Three of a three part series.

OneUnited Bank announced its I Got Bank 6^th Annual Essay Contest winners in 2016. The contest is designed to promote financial literacy for youth (ages 8 – 12). We think you will agree…the winning essays are fabulous.

Here is one of the three winning essays:

Alyssa Coleman – 12 years old
Kansas City, Missouri

I like to spend and save money. There are two different ways to spend your money; on your needs and wants. A need is an essential, like the house I live in. A want is an item that is nice to have but not essential, like all my stuff animals. It is important to take care of your needs first and your wants second.

Savings money is vital. For my 10th birthday, I asked my parents for an American Girl Doll. My parents were planning to spend money on the Cow Girl Skating Party I wanted and told me I would have to earn and save the money for the doll. I researched the doll I wanted and saved $125.00. After I bought the doll I decided it was too pricey for a simple doll. I worked hard to save that money. So I returned the doll and bought an Our Generation doll at Target and saved $100.00. My parents and other family members were impressed that I had made a wise financial decision.

I cannot wait to get old enough to have my first job. I learned that a person’s net worth is the amount left when you subtract what you owe from what you own. An asset is something you earn. I earned $5.00 for helping my mom organize her paperwork. I needed to earn that money because I owed my friend $4.00 for the sunglasses she bought me. When you owe something it is a liability. My $4.00 debt to my friend brings my net worth to $1.00.

Decisions on how we spend our money today can affect whether we will have enough money to spend in the future.