In the 14 years that Jillian Minerva and her husband Joe have owned the Barnard General Store, she often experiences the same thing when hiring teenagers for their first job. They look at their first paycheck and see a number less than they expected. “I pull up their pay stub,” Jillian says, “and sit with them and I show them what taxes are. Maybe they know about sales tax, but they don’t understand the chunk of money that comes out of their paycheck.”

This happened to Jillian when she was 16 and working her first job. She had plans for the money she was making, and after getting her first paycheck and having taxes explained to her by her dad, she realized it would take longer to amass the money she needed.

She received a life lesson and also got an idea, which sat in the back of her mind through adulthood, business ownership, work, marriage, and parenting. At the Barnard General Store, watching young employees struggle to make change for customers and young customers throw nearly a dollar in coins into the tip jar on the counter, unaware, it seems, of their value, she knew the time had come to bring her idea to life.

 

Meet Aldo and the Allowance Academy

In developing her financial education system, Jillian wanted a wise teacher. “I wanted it to be an owl,” she says. “I like owls. My kids like owls, and I wanted to go with that theme.” Having arrived at Allowance Academy first, she sought a short “A” name for her owl. Aldo in Italian (her heritage) means wise. “As soon as I saw that, I was like, okay, that’s a name.” She showed her daughter, Francesca, a picture of Aldo and asked what she thought. “She just started saying it all the time,” Jillian says. She had her name.

Aldo’s Allowance Academy is a screen-free, cold, hard cash way for parents to teach finance that requires them to work with their kids. It’s also, Jillian notes, a backdoor way for more family time “and creating family memories.”

 

What’s Aldo Teaching?

 

Wise Owlets, ages 6 to 8

Teaching kids to feel comfortable and confident with finances at a young age.

In this tier, children learn to think about money as something to spend, save, and give. Their money is distributed among jars labeled with each purpose, so the child can see it grow when it’s saved or shrink when it’s spent or given. They also meet with their parents regularly to discuss what they’ll do with their income (at this point, likely an allowance). Parents help the child set up a ledger, template included, putting their math skills to use to track how they’ve used their money. They’ll create a calendar of upcoming events like Mom’s birthday for which they may want to buy a present.

 

Smart Cents League, ages 9 to 11

The perfect time to introduce real-world financial habits—with training wheels.

In Smart Cents League, Aldo teaches children some of the realities of adult life. For example, parents withhold part of a child’s allowance as a tax so the child begins to understand the difference between gross and net income. Parents also collect fixed monthly payments, such as rent and insurance, and variable payments, such as utility bills. Though the parents actually take the money, the program encourages returning it as a tax refund in April or as a contribution to a 529 College Plan, a first taste of planning for the distant future.

 

Financial Flight, ages 12 to 14

Where your kids begin to stretch their wings and prepare for life beyond the nest.

Here, kids begin to dabble in more complex financial concepts like compound interest, interest-bearing loans, and credit scores. Taxes expand to include federal, state, and FICA—in this case, Family Investment & Contribution Act—money that, like the real FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act), which funds Social Security and Medicare, is put to use for benefit beyond the child. It can be applied to a family pizza night or helping to pay for admission to an amusement park.

 

More Than Just Money

Obviously, Aldo’s Allowance Academy teaches math skills. It also teaches children how to write checks and sign their names. It teaches giving to causes the child finds important.

But perhaps the greatest payoff is that these children will have concrete knowledge of something that has become so abstract. Money makes the world go round; it’s the root of all evil; it even talks. But one thing is certain. When a child—or an adult—understands and appreciates money, they take control of its power and what it can offer. It’s a lesson we can all benefit from.

To learn more about Aldo’s Allowance Academy, visit AldosAllowanceAcademy.com.