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The Secret of Setting Goals
By Jeff Eusebio
It’s an amazing fact, but the simple act of setting a goal is the most important step in accomplishing it. It’s that tiny first baby step, but it’s absolutely required and it sets everything else in motion.
When I was in college, one of my professors had us write down 5 goals to accomplish during the semester, then hide them away in a sealed envelope. I completely forgot about the exercise so at the end of the semester, when he had the class reopen our envelopes, I was completely amazed that I had achieved 3 out of the 5 goals I had written down! Even though I had not referred back to the list, the very act of writing down the goals had made them real enough in my own mind that subconsciously I set about to achieve them. The purpose of the exercise wasn’t, of course, to teach us to set goals and hide them away, but to show us the power of the goal setting process.
FamilyMint allows your children to set the kind of goals that money can buy. This is a great way for your children to get started on the road toward developing the goal setting habit. They can set multiple goals, estimate how long it will take them to achieve each one, and move money around as their priorities change. And of course, goals that money can buy are a place to get started, but these are only a launch pad for your child to set goals that money can’t buy, which are usually the goals that lead to long term happiness.
Did you know that an astounding 97% of the population does not take the time to set goals?
“The greatest danger for most of us in not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it” — Michelangelo
“The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” — Benjamin Mays
Set aside a few minutes today to think about and set some goals for yourself, and help your child set a few goals of their own.
Copyright The Secret of Setting Goals © 2011. All rights reserved
Allowance Best Practices According to the Experts
By Jeff Eusebio
Your kids are bugging you for an allowance. Should you give one or not? You’ll see and hear some very strong opinions on both sides of the debate.
At FamilyMint, we believe there is no one, right answer. In fact, the appropriate answer depends on the parent, the child, and the particular circumstances you are both in. We have, however, seen allowance implemented as a relatively easy yet powerful part of financial formation. Done correctly, it really can help kids to appreciate money!
If you choose to give an allowance, FamilyMint makes it easy! You can set up automatic weekly or monthly allowance payments customized for each of your kids. This takes one more task off of your plate, you won’t be fumbling around for correct change, and the transaction history in FamilyMint will remind your kids where this money came from (you!).
What do the experts say?
An article by Michelle M. Haas-Dosher at the Credit Union National Association Inc. provides an excellent overview. She suggests the right time to start an allowance is as early as your kids start to understand the value of money (usually around age 6). She also addresses how much, how often, and for what allowance should be given.
What Experts Say About Allowances for Children
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Copyright Allowance Best Practices According to the Experts © 2011. All rights reserved
Budget their summer earnings for the school year
By Michael Grosvenor
It feels great when your kids earn their first paychecks in their coveted summer jobs. Their first instinct might be to rush out and spend away. But what happens when school starts? The money is long gone. The best way to make that money last through the year is to set up a budget. It’s an easy math problem you can teach your kids to solve.
If they work a job for 3 months and make $1,000 per month, they’ll earn a grand total of $3,000. To make the $3,000 last all year, simply divide this amount by 12 (the number of months in the year) and that leaves $250 to spend per month.
The most important lesson this teaches is how to live within their means. Teaching this early can avoid many problems down the road. It can be easy for young adults to get into credit card trouble with the “I’ll pay for it later” concept. If they fail to budget their money, they might spend too freely up front and not have it later to cover their expenses.
In the above example, they know that they have a limit of $250 a month to spend. If there is something else they want and don’t have the money, they will need to wait and save up until they are prepared to pay for it. If it means missing that Huey Lewis concert this month (don’t laugh, ‘cause I’m going) then that’s a lesson learned in refraining from spending money they don’t have.
How young were you when you started to budget your money? Share your story in our “leave a response” section.
Copyright Budget their summer earnings for the school year © 2011. All rights reserved
How to Start a Nest Egg
By Annette Kingsbury
My dad has a cute little saying he uses to explain his philosophy of saving money: Pay yourself first.
It’s his simple explanation of how he and my mom, despite raising six kids, managed to save enough money to see themselves comfortably through 20 years of retirement (and counting). “Pay yourself first,” means that money goes into savings for the future first, before it goes into Mom’s or Dad’s (or the kids’) pockets.
Like many of his generation, my dad entered World War II as soon as he was old enough, then returned home after the war to get a job, start a family, and go to college on the GI bill. As soon he was eligible to get into his employer’s investment plan via payroll deduction, he did so.
“Mother and I talked about it once, and we never talked about it again,” he said. “I considered it an emergency fund.”
The fund was occasionally dipped into for major emergencies. But by and large it sat there and grew. Over the years Dad diversified his investments, but rarely took risks.
This philosophy has served him exceedingly well. Though he never could have imagined his employer, General Motors, going bankrupt, he saved enough in other solid investments to stay on an even financial keel.
As the oldest of those six children, I can tell you that it wasn’t always easy. We didn’t take vacations, but there was always food on the table. Though I didn’t know about Dad’s plan as a child, I grew up with an abiding sense of the value of hard work.
Today’s parents can set the same example for their kids, who are bombarded with all sorts of expensive, “must have” electronic gadgets du jour. No matter how your child earns money, teach her how to save it, if only as a stepping-stone to bigger and better down the road.
How to start a nest egg? Simply start.
Copyright How to Start a Nest Egg © 2011. All rights reserved
Financial Illiteracy Is Killing Our Kids
By Jeff Eusebio
This is scary. Remember the 80’s R.E.M. hit song, “It’s the end of the world as we know it”? If we continue to do what we as a nation are doing fiscally,than those lyrics will ring true for our generation and more so for generations to come.
Image via Wikimedia
Do you know the depth of our current trade deficit, national debt, and budget deficit? I.O.U.S.A was a movie released in theaters a couple years ago and you can watch this movie broken down into digestible bites at their website. The movie helps explain everything simply… and because it’s simple it’s understandable… and because it’s understandable the depth of the problem of mass fiscal irresponsibility really hits home.
Brett Nelson references this movie in a recent article in Forbes and points at our rotting education system as the source of this problem. Our population needs to be financially literate in order to compete in the global economy in the future, and we are failing our kids. Three-quarters of high school seniors failed a financial literacy test given by Jump$tart Coalition in 2008, and only 5% earned better than a “C”. 5 percent!
http://blogs.forbes.com/brettnelson/2010/08/24/financial-illiteracy-is-killing-us/
But there is hope and the article ends with a few recommendations, all of which the use of FamilyMint can actually help to make happen:
- Teens who reported learning a great deal about goal-setting were significantly more likely to also report that they had saved money for something they wanted and then purchased it
- Teens who reported learning about managing savings and checking accounts were more likely to report having opened both types of accounts
- Those who reported learning about saving money were more likely to save regularly
- Teens who learned to track spending were more likely to report having developed a budget vs. those who learned little or nothing and also more likely to save money to purchase something
FamilyMint helps parents teach their young kids to live within their means and develop the fiscal responsibility that our nation desperately needs.
Take a look at the videos and article linked above. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Copyright Financial Illiteracy Is Killing Our Kids © 2010. All rights reserved
You’re Never too Young to Learn About Managing Money
By Michael Grosveno
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“When it comes to teaching kids about money, the sooner the better” says CNN Money. Early understanding of earning and managing money lays down such an important foundation for your child’s future. The more your child understands money the more conservative with it they will be. The concept is that the more they understand the value of the money they earn and the financial responsibilities that come with life, the more they will carefully pay attention to where the money is going.
A good way to teach your children good spending habits is by involving them in yours. Whenever I have a big dollar purchase coming up, I research. Much time is spent comparing features, quality, and of course, prices. Include your kids in this process on some of your purchases. Show them why you choose this over that, how to compare prices and stick to a budget.
An allowance is another great teaching tool, according to the CNN article. This money can show the impact of the choices they make. “Make it clear to your children what kinds of expenditures the money is for, and that they are expected to save some of it.” Don’t forget to give them some freedom to make their own choices. This will help them learn from poor decisions as well as the value and reward of the good choices they make.
Teaching your child financial responsibility at a young age is not about taking away their childhood, but preparing their mindset for adulthood at a time where kids are most receptive to learning. You will be amazed at the impact this has on the rest of their lives!
Link to: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson12/
Copyright You’re Never too Young to Learn About Managing Money © 2010. All rights reserved
Kids and Money – Practical Tips for Parents
USAA recently had webinar program with experts answering parents questions and providing tips around kids and finances. Topics include:
- Raising financially savvy kids
- Teach the value of saving
- Share money lessons
- Be a good financial role model
Very interesting program covering numerous common questions and concerns parents have.
Financial Literacy Month and FamilyMint
By Bob Masterson
It is financial literacy month, so what can you do to help your children become financially literate and at what age should you start?
Just like all education, it begins in the home! Mom and dad are the first to influence a child’s behavior and habits. Just like reading and math, we begin with the basics of A B C and 1 2 3 and build from there.
It is no different with finances. Kids are bombarded with consumerism from the earliest age and thus should be equipped to understand that money is a limited resource and that there is a difference between wants and needs. Anyone can spend money, but to manage money wisely, we must instill early on an understanding of how money works and the responsibility that comes with having money.
This is where FamilyMint can help. Children are given the ability with parents’ help to see how much they have and where their money is going. They can plan for long term and short term expenses and goals and keep track of their progress to these. Children learn by doing and money becomes truly transparent to them for the first time.
In case you were wondering how April became designated Financial Literacy month, it all started back in 2000, when Jumpstart Coalition began promoting April as Financial Literacy for Youth Month. In 2003 the United States Congress showed its support by passing a Senate and House Resolution, and in 2005 a bill was passed calling upon all Federal, State and local governments to observe the month with appropriate programs and activities.
Today you will find schools, youth organizations and financial institutions offering numerous programs and activities to help Americans of all ages improve their understanding of finances.
Copyright Financial Literacy Month and FamilyMint © 2010. All rights reserved