Thursday Thrifty Throwdown: Fun on A Budget Challenge #8
Sigh. This is the last Fun on a Budget Challenge for summer, my friends (but stay tuned...the next Thursday Thrifty Throwdown extravaganza is going to be awesome). Since we've been talking about how to play with money this week, I thought we could end with a fun money game idea for the whole family to do together.
How many of you have stocks? Right, me neither. But the stock market is a huge part of our financial lives, and we should all be knowledgeable about it. Want to hear a cool thing? There are ways to play the stock market without really using your own money.
This is an ideal fun and free thing to do, especially for older kids in the abode. Yes, it may be a bit over the heads of the youngest ones, but you can still talk to them about companies and how things are made and math basics such as how many shares of stock you can get for a certain amount of money.
To start, head to Wall Street Survivor or The Mint or Young Money - they all have cool stock markets games to play. With pretend money, you invest in stocks, and you watch how your money does over time. Also, check out these apps: the iTrade Stock market Simulator or Learn Stocks Plus. Both are handy and super-easy ways to play the stock market and track how your virtual money is doing.
By playing a virtual stock market game, you start conversations about what interest is, how to figure percentages, how to make good financial decisions, and a gazillion other great money topics. Anytime you learn something together is a great way to connect, one that lasts well beyond summer.
Do you have stocks? Are you interested in the stock market? Tell us which ones you would buy in a stock market game!
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We do have stocks. I don't remember the exact percentages, but we've divided our stocks up based on recommendations from a financial planner. I keep an eye on the stock market but it doesn't consume my interest on a daily or even weekly basis.
The games sound fun!
we dont not have stocks, I thought about buying some when I had money but Idk now.
JOB!!!
- HeatherNYC
on Jul. 26, 2012 at 12:00 AM