• Posts Tagged ‘kids’

    Can Teenagers Afford to Go Crusin’ For Fun Anymore?

    by  • October 28, 2011 • Tagged: , ,  • Comments

    Probably doesn't get very good gas mileage.

    Probably doesn't get very good gas mileage.

    image: mikebaird 

    I remember going to the gas station with my mom when I was a little wee lad. She’d give me $5 and I’d go tell the cashier, “Five bucks on pump three.” (on occasion she’d give me $10 and would also tell me to get $5 of lotto tickets, but that’s another post…) And that $5 of gas would last the week. Oh the days of yore.

    When I was a teenager one of the activities that I loved to do the most was to get in my (or my friends’) car, pick a direction, and drive. However, back when I was teenager I could fill up my crappy 80′s Japanese sports car’s gas tank for $10. Since I had a decent job, filling up the tank was no problem – friends usually pitched in as well. We had some epic drives, all starting from Chicagoland area, and ending up in Wisconsin, Indiana, or some very rural part of Illinois.

    A few days ago I filled up my early 2000′s Japanese compact car’s gas tank for $44.27. (Yay Chicago for having the highest gas prices in the nation.) There’s no way that the teenage me would be able to afford $45 of gas every week, or even every 2 weeks. Well, I probably could have afforded it but I wouldn’t have any money left over for other recreational activities. I got to wondering, do teenagers go out and just drive anymore? If not, that really sucks because it was such an enjoyable part of my teenage life.

    Do you have teenager kids or know of any? What are they doing if not driving around aimlessly?

     

    Real Money, Real Investments – Giving $20,000 to First Graders

    by  • March 31, 2008 • Tagged: , ,  • Comments

    When I was 6 years old, I had many things to worry about. How would I avoid being picked last in kickball? How would I avoid being caught in a game of “tag”? What did I bring to lunch that would be an attractive item to swap for something better? Ah, the trials and tribulations of being a 1st grader.

    But what about worrying about what’s happening with your $20,000 portfolio? A lucky group of first graders at a Chicago high school now get to add “I” – investing – to the 3 R’s.

    Ariel Community Academy was established in 1996 by Ariel Capital Management, a Chicago money-management firm. Each 1st grade class at the school is given $20,000; the money at that point is mostly managed by employees of Ariel Capital Management, but the kids are briefed about what’s happening with the portfolio along the way. When the kids reach 6th grade the decisions are eventually turned over to them. Upon graduation from 8th grade, the initial $20,000 go back to the incoming 1st grade class; the profits can either be donated, invested, or pocketed, depending on the kids’ decision.

    These kids are extremely lucky to get this kind of experience. I shudder to think what I would have invested in when I was in 1st grade! $20,000 sure does buy a LOT of ring pops….

    (via Gapers Block)