Posts for January 2012

OpenDNS FamilyShield – Web Content Filtering for ALL Your Gadgets

We at FamilyMint love online technology, and we love that our kids love it too.  However, the Internet isn’t safe for kids to just go roaming about anywhere, so we’re big fans of parental control solutions.  And we’re huge fans of parental control solutions that are both very effective and free.

One such solution is OpenDNS.  With more than 30,000,000 users and 40,000 schools using it (more than 1% of all internet users), it’s very popular for good reasons.  One of the biggest reasons (well, the biggest reason in our eyes) is the built-in parental control features that protect ANY AND ALL devices in your house that connect to the internet through your home wireless router.  There are other good solutions for just your computers (such as K9 Web Protection, another free solution), but no others that we know of that also provide protection for your tablets, Kindles, iPods, iPads, Androids, gaming consoles, or any other gadget.

The way OpenDNS works is simple.  You make a quick change to the settings of your home router, and after this all your internet traffic will be routed through the OpenDNS servers. Turn on Web Content Filtering in your OpenDNS account, tell it what level of filtering your want (High, Medium, Low, None, or Custom) and immediately all your connected devices will be protected from content in 26 risk categories including alcohol, dating, drugs, gambling, and of course much more.

After this, if any device (computer, tablet, iTouch, etc.) tries to browse to a site that is not allowed, you, your kids, your kids friends, etc. will see a warning message on that device instead of the offending internet site.

Here’s a short description from the OpenDNS folks:

Setting up OpenDNS to secure all of your new devices is as simple as making sure OpenDNS is set up on your router. If you’re already using OpenDNS on your router, you’ll instantly see the benefits on your new devices. OpenDNS settings will apply to the new gadgets whether you’re using OpenDNS simply for fast and reliable DNS or if you’re also using Parental Controls.

It’s easy to add Parental Controls for these new these devices if you now need to block content. As always, there’s no additional software to install and it’s completely free to protect additional devices.To add Parental Controls for the new gadget on your home network, you’ll just need to first make sure OpenDNS is set up your home router. Then, simply log in to your Dashboard, select your home network, and enable the filtering settings of your choice. In just a few clicks, all of your new toys will be protected and you can get back to enjoying them!

FamilyMint doesn’t earn anything from OpenDNS nor do we have any kind of relationship with them.  We’ve just found their service to be great for parents with kids that use technology and we wanted to share it with you.

Kids Learn Business Skills by Preparing a Dinner Menu

written by: Coach Funk, CFP® at www.SavingsCoach.com

Hanging out with my 10 and 12 year old nephews last weekend, I heard excitement in their voices when they looked up from their iPod apps and told me about cooking dinner for the family last week.  They told me the great lesson they learned here is that they get to keep the PROFIT.  This means they have to figure out how much the ingredients cost, then price the menu based on how much they want to make.  They get to design the menu and let everyone choose what they want.  Then they go to the grocery store with mom to buy the ingredients, and finally they have to cook and serve the dinner.

Mom was just going to give an allowance anyway; instead, she got to spend quality time with her boys at the grocery store, had dinner prepared, served… and dishes cleaned by her two excited boys.  Now they have money to buy more apps.  The boys gained a greater appreciation for what food costs, that they need to charge more than the costs to make a profit, and what mom’s favorite dish is so they can charge the most for it.

Here’s the menu my nephew created.  Click it to view full size.

Lessons From… Rich Dad Poor Dad (Summary #1)

About The “Lessons From” Series

The “Lessons From” series are bite-sized summaries of books about financial literacy for parents raising money-smart kids.

Today we start with a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter

INTRODUCTION

The big idea behind this book is articulated well by the son of one of the authors:

“Mom,” he continued, “I don’t want to work as hard as you and dad do. You make a lot of money, and we live in a huge house with lots of toys. If I follow your advice, I’ll wind up like you, working harder and harder only to pay more taxes and wind up in debt. There is no job security anymore; I know all about downsizing and rightsizing. I also know that college graduates today earn less than you did when you graduated. Look at doctors. They don’t make nearly as much money as they used to. I know I can’t rely on Social Security or company pensions for retirement. I need new answers.”

The old answer is the Rat Race, “where you work for the owners of a company, for the government paying taxes, and for the bank paying off a mortgage and credit cards. We advise our children to ‘study hard, get good grades, and find a safe job or career’ but the author says this is old, risky advice.  “That is old advice, and it’s bad advice. If you could see what is happening in Asia, Europe, South America, you would be as concerned as I am.” It’s bad advice, he believes, “because if you want your child to have a financially secure future, they can’t play by the old set of rules. It’s just too risky.”

“That’s why it is foolish to simply say to a child, ‘Get a good education,’ ” he said. “It is foolish to assume that the education the school system provides will prepare your children for the world they will face upon graduation. Each child needs more education. Different education. And they need to know the rules. The different sets of rules.”

How can the education system teach a subject that it does not know?”

The author claims that the rich teach their children differently.

Chapter 1 – Rich Dad, Poor Dad

“Money is not taught in schools. Schools focus on scholastic and professional skills, but not on financial skills. This explains how smart bankers, doctors and accountants who earned excellent grades in school may still struggle financially all of their lives. Our staggering national debt is due in large part to highly educated politicians and government officials making financial decisions with little or no training on the subject of money.”

The author’s “Rich Dad” was actually his friend’s dad that taught him lessons about money for over 30 years.  He noted, “Although both dads worked hard, I noticed that one dad had a habit of putting his brain to sleep when it came to money matters, and the other had a habit of exercising his brain.”

One dad recommended, “Study hard so you can find a good company to work for.” The other recommended, “Study hard so you can find a good company to buy.”

One believed, “Our home is our largest investment and our greatest asset.” The other believed, “My house is a liability, and if your house is your largest investment, you’re in trouble.” Both dads paid their bills on time, yet one paid his bills first while the other paid his bills last.

One dad taught the author how to write an impressive resume so he could find a good job. The other taught him how to write strong business and financial plans so he could create jobs.

Even when the author’s “Rich Dad” was “flat broke after a major financial setback, he continued to refer to himself as a rich man. He would cover himself by saying, “There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary, and poor is eternal.”

The author’s Rich Dad encouraged him to study to be rich, to understand how money works and to learn how to have it work for him. “I don’t work for money!” were words he would repeat over and over, “Money works for me!”

And when it was all said and done, there were only six main lessons, repeated over 30 years.

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Coming Next Time… LESSON ONE: THE RICH DON’T WORK FOR MONEY

Or dive right in yourself: Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

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P.S. This book summary has been completely rewritten and published on the Kindle platform.  If you’d like to have this summary available at any time on your Kindle app or device, it’s available here.

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A Lesson On Spending

I received this in an email and thought it provided a great, easy way to picture our national debt by comparing it to a household budget.

Subject: A LESSON ON SPENDING

A simplification, I know, but it still holds…

Why the U.S. was downgraded:

• U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
• Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000

Let’s now remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:

• Annual family income: $21,700
• Money the family spent: $38,200
• New debt on the credit card: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
• Total budget cuts: $385

So… if this were your family budget, what would you do?

Jodi

We are loving FamilyMint! My children are saving more money now. I think they like the idea of the account, and don’t spend it as easily as when it is in their hands. Excellent concept!

5 Tips to Successful New Years Resolutions

By Bob Masterson

We all enter the new year with hopes and dreams of a brighter future.  A new beginning.  This includes trying to improve ourselves, whether by losing a few pounds, training for a marathon even though we may have never run further than the mailbox or socking away a few thousand for a rainy day.  If you are like nearly half of the population, you have created at least one New Year’s Resolution.  But the majority of those resolutions are guaranteed to fail.  The high failure rate is probably why the other half have stopped creating resolutions.  But why is the failure rate so high?   It’s because what we do today are habits and behaviors that have been formed over time that we are very comfortable and familiar with.  Change is hard because it requires us to modify a behavior and form a new habit.

Let’s say I want to create a rainy day fund as an example New Year’s Resolution.  The way I currently spend and save is a comfortable behavior, because this is the way I’ve always done it.  I may go out to lunch every day or have a morning treat of a half caf caramel Machiatto.  If I wish to save more than I have in the past, one of two things are going to have to happen.  I either need to make more money or reduce my spending.   The easiest solution is to reduce spending.  But where?  I need everything.  I’ll die without my half caf caramel Machiatto in the morning. Well I don’t want you to die, so here are five very simple tips to help increase the odds of you achieving your New Year’s Resolution.

1. Make only one resolution at a time. Resolutions can be like our appetite.  As our eyes can be sometimes bigger than our stomachs, so too can our ambitions be bigger than our ability to see things through.  On New Year’s Eve, I feel like I can conquer the world.  New Year’s day…another story.   So, if you have created more than one resolution, take some time to think through these and pick the one that you feel the greatest desire in achieving.  This leads into our next tip.
2. You have to really want it. If you want success, than it has to start in the heart.  If the desire is only so-so or if you’re doing it because someone told you you should, than odds are you are already the majority of the way towards failure.
3. Break a resolution down into smaller goals. Don’t try to eat the whole elephant.  It’s guaranteed to come right back up on you.  Break your New Year’s goal down into smaller, achievable goals.  If your overall goal is to have an emergency savings of $5000 by the end of the year, break that $5000 down into 12 smaller goals of $416 per month.  $416 is a lot easier to swallow than $5000.
4. Develop an actionable plan to meet smaller goals. So, how are you going to save $416 per month?  Well if you break this down even further, you need to come up with $14 a day.  Start jotting down ideas on where you can reduce your spending by this much.  Making your own lunch instead of buying it might come out to a $7 savings.  Shopping around your car insurance might net you a couple of bucks a day.
5. Celebrate your wins! That’s right.  Each month you achieve your smaller goal, celebrate in some way.  It makes the journey a lot more fun and enjoyable.  If you miss your goal, don’t throw up your arms and give up.  With these smaller goals, it’s easier to look back and see why you missed the mark and make small adjustments to help you achieve the goal next month.

Copyright 5 Tips to Successful New Years Resolutions © 2012.  All rights reserved