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Issue date: May 2, 1999
The money is mine
Brandy, a pop star since age 14, smartly manages
her millions. But Mom still won't let her have an ATM card.
 Get
into math
Be
charitable
Special
Report: Teens & Money
By Jeffrey Zaslow
  arning
about $75,000 an episode for TV's Moesha, $1.5 million a
year as a Cover Girl model and millions more from her music and
movies, Brandy is a long way from the $5 allowance she once received
for washing dishes and doing laundry. "I saved a lot of those five
dollars," she says. "I'd tease my brother: 'I've got my money. You
spent yours!' "
Brandy, 20, is still savvy about money. She doesn't just sign
contracts; she studies them. "I signed a lot of papers yesterday,"
says the singer, actress and fine-print reader. "I'm proud that
I can read my own contracts. I want to make sure that in case my
parents aren't around one day, I'll know right from wrong [in a
contract], and figure out if I should fight it."
Her contracts cover everything from the use of her likeness (there
may be a Brandy doll) to free products (Cover Girl makeup). Each
document helps her better understand the inner workings of show
business. She's gaining confidence. For Double Platinum, her
May 16 TV movie on ABC in which she co-stars with Diana Ross, she's
an executive producer.
Get into
Math
Brandy, who began singing at age 7 in her father's church choir,
says financial smarts run in her family. Her mother and manager,
Sonja Norwood, worked for H&R Block. Her grandfather owned a
Mississippi gas station and cab service. And her dad taught her
ways to simplify the complicated. He'd say that if you can understand
sharecropping, you can understand the music business. Math was Brandy's
favorite subject. "Even though money is the root of all evil, it's
also a way to survive. Kids should get into math."
Some parents don't tell their child stars how much they earn,
"and the kids get all crazy when they're older," Brandy says. But
since her first record deal at age 14, she's known it all. Brandy's
parents do try to keep her spending in check, though. "I basically
have access to my money, but my mom won't trust me with an ATM card.
She knows I'll stop every minute to get $20 out." Brandy does have
a credit card, however, and like many young people, she overspends,
then feels guilty. "My weakness is Louis Vuitton purses. It's a
shame, because those purses are a lot of money" - $195 to $1,300.
When teens get materialistic, she says, parents needn't panic. "My
brother is 18. He's into nice cars. He wants to impress girls. That's
cool. Teens need to go through those phases."
Be Charitable
Brandy encourages teens to be charitable, perhaps by making donations
from after-school earnings. "I take more than 10% of my money and
give it back." She also donates old clothing - such as her Moesha
wardrobe - "instead of putting it in Planet Hollywood." But she's
not ready to part with her purses. So they're stacking up. "It's
a phase I'm in."
Don't worry, Mom. "I'll probably come out of it."
Jeffrey Zaslow is an advice columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.
His 7- and 9-year-old daughters get an allowance of $2 a week. His
3-year-old will soon.
Brandy,
20, earns ...
$10 million-plus as a recording artist with two CDs (the latest
includes the hit single The Boy Is Mine, her duet with Monica)
$75,000 an episode as star of the UPN sitcom Moesha
$1.5 million a year as a Cover Girl model
Photo Credit: Andrew Eccles for USA WEEKEND
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