Girls love getting and spending money. They love to buy themselves their own clothes, trinkets, and even their own cool school supplies. The latest Planet Girl book, Centsibility by Stacey Roderisk, Ellen Warwick, and Monika Melnychuk (Kids Can Press), gets girls, ages 10 and up, thinking about making, saving, and spending money.
Getting the Money
The hardest part about money management for tweens and teens is coming up with ways to make money. Centsibility discusses the options for girls: chores, odd jobs, getting a job outside the home, and starting a business.
Of these sections, starting a business was the most inspiring. Girls should be encouraged to evaluate their skills and what they enjoy doing to discover hidden business potential. Whether is walking neighborhood dogs, shoveling snow, or making decorative cards, there is always some way to earn some money with a skill or chore one likes to do.
Saving the Money
Sometimes saving money can be as difficult as earning money. Centsibility offers tips and sage advice on how to save money. From setting aside ten percent of earnings to opening a bank account, girls will see why saving money is necessary. There’s even a nifty idea using a saving jar to save for something special, such as a new bike or a cool purse.
Spending the Money
Spending is always the easy part. Girls want a lot of things, but do they actually need all those things? Centsibility teaches girls how to identify needs and wants and how to avoid impulse buying.
Giving to Charity
Centsibility finishes off with a chapter on donating time or money to charities. It’s always good to give to those less fortunate, even if the giver is not super rich herself. Girls will learn how to choose charities and how they can raise money for their favorite charities.
Great Teaching Tool
The best thing about Centsibility is that it’s fun. It shows girls how they can save for something special and it shows them that they can make their very own money. What’s more, Centsibility is inspiring. It gets girls thinking about starting their own business and gets them looking into different types of jobs they might be interested in. There are even some nifty crafts girls can make to help them save more money.
Homeschooling parents will love Centsibility. The chapters can easily be broken down into lessons for math class or economics. Centsibility also makes room for discussion about chores and allowance, putting money into savings, and getting a job outside of the home.
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