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July 09, 2021

Teach kids about money this summer

Forget summer camps.

Teach your kids about saving money this summer and ignite their entrepreneurial spirit.

Starting a first job or a new job can be an exciting experience for your children.

Earning their own money and learning how to start a savings account or save-up for something they really want all adds up to growing up and being responsible with finances.

Some fun and rewarding summer jobs include operating a lemonade stand or a yard sale, starting a newspaper route or even setting up a babysitting or pet sitting service.

And don't let your kids get discouraged by any cranky neighbours who want to squeeze the enjoyment out of your kids' summer fun. As the children in the link above discovered, there are more people out there who want to support what they are doing than those who don't.

Over the years, my kids have had various entrepreneurial business ideas to keep them busy during the summer months including Kool-Aid stands and yard sales which proved to be quite lucrative -- in the coin department.

But all the small change quickly adds up and, in the case of my children, they donated their proceeds to the local Humane Society.

Paul Dilda, Head of North American Branch Channel, BMO Bank of Montreal, says, "Helping children learn how to manage their own money earned from summer work will allow them to appreciate the value of a dollar and the importance of managing money responsibly."

A quick and easy way today to tally up all the change your kids earn is to take them to one of the many free coin counting machines. They'll be given a receipt and they can choose to bank their money, buy that special item they have been longing for or even donate it to their favourite charity.

The important thing, though, is that your children are having a fun learning experience over the summer.

By Donna Donaldson, MSN Money

Have your kids started a creative summer job? If so, what kind of ideas did they come up with and how did they fare?

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...