THE BANK OF GRAMMA

Somewhere along the way, without an application, a banking charter or even one of those little pens chained to a counter, I apparently opened a financial institution.
Welcome to the Bank of Gramma.

We offer checking, savings, credit, transportation, emergency funding and extremely questionable lending practices. Our lobby is open approximately 24 hours a day, although management gets cranky after 9 p.m.
My grandsons are now 12½ and almost 16, which means money has become much more interesting than it was when five dollars seemed like a fortune.

The almost-16-year-old has turned to buying and selling used (now called vintage) clothing into an actual business. And I don't mean occasionally selling an old sweatshirt.  Recently he sold a sweatshirt he'd bought for $200 for $625.  I am simultaneously impressed and wondering what has happened to civilization.

Because he's still a minor, his online sales have been going through my account. So every so often the Bank of Gramma receives a deposit that makes me feel temporarily prosperous.

Unfortunately, it isn't my money. This is a terrible system. And he wants cash once it’s hit my account.  I have to replenish CASH almost every week. The good news is that he understands the concept of buying low and selling high better than many adults. The bad news is that I would also like him to understand another fascinating financial concept:

Saving.

He already has a savings account with $500 in it, (courtesy of the Bank of Gramma.) And with driving age approaching, I have visions of him actually walking into our nearby credit union and depositing some of his profits toward a future car.

Yes. WALKING INTO A BANK.

I realize this makes me sound approximately 112 years old. A new branch of our credit union is opening at the end of October and it is just five blocks from home.

Meanwhile, his younger brother has his own financial system. At 12½, his spending priorities tend toward food, drinks and activities with friends. Somehow a few dollars here and there can disappear with astonishing speed.

I can't really criticize. At his age, I probably would have spent my money on something equally essential. Like a 45-rpm record and a bottle of Coca-Cola.

What fascinates me is how much the mechanics of teaching kids about money have changed.

Mr. 12½ rarely sees actual cash. Money appears on his phone. Purchases happen with a tap. He earns his money doing projects for me.  Deep cleaning our pantry and disposing of expired items.  Cleaning my five floor to ceiling IKEA shelving units by taking everything OFF a shelf, cleaning, sorting through and filling the Goodwill basket then putting everything back in better order.  He’s even cleaned the fridge! (I can’t kneel down and get that bottom shelf and the bins).

Clothing is bought online, sold online and shipped to someone they've never met. The teenager can make hundreds of dollars while sitting in his bedroom. And Grandma can sit in her room watching the transactions go through her checking account while muttering, "Whose $87.42 is THIS?"

So I'm trying to teach the same lessons my generation learned, only in a completely different world:

Some money is for spending.
Some money is for saving.
Credit is not free money.

And if Grandma fronts you $20, Grandma remembers (although she does have to write it down these days).
The Bank of Gramma may have generous lending policies, but our accounting department is ruthless.
And she's had coffee.