A funny thing happened this summer. My boys fell in love with Monopoly, and now they play it just about nonstop. They’ll start to play the moment they wake up, until we make them eat breakfast. They’ll play after dinner, until we make them go to bed. The funny part? They are 5 and 7 years old!

Nevertheless, my wife and I think it’s great. Monopoly provides some interesting financial lessons for kids and adults alike.

First of all, making money usually involves taking risks. The more risk you take, the more money you can make. Or lose. My seven-year-old likes to put every dollar he has into houses and hotels. It works great when someone quickly lands on his expensive property, but not so great when he has a bill to pay and ends up liquidating those houses at half price. Just as in real life, you need to know how much risk you’re comfortable taking with your investments.

A second financial lesson from Monopoly is about choices. Should you mortgage a property if you need money to buy a railroad? Should you trade a property that completes a color group for another player if it nets you the fourth railroad? Should you buy your way out of jail in order to maximize trips around the board, or stay in there to avoid other players’ rents for a few turns? There are usually tradeoffs to every decision. In order to make the best decisions with our money we need to understand our choices and the likely outcomes of those choices.

Another lesson is about borrowing money and paying interest. In Monopoly, if you mortgage a property to get some money, you later have to pay a 10% premium in order to unmortgage that property so that you can charge rent again. In real life, you pay interest when you borrow money. This is a great lesson that money is a limited asset that should be valued accordingly, and that you don’t just get money whenever you want it. As of August, the amount of credit card debt in the Unites States is 1.14 trillion dollars. You can bet that folks are paying a lot of interest on those balances!

My final Monopoly lesson is about controlling the things that you can control. In Monopoly, it’s random chance what number you roll and where you land. That plays a huge role in how the game goes. It is also luck whether the Community Chest or Chance card you get is a good one or a bad one. You simply can’t control that. What you can control, however, are two big things: whether or not to buy a property that you land on, and what trades to make or not make with other players. Those decisions can have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

Similarly, in real life there are things that you can and can’t control. Rich family? Big inheritance? Single-parent home? Unemployed parents? To some extent, we have to play with the hand we’re dealt. However—just like in Monopoly—there are many things that we can control. As I’ve said before in my column, you can choose to be a good saver. You can invest in a way that fits your risk profile, your needs, and your goals. You can make choices that put you in control of your financial destiny.

There are other real-life skills that Monopoly teaches, such as negotiating skills, cash flow management, and planning ahead. These are important for life success, and it’s great that my kids are learning those skills while they play. The best part? They don’t even realize that they’re learning!

Whether it’s real life or Monopoly, control the things that you can. As always, invest smartly and invest well!

Larry Sidney is a Zephyr Cove-based Investment Advisor Representative. Information is found at https://palisadeinvestments.com/ or by calling 775-299-4600 x702. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Clients may hold positions mentioned in this article. Past Performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial advisor before purchasing any security.