The Day in the Life of a Paperboy

There have been times in all of our young lives that we have wanted something.  Maybe a cool toy, a brand new shirt, a trip to Disney World, or chocolate milk from the grocery store.  However, all the wanting and wishing usually ends up with Mom or Dad saying, "You're going to have to save up your money!" Ughhh. The answer that seems so boring, so routine, SO HARD! Why can't parents just hand over the money and all problems would be solved?  Let's take a look at Timmy and his morning routine.  Timmy has been wanting a new bike for over a year now.  And his parents have given him the same answer that all us kids dread, "Save up your money, Timmy.  It will be a good life lesson if you could buy a new bike with your own money."  Together, we can learn how to buy, turn around and sell for what we call a profit, and save money so that we can someday buy that THING that we have been wanting and wanting!

Timmy is a twelve year old boy from Savesalot, Minnesota. Timmy's bike was passed down to him by his older sister Jenny.  The spokes are rusty, the bell doesn't ding, and the pink writing on the bike is just embarrassing.  After asking his parents for money, Timmy is told that he has to use his OWN money if he wants to buy a new bike.  "But I don't have any money!" Timmy shouts.  Looks like Timmy needs to get a job. But what can he do?

Timmy decides to start his own newspaper delivery route.  He calls the local newspaper, the Savesalot Gazette, and they told him they could sell him the papers in bulk for $0.10 a paper.  Timmy rides his bike to pick up his first set of newspapers to be delivered.  Timmy decides he is going to turn around and sell the newspapers for $0.25 cents.  He will pass out the papers Monday-Saturday and pick up the money from everyone on his route on Friday afternoons.  Timmy has 37 houses on his route.  He pulls out a notepad and a pencil and does the math.  Each day it will cost him $3.70 to deliver the papers.  But if he sells them for $0.25, that equals $9.25.  So he will end up making a profit of $5.55.  A profit is what you earn after you subtract what you bought from what you made.  If Timmy delivers papers 6 days of the week, and he makes $5.55 every day, he will make $33.30 in a week!! Wow!! That's a lot of money for a twelve year old to be making in one week.

Timmy does some research online.  The bike he wants is called the Speedy 500.  The total cost for the bike is $356.97.  Timmy pulls out his paper and pencil again. Lets see how long this will take! After doing the math, Timmy realizes that in 11 weeks, he will be able to buy his very own bike! But that means that he has to put all of his money away at the end of each week.  If he decides to spend some along the way, it will take even longer until he gets his Speedy 500. 

After the first week, Timmy is quite exhausted.  Every morning he wakes up at 4:30 AM, eats a big bowl of cereal, bags all his newspapers, hops on his rickety old bike with pink lettering, and drives his route of 37 houses.  He gets chased by dogs, splashed by angry vehicles that are not wanting to be up at 6:00 in the morning, and rained and poured on.  But Timmy pushes through.  He makes a box out of cardboard and writes on the outside, "Speedy 500 Savings Account."  After each week, he collects all his money and puts it inside the box, promising to never sneak into the box before the 11 weeks are up! After 11 weeks, Timmy is able to buy his brand new bike!! He buys a red one with big tires, a bell that rings loudly, and BLUE letters.  Timmy realizes that making money and saving money isn't that hard afterall!! Now he is saving up for a brand new car.  He only has 312 weeks to go!