Financial stories
If you’re not all that adept with numbers and finances, Ladner’s Laura Thomas has some stories to tell you that will help clear things up.
Thomas, a writer who organized this spring’s Water in Words writing contest for youth, will be appearing on DeltaTV this fall in a series called Money Moment.
The two to five minute segments are designed to provide financial literacy for parents and families. And what better way to demystify the world of finance than by telling a tale that can be easily understood.
Take for example the explanation of derivatives.
“Financial literacy comes down to two things: vocabulary and confidence,” says Thomas who believes age should not be a barrier when discussing the subject of finances, hence using purchasing baseballs to explain derivatives.
Thomas says to imagine a market where baseballs are bought and sold. And a coach needs new balls for the team.
The problem is the price of the balls constantly rises and falls unpredictably making it hard to spend wisely.
On the day the coach decides to visit the market—100 balls are needed—the balls are selling for $5 a piece. While she doesn’t have the money to make the entire purchase on the spot, the coach tells the ball vendor she’d like to buy 100 balls at $4 each and will need them on opening day, Thomas says.
The vendor agrees, thinking that’s a fair price given other ball sellers will be coming to market next week and the price is expected to drop with more product than demand flooding the market’s stalls.
The deal is done with some paperwork called a “future’s contract,” a kind of derivative, Thomas says.
Come opening day of the baseball season, when the 100 balls are delivered to the coach, the price of baseballs jumps to $10 each.
The coach happily pays the $400 after having saved her team $600. While the ball vendor missed out this time on a bigger payday, the roles could have easily been reversed if the price of baseballs had dipped below the agreed upon $4 each.
In addition to the Money Moment series on DeltaTV, Thomas is holding Money & Me Summer Camps through Delta’s Continuing Education Youth Activities.
They run in South Delta (July 18-22) at Delta Secondary school from 9-11 a.m. for ages nine to 12. Camps in North Delta (July 25-29) at Seaquam Secondary school from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Cost is $85.
The camp is on building a student’s financial vocabulary and getting them excited about learning how money works in their daily lives.
To register, call Delta Continuing Education at 604-940-5550.
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