The Monopoly Mogul

Thanksgiving in our home is a special day, not just for the turkey feast, but also because we have a tradition of playing the boardgame, Monopoly. Thanksgiving 2019 was no exception as this year’s game was especially competitive.

An important role in Monopoly is the ‘banker’- the person who controls and counts the money that is loaned and borrowed. That said, the role of banker usually goes to me, but not this time.

My 28-year-old daughter, Alaia, who is an exceptionally talented hairstylist, volunteered to take on the responsibility. I remember Alaia as a child, she possessed (and still does) wisdom and discernment beyond her years. She also has an ability to make people smile, laugh and feel special, not to mention her aptitude for drawing and poetry, but understanding math did not come easy for her.

Although long algebraic expressions are not required for the banker role, he or she must be patient, focused and wise to keep up with players in our family who have been known to use “creative addition” when attempting to collect pay.

Enjoying a respite from policing the “creative players” who shall not be named, I observed Alaia with awe and admiration as she gracefully distributed the correct payments with each turn. I was happily surprised to see that her childhood struggles with math were a thing of the past and moreover, percentages were now seemingly second nature for Alaia.

It seems that in working as a hairstylist, Alaia has learned the mathematical concepts that are important and impactful in her work and in life.

Often in life, in math and with regard to investing, understanding basic concepts can prove to get us pretty far!

As our annual Thanksgiving game of Monopoly came to an end, we all remarked at what a great job Alaia did as banker… not only in counting money but also in identifying the slight-of hand trickster who never seems to run out of money.

Alaia didn’t just do a great job as banker, she also did a great job as a player. Ultimately it was her experience in optimistically estimating her forthcoming tips that gave her the game win. In the end, Alaia the hairstylist’s simple math skills beat her dad (me), the financial advisor and self-proclaimed Monopoly mogul, and I could not be prouder.