The Vine curriculum
107 lessons that teach kids how money and investing actually work — read any of them free, no account needed. Every lesson is written three ways, so a 7-year-old and a 17-year-old each get a version that fits.
107 lessons11 sectionsAges 7–17
🌱 Start here
- 🏢What is a stock?How owning a share means owning the business.›
- 📈Why prices moveNews, demand, and what people believe.›
- ❄️Compound interestDrag the sliders to see how time builds wealth.›
- 🧺Spreading your betsWhy one bad pick shouldn't sink everything.›
- ⏳Time in market beats timing itStaying invested beats jumping in and out.›
- 🛒Needs vs. WantsNeeds keep you okay; wants make life fun — and knowing which is which protects your money.›
- 🥧Making a BudgetA budget is a plan you make for your money before you spend it.›
- ⚖️The Hidden Cost of ChoosingEvery yes to one thing is a quiet no to something else.›
- ⚖️Why Prices Go Up and DownPrice is a tug-of-war between how much exists and how many people want it.›
🪙 Money basics
- 🪙Why We Invented MoneyMoney replaced barter because it works even when people want different things.›
- 🎯Name Your Goal, Then Fill the JarA named goal plus a steady weekly amount turns wishing into a plan.›
- ⚖️The Price of Just OneDivide the price by how many you get to find the cost of one.›
- ⏳The Pause Before You BuyA short pause before buying helps you spot what you actually want.›
- 💚Giving with a PlanDeciding your giving ahead of time beats giving in a hurry.›
- 🤝Money and FriendsClear rules before you lend keep friendships from getting awkward.›
- 🏦Checking vs SavingsChecking is for money you spend soon, savings is for money you keep.›
- 💳Debit Cards vs Credit CardsA debit card uses money you have; a credit card borrows money you repay.›
- 📈Simple vs Compound InterestSimple interest adds the same amount; compound interest earns on interest too.›
- 💪From Allowance to Steady IncomeSteady income arrives on a schedule, so you can plan with it.›
📈 How investing works
- ⚖️Risk and rewardHigher reward means higher risk. Order them.›
- 📦What's an ETF?Owning 500 companies with one purchase.›
- 💸Dividends — getting paid to ownQuarterly checks just for owning shares.›
- 🧠Avoiding emotional trapsWhy smart people make dumb investing choices.›
- 🐑FOMO and Following the HerdCrowds and hype make people buy fast — slowing down is the skill.›
- 🎈Inflation: the silent thiefWhy cash is the riskiest 'safe' choice.›
- 🚀How to actually startCustodial accounts, ETFs, automation.›
- 🏆The whole playbook in 6 rulesEverything you've learned, on one card.›
- 🐂Bull markets vs bear marketsWhy investors call markets 'bull' or 'bear'.›
- 🫧Famous bubbles and crashesReal stories of hype gone wrong.›
- 📊Reading a stock chartTrends, time frames, and what to actually look at.›
- ✋When should you actually sell?Good reasons vs bad reasons to hit sell.›
- ⚡️The Rule of 72One quick divide tells you how long to double.›
💼 Earning your own money
- 💰Pay yourself firstSave first, spend what's left — not the other way around.›
- 🧾Gross Pay vs Net PayGross pay is what you earned, net pay is what actually reaches you after taxes.›
- 🐷Saving vs investingThey're not the same — pick the right tool.›
- 🏛️Taxes: The Big Shared PotTaxes are money collected from lots of people to pay for things everybody uses.›
- 🧾Sales Tax: The Extra BitSales tax gets added at the register, so the total is higher than the tag.›
- 🔁Subscription CreepSmall monthly charges are easy to forget and they pile up fast.›
- 🛍️When Spending Chases EarningSee how a raise can disappear when your spending grows just as fast.›
- 🍋What You Actually KeepWork out real profit by taking your costs away from your revenue.›
- 🧾Paycheck vs Paid YourselfSee why $200 from a job and $200 from your own work are not the same.›
- 🧾Your First Tax ReturnA tax return tells the government what you earned and can bring money back.›
- 🏦Savings Accounts That Pay MoreSome savings accounts pay you a higher rate than others.›
- ⚖️Debt That Helps and Debt That TrapsSome borrowing can help you, and some just piles up.›
- 🚗What a Car Really CostsGas, insurance and repairs add to the price on the sticker.›
🏦 Money systems
- 📊What Is a Credit Score?Your credit score is a report card for how you handle borrowed money.›
- 💳How a Card Balance GrowsPaying only the minimum leaves a balance, and interest piles on top of it.›
- 📜Bonds — the safer cousinWhy grown-ups slowly add bonds with age.›
- 🍕What's a stock split?Why a $1000 stock can become a $250 stock overnight.›
- 🚩Spotting investing scamsHow to spot a scam before it costs you.›
- 🪙Fees — the silent thiefWhy 1% sounds tiny but eats huge chunks.›
- 🌧️Recessions — they're normalThey happen every few years. They always end.›
- 🏛️What's the Federal Reserve?Why one phone call from the Fed moves every stock.›
- 🧾Capital gains taxHold over a year and the tax bite is way smaller.›
- 🪄Roth IRA — the cheat codeWhy every kid with a job should open one.›
- 🏠REITs — real estate without buying a houseBuy a share, collect rent (sort of).›
🧱 Investing foundations
- 📊Index Funds vs Picker FundsIndex funds copy a list of companies; active funds pay someone to choose them.›
- 🧺Mutual Funds vs ETFsA mutual fund pools money to buy many companies, and it prices once a day.›
- 🔑Custodial Accounts: Yours, but ManagedKids can't open brokerage accounts alone, so a trusted adult manages one for them.›
- 🥧Splitting Your Money UpChoose how much of your money goes to stocks, bonds and cash.›
- 🔁Fixing Your MixNudge your money back to the mix you picked.›
- 🎯Funds With a Date on ThemOne fund that slowly changes its mix as your goal year gets nearer.›
- 🔁Reinvesting Your DividendsA DRIP takes your dividend cash and automatically buys more shares for you.›
- 🎢How Bumpy Is It?Volatility is how much a price jumps up and down over time.›
- 📉Drawdowns: Falling and Climbing BackA drawdown is how far something has fallen from its highest point.›
- 🧭Finding Your Risk ComfortRisk tolerance is how much up-and-down you can handle without panicking.›
🔍 Analysing companies
- 🧾Revenue vs ProfitRevenue is everything a business takes in; profit is what's left after costs.›
- 📊What's an earnings report?Why one number can move a stock 10% overnight.›
- 🏰What Makes a Business Hard to CopySome businesses are protected by things rivals can't quickly copy.›
- 🎲Speculation vs investingSame stock, totally different mindsets.›
- 🪜Dollar-cost averagingBuy the same amount every month. The market does the rest.›
- 🧮The P/E ratioA simple number that says how much investors pay per $1 of profit.›
- 🏛️Market cap — how big is the company?Share price × number of shares = total value of the company.›
- 🪙Crypto: hype vs realityBitcoin and friends — how they're different from stocks.›
- 🏭Sectors — how the market is split up11 big buckets the market is split into.›
📊 Reading a business
- 📋The Balance SheetA balance sheet lists what a company owns and what it owes on one day.›
- 💵Profit vs CashA company can earn a profit on paper and still be short of cash.›
- 🌱Growth or Value?Growth companies expand quickly; value companies are steady and cheaper.›
- 🐘Small Companies vs Giant CompaniesHow big a company is changes how its stock tends to behave.›
- 🍕Share BuybacksA buyback removes shares, so each share that is left is a bigger slice.›
- 🗳️Shareholders Get to VoteOwning shares usually comes with votes on big company choices.›
- 📘Reading an Annual ReportAn annual report shows a company's money, its plans and its worries.›
- 🪙The Bid, the Ask and the SpreadThe gap between the buying price and the selling price quietly costs you money.›
- 💧Liquidity: How Fast Can You Sell?Liquidity is how quickly you can turn something into cash.›
- ⏰Market Hours and Overnight SurprisesThe market has set hours, and prices can jump while it is shut.›
🚀 Doing it for real
- 💼401(k) basics — work's retirement accountYour job pays you, but they also help you save.›
- 🏦A brokerage accountThe account you open to start buying real stocks.›
- 🎯Market Orders and Limit OrdersA market order trades fast; a limit order waits for your price.›
- 🔔Going Public: What an IPO IsAn IPO is the day a private company starts selling shares to the public.›
- 🛒How to choose your first stockA simple checklist for picking the first stock you'll actually own.›
- ⚡Day trading — why most people loseIt looks exciting. The data says it's a loser's game.›
- ⚠️Margin — when investors borrow moneyHow investors amplify gains — and how they get wiped out.›
🧠 Mind and markets
- 🏆Survivorship Bias: The Missing StoriesWinners get the headlines, so success can look way more common than it really was.›
- 🔎Only Hearing What You WantWe collect the facts that agree with us and skip right past the ones that don't.›
- ⚖️Why Losses Sting MoreA $50 loss stings more than a $50 gain feels great, and that lopsided feeling changes choices.›
- 💸The Sunk Cost TrapFind out why "but I already paid for it" is a weak reason to keep going.›
- ⚓Anchored to the Price You PaidLearn why the price you paid keeps hijacking what you think something is worth.›
- 🏦Why Bond Prices Fall When Rates RiseSee why an older bond gets cheaper once new bonds start paying more.›
- 📊GDP and JobsGDP adds up everything a country makes, and the jobs report counts who is working.›
- 🛢️Oil, Wheat and GoldOil, wheat and gold are raw materials, and their prices can jump around.›
- 📉Short SellingShort selling is betting a price falls, and it can go very wrong.›
- 🎟️What an Option IsAn option is a paid right to buy or sell at a set price before a deadline.›
🏁 Putting it together
- 🚨Emergency fund FIRST — investing secondBefore you start investing, you need a safety net.›
- 📊Net worth — the real scoreboardIncome is what you make. Net worth is what you KEEP.›
- 🔁Building your investing habitAutomate it. Forget about it. Win.›
- 🌍International stocks — the world is bigger than the USAbout half the world's stocks live outside America.›
- 🧮The simple wealth equationThree knobs. Master all three. Wealth shows up.›
Ready to practice for real?
Reading is half of it. Vine gives kids a practice portfolio with real market prices and pretend money.
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