Kira Vermond - The Secret Life of Money: A Kids Guide to Cash

Text 2012 Kira Vermond
Illustrations 2012 Clayton Hanmer

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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Vermond, Kira
The secret life of money : a kids guide to cash / by Kira Vermond;
illustrated by Clayton Hanmer.

Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-926973-19-7 (Bound)
ISBN 978-1-926973-18-0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-926973-20-3 (E-book)

1. Money--Juvenile literature. 2. Finance, Personal--Juvenile
literature. 3. Children--Finance, Personal--Juvenile literature.
I. Hanmer, Clayton, 1978- II. Title.

HG221.5.V47 2012 j332.4 C2011-905814-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011935956

For my crackerjack sounding board, who gave me tons of ideas and even drew me pictures: James, Jay, Max, Michael, Charlie, Emerson, Maren, Taryn, and sweetie-pie Elizabeth. Kate and Scott from Central Public School, thanks for lending me your library. Speaking of which, Amanda, youre way too cool for school. Tristan, thanks for pitching in on a yuck Saturday and getting me out of a pinch. This book is also for Nadia, Dayle, and Dave, who gave me time in the summer to write it. Stand up and take a bow because Im so gigantically grateful. And of course, Nathan, who read it and laughed at all the right places. I didnt even have to pay you (much).

Kira Vermond

Money. Its a lot like an apple pie. Seriously. Im not making it up. (Okay, maybe I am a little...)

A pie starts with a bunch of random ingredients: flour, shortening, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, butter, and apples. But then you throw them together in a super-precise way, stick the whole lot in a hot oven, give it some timeand voil! Its just you, a fork, and a half-empty pie plate.

Moneys like that, too. A single nickel in your pocket doesnt have much of an impact on your life. Neither does a dime, a quarter, or even a dollar. But once you start mixing all those dollars and cents togetherplus a bunch of other people and their fundssuddenly money really becomes something you can sink your teeth into.

• If they get their hands on a pie, some people will polish the whole thing off.
• Others will eat a tiny sliver and save the rest for later.
• Some feel guilty after they eat even one little slice of that luscious apple goodness. (Not me! Bring it.)
• Others demand more pie even when theyve had enough.

• If they get their hands on a big wad of cash, some people will immediately run to the mall and spend the lot.
• Others will spend a tiny amount and save the rest for later.
• Some people feel guilty when they spend even a tiny fraction of their paycheck.
• Others want more and more moneyeven when they have enough.

When it comes to cash, were not exactly at a loss for words

Money, moolah, cheddar, currency, coins, dollars, notes, pounds, dough, greenbacks, bucks, bread, bacon, beans, clams, boffo, loonies, spondulicks. (Spondulicks? As in, Hey, take these here spondulicks down to the corner store and pick up some milk? Seriously?)

See what I mean?

Thats why Ive developed a taste for money over the years. Cash is complicated, but in a seriously fascinating way. It makes us happy, sad, fearful, and even embarrassed. Its got the power to destroy whole countries and save lives all around the world. Dont say thats not amazing.

Like many of you, Ive been interested in money since I was a kid babysitting and selling hotdogs at the hockey arena. What was this mysterious stuff that gave me the ability to buy a new T-shirt or hang out at the movie theater with my friends? And even weirder, why didnt the grown-ups around me ever seem to want to talk about it? These were big questions that needed big answers.

And it turns out I was right. Researching and writing this book has made me realize how mind-blowing money truly is. In fact, Ive learned so much this year that even Im spending and saving my money in a whole new way. (For example, money does buy happinessif you spend it the right way. More on that later.)

I have to admit I wish someone had handed me a book like this when I was a kid. But lucky for you, more and more people are coming to realize that financial literacy (thats fancy for money education) is something everyone should have access to a lot earlier in life. More kids are finally learning about debt, saving, and spending in school instead of stumbling across the information when theyre adults (adults who may already be in serious debt, because no one taught them how to handle their money in the first place!).

Ready to get started and sink your teeth into money now? Whether you already know how to read the stock markets or youre starting from scratch, this book is going to give you the goods to see money in a whole new way. The payoff is going to be huge. So why not read on?

CHAPTER ONE