When Lorne Jenkins was 8 years old and his sister was five, the duo would relentlessly ask their mom, Ellen Ross, to go out to eat.
After getting fed up with the daily badgering, Ross created a job posting for the role of being one of her kids. She tacked the requirements to her refrigerator and made her current children apply.
She called references and eventually hired the two for the open positions, paying them a salary for the spots. In turn, the two owed rent, utilities and a variety of other costs.
She also developed a system for food. It cost $3 to go out to eat and only $1 to stay home for dinner.
By the end of the summer, Jenkins said he began to realize the importance of financial management.
“At the end of the summer when mom asked if we want to go out, we said ‘no, we can’t afford to go out,’” he recalled with a laugh.
Now, many years later, Jenkins has taken his mom’s teachings and co-founded Mini Money Management alongside her.
After running track as an undergrad at Campbell University and getting a master’s in finance from the University of London, Jenkins landed what he thought was the perfect job at a foreign exchange brokerage.
Six months later, he wasn’t happy and moved on.
“It was a little bit soul-sucking,” he said.
As he weighed his next move, he received a piece of advice that would guide him to where he is today.
“Someone told me that if you want to help people, you’ll never make money. I took that as a challenge,” he said.
When Jenkins moved back to Colorado last year, he sought out a new venture, harkening back to his childhood to launch Mini Money Management.
The platform combines classroom management and financial literacy using a classroom-based economy.
Much like the system Jenkins used in his childhood, students are given a salary, and they are charged for a variety of things, like desk rentals and the janitorial services. Not only does it teach them financial literacy, but it also gives teachers another tool for managing student behavior.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting school closures, Mini Money Management has also launched a home version.
Parents can set monthly bills, like rent, and determine how much the child’s salary is. On the flip side, students have a checking and savings account to make purchases, and are able to apply for loans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDnH0JlKupA&feature=youtu.be
The app recently launched and Jenkins said he’s happy with initial feedback from parents.
“The parents’ biggest thing is their kids are starting to think critically about how they spend,” he said.
Mini Money Management’s target user is students from third to eighth grade, Jenkins said, as middle school students are starting to get familiar with money.
If there is one thing he’s hopeful they’ll pick up on, it’s financial awareness.
“I want them to make informed decisions about why you spend your money where,” he said. “If an individual is financially aware, they can pick what is best for them.”
