Excerpt from ‘Danny Dollar, Millionaire Extraordinaire’
Editor’s note: Below is the an excerpt from the children’s book, “Danny Dollar, Millionaire Extraordinaire, The Lemonade Escapade,” written by Ty Allan Jackson and reprinted with permission via Newspaper in Education. To catch up on the story, read the previous excerpt in the e-paper edition of Thursday, March 26.
Chapter 2
Twisted Sister
“How much did you deposit today, Son?” asked Dad Dollar.
“Eighty-seven dollars, ChaChing!” Danny yelled.
“How does this wannabe tycoon make all this money?” Danielle asked.
“Your brother works very hard for his money with his odd jobs. You should get an after-school job yourself and not rely on just your allowance,” Mom Dollar said.
“By the way, Mom can I have an advance on my allowance? Tonya and Denise want to go to the movies tonight. All I need is twenty bucks.”
“I just gave you an advance last week, and you’re not getting another,” Dad Dollar said sternly. Danielle turned to Danny.
“Hey Danny, you think you could loan me twenty dollars ‘til next week?”
“Sure, at twenty percent interest*,” Danny said with a smug look on his face.
“Twenty percent, last time it was ten percent! Why’s it twenty now?”
“Twenty percent is the weekend rate. Take it or leave it.”
“I can’t believe this is happening!” Danielle screamed, as Mom and Dad busted out laughing.
Later that evening, Dad Dollar walked into the living room to find Danny watching TV.
“Hey, what are you watching?” “I’m flipping back and forth between, “Young Rich Entrepreneurs” on the Finance Network and the New York Ballers basketball game,” Danny said.
“You are, huh? Danny, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about all this finance mumbo-jumbo and working so much.”
“Dad, my jobs don’t interfere with my school work! You know I’m one of the best students in school! I love working and saving, plus learning all this financial stuff is preparing me for my future. I’m going to be a millionaire, Dad! I wanna own a basketball team so bad I can...”
“Wait, hold on Danny. I only wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You’re an incredible kid, I mean young man. I wish I had your work ethic and business savvy when I was your age; maybe then we wouldn’t be so... never mind. I just want to say, keep up the good work, Son. One other thing; one of my co-workers suggested that I should take the money in our savings account and put it into a CD**. That’s not the disc that plays music, is it?”
“No Dad, it’s not that kind of CD. First, let’s get some cookies and milk and then I’ll break it down for you.”
*Remember, interest is the price paid for using someone else’s money.
**A CD, which stands for Certificate of Deposit, is a special type of savings account. With a CD, you cannot take out your money whenever you want. It must stay in the account for a certain amount of time or you pay a penalty. But, the interest you gain is much greater than in a regular savings account.
More interest = more money for you. CHA-CHING!