Every month, Julia and her cousins would go for the big family meal at their grandparents' house. On each visit, their grandpa would give them a few coins. Then all the children would run off to buy sweets. One day, he gathered the children together. He said, "Let's have a competition to see who can manage money wisely. At the end of this year, tell me how you've used your money. "
Ruben and Nico, the two smallest kids, continued spending their money all on sweets. Every time, they would show off their sweets in front of the other children. This made Clara and Joe so angry thatthese twocould no longer keep saving their money. They soon joined Ruben and Nico.
Monty was a clever boy. He decided to manage his money by buying and selling things. Soon he made a lot of money with little effort. The way he was going, he would end up almost a rich man. However, he began to spend his money on more and more expensive things for himself. A few months later, he hadn't a single penny （便士）left.
Alex saved and saved all the coins he was given, and at the end of the year he had collected more money than anyone. He was the clear winner.
There was also Julia. Poor Julia hadn't a penny on the day of the competition. She had spent all her coins on her secret plan. Julia knew a poor violinist who played in the park, and she offered him all the coins for his violin lessons. Although it wasn't much money, on seeing Julia's excitement, the violinist agreed. A little after a year the violinist loaned her a violin so they two could play together in the park. They were so successful that she managed to buy her own violin. Even better, she later became a very famous violinist.
