After · 4 min read

What to do with lemonade stand money: save, spend, give

The stand is packed up and there is a tin of money on the kitchen table. This is the part most families skip, and it is the best part.

Three jars

Save, spend, give. Three jars, three labels, and the kid decides how much goes in each. Not the grown-up. The decision is the lesson, and a kid who chose to put a third in the give jar learns more than one who was told to.

  • SpendThe part that makes the next stand worth doing. Something they wanted, bought with money they made.
  • SaveFor the bigger thing. A telescope, a bike, the trip. Write the goal on the jar and the number next to it.
  • GiveTo the library, the shelter, the food pantry, the team. Hand it over in person if you can. The thank-you is the whole point.

Pay the business first

Before the jars, take out what the next batch will cost and put it in the money tin for next Saturday. A stand that pays for its own lemons is a business. A stand that needs the grown-up’s wallet every week is a hobby. Both are fine, but the first one teaches the thing.

Write it down

Date, cups sold, money in, batch cost, profit. One line in a notebook per stand day. By the end of the summer it is a record of a real business, and the kid can see which Saturday was best and why.

A stand that raises money

If the stand was for something, the give jar is the whole tin. Count it together, write the number on the sign for next time, and deliver it with the kid. A fundraiser stand on The Squeeze says what it is raising for on its listing, so tippers can help too, and The Squeeze keeps none of a tip.

New to running a stand? The Starter Kit shows how to start a lemonade stand, and the lemonade stand permit rules in Oklahoma are one short read.

Good questions

The ones families ask about this part.

How much should go in each jar?

The kid’s call. A common split is a third each, but a kid saving for something big may put most of it there, and that is a fine answer too.

Is lemonade stand money taxable?

A kid’s stand making a few dollars on a Saturday is not something anyone files a return for. The sales tax question is a different one, and the law guide covers it honestly.

What about tips through The Squeeze?

Tips go to the stand through Ko-fi, every cent of them. The Squeeze keeps none of it, and the card-processing fee is covered by the site’s sponsors, not taken from the kid. They belong in the same tin.

More guides

Three that go with this one. All the guides →

The money·4 min readCounting money and making change at the standHow a kid makes change fast, keeps the tally, and counts up at the end of the day without a calculator. The part of the stand that teaches the most.Read it →The plan·6 min readA lemonade stand business plan for kidsA one-page lemonade stand business plan for kids: what to sell, where, the price, the costs, the goal and who does what, with a filled-in example to copy.Read it →Kid business·7 min readHow to make money as a kid: 18 summer business ideasHow to make money as a kid: 18 summer business ideas for kids, from a lemonade stand to pet sitting, how to pick one, and the ground rules for grown-ups.Read it →

Ready to pour? Get on the map.

Listing your stand on The Squeeze is free, takes about two minutes, and a grown-up finishes the last step.

List your stand → The Starter Kit