Contents

Aleks Gridin

Most parents want their kids to be successful, happy and financially independent when they grow up.

But how can it be achieved? What should we teach them? How to teach? When should such education start? We have found answers to these and many other questions for you.

The book you are holding in your hands right now is unique. It is the key to your children’s future success. There are fairytale characters in it — the Mobiles — who will tell us how to learn to fulfill your dreams, set life goals properly and manage your personal finance. Its pages provide the basics of financial knowledge in a very simple and engaging manner, explaining the complicated economical terms and giving recommendations about how to preserve the family budget.

The book is intended to be read by parents and their children from 7 to 13 y.o. Read it to your children or read it together with them. But keep in mind: just reading a book will not lead to any results. It also requires constant work on a child’s own mind and putting the gained knowledge into practice. You should stay close to your children at such moments and help them with it.

This book contains certain tips following which your children can truly become rulers of their destiny.

Good luck!

Introduction

To how and where kids got acquainted with the mobiles

Have you ever heard anything of the Mobiles, dear friends? Nothing at all? Very strange indeed. It seemed to me that all kids knew they existed because, after all, most of us own mobile phones. Well, if you really know nothing about them, let me tell you.

Somewhere very far away, in another dimension, there is a magical world where mobile phones come alive and turn into the Mobiles. Yes, just imagine, mobile phones are able to walk and talk, and each of them has a name of its own. Besides, they know many interesting stories everyone should listen to.

Well, it just so happened that, by an incredible coincidence, a girl named Lera from the 4^th “B” grade and three perfectly ordinary boys named Stanislav, Daniel and Max had made their way there. Finding themselves in the world of the Mobiles and realizing they had got lost, friends have met a funny Mobile looking like a robot on their way, whose name was Bobby. He walked them to a huge city built of mirrors called Terapolis where he introduced them to his friends Robby Star, Larry, Donna and Mia.

Robby Star (who was the most brave and courageous of them all) has introduced Bobby to the kids as well. As for Larry, he was the one familiar with all kinds of things in the world and even gave classes at the Mobile academy.

Despite the serious look his glasses gave him, Larry turned out to be a kind and responsive Mobile. Later, his knowledge would help him come to the rescue to his friends and clarify the most various and tricky questions for them.

Next Bobby had introduced two pretty Mobile girls to the kids — Mia and Donna. Mia, who was slim, tall and covered head to toe in shiny rhinestones, was completely the opposite to short, plump Donna whose purple shell looked quite formal in style. Yet the friends just would not stop chit-chatting and it seemed that nothing in the world could put the end to it.

The Mobiles invited our kids to visit their favorite spot — “Mobby-café” located on the 88^th floor of the skyscraper. To get there, they had to use the special neo-gravitational elevator.

They served various mobby-cocktails at the café, but instead of real ice drinks there were devices with new programs and apps in the serving tubes, which were successfully downloaded through Wi-Fi by the Mobiles.

Conveniently having settled down on soft couches, Lera and the boys avalanched the Mobiles with questions.

— We are not able to move in the human world, yet we notice and understand everything. We are also there to help our owners by pitching ideas with them as replies to their inquiries. Only at night, when the whole world falls asleep, we whoosh through the time tunnel back into the Mobile world where we can all come as we are. Time ticks faster in here. One hour only equals to a few minutes in the human world, — Larry told them.

— But still, we took you here for a different purpose, — he continued. — You’ve got an incredible chance to know about one more world — world of finance.

— Curious, — Lera said, — it’s the first time I hear of this world. It must definitely belong to some other galaxy.

— Too funny! — Stanislav exclaimed. — To some other galaxy! I’ve heard something about it from my parents before. Finance is everything we own: money, things and different assets.

— And plenty of other stuff, — Robby Star added.

— This world has an incredible effect on your life and the lives of all people on Earth, — Larry explained to the kids.

— We also used to know nothing of this world ourselves. But thanks to the new app we have installed, each Mobile knows about it more than any university professor now.

— Finance is a tough issue in my family: my parents are short of money all the time, — Max said. — Our old car wouldn’t start up for three days in a row and so we couldn’t visit our granny in the countryside. It would be so great if things changed and my parents could afford a new car for themselves and an electric scooter for me.

— It will be so, — Larry replied. — It is especially for this that you are here. We will tell you how to develop an ability to achieve success and treat your financial resources right. And most importantly — you will learn to make your dearest wishes come true. To have enough money, people need to strive to increase their assets that generate income for them and also plan their expenses wisely.

Speaking of family budget, by assets we mean anything that brings you additional money. The opposite to assets is liabilities. This is what leads to loss of your finance, what takes your money away from you. And now let me reveal an interesting rule to you. It is, actually, a law and not a rule. The law of cause and effect. The core of this law is, your thoughts represent the cause while your status represents the effect. What you dream of, what you strive to achieve, would be likely to come true.

— Yes, it is true, — Stanislav said. — Listen, just during my swimming contest I wanted to be the winner so much that I constantly thought about it, imagining I had already won and had been awarded with a medal. And guess what? I have done it!

— Good job, — Larry said. — But you were using one more tool you did not know about, which is called visualization.

— Visu… what? — Lera asked again.

— Visualization. It is simple. You think of something you want to have and, at the same time, imagine you already have it. For example, Max, imagine you already have the modern black electric scooter and you are riding it feeling absolutely happy. Once you have pictured a dream in your brain, think of how it could be fulfilled, what could possibly be done about it, and take action. Because if you do nothing about it, nothing else will come around. When you expect something good might happen to you, it often turns out the very same way. And when you are afraid of something, like getting a splinter in your toe while walking barefoot, you can be sure the splinter would be just there.

— So my parents had it all wrong then, and that’s why they were not able to buy me a scooter, right? — Max asked.

— Not really. There is a whole science behind how one should build his train of thought properly, — Larry replied.

— It’s a pity we don’t study it at school, — Max said disappointedly.

— I’m sure, — Mia said, — that every school will have this subject in the nearest future. Because only fifty years ago people could only have dreamt about the existence of mobile phones, that most people on Earth would be able to communicate with each other from the distance. Due to the evolutional power of thought, dreams of one generation could become true for the next one. When you are a little older, I will definitely reveal all secrets of mind control to you. In the meantime, you can practice like this: imagine that you are safe and sound, happy, able to memorize perfectly well everything we are talking about and to put it all into practice, pursuing your dreams.

— Could anyone, please, reply to my other question: where did hoverboards come from? — Larry asked.

— I know! — Max was the first to reply. — They were shipped to us from China, Japan and some other countries.

— Nonsense, — Stanislav added. — At first, they were designed and manufactured at factories, and it doesn’t really matter where they were shipped from then.

— You are both right, — Larry said, — but originally, they were born in someone’s mind first. This is somebody’s realized dream. For example, the hoverboard was invented by Dean Kamen, a researcher from the US, while other engineers have improved its construction and removed the steering pole, which made the hoverboard easier to steer using not your hands but your body weight shifting from side to side…

At that moment, Bobby joined in:

— Guys, I also have an interesting task for you. I will help you to improve your memory. While drilling into finance topic, we will have to say many unusual terms which are difficult to remember. However, there is a key to any memorizing challenge. When each of you gets a bunch of such keys, you will be able to memorize any new word, even the difficult one, like magicians and wizards do. To do this, you will have to find a match to this new word among those words and expressions you already know well. So, for example, it would be easy to remember the word “permission” if you connect it with what you usually hear from your parents: “Don’t take things without permission…”

— Yes, this way I’ll never forget that one, — Daniel said, — seems like I’ve memorized it forever.

— Let’s try once more, — Stanislav said, — but this time we’ll pair the words ourselves.

— Great, — Bobby replied. — I suggest that we tried the words “assets” and “liabilities”. Can you handle these?

— Easily, — Stanislav replied. — I’ve already made them up. Our Lera is very active and self-motivated, which makes her an important “asset” of our company. On the other hand, our classmate Sveta Kukarekina is passive about everything and “liable” to staying away from our games. When I see Lera, I recall assets right away, whilst seeing Sveta reminds me of liabilities.

— Just brilliant! — Bobby exclaimed. — Dear friends, I expect more frequent usage of this first magical key from you. The second key lies in attention and repetition. When you listen to or read things attentively, do not get distracted and you will remember them all much better. And if you recite the same material on the following day, this “key” of yours will really turn to gold. And now let’s get to the third key, the last one. Any information could be “digested” better once you have told it to others, to absolutely any person you like: your classmates, friends, parents.

— Oh, no need to worry about that! We will surely share our knowledge about how to treat your finance properly with our friends and parents! — the kids all exclaimed at once.

— But don’t forget the crucial point: it’s necessary that you put this knowledge into practice, to make this your daily habit, — Bobby added.

— And how long does it take a person to acquire a new habit? Can anyone tell me? — Robby Star asked the kids.

— I know. To develop the habit, one might need 21 days at least, — Stanislav responded for everyone.

— Remember: a habit builds character while character builds destiny, — added Bobby to finish his story.

Chapter One

Where each of the kids gets a “Dream map” of their own

— Well, my young financiers, the time has come to do the most important and interesting thing. Now we are going to draw a real map of your dreams, — Robby Star said secretly.

— Wow! There will be a pirate island on mine, and I will mark the spot with buried treasure with a cross! — Max exclaimed.

— And I’ll draw the flying fairies on my map, — Lera said.

— Wait, — Stanislav said, — we should let Robby Star tell us first what kind of a map it is. I think this map should picture something we dream of and what we want to achieve. We have the same one at home, on the kitchen wall. Parents have added photos of a beautiful house, a theme park of their own and their dream car. And you know what, recently they have bought the very same car that was in the photo.

— Well done, — Robby Star praised Stanislav, — you have got everything right. You must include something you dream about in this map. I also advise you to put the map onto your bedroom wall so you could take a look at it every night before bedtime, speaking your mind and imagining your dreams to come true.

— By the way, I heard an interesting expression from my parents:

“If one has no dream of his own, he will spend his whole life working on helping others pursue their dreams”, — Stanislav said, looking proud of himself.

After a little chat and a discussion of what should be drawn on their dream maps, the kids took their pencils and got down to work.

Lera was the first to finish.

— Oh, how marvelous, — she said, admiring her own drawings, — who would have thought!

— Cool! Can we have a look? — Daniel asked, trying to peek at Lera’s masterpiece from behind her shoulder.

— Alright, here you are, — Lera unfolded the poster on the table. — The green palm trees by the sea represent the Spanish coastline. My parents had promised to take me there long time ago, but father is always busy at work, and the tour price is so high that we have to delay our trip for two years in a row. The concert hall with figurines represents my performance at the ballroom dance tournament. My partner and I win the first prize there.

— And what are these wigwams on the right? Is it an Indian village? — Max asked.

— Oh, you don’t understand! I’ve always dreamt of a camp where kids could arrive from all cities and countries, where you could live in tents, cook food on a fire and swim in the mountain river! — Lera exclaimed.

Max was the next to show his map. There was a new car on it, a tablet and a hoverboard. The last to display their masterpieces were brothers Stanislav and Daniel. They both had a cottage by the sea where they both wanted to live, mountain bikes and a theme park that looked like Disneyland.

— Great drawings! — Robby Star praised them. Your dreams turned out to be so colorful and amazing that I want to have some of these for myself.

— Then join in and start dreaming with us. Let these dreams be yours as well, — Lera suggested.

— Thank you, I will think about it, — the Mobile thanked her.

— And now, friends, choose your top-level dream and trace it with a marker, drawing number one next to it, — Larry asked. — Try to make this red line bold enough, like this. Ready? Then put number two next to your other dream, the little less significant one. Do the same with all your dreams down to the last, smallest one. Done it? Great! Now your dreams have become clear-cut and turned into goals, the importance of which you have just determined. The first step is taken. But please, mind: you will have to work hard in the nearest future to achieve these. Perhaps, you will come across some temporary defeats and disappointments, but be sure they are only your point of leverage for the further achievements and success. “Give me a lever and I’ll move the Earth”, — Archimedes, the Ancient Greek scientist once said. Ordinarily, only determined people gain success, not afraid to fail or look ridiculous and different in the eyes of others. Those who believe their dreams can be real. You definitely know such people — Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and many others.

— Coca-Cola’s creation history is a clear example of how one man could fulfill his dream about creating a unique drink, and the other man had pursued his by creating one of the largest companies in the world.

— How did they manage to do it? — Daniel asked.

Robby Star started his narration:

— In the distant year 1886, an American pharmacist John Pemberton dreamt of inventing a multi-purpose medicine from all diseases and becoming famous. However, persistent experiments have finally led to the creation of Coca-cola drink. It was called this way because its main ingredient was the tincture of coca leaves mixed with the extract of tropical cola tree nuts. Coca-Cola has turned out to be a powerful tonic. The problem was, its taste had been quite unpleasant in the beginning, so Pemberton had to work hard, mixing ingredients and updating the formula for multiple times. In the end he succeeded in improving the taste, but unfortunately, John Pemberton wasn’t able to live to the moment when Coca-Cola became popular among the people. Long after his death, a talented entrepreneur Asa Candler had found a Coca-cola manufacturing company, and also registered the trademark. Coca-Cola has been acknowledged the most valuable brand in the world for multiple times. For many years this company has been bringing sufficient income to its shareholders.

— Cool! I had no idea Coca-Cola had been invented so long ago, more than 130 years already, — Stanislav said surprisingly. — Wish I could have that much success and own a company that huge!

— Success doesn’t come to you by itself. You are the one walking towards it, — Larry explained. — By the way, the road to success is not always smooth. But you should know, that first of all, you need money and other material possessions to gain more freedom and do more good deeds in benefit of your country and the world as well. Also, one should never forget that money could never replace solid friendship and true love.

— I suggest stopping here and “going beyond rhetoric”, or rather say, getting down to work, because only with the help of labor one’s dreams can possibly be achieved — Bobby said, interrupting his friend Larry.

Chapter Two

Where the mobiles tell us stories of labor and production

— Labor is human performance in creating the essentials of life, — Bobby explained. — Its most important criteria is called labor capacity. If you work at the candy factory and pack candies, the bigger capacity will belong to those who will pack more candies within the same time period. For example, one hour.

— And my favorite proverb goes like this: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”, — Larry joined in.

— Things are quite simple on Earth. Those who work for others are called employees, and those who work for themselves are entrepreneurs, — Bobby continued.

— From the word “enterprise”? — Stanislav asked.

— Correct, — Larry replied. — Entrepreneurs deal with manufacturing and selling things or providing different services. When you attend personal dance classes or the swimming pool, know that it had all been organized by entrepreneurs who receive tuition fees from your parents.

Now let’s get back to employees. Employees are people who sign labor contracts and work for others, for example, companies or entrepreneurs. When applying for a job, they take a special paper with them — a resumé. It is written down there where the employee had been studying and working and what he or she is good at.

— You can have some help in finding a good job with recruitment agencies, such as “HeadHunter”, — Bobby continued.

— Headhunters? “Bounty hunters”, you mean? — Daniel asked again because he knew English quite well.

— Right. They were called this way because they seek the qualified employees for the companies and entrepreneurs, “the best minds”, so to say.

— Father had told me and Stanislav that the employees’ salary depends on what they do, how well they can do it and how difficult it is to replace them, — Daniel said.

— There are many people able to sweep the streets, but those who can design spaceships are really hard to find. Their job is difficult and demanding with lots of responsibility. It’s not easy to replace them with other employees quickly, so their labor is paid in a much better way, — Stanislav explained.

— It’s all correct, — Larry confirmed. — And now let’s talk about production. Production is a process of creation of different essentials.

Production includes three factors. First one — the human factor — is labor. We already know that people with proper knowledge and labor skills are required to start production. Second factor — the means of labor — tools, machines and different equipment. And factor number three — the subject of labor. It is a thing or a combination of things a person can adapt for his own needs. For example, it could be a wooden workpiece processed with the help of a milling machine.

— I got it, — Daniel said jokingly. — Pinocchio, before father Gepetto finished carving him out, had been a subject of labor himself.

— And now tell me, please, what are all the factors I’ve mentioned united with? — Larry asked.

— I don’t know. Are they anyhow united? That’s too difficult for me, — Max sighed.

— Even I don’t know, — Stanislav shrugged, confused.

— If you all give up, I will tell you. Of course, they are all connected by technology. Technology is knowledge about how to carry out industrial processes, — Larry finished, wiping his forehead (pardon me, his display) with a handkerchief.

— I can see you are all tired of complicated terms. It means that my time has come to show you how all this is put into practice, — Donna said. — For example, Max’s mother has decided to cook meatballs. Their recipe is exactly their technology in some way. So, we take a mother — the labor — provide her with the means of labor — a meat grinder, a frying pan, a cooker — and then add the subjects of labor — minced meat, salt and pepper — and we get the delicious meatballs for dinner.

— Unbelievable! — Max sighed. — I could never imagine that we have the whole industrial process at our kitchen. If we sold these meatballs as well, my mother would have become an entrepreneur. Fantastic!

— In fact, — Mia said, — there are many incredible stories in the human world telling us about inventing new products, and I’m going to tell you one of them. Ready to hear?

— Yes! — the kids shouted, jumping up from their couches they have just been sitting on so quietly.

— The legend has it that once upon a time a Spanish entrepreneur Enrique Bernat saw a young mother telling her child off because his hands were stained with melted candy, and he decided to create a candy that would make every child’s hands clean when he or she ate it. This is how the world-famous candies on sticks had been invented, having the same name as their production company — Chupa Chups.

— You should know, — Larry continued, — production plays a very important role in the modern world. Production helps many people’s dreams materialize.

— Now we are going to play manufacturers and turn your dreams into material objects. Who has any ideas about how I will do it? — Bobby asked the kids.

The kids remained silent, stunned. Only Daniel started looking for something. He walked around the Mobiles for several times and started peeking under couches and tables for some strange reason.

— What are you looking for? — Donna asked him.

— A magic wand for wishes, of course. Although, how can I see it if it’s virtual? Confess to us, you must have some program that helps dreams to come true.

— Of course, we have one, — Bobby replied.

— Oh Bobby, dear, I need this program as well, — Lera asked.

— I’m afraid to disappoint you, but this is not a magical program at all, and each of you can install it for yourself in the human world, — Robby Star said.

— We are going to materialize your dreams with a 3D-printer, — Bobby explained. — For this we shall use the ordinary three-dimensional designing program. When the 3D model is ready, we’ll use the slicer — a program that converts 3D-models to a special code for this printer. Since there is a girl among us, who is, moreover, so smart and pretty, we should give way for her to create something from her dreams, let it be a palm tree from the Spanish coast.

Before Bobby finished, a Mobile waiter appeared in front of them, carrying a big glass tray with a 3D-printer. After having adjusted the design program, Bobby called the kids to have a closer look:

— Well now, let’s move to the most crucial moment — turning a virtual palm tree into the real one. Connect the means of labor — a 3D-printer — to the electric socket and print the model out.

Kids, who were absolutely charmed by the process, saw how a palm tree was formed, step by step, out of the fast-hardening plastic. At first there was the foundation, then the tree trunk, and finally, the leaves and even a few tiny coconuts. When the palm tree was ready, Bobby had triumphantly given it to Lera:

— Finishing our conversation about labor and production, I would like to give some important advice to you, — Larry said. — The human world has entered the age of incredible discoveries, and those of us who are interested can gain some specific knowledge and be able to take numerous tests and experiments. Perhaps, one day you will make discoveries even more significant than Steve Jobs or Elon Musk did, for example.

— Also, — Larry continued, — I recommend you to set your eye on entrepreneurs. They are the people who produce and sell the goods you need and provide you with useful services. Their activity relates to plenty of risks, but a lucky entrepreneur is able to receive the endless income. Entrepreneurs change our lives for the better in many aspects.

— That way, if you like it risky and want to experiment and create something new, not willing to be restricted by your salary, you can become entrepreneurs and start your own business, or keep up with your family business if your parents have one.

— Yes, being a scientist or an entrepreneur is a true adventure, — Stanislav said dreamily.

— An adventure worth participating, — Lera added.

Chapter Three

Narrating about money and its origin

— Now the time has come to talk about money, — Bobby said. — Which of you knows its history?

— In the past, money was made of noble metals: silver and gold, — Daniel was the first to reply. — It weighed a lot. It took a caravan or and a ship with armed guards to deliver a sufficient sum of money. I’ve read many interesting books about how bandits and pirates used to hunt for the treasury.

— Yes, paper money did not exist back then. And surely, there was no chance to pay with a bank card, — Stanislav added.

Bobby listened to the kids and started his own narration:

— The division of labor has led to the need of exchanging the goods that different families and tribes used to possess. At first it was a random exchange of one item for another, but in time, barter trade had developed, which meant a regular exchange of items. From then on, different countries had developed their own local equivalents — goods that were in big and constant demand. In Ancient Russia it was fur of martin and sable, as well as cattle in Ancient Greece and Rome, tea in Mongolia. It took humanity thousands of years before the one and only internationally recognized equivalent was found — golden, silver and copper money.

— And when did paper money first appear? — Daniel asked.

— At first it appeared in China in the IX century, made of mulberry leaves. In Europe paper money was invented much later, in Russia it was first issued during the reign of Catherine II in year 1769. In China, money is called yuan, in the USA — dollars, in Germany and some other European countries — euros, in Russia — rubles.

— As you can notice, a coin has two sides: top side, called obverse, and bottom side, called reverse. On the obverse we can see Russia’s coat of arms — a double-headed eagle, and on the reverse — the coin’s denomination. However, in the USA and European countries the obverse is called “tails” and the reverse is called “heads” in our daily life. In the past, “heads” used to refer to the side of the coin with a person’s head on it. “Tails” used to refer to the opposite side, not because there was a tail on it, but because it was the opposite of “heads”.

— Now let’s recall your own experience of using money, — Larry offered. — Every time you go shopping you take paper money, metal coins or a bank card with you. Knowing the price of any product, such as a smartphone charger, you can calculate in advance, how much money you might need and take the certain number of banknotes.

— And I will take one thousand ten-cent coins. Let’s see how quick it will take the shop assistant to count them, — Max started fantasizing.

— Cash (paper or metal money) has been replaced with non-cash forms of payment lately, which means money having no physical embodiment, — Larry continued. — Non-cash implements finance stored on bank accounts and used for cashless payments for goods, services or other settlement schemes and transfers.

Financial transactions are carried out by making appropriate entries on the state of the accounts of payers and recipients. For example, if your parents have a bank card, they don’t need to have cash with them when they buy groceries at the supermarket. If there is a sufficient amount on the current (or, as they say in Russia, on the “card”) account, then by using a special terminal that allows accepting plastic cards for payment, or virtual cards linked to Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, parents will be able to pay at stores. To pay, you must enter a PIN code that will not allow you to withdraw money if, for example, your parents lose their bank card and it goes to some unscrupulous people’s hands.

— The flow of cash and non-cash funds is quite different from each other, — Bobby explained, — but there is nothing complicated about non-cash payments. The main difference about non-cash payments lies within the absence of physical money and the presence of the bank. In addition to the seller and the buyer, all transactions are accompanied and controlled by the financial institution that opened this account.

— But it happens sometimes when parents have funds on their current account but no cash. What should they do if they need this money urgently? — Max asked.

— In that case the ATM machine will help them, — Bobby said. — Thanks to the ATM, the owner of the bank card can withdraw the required amount of cash from his account, if he has this amount, of course. Banks install ATMs not only in their subsidiaries but usually, in supermarkets and large shopping malls, and also in many other places. So, finding an ATM is no big deal.

— Bobby, tell us about the inflation, please, — Lera asked. — I heard this word from my parents, but I didn’t really like the way they pronounced this word.

— Inflation can both be good or bad, — Bobby started to explain. — During inflation, money loses its value and goods’ prices start growing.

— At the same time, if the inflation is not higher than 3—4 percent a year, it is good because the entrepreneurs start looking for the promising areas for their investments more actively, and also expect an increase in prices for their goods and services, — Bobby continued. — If there is a general decline in the price level in the country, then this process is called deflation.

— This is all very interesting, but I am much more worried about how to earn enough money to fulfill my dreams and goals, — Max said.

— There is nothing difficult about that, — Robby Star explained. — I know hundreds of ways how to earn not only the necessary amount of pocket money, but also enough money for further investment and the fulfillment of your dreams. Here are some of them, listen and remember. Many adults, especially the elderly, are poorly educated about computer programs and smartphone applications. However, they need this knowledge for their work. They also often want to join the communities of their classmates on social media, but don’t know how to do it. You can give them a helping hand and give some training lessons for a small fee. In addition to the good income, this is also a great opportunity to try yourself as a teacher and master some teaching skills.

One more way is to create your own channel with the help of parents and upload videos on YouTube. To make your video interesting for people, think of a catchy scenario: tell people about your adventures, teach them how to assemble blocks, make crafts or cook, after all. I also know many successful teenagers on YouTube who teach their peers foreign languages, playing musical instruments etc. and have pretty good income. As soon as you have a large number of fans and subscribers, advertisers themselves will offer to pay you for ad placement.

Helping busy or elderly people with walking their pets can be a great job too. Just don’t try to handle large and active dogs right away. Better to start with small and obedient dogs. You probably won’t be paid a huge amount of money for this job, but morning walks will still be good for your health.

In addition, you can take part in the purchase of children’s goods together with adults as a mystery shopper. This is a very interesting job. The job of mystery shoppers is to note how professional the sellers are in serving customers and fulfilling their duties.

But do not forget that officially, with the consent of your parents, you can only be hired from the age of 14. These restrictions are introduced to prevent unscrupulous employers from exploiting child labor. There are exceptions though. If you want to star in a film, play a role in a theater or perform magic tricks in a circus, you can also sign an employment contract at an earlier age. Only your parents will sign the contract on your behalf.

Finally, let me offer you to solve one tricky riddle: “It costs nothing and yet one can achieve a lot using it”. What is it?

— A kind word, — Stanislav guessed from the first try.

— Yes, yes! You are quite right, — Bobby confirmed. In fact, a person’s success in business and in life depends on how good this person is in communication and making agreements with others.

— So what should be done to learn this? — Lera wondered.

— We’ll pay enough attention to this topic when we meet next time — Robby Star promised to the kids.

Chapter Four

Where the mobiles teach kids how to plan their income and expenses

— Friends, since now you know the origin history of money and some ways of moneymaking as well, it’s time to learn how to handle money properly, — Larry said, raising his index finger up. — So, which of you is given pocket money?

They all nodded contentedly.

— I got it, all of you, — Larry said, looking at the kids. — And how much money were you able to save till now? How much could you keep without spending them all on toys and candies?

Only Stanislav of them all could be proud of his accumulated amount of 500 US dollars. The others had to confess they all have spent their pocket money received in several years to the very last cent.

— So what should we do to save money? — Max asked.

— There are several solutions to this question, — Robby Star replied. — First of all, it is necessary to learn how to do it and then save a part of your pocket money or any other income every month. I suggest saving at least 10 percent for a start. Next, you need to make record of all your income and expenses. If your parents don’t keep track of their expenses, you really should involve them into this when you are back home. You should describe what your expenses were in the past months and then predict the potential expenses in the next few months or the next year if you succeed. Open the file and divide the page in the middle in two: your income will be on the left side and your expenses will be on the right. Now let’s compare your last month’s revenues and expenses. What do you have?

— I’ve spent absolutely everything my parents gave me. Besides, within that month I asked extra money from parents to buy things I couldn’t afford with my pocket money: roller skates, a new key case and kids’ makeup, — Lera said sadly.

When it was Stanislav’s turn to tell his story of income and expenses, he concentrated and started to explain in a serious manner:

— Well, at first my parents gave me 80 dollars of pocket money last month, so I’ve spent 30 dollars and managed to keep 50. Besides, my grandmother gave me 50 dollars when she stayed at our place. This way, I’ve added 100 more dollars to the 400 that I already had in my stash, and my amount of money became equal to 500 dollars.

— Marvelous, — Robby Star said. — Stanislav did it all right, he did not spend the full sum of money right away but saved a part of it. Tell us, please, what are you saving money up for?

— Close your eyes and don’t peek, — Stanislav said mysteriously. The Mobiles and kids covered their eyes with their hands and waited what would happen next.

— You may open them! — Stanislav exclaimed.

They all opened their eyes and saw Stanislav’s “dream map” in his hands. The boy has unrolled the scroll with the pictures of his dreams and pointed at the mountain bicycle:

— This is what I’m saving up for. The coolest mountain bike! I hope next year I’ll have the full amount for buying it. But I haven’t told you yet about one more source of my income. And it’s about how I earn money.

— I didn’t know you already work being only 10 years old. Please, tell us more about your job, — Donna asked the boy.

— Alright, — Stanislav agreed. — First of all, when my brother and I used to live at our granny’s in summer, we had to pick apples, pears and plums. Then we sold them at the bus stop not far from our place. We have learned how to persuade the buyers to purchase only our fruits by demonstrating our best examples to them.

— “If you buy pears from us, you’ll hit the jackpot!” That was our motto, — Daniel supported his brother.

— Also, my parents arranged it for me to work as a junior shop assistant for the summer. It was a small store in the countryside, where I helped to receive the goods, keep records and arrange the products on shelves — Stanislav continued. — Every morning we got fresh bread and other products from the suppliers. I had to calculate the amounts of delivered goods and take notes, and after that the seller compared my numbers to the quantities written in the consignment note, then signed it. As a result, I managed to save more than 400 dollars on two jobs. When I grow up, I will spend it on my biggest dream — founding my own theme park that will be much better than Disneyland. I’ll have saved up some certain amount by then. As for the remained amount, I’m sure that it would be paid by people who believe in my dream and that it will all be possible. The main characters of this theme park will be…

— Who? — Max asked.

— Haven’t you guessed? The Mobiles, of course, — Stanislav replied.

— Keeping track of your income and expenses is an important and responsible business. Now let’s try to calculate not only your personal ones, but also your family’s expenses and income for the last month? — Larry asked.

— First, we will write down your sources of income. There are three main sources. The first one is income from work, which is salary and bonuses paid at your working place. The second one is income from business, as well as from assets and investments. The third one is social income received from the state, which includes scholarships, benefits, pensions, and so on. So, Lera, show us what you have got.

— Both father and mother work in my family, so in the “income from work” column I wrote 2000 dollars — my father’s salary — and 1000 dollars that mother earns. They don’t have any private business, but I know they have an apartment they rent for 500 dollars per month. My elder brother is a second-year student at the university, and his scholarship is 500 dollars. I wrote it down in the “social income” column.

— If you add up these amounts, you’ll have 4000 dollars. This way, your family has a monthly income of 1000 dollars per member, — Larry said. At the same time, the income from your assets is only 12.5 percent of total income. I advise all people, without exception, to do their best to increase the share of income from assets, since only this kind of income allows you to avoid serious financial problems in case of losing a job. The income from assets is also called passive income. But passive income should never be confused with liabilities. Passive income means you don’t have to work hard to get it. Lera’s parents can go on a vacation for a whole month, but they will still be receiving income from renting an apartment.

However, the time has come to calculate your family expenses and determine how they are related to income. Let’s highlight several main common types of expenses, called current expenses. These include expenses for food, clothing, utility bills, transportation, taxes, education, gifts, sports and hobbies. There are also expenses for investment and asset purchase in present times, by means of which people expect to receive income in future. There are also extraordinary expenses. These include the cost of home renovation, if, for example, you forgot to turn off the water tap and accidentally flooded the apartment. The cost of repairing a car damaged in a traffic accident. Medical expenses and drugstore bills.

Having finished recording her family expenses, Lera started calculating:

— Our current expenses of the last month account for no less than 2500 dollars. There was also 300 dollars when I got ill, parents spent this extra money for doctor visits and yucky medications, it still feels bitter in my mouth just when I recall all this, — the girl grimaced. — Though I don’t know whether my parents had spent anything on investments or not.

— So what do we have as a result? 2800 dollars of expenses, — Larry calculated. — 4000 minus 2800 equals to 1200 dollars. Well, not bad at all! Lera’s parents still have 1200 more dollars, they can save one half for unexpected cases and spend the other half for investments.

— Larry, you say that in order to live in prosperity, you should work, acquire assets and invest, — said Max. — But I’ve recently seen a commercial where they said that you can get a lot of money without any work.

— And how is that, I wonder? — the Mobile asked.

— You need to buy lottery tickets and wait for the final drawing. The prize is as much as 100 million dollars, by the way.

— Lotteries, as well as other games of chance, are not the best investment of money, unless, of course, you are hosting them, said Larry. — The chance of winning the lottery is extremely low, but losing money spent on a ticket is always guaranteed. Please understand that only persistent steps towards a financial goal, backed up by knowledge, experience and intuition, will really lead you to it. “Everyone seemed to be looking for a shortcut to money and at this time had bypassed the straightest road — the one that leads through labor,” said Henry Ford, founder of one of the world’s largest auto companies.