Invest your profits
Run a small sale, calculate profits, then divide and invest the earnings into savings, reinvestment, and a simple mock stock experiment.
Step-by-step guide to run a small sale and invest the profits
How to Teach Kids About Money, Business, & Investing: Make The Next Generation of Millionaires
Step 1
Pick 3 to 8 small items you want to sell and write down how much each one cost you to make or buy.
Step 2
Choose a sale price for each item and make a price tag for every item using your price tags or tape and paper.
Step 3
Set up a tidy sale spot on a table and put each item out with its price tag so people can see them.
Step 4
Run your sale for a set time (for example 30 minutes) and let family or friends buy your items.
Step 5
Count all the money you earned from the sale and write the total income in your notebook.
Step 6
Add up the cost amounts for the items that were sold to find the total cost and write that number down.
Step 7
Subtract the total cost from the total income to calculate your profit and write the profit amount in your notebook.
Step 8
Decide how to split your profit into savings reinvestment and a mock stock experiment and write the percentages you choose (for example 50% savings 30% reinvestment 20% stock).
Step 9
Put the correct amounts of money into three jars or envelopes labeled Savings Reinvestment Stock using stickers or labels.
Step 10
Make six small paper cards and write different percent changes on them like -10% -5% 0% +5% +10% +20% then shuffle the cards face down.
Step 11
Choose a share price (for example $1 per share) and use the money from your Stock jar to buy as many shares as that money allows; write how many shares you own.
Step 12
Draw one card each day for five days and change the share price by the percent on the card then write the new share price and the total value of your shares in your notebook after each draw.
Step 13
Take a photo or write a short summary of your sale profit split and your mock stock results and share your finished creation on DIY.org
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can I use if I don't have price tags, jars/envelopes, or stickers?
Use tape and small torn pieces of paper or Post-it notes as price tags, cleaned food jars or labeled envelopes placed in a shoebox for the Savings/Reinvestment/Stock containers, and write labels with a marker or masking tape instead of stickers.
What should I do if nobody buys many items or I get confused when counting money and calculating profit?
Rearrange the tidy sale spot and try a small discount or bundle to boost sales, then sort coins and bills, use a calculator to recount total income and total cost, and carefully subtract to record the profit in your notebook.
How can I adapt the activity for younger or older kids?
For younger kids, pick 3 items, use play money and parent help to write income/costs and fill two jars, and skip the five-day card draws, while older kids can sell more items, use a spreadsheet to track incomes and costs, create more percent cards for the stock experiment, and analyze percent gains in the notebook.
How can we extend or personalize the sale and the mock stock experiment?
Make custom price tags and a sale logo, print simple receipts and a poster with your chosen profit split, add higher-risk percent cards (e.g., -20% or +50%) to the six small paper cards, reinvest some money from the Reinvestment jar to make new items, and take a photo to share on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to run a small sale and invest the profits
Investing with Kids! 6 Ways to give your kids a head start and prepare for their financial future.
4 Videos
Investing with Kids! 6 Ways to give your kids a head start and prepare for their financial future.
Investing for Kids: Turn Your Child into a Stock Market Genius | Maconomics
Investing 101 for Kids | Financial Literacy for Kids | Kidzeconomy.com
How to Teach Children to Invest | Financial Education for Kids
Facts about financial literacy for kids
🛠️ Many huge companies started tiny: Apple began in a garage and Amazon sold books from a basement.
🧾 Profit is what’s left after you subtract all the costs from sales — even a lemonade stand can teach this!
📈 Real stock prices can change every second during trading hours — that’s why mock stock games are great practice.
🔁 Small amounts invested regularly can grow a lot over time thanks to compound interest (your money earning money).
💵 Splitting earnings into savings, reinvestment, and experiments helps you learn safety, growth, and risk.
How do I run the 'invest your profits' activity with my child?
What materials do I need to run this activity at home?
What ages is the 'run a small sale and invest profits' activity suitable for?
What are the benefits of doing this profit-investing activity with children?
Get 7 days of DIY for FREE!