As a child, money was always something that intrigued me. Although my parents usually gave me some change or a dollar on a good day, I was never able to consistently earn and save my money. I wasn’t able to buy the latest games and would instead have to play my beat GameBoy or Nintendo Gamecube. As summer rolled around, I would notice the people in my neighborhood walk sluggishly, with sweat dripping down their faces. Me and my brother had a plan.

Dreaming of money

Owning and spending it all

Lemonade hustle

Me and my brother decided to start a lemonade stand. Whenever it was hot, my mother always made lemonade for us, and it was the perfect thirst-quencher. As a result, we made jugs of lemonade and kept them in the refrigerator. Once we had our three jugs cool and ready to serve, we set up a table in the garage and left it open for people to come in and enjoy. We charged 50 cents a cup and it was one of the most gratifying experiences of my life.

Neighborhood lined up

Serve a cup of lemonade

Watch their eyes light up

By the time the sun would start to set, we would close the garage and gear up for the next day. After several weeks of making and serving lemonade, me and my brother had saved up way more money than we would’ve if we had just stocked up on our parents’ money. However, over time the money became more of an afterthought. We loved helping everyone and watching our neighbors come back because they loved the lemonade or even just to entertain or help us out. We loved hearing people tell us that we helped make their day. We loved the lemonade hustle.

Money comes and goes

But it’s not about the cash

The smile is worth more