Robin F. Brancato - Money: Getting It, Using It, and Avoiding the Traps

IT HAPPENED TO ME

Series Editor: Arlene Hirschfelder

Books in the It Happened to Me series are designed for inquisitive teens digging for answers about certain illnesses, social issues, or lifestyle interests. Whether you are deep into your teen years or just entering them, these books are gold mines of up-to-date information, riveting teen views, and great visuals to help you figure out stuff. Besides special boxes highlighting singular facts, each book is enhanced with the latest reading list, websites, and an index. Perfect for browsing, theres loads of expert information by acclaimed writers to help parents, guardians, and librarians understand teen illness, tough situations, and lifestyle choices.

1. Learning Disabilities: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Penny Hutchins Paquette and Cheryl Gerson Tuttle, 2003.

2. Epilepsy: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay and Sean McGarrahan, 2002.

3. Stress Relief: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Mark Powell, 2002.

4. Making Sexual Decisions: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by L. Kris Gowen, Ph.D., 2003.

5. Asthma: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Penny Hutchins Paquette, 2003.

6. Cultural Diversity: Conflicts and Challenges: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2003.

7. Diabetes: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Katherine J. Moran, 2004.

8. When Will I Stop Hurting? Teens, Loss, and Grief: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Edward Myers, 2004.

9. Volunteering: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2004.

10. Organ Transplants: A Survival Guide for the Entire Family: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Tina P. Schwartz, 2005.

11. Medications: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Cheryl Gerson Tuttle, 2005.

12. Image and Identity: Becoming the Person You Are: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by L. Kris Gowen, Ph.D., Ed.M., and Molly C. McKenna, Ph.D., 2005.

13. Apprenticeship: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Penny Hutchins Paquette, 2005.

14. Cystic Fibrosis: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Melanie Ann Apel, 2006.

15. Religion and Spirituality in America: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2006.

16. Gender Identity: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Cynthia L. Winfield, 2007.

17. Physical Disabilities: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Denise Thornton, 2007.

18. Money: Getting It, Using It, and Avoiding the Traps: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Robin F. Brancato, 2007.

ROBIN F. BRANCATO

It Happened to Me, No. 18

SCARECROW PRESS, INC.

Published in the United States of America

by Scarecrow Press, Inc.

A wholly owned subsidiary of

The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.scarecrowpress.com

Estover Road

Plymouth PL6 7PY

United Kingdom

Copyright 2007 by Robin F. Brancato

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brancato, Robin F.

Money : getting it, using it, and avoiding the traps : the ultimate teen guide / Robin F. Brancato.

p. cm. (It happened to me ; no. 18)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5632-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-8108-5632-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. TeenagersFinance, Personal. 2. Finance, Personal. I. Title.

HG179.B7224 2007

332.02400835dc22

2006036875

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

For Clayton, Jason, Francesca, Olivia, and Luca

ODE TO MONEY

George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson

The fresh crispness of the bill you receive from the bank

The wrinkled discolored almost ripped ones

You receive as change

Then the emptiness

Where are you, money?

Where are you when there are no bills in my wallet?

When I have no money for lunch

and I hear my stomach growling?

Why do I see you in someones elses pocket?

Why is someone else holding you in their hands?

Why not me?

When will you come back?

When will we become friends again?

Why, money? Why?

Come back into my wallet

For I need that touch, that smell

I need to feel the crispness

I need you

Mabel Addai, age 17

1. In the 1500s and 1600s, American colonists used for exchange

A. money from the countries they came from.

B. wampum (shells on a string).

C. Spanish pieces of eight (silver dollars).

D. A, B, and C.

2. The first paper money printed in America was called

A. pounds.

B. continentals.

C. buffaloes.

D. denominations.

3. Congress passed a law establishing a money system using the dollar in the year

A. 1692.

B. 1792.

C. 1892.

D. 1992.

4. The famous face that appears on a U.S. $100 bill is

A. George Washington.

B. Abe Lincoln.

C. Andrew Jackson.

D. Ben Franklin.

5. When paper money gets too old and worn to use, it is

A. kept in an underground vault.

B. shredded.

C. burned.

D. recycled.

See answers in appendix.

I would like to thank the students, teachers, and administrators of Teaneck High School, Teaneck, New Jersey, for their willingness to offer me opinions on money and to allow me to observe them in classes. I particularly appreciate the help of students and teachers in business education and English classes. Thanks also to students and teachers of Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, New Jersey, and of Solomon Schechter High School, New York, and to the individual teenagers I communicated with around the country.

In addition to the Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition, source material especially useful to me includes Susan Shellys The Complete Idiots Guide to Money for Teens, Jayne A. Pearls Kids and Money, and David and Tom Gardners The Motley Fool Investment Guide.

I have been lucky enough, as I worked on this project, to enjoy the research and the writing itself and to profit from the suggestions and support of family members and of several close friends who were interested in this book.