiz what kind of shopper are you?
money!
money?
Money.
It’s great to have, fun
to spend, and (for some of us,
anyway) hard to keep. Think how
much money has flowed through
your hands already in your life-
time. Take just this month . . .
a girl and her money
There’s your
allowance,
the money you
get for lunch
every day,
That’s at least
$
100 in
four short weeks!
Why, there could be $1,000 a year
coming and going through your
very own wallet.
Who knew!
Yet if you stop and think about it, there is
money flowing in and out of pockets all
around you. Where does it all come from?
In a word:
work.
If you have a quarter in your pocket, it’s
because at some point someone earned
it—maybe you, maybe your parents,
maybe Aunt Maud, maybe someone else.
But someone.
the money your
parents gave
you for the
movies,
and the check
your Aunt Maud
sent for your
birthday.
money moments
Money influences how we see other people and how we see ourselves.
Maybe that’s why the decisions we make about it often have more to do
with emotion than with math.
Follow these girls through a day of money decisions and observations.
What emotions are they feeling?
7:55
a.m.
“Here’s your allowance,” says Sierra’s mother. “Don’t spend it all on
something silly.” Sierra nods. She’ll try, but if Morgan and Amber want
to go to the mall after school, she can’t exactly say no.
9:30
a.m.
Genevieve has a new purse. Sierra knows for a fact that her brother’s
car cost less than that brand of purse. She decides Genevieve
is stuck-up.
11:16
a.m.
Amber is smiling as she walks down the hall. Yesterday, she figured out
she’d earned $253 selling ankle bracelets since September. $253 of her
very own! She feels like she grew two inches overnight. She decides
she’ll spend $5 at the mall after school. She can afford it.
1:36
p.m.
“Cool shoes,” says Amber to Morgan. “How much did they cost?” The
real answer is a lot, but Morgan knows her family has more money than
Amber’s. “I’m not sure,” she says. “I think they were on sale.”
4:30
p.m.
The girls have been at the mall for an hour. Morgan and Amber both
bought something. “You’ve got to get something, too, Sierra,” they say.
Sierra does.
6:10
p.m.
The credit-card bill has arrived.