I think I just saw future financial planners in two of my grandchildren---the six-year-old boys. Let me explain.
A few weeks ago, during the Easter school break, my wife and I took two of our oldest grandchildren, Daniel and Matthew, to Florida with us for a five-day jaunt. We left their parents at home, where they should be. It's amazing how kids react differently to grandparents and to their own parents.
Needless to say, the boys were a delight. They slept in the same bed and took showers together, and not a single argument the whole week. They ate, they brushed their teeth every day, they went to the bathroom (too old to say potty), and they were the epitome of perfect gentlemen.
Financial planning? I'm getting to that. With kids you need patience.
So, I cart them off to Wal-Mart one day and buy them a cartridge for their Game Boys. They decide on the same program, a new one that they have never seen before. Very quickly, they hand me the instructions of how the game works.
"Tell us what to do, Poppy."
Okay, I don't know about you, but have you ever seen the instructions on the Game Boy cartridges? Did John Nash design them on a very "bad" night?
I get through the first page and my eyes glaze over. It's useless. I can't understand anything. I hand the cartridges back to the boys.
"Listen, fellows, I have to clean the toilet bowls for grandma so why don't you guys try and figure it out for yourselves." I expect five minutes of silence followed by a wail. Nothing. In 10 minutes, I hear,
"Okay, Dan, I got level two. Where are you?"
"I'm just getting into level three, Matt. No problem but watch out for the ambush at the end of level two."
"Got it, Dan. This is easy."
Did I just hear easy? I pull my head out of the toilet bowl. They are now adding up scores.
"Let's see, you had three kills there so we add that to the five I have and we can now project that …"
Project? I hear the word project. I run to their bedroom and look in. They have a giant spreadsheet (one of the fathers is a prominent New York City accountant) on the floor and are writing down numbers.
"We can plan it this way, Matty."
"That looks good Dan, and when we get to level four, we can then plan this attack. Sounds safe."
I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet. "Hey guys, here's ten bucks each. Take a look at this newspaper. Who you picking in the third at Hialeah?"
