Videos

The all-new V- FORCE sneakers will make you the fastest runner in the universe! Guaranteed! When I wear V- FORCE shoes, I feel much faster and more popular! V-FORCE. Feel it. Live it. V- FORCE! Hold on a sec! Something's wrong here. You should always watch out, because some commercials try to make you want things you don't really need. Here are a few examples: First off, the ad tried to make us believe that V- FORCE shoes make you faster. But that just isn't true! Word to the wise: your shoes can't make you faster. It's a false promise. Second, the ad tried to make you think that buying those shoes would give you more friends. That's not true either! Your shoes don't make you popular. Third, all those bright colours on the shoebox are specially designed to catch your eye. Be aware! Of course, not every commercial makes false promises. But at the next commercial break, make sure you watch out for these strategies.

Cooperation. You know what it is? It means working together as a team. In other words, putting your strengths together to become something greater. Some companies are created by people who joined together to achieve a common goal through cooperation. These companies are called cooperatives and the people involved are called members. Take Gabriel. Gabriel is taking part in an Olympiad at his school. These are his challenges: a running race a spelling contest a drawing contest Gabriel is a strong runner, but his spelling and drawing skills aren’t as good. To be successful in the Olympiad, he needs the help of his teammates. Fortunately, his friends Aiko and William are on his team. Aiko is a spelling champ. She breezes through the spelling challenge without a single error! William is the group’s artist. In the drawing contest, the dinosaur he sketches is so impressive that the entire class breaks into applause! Finally, the athletic Gabriel runs a successful race. Together, William, Aiko and Gabriel form a dynamite team! By uniting their efforts around a shared goal, they win the school Olympiad. Because we're always stronger together!

Carlos loves to cook. His dream is to become a world-famous chef! Today he goes grocery shopping with his mom. She gives him $15 to buy all the ingredients to cook breakfast. Carlos needs to think hard about what he's going to buy. He's looking at 2 different brands of bread; one has colourful packaging, and the other looks rather dull. The bread with the colourful packaging is so appealing to Carlos, but he notices that it is also more expensive. He compares the ingredients of the 2 breads and sees that they're similar. Carlos thinks about what to do. He decides to buy the bread with the dull packaging, to stay within his budget. Next to the bread are the cookies. Carlos is a cookie monster. Hooray! His favourite cookies are on special! He takes 10 packs. Carlos counts the cookie packs in the grocery basket. Pretty quick, he realizes that he won't have any money left to buy the rest of breakfast. Unless he makes cookie sandwiches! He must admit, he will never eat all that stuff. His impulse purchase is in fact overconsumption. Overconsumption is when you take more than what you need. It can happen with anything, like if you use 2,000 litres of water to take a bath, or buy 8 pairs of running shoes for your basketball class. Carlos decides to put the cookies back on the shelf. Instead, he buys fruits, eggs and milk. The next morning he makes French toast. Yummy! Carlos is proud of himself. By making the right choices at the store, he had enough money left to buy a pack of cookies!

Gabriel never stops. In the summer he plays soccer, and in the winter he skates. When he goes to his favourite sports store, he notices that prices vary; for example, skates are much cheaper in summer than they are in winter. He wonders what influences the price of goods—aside from the cost of materials and labour. The principle of supply and demand is the answer. Supply is the number of products available for sale, such as the number of skates in the store, for example. Demand is the number of products that consumers want to buy or the number of people who want the same skates. “What?” In fact, the more popular and rare a product is, the more expensive it is. Let's stay with our skates example. Since winter is the season to go skating, skates are more popular. That's why prices go up. In the summer, skates are less in demand. That's why prices go down. This means that products are usually on sale either because they are not very popular or because there are lots of them. But the seasons are not the only factor that can increase prices. Advertising, fashion and the novelty of a product also come into play. Gabriel is a smart cookie. He now knows what he should consider in order to make the right decisions when he is shopping.

Aiko is curious. She's always asking questions. She noticed that when her parents make their purchases, they don't always pay for them in the same way. At the grocery store, her mom uses her debit card. Last week, at the movies, her parents paid cash. And when her dad buys things online, he uses his credit card. So Aiko asked her dad: “What's the difference?” Her dad explains that there are different ways he can access money. First, we make money by working. Aiko's parents each receive a salary for the work they do. The money is saved in an account at a financial institution. Whenever they need money, they may withdraw it at the ATM. A secret code, called PIN, lets them access the money they have in their account directly and then withdraw cash. Aiko's parents also use their debit cards to pay for their purchases. This card directly withdraws money from their account and transfers it to the retailer's account. This is what we call “direct payment”. The credit card allows us to borrow money to buy things, such as furniture, a pair of skis or a book. In other words, the money isn't withdrawn from Aiko's parents' account. It's actually borrowed from a financial institution that pays the store owner. Aiko's parents then reimburse the amount borrowed based on their agreement with the financial institution. That is how the credit works. Whether they choose cash, direct or credit payments, Aiko's parents draw a budget to calculate how much they can afford to spend. This is what allows them to treat themselves to the little extras, such as going to the movies!

William likes to draw! He loves it! He's always drawing! The thing is, William makes pretty drawings but he wants to improve! During recess, Aiko informs him that art classes are given at the recreational centre on Saturdays. Back home, William asks his mom to sign him up for the classes. But William is already enrolled in soccer classes this year so his mom agrees on one condition: he must give her 3 dollars every week to help pay for his art supplies. William thinks about it. Every day of the week, he walks his grandmother's dog Coco and gets 1 dollar in return. So in 5 days, he makes 5 dollars. He can therefore pay his mom the 3 dollars for his supplies and still put aside the remaining 2 dollars. And later, use his savings to can buy the comic book he saw in the store window. And with 1 dollar he can even buy some treats for himself or to share with Aiko from time to time. Proud of his plan, William accepts his mom's offer. He knows he'll have enough money to pay for his share. William just made a budget. A budget consists of calculating the money we earn, less the money we'll spend to make sure that we'll be able to fulfill our financial obligations. Savings is the money we're able to set aside once we've paid for all our expenses. This money can be used to buy something we've been dreaming of. Like a comic book. Or a gift for his friend Gabriel. Thanks to his budget, William is now set to become an accomplished artist.

Do you know what personal information is? It's your name, your address, your phone number, your picture, your email address and password to access your mailbox. Let's take Charlotte, for example. She has brown eyes and red hair. She's not the only one with these features. However, she's the only Charlotte with red hair that lives at 28 Lilac Drive. A piece of personal information is like a secret code that helps to identify you. This is why it's important you protect your personal information. Why is it so important? No one other than you or your parents are supposed to use your personal information. So, if you share personal information about yourself, with strangers or online, ill-intentioned people may try to use it to their advantage. Charlotte can give her email address to Carlos to exchange messages because they're good friends. But she doesn't give him her password. With those 2 pieces of personal information, Carlos, or anybody can access her inbox, read all her emails and even send messages in her name. Charlotte is clever; like a secret agent, she knows who to share her personal information with and how to protect it.

Yesterday, Aiko went shopping with her dad, who withdrew money at his financial institution's ATM. It got her thinking. Why do financial institutions give money? Do they create as much money as we want? She has so many questions. Her dad tells her: “Money circulates; it doesn't magically appear. It's a little like the water cycle.” Aiko's dad is right. Rain is not magic! The water in rivers evaporates from the sun's heat and forms clouds. And money follows a similar cycle. Money travels in a cycle where Aiko's dad plays a role. He's a bus driver and every week, he receives a paycheque. This money is deposited in a secure account at his financial institution. He uses it to buy things like groceries, clothes and movie tickets, and to pay bills like Internet at home per example. He also leaves a portion of his money in his account for future projects and to protect himself against unforeseen circumstances. This is what we call saving. The financial institution, on its end, keeps the savings of many people like Aiko's dad. It lends this money to other people who want to buy big-ticket items, like cars and houses. This is what we call loaning. This way, money continues to follow its cycle. Aiko's dad's money, just like everyone else's, continues to circulate, forming the very basis of our economy. Aiko is happy. She now understands that there is nothing magic about money.