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A man in a suit is pointing his finger at something.

“If it sounds too good to be true…”

Yesterday, a man recently touted as the “JP Morgan of crypto” was led into a police car in the Bahamas. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency platform FTX, was arrested after the sudden collapse of his company and the yet-to-be-determined potential loss of $8 billion in customer funds.

His sudden fall was reminiscent of many other heros-turned-villains, like Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and former NASDAQ chairman Bernie Madoff.

Before making headlines for their crimes, they filled cover stories with tales of greatness. Even the editors of Forbes Magazine were taken by their visions.

A common thread through the stories of Elizabeth Holmes, Bernie Madoff, and Sam Bankman-Fried is a claimed disruption so significant, one might believe they were too good to be true. And such naysayers would have been right.

When Elizabeth Holmes was pitching Theranos, she claimed to have a device that could run 100+ lab tests from a single drop of blood. Sam Bankman-Fried was seen as the sane brainiac in an industry defined by speculation and risk. For Bernie Madoff, it was years of uncanny stock picks that matched the market’s biggest wins and avoided its steepest losses.

In retrospect, it’s easy to look at such claims and laugh at anyone who believed them. But there’s a reason such claims aren’t obviously fraudulent in the moment.

That’s because not everything that sounds too good to be true ends up being so. Imagine telling a person holding a 1.4 megabyte floppy disk in 1999 that in 20 years, a USB thumb drive a fraction of its size would hold 128 gigabytes – a 100,000X improvement — yet cost roughly the same. Or telling a shopper at a record store in 1975 that they would someday carry a device that held every song ever recorded in their pocket, and that the service would cost the same each month as a single album. Sometimes, disruptions that change our world forever sound just as outlandish as those that fail to deliver.

The lesson here? If it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably one of two things: fraud or the future.

If it were easier to decipher between the two, you likely wouldn’t see Elizabeth Holmes on stage with former presidents, or Sam Bankman-Fried enlisting NFL stars to record Super Bowl commercials.

So rather than having a golden rule for discerning between fraud and the future, consider this age-old advice: don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, no matter how promising that basket may sound.

Closeup of a pink gift box with stars on it

The 2022 Biz Kid$ Holiday Gift Guide

Last week, as turkey leftovers filled the fridge and holiday decorations filled the mantlepiece, kids and teens began filling notepads both analog and digital with hints, links, and downright demands of what they hope to see under the tree.

Following two years of stuff overload, retailers are actually admitting that consumers are less interested in objects in 2022 than they have been in some time. So this year, rather than give a gift that will be forgotten by February, give a gift that will keep on giving. No, we’re not talking about about one of those grow-your-own mushroom kits. We’re talking about gifts that make an impact. Gifts that inspire! This holiday season, give your child a gift that empowers them over the long term.

The Gift of Customers

Cost: $10-40

What’s the one thing every aspiring young entrepreneur desperately needs? Customers, of course! Few things project more confidence in a teen’s venture than a stack of fresh business cards. Order online for contact-free delivery, or purchase a stack from your local office supply store. It’s the gift that says, “this idea has legs.”

The Gift of a Future Language

Cost: $0-99

What if you could teach your child to speak, write, and read a language that would empower them to communicate in the future? Such is the magic of coding. Already the language of tech, many companies have already declared that competence in coding will soon be as essential as proficiency in basic office programs. A few kid-friendly toys and programs can give your child a background in coding, even before they can read or write. Here are a few of our favorites:

The Ozobot Robot ($49)

Ozobot is a personal robot designed to take instructions from kids via black, green, and red lines drawn onto paper. The drawing teaches kids the basics of coding, then rewards them with a robot show choreographed by them.

Kids First Coding & Robotics ($129)

Move a mouse through a maze and send a soccer ball into the goal through story-based learning fueled by kids’ code. But here’s what we really love: no software or phones are required.

The Gift of an Egg — a Nest Egg

Cost: $20.00+

What if you could give your child a gift today that would benefit them for years or even decades to come. There are a number of ways to do this. Savings bonds, given by practical grandparents for generations, still exist. And now, they can be ordered online. TreasuryDirect.gov is the government’s official site for all things savings bonds. They’ll even help you print a gift certificate to announce your gift! Looking for a more modern, risky, and potentially lucrative option? Consider the gift of stock. Stockpile is an ingenious site that lets givers purchase stock in small amounts (even $20) and give it away. With thousands of companies at your fingertips, a gift of stock can be both practical and thoughtful.

The Gift of Inspiration

Cost: $25.99

Sometimes, your child just needs a spark; a nudge via a dose of inspiration. Show your kids what’s possible by introducing them to the successes of real young entrepreneurs. Our Emmy Award-winning show is available for streaming and download on Vimeo. Purchase access to our entire sixth season plus three “Best of Biz Kid$” bundles for just $25.99! Your kids will be educated, inspired, and–who knows–maybe even motivated to start a business of their own. Want to add a stocking stuffer to that gift? Supplement their season pass with products from entrepreneurs featured on the show including Man Cans candles, Sporting Sails, and Compartes chocolate.

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The Gift of a Million Dollars*

Cost: $12.95

*Yes, there’s a catch. But if you believe in the power of education as we do, it’s not too far-fetched. How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000, written by the executive producers of Biz Kid$, is a beautifully designed guide to becoming a millionaire! It’s a comprehensive guide for kids to the basics of earning, saving, spending, and investing money. Written in a humorous but informative voice that engages young readers, it’s the book that every parent who wants to raise financially savvy and unspoiled children should buy for their kids. It is packed with lively illustrations to make difficult concepts easy to understand—all as a way of building financial literacy, good decision-making, and the appreciation of a hard-earned dollar.

How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000 Online Course

We’ve taken the best content from our best-selling book and matched it with interactive actives and inspiring video content from our Emmy Award-winning series. The result? A vibrant and entertaining course for teens called How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000.

Our gift idea? One copy of How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000, one course pass, and one crisp Benjamin. Ready, set, grow…

A Woman Holding a Poster of Give. Thanks.

Putting Thanks (and Giving) in Thanksgiving

Today, sofas across America will be filled with grandpas, aunts, moms, and dads fast asleep in tryptophan-induced comas. American Thanksgiving is almost gleefully a time of consumption. We travel an average of 214 miles to eat an average of 3000 calories before shopping our hearts out at an average pace of $335.

Rather than gratefully taking inventory of our good fortunes, we have a tendency to chase more things that will surely bring us happiness. Food. Shopping. Entertainment. Amidst all the indulgence, it can be easy to forget what Thanksgiving is all about: gratitude.

This year, rather than celebrating Takegiving, consider nudging your family into two novel concepts: thanks and giving. Here are a few ideas to make it happen.

Giving Thanks 

Gratitude Placemats

Showing appreciation for the people in our lives is one of those tasks that has enormous impact to those who hear our words, yet actually happens far too rarely. Use your family gathering to “shower the people you love with love,” as James Taylor would say. Using Kraft paper or simple paper placemats, write each family member’s name on a mat. Then pass the placemats around and give each person a chance to quickly write something they appreciate about that person on their mat. When the mats have circled the table, their owners will have a page full of encouragement. The mat will last a meal, but the words could last a lifetime!

Dinner Table Show & Tell

When inviting your company to the big feast, ask them to bring an item that reminds them of something they’re grateful for. Then throughout the dinner, have “show and tell” where each guest tells the story of their treasured item and memory.

Thanksgiving Toasts

Prefer to keep things simple? Give your guests the opportunity to offer a simple toast of gratitude. Pro tip: facilitating the toasts “popcorn style” will give your less extroverted guests an out.

Get Giving

Even in a wealthy country like the United States, there is no shortage of need around us. And as such, there’s no shortage of ways to give back. Consider spending part of your Thanksgiving weekend giving back to the less fortunate. Here are just a few ways to serve: 

Angel Tree

Companies, shopping centers, and nonprofits host “Angel Trees” on an annual basis. Organized by the Salvation Army, families in need can submit kids’ requests for toys, clothes, and other needs on a paper ornament for community members to take and fulfill. Find a location here.

Toys for Tots

Organized by the United States Marines, Toys for Tots is a toy drive that collected new and unwrapped toys to distribute to families in need. Find a local toy drive here.

Sock Drive

Want to throw your own giving campaign? Studies have shown the #1 request of people experiencing homelessness is new socks. The Joy of Sox is a turnkey sock drive system that empowers families, churches, and communities to collect socks to donate to local shelters.

Impact That Lasts

Practically, the impact of a gift donated or an encouragement spoken might be small. But the shift of mindset from a “season of taking” to a “season of giving” can be a major one for our families. This Thanksgiving, make a small change. Take a baby step. And see where it takes you.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Biz Kid$.

Lottery balls in a plastic container.

About That $2 Billion Powerball Jackpot

Let’s set aside for a moment the fact that many lottery winners wish they never won in the first place. And the fact that the odds of winning the jackpot – 1 in 292 million – are almost exactly the same odds of a single person being picked at random from the entire population of the United States. And the study that found that 70% of lottery winners had gone broke within 5 years. And the one that found correlation between lotto winning and divorce. And the interviews with the “lucky few” that include quotes like, “I don’t like who I’ve become” and “I wish I’d torn up the ticket.” Okay, all clear?

Sometimes, it’s plain human nature to ignore the odds and risks, and think of the positive side of “what if.”

As a financial literacy brand, our version of “what ifs” looks more like fantasy planning that fantasy purchasing.

So what if YOU were the lucky winner of this month’s record Powerball Jackpot, as one California person is said to be? First, you’d have a decision to make: take a $997.6 million lump sum, or take the full amount ($2.04 billion) over 30 years. The vast majority of people take the lump sum, thinking they’ll be better off investing the sum themselves than taking the annual payments.

Our take? It all depends on self-control. If you have the self-control to refuse some of your whims, you could indeed do quite well by putting the power of compound interest to work.

But if you are like the 70% of lottery winners who spend every dime within 5 years, perhaps you’d be better off letting the annual checks force you into better habits.

Regardless of Who Wins, Uncle Sam Does, Too

Regardless of if you pick the lump sum or annual payments, your tax bill will likely raise some eyebrows. The federal tax bill on that $997.6 lump sum option? $239.4 million. Good luck fitting all of those digits into the little rectangle on your check! Now before you get too offended by Uncle Sam’s demands, keep in mind where those tax dollars will go:

Seven-time winner Richard Lustig explains his lack of regret this way: “You have to secure your future. The reason why you hear those horror stories about people who win huge amounts like that and all of a sudden they’re filing bankruptcy is because it’s usually from people who have never had that kind of money before in their lives. They just go through it like crazy. They think there’s no tomorrow. Well, there is a tomorrow and eventually it will run out.”

His advice? Make a financial plan with professional help. Ours? Perhaps start with a simple lesson plan: “What to do with a windfall.”

Closeup of a Bitcoin and reflection on the table

Unpacking the Crypto Crash

If you tuned into this year’s Super Bowl, you likely saw a commercial featuring Larry David, mocking the advent of everything from forks to the light bulb, until a modern-day Larry eventually rejects the final “too good to be true” idea: a cryptocurrency trading platform called FTX.

As if the dots couldn’t be closer together, the final title card laid out the warning in plain English: “Don’t miss out on the next big thing.”

The commercial said little about what FTX even was, relying on an age-old tactic to convince bystanders to jump on board: FOMO. Its CEO, a 30-year-old entrepreneur named Sam Bankman-Fried, spent the last 12 months stoking the FOMO fever, growing into superhero status in the crypto world as he hobnobbed with the rich and famous.

Earlier this spring, the t-shirt-clad visionary was sitting next to President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Bahamas, preaching about the future of the confusing—but obviously amazing—world of Web3.

Well yesterday, that “next big thing” — the one that paid for the naming rights of the Miami Heat arena and enlisted the support of Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen — suffered what is likely to be its fatal blow.

Despite all the celebrity endorsements, mainstream marketing spend, and zealous hoopla, a single tweet from an arch rival platform caused holders of FTX’s cryptocurrency “token” to fear a collapse, prompting many to withdraw their funds and stoking fears of a bank run. Remember that scene in It’s a Wonderful Life?

At first, it appeared that the rival would be both arsonist and firefighter, offering to acquire the struggling company and rescue its customers. But then, they backed out. Now, FTX, a company once seen as the most stable player in the Wild West of cryptocurrency, is in hot water.

What the future holds for cryptocurrency is anyone’s guess. But what is becoming clearer is that some Wall Street veterans (like Warren Buffett’s business partner, Charlie Munger) may have more of a point than some of the crypto world’s fiercest defenders care to admit.

Curious about that other Web3 wonder, NFTs? Check out our Biz Kid guide to NFTs here.

a man jumping from one side of the mountain to another

Feeling the entrepreneurial itch? You’re not alone.

When Shark Tank judge otherwise known as “Mr. Wonderful” posted a not-so-subtle stance on employment versus entrepreneurship this week, it hit like a clap of thunder.

Calling a salary a “drug,” the investor who regularly puts his money where his mouth is in the form of funding entrepreneurial endeavors put an even finer point on his perspective. To him, employment is not just one of two equal options; it’s settling.

Let’s be clear: entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. The risks alone aren’t everyone’s cup or tea, nor is the concept of waking up each morning without a clear assignment from an outside source. When you’re self-employed, next steps are entirely up to you. There’s no one else to go to and say, “well, I tried.” Instead, success is in your hands.

Yet for those who are made of entrepreneurial cloth, a full-time gig can indeed be a tempting reason to negate one’s notions of a self-directed life. Especially when your mom is nagging you to get health insurance.

For many, the nudge into entrepreneurship looks more like a shove.

Oprah Winfrey often discusses how being fired from the stable news anchor job was the launchpad she needed to start her own show. If she had never been let go, she recounts, she never would have quit. Her father even suggested that the regular paycheck she was receiving surely wouldn’t last.

Today’s economic uncertainty could be exactly what many would-be entrepreneurs needed to pursue their ultimate dreams, however lofty they may appear. As company after company announces 20% layoffs, chances are high that history books are being written behind the scenes. In the decades to come, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that no shortage of entrepreneurial endeavors was birthed from opportune layoffs.

Closeup view of a bowl full of chocolates

How Kids Make Money with Candy

The powers that be have a jittery projection to make: $3.6 billion. That’s the amount of money they expect to be spent on Halloween candy this year. If that sounds like a hefty sum to spend, just imagine being on the sales end of the equation!

For most of us, the question is not if you ever wanted to make or sell candy for a living, but when. Perhaps it was the first time you saw Willy Wonka step onto his magical factory, or the Saturday afternoon your grandma gave you five dollars and a ride to the sweet shop.

It should be of little surprise, then, that so many young entrepreneurs go into the candy business. The other unsurprising fact? Many of them experience some truly sweet success.

Here are just a few of our favorites:

The Candy Shop that’s 10X as Old as its Owner

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In the North Yorkshire village of England sits a sweet shop – shoppe, that is – that’s been in continuous operation since 1827. It’s so old, in fact, that it maintains a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Yet its latest headlines aren’t due to old age, but a young age: the spritely age of its newest owner. The entrepreneur who just took the reins is only 23 years old.

The chocolatier to the stars was once a Biz Kid.

A former Biz Kid runs one of the most coveted chocolate brands on the planet: Compartes Chocolatier.

From Candy to Lightbulbs

Before Thomas Edison brought incandescent light to households everywhere, he was bringing candy to people on trains (or so he tried.) His first entrepreneurial endeavor was going seat to seat, selling candy. As he explained, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

a woman checking her phone while working

Teaching Kids about Credit as Debt Gets Murky

This week, President Biden made it official: the United States would forgive up to $20,000 in student loans per borrower. The applications opened, the borrowers rejoiced, and the concept of debt got…murkier.

Regardless of how you feel about the government’s decision to forgive college debt, the public acknowledgment of debt was a fresh reminder of the hidden burden of debt resting on the shoulders of so many young people — both educational and otherwise.

For many, the burden begins with a tempting offer.

Almost every credit card approval letter begins the same way: “Congratulations!” From the misleading greeting, you’d think the $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000 credit limit just approved was nothing but a gift. Instead, the greeting should read: “Warning!” After all, a new line of credit is little more than a new chance at deeper debt.

Yes, credit is a tool. It has its place. But just like a saw, hammer, or drill, credit is a tool that can also do damage if misused.

According to a recent report from the credit authorities at Experian, Americans have an average of $22,751 in available credit. That’s $22,000 is potential debt. $22,000 in potential bills. And $22,000 of potential misunderstanding by the kids who witness our transactions.

Beware of Your Child’s Concept of Credit

Assumptions are a tricky thing. After all, much of what a child assumes rarely comes up in conversation. They just believe what they believe, until something contradicts it. But a child’s assumptions about credit cards can be downright dangerous, financially speaking.

For a child, money is usually tangible. Their money fills their pockets, lines their piggy bank, or falls out of birthday cards. So when mom or dad leave a store with a cart full of food by merely swiping a piece of plastic, a child can assume that such things didn’t cost a dime. But a few smart habits can turn your shopping trips into learning moments for your child.

Show and Tell

Studies show that 48% of all purchases are transacted with plastic. About half of those are debit cards, and the other half are credit. When you’re among the 48%, use the point of sale as a teaching moment. Explain that the card you’re swiping tells your bank to send the store some of your money. Perhaps something like this: “Today, we’re using some of the money mommy and daddy worked for, just like how you work for your allowance. We’re trading the store some of our money for this food.” Their follow up questions about how your bank communicates with the credit card processor? You have our permission to make that up.

Spill the Bills

If your child is old enough to understand the concept, sit them down at the end of your billing cycle and show them your transaction history. “See, we’re now paying for the food we ate last week. But we saved our money to pay this bill, so it’s okay! We worked hard to make money so our family could buy what we needed. We knew how much money we had in the bank, and were careful not to spend more than we had.” Your objective here? Drive home the point that those cash-free purchases didn’t go unnoticed by your pocketbook.

Practice Makes Perfect

Finally, to turn your credit card concepts into financial understanding, hands-on exercises will help. There are a number of modern apps and programs that allow parents to pay their child’s allowance digitally, offering practice in cash-free living. Here are a few of our favorites:

  • RoosterMoney is a beautifully designed digital allowance manager for families. Their tagline: “Transform the way you manage pocket money.”

  • FamZoo is a virtual online bank for families and kids that facilitates cash-free allowance, loans, expense sharing, and even matching contributions.

  • ThreeJars is a simple online allowance system that even keeps track of IOU’s between a parent and child. Coming soon: online shopping.

Looking for more information about credit? Learn the ins and outs of credit and debt on our new dedicated page.

Dollars on the floor and a mop

Inflation 101: A Biz Kid Guide

For a word that makes headlines multiple times per day, “inflation” sure does have a wide variety of definitions.

Merriam-Webster defines inflation this way:

Putting the multi-purpose word’s associations with balloons or arrogance aside, the final definition is downright dense: “A continuing rise in the general price level usually attributed to an increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods and services.”

Ask a Joe Schmo on the street to define inflation, and you’re likely to hear something simpler: “prices going up.”

Inflation can be viewed from two angles: the value of a dollar going down, or the average prices of goods and services going up.

Regardless of how you look at it, the effect is the same: a dollar in your piggy bank is worth less today than it was a year ago. Today, new numbers came out, telling us precisely how much that dollar in your bank decreased in value.

The verdict? 8.2%.

One of the sneakiest parts of inflation is that it can be self-fulfilling. What happens when you read a headline that tells you things are 8.2% more expensive than they were yesterday? If you’re self-employed, you might consider raising your rates. If you’re employed, you might ask for a raise. That collective price increase then leads to more inflation. The cycle is difficult to freeze. That’s why politicians are so hesitant to acknowledge that inflation is happening. They fear that doing so would only make things worse. Their resistance to utter the word is why tweets like these can feel more like fact than fiction:

One bit of reassuring advice came a few months ago from Warren Buffett, who told a savvy young person not to worry – as long as she kept up her craft. Read more about that exchange here.

Another sure bet against inflation? Making your money work for you. Sure, there’s a time and place for playing it safe. Many people who got caught up in crypto mania probably wish they’d stuck to cash. The same goes for people who invested in real estate right before the bubble burst in 2008, or those who “invested” in Beanie Babies before the fad became a garage sale staple. But those who do nothing with their money are guaranteed to have less buying power in the future than they do today.

Our crash course in making money with your money — “How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000” – is available in both book form and as an online course. Today, the book costs less than $12 and ships free with Prime. Amazon’s price tomorrow? It’s anyone’s guess.

An Old Picture of Elon Musk on his birthday

What Young Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Elon Musk

This week, despite his best attempts to avoid them, a fascinating billionaire returned to the news: Elon Musk. After announcing his plans to purchase Twitter for $54.20 per share a few months ago and subsequently hoping he could say, “psyche!” and have his pricey purchase disappear, the purchase is back on the table. Here’s how the news unfolded on CNBC.

The eccentric entrepreneur is perhaps one of the most successful examples of “serial entrepreneurship” the world has. After all, he ranks #1 on the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people. So what can an aspiring entrepreneur learn from Musk? It turns out, his successes and failures are equally educational.

Flashy objects aren’t the goal.

When Elon Musk had his first payday from the sale of now-unfamiliar Zip2 in 1999, he celebrated the windfall in quite the flashy way: purchasing a million-dollar car, then having CNN cameras roll as it was delivered.

Looking on as the car was unloaded, Musk said, “My values may have changed, but I’m not aware that my values have changed.”

His girlfriend’s words were a bit more self-aware: “I’m worried we’re going to become spoiled brats.”

Curious about what happened to Elon Musk’s McLaren? Driving with Peter Thiel in 2000, Musk learned about the fleeting value of stuff the hard way: he wrecked it. And it was uninsured.

Today, Elon’s maturity has given him a different approach. He now claims he owns almost nothing — not even a house.

Lighting can strike twice. 

If you work at it, that is. Elon’s history with profitable businesses is so extensive that many don’t even realize where his initial profits came from in the first place. Elon Musk’s first entrepreneurial venture was writing code for a video game called Blastar. A payment processing company and car brand later, it’s clear Elon’s youthful entrepreneurial roots grew into an impressive entrepreneur. His newer ventures are perhaps most familiar, and even more influential – SpaceX, Tesla, and the Boring Company, just to name a few. Think a single big success is all you can attain? Dream bigger, Biz Kid.

Regardless your success, people skills can be a make or brake.

After Elon made his now-famous $44 billion offer to purchase Twitter, an offer almost no other person on Earth was capable of besting, a more youthful instinct took over. He took to Twitter to insult two of the company’s leaders. As if that weren’t a questionable decision on the surface, a look at the deal he just signed makes it even stranger. Elon agreed that any disparagement of company leadership could void the deal. And if the deal is scrapped? Elon will be responsible for a $1 billion breakup fee. It’s a helpful reminder that good old people skills are still valuable, even if you have billions to compensate for them.

As for Elon’s direct advice? A recent quote sums up both his vision and his success: “I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.” 

A young boy playing with leaves in a park.

Free & Fabulous Fall Family Fun

We first assembled a list of “Free Fall Family Fun” in September of 2019. Then, the economy was thriving, unemployment was record-low, and kids were in school across the country. Little did we know how much more important cost-free entertainment would become in the months and years since. Today, as disposable income is fleeting and family time is more abundant than ever, we think it’s an ideal time to return to our list and add some new entries.

Zoom Blast from the Past

But one thing is easier to do that ever before (and likely ever again): scheduling time with people you love. No longer can we say “if only we can find a way to get together.” Chances are, you’re available to (virtually) hang out with people you’ve lost touch with. And chances are, they know how to, too. So how can you use this new mechanism for connection? Consider using it to introduce your kids to people they’ve long heard of but never met. A “blast from the past” if you will. Perhaps it’s the college roommate who went on to build an interesting company, or the distant relative who gave you some great advice before moving overseas. We could all use a bit more connection these days. Reach out. Chances are, they’ll be thrilled you did.

Tourists for a Day

No matter where you live, out-of-town visitors often bring out the same revelation: “Well, we never actually go there, but it’s totally awesome. You should check it out while you’re here!” It’s easy to take our hometowns for granted. To forgo the impressive parks, historical landmarks, and iconic buildings and opt to lounge on the couch instead. This fall, take a Saturday to play “tourists for a day.” Check a few travel books out from the library, and dig through them on weeknights leading up to the free staycation. Give each family member a different colored sticky note to mark points of interest. Compare notes over dinner, and make a plan. You’ll make connections in the planning, memories on the weekend, and might even discover new favorite hangouts for years to come.

Family Invention Challenge

If you missed last summer’s Family Invention Challenge, we strongly recommend you take a look at it today. A kid-friendly spin on Shark Tank, the challenge turns problems and headaches into solutions (and even potential spending money.) It doesn’t have to cost a dime, but it could make you a few. Plus, it’s a great way to transform the bad habit of complaining into a good one: problem solving.

Neighborhood Leaf Bonanza

Kids and adults have different perspectives on lots of things. One of them most glaring: leaves. To adults, their presence is a chore. To kids, the more the better. Want to give your kids the leaf pile of their dreams? Team up with your neighbors to rake all of their leaves on a designated day, then collect the crunching wonders in massive pile on a tarp. Let the kids jump and play to their hearts’ content, then fill your yard waste bags together as a neighborhood.

Fort Night

No, we’re not talking about a game, here. We’re talking about the old school, blankets everywhere, flightlight-in-hand, books open, phones off, cozy paradise that is fort building. But this fall, don’t just toss a pile to the kids and do the dishes. Join in on the fun with clamps and height your kids can’t access to create a maze of forts for the whole family to enjoy. When your cotton metropolis has been set up, turn on a family movie for a blockbuster screening under the blankets.

Rube Goldberg Machine

When the season’s first rainy day arrives, use the weather as an excuse to get creative indoors. Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist famous for making sketches of complicated machines tasked with simple assignments like wiping a man’s face with a napkin using a series of gears, gizmos, and gadgets. Today, a YouTuber by the name of Joseph’s Machines has brought the cartoons to life with real contraptions guaranteed to amaze. Get some inspiration from Joseph, then engineer a Rube Goldberg machine with your kids.

Buckingham palace in london, england.

The Unreal Estate the Queen Left Behind

When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96 last week, it marked the end of an era for the longest-reigning monarch in British history. But it also had a major financial impact on those poised to inherit some of her vast estate.

Just like the passing of any other person who made plans to leave an inheritance to their children, the Queen’s death prompted the distribution of her assets. But unlike anyone else’s death, the inheritance she leaves behind is reportedly worth billions. And its contents aren’t just paper, either. Some of the royal family’s most curious assets include global artifacts, rare jewels, and even a popular British toy store.

It’s all a fresh reminder of the incredible nature of the Royal estate. Here are the details we know.

As the newly crowned king, King Charles III is now eligible to receive funds from the Crown Estate designated specifically for the monarch, a fund that includes a jaw-dropping £18.2 billion collection of investments, properties, land, and let’s just say…unusual…assets.

First established in 1337, the properties and funds that house and serve the royal family include a couple of eyebrow-raising line-items, like the seabed of the United Kingdom and a prison. Yes, a prison.

But the income isn’t as direct as it may sound. That’s because, in 1760, an agreement was forged that put the assets essentially in a trust from which the royals would receive lump sum payments. Next year’s sum is said to be worth £86.3 million. Not a bad reward for the difficult task for being born into the right family.

As for anyone’s personal inheritance from the Queen’s estimated $400 million fortune, mum’s the word.

One word of advice for anyone on the receiving end? Check out our episode, “What to do with a Windfall.”

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