Several weeks ago I was invited to speak about kids and finance at a conference of business editors and writers in Denver. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the reporters who regularly call to interview me when they're writing about kids and money.
Professionally, I found it significant that the topic was on the program at all. Ten years ago, when I started writing about the subject, it probably wouldn't have been the case. But financial literacy has gathered momentum over the past decade, and it's gratifying to see so much interest in helping kids — and their parents — learn how the big-picture economy works, as well as how to manage their own finances.
For me, a high point of the meeting was our visit to Young Americans Bank. This unique institution caters exclusively to young people ages 21 and under, offering savings and checking accounts, credit cards and business loans, and has customers from all 50 states (www.yacenter.org).
It's part of the Young Americans Center for Financial Education, which also gives kids hands-on lessons in free enterprise through its Young AmeriTowne. This true-to-life town of 17 businesses is run by fifth graders, who elect a mayor, publish a newspaper and operate a bank. It serves nearly 14,000 students a year, and schools are signing up three years in advance.
The center also offers programs for young entrepreneurs, a number of whom were there to greet us — and let us sample their wares. We met, for example, 12-year-old Whitney Harnett, who saved up five years' worth of earnings from her hand-painted picture frames to buy a horse. Whitney's 8-year-old sister, Shelby, who sews and sells handbags — "cool purses for cool people" — and Samantha Warren, who creates beaded jewelry to die for.
Then there were teenagers Evan and Elise Macmillan, who employ a dozen other kids on their Chocolate Farm, which makes farm-themed chocolate candy — cows on a stick, pigs in mud — and also sells cookbooks, with recipes by Elise, and do-it-yourself kits (www.chocolatefarm.com).
Meeting talented kids like these makes you shake your head and wonder where they come from. But, of course, they come from regular families who encourage their children to act on their ideas, aided by organizations such as Young Americans, which gives them a market for their wares and funding to help develop their business. It's capitalism at its best.
P.S. The chocolates were yummy.
Have a question about kids and finances for Dr. Tightwad? Write to Dr. T at 1729 H St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. Or send the good doctor an e-mail message (and any other questions for this column) to jbodnar@kiplinger.com.