Birthday Party With a Twist

One reader uses a fun game to teach the guests at her daughter's party a lesson about budgeting.

Do you have room for another story about a different kind of birthday party? I agree that parties have gotten out of hand. For my daughter's 11th birthday, I divided the guests into three groups of three girls each. I gave each group $50, plus the following handout:

"Congratulations! You are the proud but poor parents of Bobby, 12; Christi, 8; Jimmy, 7; and little Anna, 9 months. Unfortunately, they were all born on March 20, and they all need birthday gifts.

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Janet Bodnar
Contributor

Janet Bodnar is editor-at-large of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, a position she assumed after retiring as editor of the magazine after eight years at the helm. She is a nationally recognized expert on the subjects of women and money, children's and family finances, and financial literacy. She is the author of two books, Money Smart Women and Raising Money Smart Kids. As editor-at-large, she writes two popular columns for Kiplinger, "Money Smart Women" and "Living in Retirement." Bodnar is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and is a member of its Board of Trustees. She received her master's degree from Columbia University, where she was also a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics Journalism.