Mrs. 1500 here.
April is Financial Literacy Awareness Month and this Friday marks the 20th anniversary of Take Your Daughter to Work Day. Teaching our two young daughters about all things financial is very important to us. Mr. 1500 works from home, so every day is “Take your daughter to work day.” However, we did take our children to the Denver Mint to learn a little bit more about money.
All of this money-related stuff begs us to interview the little 1500’s to see where their financial literacy level is. The older one is 6, and we will call her C. The younger one is 3, and we will call her D.
What does Dad do for a living?
D: He works. (When pressed further to describe what he does every day…) He eats breakfast and drinks water. He plays with us. (Mr. 1500 note: Ummm employer if you’re reading, I really am working!)
C: He gets money so we can buy things. (When pressed further to describe what he does every day…) He talks to people and types. (Mr. 1500 is a computer programmer who works from home. He spends an inordinate amount of time on the phone, and he does type quite a bit.)
What is money?
D: I don’t know.
C: Coins and dollars are to buy things with. People make them and then give them to other people.
perhaps she will be a cowgirl
What do you want to be when you grow up?
D: I WANT TO BE A BANANA WHEN I GROW UP!!! (Said with much enthusiasm. A moment later she chipped in with ‘a dinosaur’ or ‘maybe Minnie Mouse.’)
C: An artist, if I get good at painting. Or a veterinarian, or someone who works at Target.
Can you guess which one?
What do they do at the Denver Mint?
D: Make money. (What type of money?) Coins.
C: Make golden bars and pennies. (The Mint is also a storage facility for some of the nation’s gold.)
What is your favorite toy?
D: Octopus!
C: I have my 5th wiggly tooth, Barbies. They are always fancy.
What is your favorite animal and why?
D: A giraffe because I have one. (She has a stuffed toy giraffe.)
C: A cat, they are so fluffy and cute.
How much money have you saved?
D: A lot!
C: 600 coins and 1 dollar. I am going to spend it on college and save it for customers.
What are you saving your money for?
D: A pink octopus!
C: 10,000 piggy banks, 10,000 coins and golden bars.
How much does a gallon of milk cost? A car? A house?
D: Milk: $32. Car: $32. House: $100.
C: Milk: $1. Car: $10. House: $10,000 million.
What is money for?
D: Golden, it means water. (She was losing interest at this point.)
C: You spend it on things.
What did you learn from Junior Achievement?
C: We just do money. Mrs. Megan comes in and tells us a story.
(D didn’t answer because Junior Achievement is through the school and she does not attend yet.)
So we have a long way to go with D, but C seems to be grasping the concept (except for those working-at-Target aspirations. We need to aim a little higher for a career, but she can certainly work there during her teens…)
Ask your children these same questions and let’s see what kind of responses we get. Please include their age with your reply.
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Kids are so cute. I remember the first Take Your Daughter to Work as well. I was one of the few to participate at a large research facility. As it turned we were interviewed by a large daily newspaper. My first exposure to how the media prints what they want and not what was actually said.
Ah, yes. The “I heard what I wanted to hear” quote. How fun. At the first TYDTWD, I was working out of a woman’s house. Her kids were with us after school. My dad worked at a pharmaceutical warehouse. They did not participate that year.
I did work at a place that went all out for TYDTWD, and boy, did NOTHING get done that day.
This is adorable! I remember take your daughter to work day fondly. Ice cream may or may not have been involved….
“C: 600 coins and 1 dollar. I am going to spend it on college and save it for customers.” Great answer! It’s really impressive that she’s already thinking about saving up her money for college and just saving in general. Sounds like “C” has some good role models.
Yes, but “C” also has some bad role models. There is a series of books called Fancy Nancy by Robin Preiss Glasser. Fancy Nancy loves being fancy and “C” loves reading these books and wants to be like Nancy. Mr. 1500 has tried to teach her that it is better to be smart and hard working than fancy. “C” responded, “NO, It’s better to be fancy!”
My daughter is 4 and went through a big Fancy Nancy phase a while back. One thing I like about Fancy Nancy is that she doesn’t need expensive stuff to feel fancy. She can turn mundane everyday objects into something fancy through imagination and a hefty dose of spunk. I’ve seen my daughter do the same thing. A scrap of fabric destined for the trash suddenly becomes a fancy shawl. A hair rubber band becomes a fancy bracelet. I love it!
Hi D.
Yes, I do like that Nancy makes anything fancy. But the words that come out of C’s mouth about being fancy start to get irritating after a while.
Hrmm…I have $32 cash in my wallet, should I buy a gallon of milk or a new car? That’s awesome. I’ll have to save this post and ask my kids these questions whenever my wife and I have them and they’re old enough.
Artist, veterinarian or Target worker. One of these things is not like the other.
JC @ Passive Income Pursuit recently posted…Stock Valuation Method – Discounted Cash Flow
JC, I guess it all depends on if you are hungry or need to get somewhere.
Yeah, I was so proud that she aspires to work at Target. At least it isn’t WalMart. I have taught her well…
I feel like I got my daily dose of adorable. I don’t have children yet, but when I was 3 I wanted to be a farmer and when I was 6 I wanted to be the pink Power Ranger, a racecar driver, and a country singer. I am an accountant. *3 year old Erin doesn’t know what that is and 6 year old Erin is disappointed*
I’m pretty impressed by their answers. I love how milk and cars cost the same amount :).
Erin @ Red Debted Stepchild recently posted…Living Under Elephants: A Renter’s Story
I think every little girl wanted to be the pink power ranger. I myself wanted to be a truck driver, because you got to stay at a hotel every night. Then I got a traveling job where I did stay at a hotel every night. Not so cool when you are an adult…
Haha fantastic interview! If new cars cost $10… would you ever buy used again?
The pictures are classics as well!
writing2reality recently posted…Pardon my 404′s, Site Under Construction!
Thanks, writing 2 reality.
Yeah, if I see any of those $10 cars, I will let you know.
Lol, this is awesome! You can always count on kids to give the best answers. We had to remove our stuffed giraffe from the usual stash of toys as he was becoming too of of a weapon. 🙂
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted…Things That Make me Pull My Hair Out
Ah, yes. My girls have not yet started using weapons. They are just entering the hitting phase. What a joy.
“We had to remove our stuffed giraffe from the usual stash of toys as he was becoming too much of of a weapon.”
Hilarious!! This makes me laugh my ass off!
Its amazing the things you say when you have kids: “Stop licking the shopping cart!” immediately comes to mind.
Can’t help but think of Ralph from the Simpsons. “I’m a Banana!” =)
Too cute. The girls sound like they’ve got good heads on their shoulders even for being so young.
Mrs PoP @ Planting Our Pennies recently posted…It’s Too Easy to Buy Stuff These Days!
Thank you, Mrs. PoP.
I am looking for a banana costume for Halloween… Size 5.
Great responses. Who wouldn’t want to be a banana??
You have some adorable children! Keep up the great education.
Jacob@CashCowCouple recently posted…How to Make a Cute To-Do Board
Thanks, Jacob.
You really do have to educate your children yourself, when it comes to finances.
When I was younger I wanted to be a banana when I grew up too! This post is too cute, I loved it!!! 🙂 I think it’s AWESOME that they are so young but already grasp the idea of saving money and for college too!
Girl Meets Debt recently posted…A Little Bit About GMD
Thanks, GMD for validating “D”‘s choice for future career. There might not be money in being a banana, but “There’s money in the banana stand.”
I can’t wait until or kids are able to grasp concepts about money. I’ve been trying to teach my oldest daughter about entitlements recently. Like just because she attempts to eat dinner doesn’t mean that she deserves dessert. I’m half kidding. 🙂
Your kids are awesome though. Hell, let them work at Target. You never know, they could own the entire company one day. Especially with parents like the 1500s.
Johnny Moneyseed recently posted…Paying off your mortgage early is silly
I think that education, like discipline, has to be started very early. By the time they are acting poorly with regards to money or behavior, it is too late to reteach. As soon as they are old enough to grasp the concept, start explaining it little by little. Good luck!
What, you didn’t pay Ten Thousand Million Dollars for your house?
Thanks, Jake. I am happy with their progress. I need to remind myself they are only 6 and 3. Can you imagine getting a lecture on stocks from a 6 year old?
Grayson,
All too soon, he will be talking so much you will long for the days when he did not talk back. Enjoy all the little baby noises!
How much water are you drinking? I know that we talk about that a lot in Denver…I love it when people post what kids think. They are so freaking cute! And confusing all at the same time.
Yes, kids are great. I am looking forward to interviewing them again.
Thanks, Anna.
There are a few of my friends kids who I love to ask questions. When you ask an adult how they’re doing they typclically just say good. 6 year olds tell you all about their dat and how they dug for worms. Such a fun time!
CashRebel recently posted…Earth Day And Corporate Sustainability
Oh, before I had kids I remember teaching friends’ children all sorts of things. So glad they don’t remember to retaliate…
Mrs. 1500 recently posted…When I grow up, I want to be a Banana!
Very cute. Also, seems like they’re certainly receptive to talking about finance!
They are receptive, because we make it fun. I think if we sat them down and went on about calls and puts and things that make little sense to grown adults, or talked about stocks like IBM and American Express, they would be bored and walk away.
But when you tell them they own a part of McDonalds, that gets their attention.
Your kids answers were epic. Both you and Mr. 1500 are doing a great job in teaching your kids financial literacy at an early age.
By the way, I like D’s Banana answer. In the future, when D read this article, she’ll be laughing out loud for sure. 🙂
Elvin @ Journey To Millions recently posted…Fourth Step to Your Journey to Millions: Spend Money The Right Way (Create a Spending Plan)
Thank you, Elvin. We want them to grow up to be well educated, and the American education system just doesn’t have time to teach them about finances. Which is too bad. But keep pumping Geometry into them. I haven’t had to use the Pythagorean Theorem since 10th grade…
Great post – thanks for the giggles. :-). All of this talk about being a banana reminds of Banana man – I’ll send you a pic. I’ve been thinking about making him a regular contributor on the blog – my 2nd oldest “created”him when she was 8 or 9. 🙂
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer recently posted…Nana’s Banana Bread
Ohh the innocence. How adorable. Thanks for the laughs. 😀
KC @ genxfinance recently posted…How to Save Money on Food With These 5 Tips
Adorable! My boy is only a bit over 2 so no concept except “Mine?” and “Mine!” can’t wait to have some convos with him about money.
Evan recently posted…Is Anyone Stupid Enough to Care if a CEO’s Salary is $1?
“Mine!” Hilarious! Kids pick that one up really fast. That and any bad words that slip out.