Category Archives: Family Finances

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The New Reality: Student Debt Ball & Chain

  By remymartini • November 28, 2012 , , ,

For the times I just want to mindlessly read silly things, such as best dressed at some awards show I don’t watch or why a NFL superfan has quit his team, I go to Yahoo! News. While turning the pages of the stories, I came across a story about student loans. After turning my brain back on I read a few of the many horror stories about student loans. You can check out the story here.

 

I was VERY lucky that my parents/grandparents helped me go through college without any student loans. For many now it’s just a way of life that they will never pay down. Every month they write a check to Sallie Mae or private bank that holds the loan. Since many are set up like a mortgage, the payments are all interest first so even those payments aren’t paying off the debt itself, just the interest for the debt. Sounds pretty depressing to me. For those parents and students shopping around now let’s take these horror stories and learn from them so we don’t repeat the same mistakes. There are a few areas to look at when gauging your finances to pay for college.

First of course is the college or university you want to attend. How much is that going to cost? The sticker price isn’t the final price in many cases and is negotiable. Also as a cautionary tale from the last horror story, make sure the school you want to go to has substance. Do some research on the college as well as the field you are interested in. Make sure the expectations the college is giving you is reasonable. If it seems too good to be true ask for referrals or see if you can chat with some recent graduates. They will be the best gauge if it’s worth spending the money they are asking to attend the college.

 

 

 

Next make sure to apply for as many grants and scholarships as possible. Here are a few resources:

A quick note on scholarships & grants: make sure to read the fine print. A full ride may require a minimum GPA or other requirements such as working the first 2 years out of college at a certain job. Make sure those requirements are doable in the near future, if you have doubts now, they will probably only get worse later.

 

 

 

Now that you have a solid number (Cost of College MINUS all grants/scholarships MINUS any help from family/friends/savings) now you can shop around for a student loan. Of course interest rate is very important, so the lower the better, but also think about how long the payments are and what exactly will that look like right out of college? That is where the Vertex24’s handy dandy Amortization Loan spreadsheetcan come in handy. This will help you figure out your monthly cost based of the total amount, interest rate, start date and term.

 

 

To get a real gauge on if this payment is ACTUALLY reasonable let’s make a little Post-Graduation budget. For a fun example, let’s say you graduate as an mechanical engineer. We’ll assume you get a mechanical engineering job right out of college that starts at $50,000/year. The Monthly budget might look something like this:

Monthly Income(+) $4166

Expenses(-)
Rent $600 (1 bedroom apartment or with a roommate)
Electric, Water, Trash $100
Internet $50 (You know you have to have fast internet)
Car Insurance $75 (This is cheap if you haven’t hit 25 yet)
Car Maintenance $50 (even if you don’t use it every month, save it)
Food – Groceries $400 ($100/week)
Food – Dining Out (Fast Food, Bars, coffee, etc) $300 ($10/day)
Going Out $500 ($125/weekend)
Savings – Emergency $416 (Save 10% for emergencies)
TAXES $1041.50 (25% Tax Bracket)
Student Loan Payment ???? ($217.50 based on this budget)
401K savings $416 (10% of salary)

Based on this lifestyle, $217.50/mo is the only thing that’s left to pay back student loans. This budget is very rough and doesn’t account for some expenses that a new grad may have such as car payment, gym membership, new professional wardrobe, etc. Though 401k & savings numbers may seem like easy targets to pull money from I would not advise seeing those parts of the budgets as easy targets. Those are your nest eggs and emergency plans when life throws you a curve ball. If you don’t automatically save each month, you’re asking for trouble down the road when life throws you a tree full of lemons.

 

Now let’s take a look at what it might look like if you don’t get that mechanical engineering job right out of college and you can land a job at $13.50/hr full time until the right job comes along.

Monthly Income(+) $2340

Expenses(-)
Rent $400 (Roommates)
Electric, Water, Trash $75 (split with roommates)
Internet $25 (You know you have to have fast internet)
Car Insurance $75 (This is cheap if you haven’t hit 25 yet)
Car Maintenance $50 (even if you don’t use it every month, save it)
Food – Groceries $200 ($50/week)
Food – Dining Out (Fast Food, Bars, coffee, etc) $150 ($37.50/week)
Going Out $250 ($62.5/weekend)
Savings – Emergency $234 (Save 10% for emergencies)
TAXES $351 (15% Tax Bracket)
Student Loan Payment ???? ($296 based on this budget)
401K savings $234 (10% of salary)

Yep, you’ve cut back a lot, and can even afford a higher monthly payment. Is that what your student loan agreement(s) look like though? Under $300/month? The average student debt is now $27,000 and if the interest is 7%, that’s $179.63/month, so maybe. Clearly for those going to a school with a much larger tuition bill it may not be as easy to see a payment less than $300/mo.

 

Do you have a student loan story you would like to share? Horror stories or happy endings are both welcome. I always love hearing feedback.

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The Economics of Plants VS Zombies

  By remymartini • November 26, 2012 , ,

Even if you don’t have a smartphone, I’m sure you’ve at least heard of the popular game “Plants VS Zombies.” The plot of the game is that your neighborhood is under attack by a bunch of different Zombies. The only way to protect you and your family is by planting various plants that shoot, blow up, stall, or stomp on them to (re)kill them. It’s a strategy game that puts your Plants VS the Zombies…

You don’t get an endless supply of plants of course, because that makes the game WAY too easy and what’s the fun in that? You have to pay for plants with sunlight. Sunlight comes from either the sun (obviously) randomly or sunflowers (or a mushroom at night). Either way you start off with 50 in your bucket to spend on a plant.

Example of prices are as followed:

Sunflower 50

Shooting Plant 100

Potato bomb 25 (one time use)

The sun will randomly shine down to increase your pot (25 at a time), but do you choose to wait to gain more or do you plant a sunflower to hopefully make it increase?

There are different strategies to play the game, but the one that I have found the most useful is plant as many sunflowers as soon as possible so that you can get sunlight quickly. Then plant the attacking plants as needed when zombies start to attack. Don’t randomly start planting them until you see the zombies coming so that you can grow your sunlight bank faster.

Now what does all this have to do with economics?

It’s a great way to have kids relate something they enjoy doing to saving. Instead of sunlight, they save their allowance/earnings for a rainy day or maybe the Zombie apocalypse, you never know. Kids typically have the urge to buy everything they “want” without really thinking about what that means to their money, but if you use this as an example they may see it in a different light. Help them realize that what they buy effects what they do later in the week/month/year. Show them that when they put their money in a bank it grows faster (like planting more sunflowers). When they stop putting money into the bank account or use that money to buy something it slows down how much money they’re making.

Here’s a way to help Translate:

Sunflower (allowance) $50 (just and example)

Shooting Plant (Bike) $100

Potato Bomb (Candy/Fast Food) $25

If you want to be creative and goofy like myself you can create a money chart with pictures from Plants VS Zombies to help track your kids’ progress. They get allowance = sunflower. When they buy something it represents one of the plants. When something unexpected happens, such as they break a window with their baseball and they have to pay for it, that would be a Zombie.

Now this is economics on a micro level of course, but it’s a great way to talk to your kids about money in a language they can understand and is fun.

So what are your thoughts?

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Black Friday – A Cautionary Tale

  By remymartini • November 21, 2012 , , , ,

Who’s going out in the crazy lines this Friday for some CrAzY savings? I’m down for a good deal and saving money everyday of the week/month/year but within some boundaries. Make sure before you go out to spend lots of money on those holiday gifts review a few of these thoughts:

1) Use the money you’ve saved for holiday presents – Ideally, you want to have a set amount of money already saved up to spend on that day/weekend. This is your budget that you don’t want to go over. If you don’t have some kind of budget or goal in mind you’re going to start spending like crazy. People like to focus on the amount they are saving, whether that’s in dollar signs or percentages off and then rarely notice how much they are actually spending. Don’t fall into the “I saved XXXX, how could I say no?” trap.

2) Create a budget – If you don’t already have your holiday budget saved up, make sure to set a budget for what you want to spend. Remember that all those sales that you put on your credit card will quickly accumulate interest fees. The less you can put on the credit card the better. Just because you saved 50% on the tag price, doesn’t mean that you’ll be paying only 50% of the tag price when you factor in the interest rate you have to pay for throughout this coming year.

 

 

 

OR

 

 

 

3) Figure out what’s important to you – A lot of stores are not only opening at midnight Friday morning but even Thanksgiving day. Depending on how often you see your family and what you do this may be the only time each year to spend time with them. Is saving money on a TV from Santa more important than spending time your family members? Don’t just think of the short term importance of spending time with the family, but what are your long term goals. If you want to go on that vacation next year or invest in your kids’ college fund, is going out to save money this weekend going to help save for that goal? If it’s not helping you achieve your goals, is it worth going out?

 

 

4) Set the right example – If you enjoy going shopping and like to make it a family affair, what example are you creating? Do you vocalize your limits and expectations? Are you the one where if you see it, you love, you buy it, you charge it, and pay for it later? If you make shopping a family affair, make sure to set boundaries and communicate them regularly before, during and after the shopping. Communicating the expectations so often will help land good habits in everyone’s mind. Don’t just charge it to the card, if you have kids it’s hard for them to wrap their head around money they don’t see. The more expectations you create around money for your kids, the easier it can create a healthy financial lifestyle for not only your kids but yourself.

 

Though everyone likes to save money, make sure not to get wrapped up on how much you’re saving but focus on what you’re spending.  Make sure to balance your wants/needs and what your overall life goals are.

If you have a Black Friday success story I would love to hear it. Please comment below if you have stories of self control, great deals that helped you achieve your goals, or setting the right expectations for your family.

Sincerely,

Financial Landscaper

 

 

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Talking Over Turkey

  By remymartini • November 19, 2012

For those that are not involved in the retail world, there will be a short week to enjoy and lots of family & friends. There be catching up on how the year has treated everyone and how work life has been.

Looking back I think this is the best (and typically only) time to talk about sensitive family matters. All the family is in one place to give opinions and throw in their votes. The past few years it has revolved around my grandparents and their care. Within the past three year, my family has gone from letting them stay in their condo, to an assisted living home (I call it a Dorm for seniors as it reminds me of a college dorm) to a nursing home for my grandmother. A lot changes every year, but one thing always stays the same: family time during the holidays to hash it out.

Here’s how it would typically go:

Aunt 1: I think Mema & Papa need to go someone where they can be looked after.

Mom: I don’t think they need that yet, they seem fine and I can’t imagine Papa giving up his independence.

Aunt 2: Well I don’t know, I’ve noticed x,y,z…

Mom: Why don’t we just ask them?

Everyone is coming from a good honest place and wants to do what’s best for Mema & Papa, but no one really has the answers, including Mema & Papa. No one ever really thought about it before. When is the “right time?” What does that look like for them? How would they want it handled? How can they be helped without losing their independence?

Knowing what I know now about long term care, I really wish SOMEONE in our family would have sought some kind of professional advice. I understand why no one did though and it’s the same reason many still don’t today – Who do you go to for this type of thing? Nursing homes and talk to their agents? How would they have an unbiased opinion? I can tell you right now one person you would NEVER think to ask: your Financial Advisor.

How the HECK can a Financial Advisor help with my parents’ long term care?

A financial advisor (that is properly licensed) is a large piece of the puzzle. The biggest thing MY family fights about at times is money and how to afford taking care of them when they took care of us. Even if it’s not money it can be time which also translates into money. As financial advisors, we can ask the right questions BEFORE it becomes the next family drama scene over turkey dinner. We can ask how they would want it to look so they can keep their independence AND have something to leave for the kids and grand kids. We can get them in touch with the right estate attorney that can draft not only a will, but documents helping guide the kids on what they want as the years go by and they may not be able to take care of themselves.

Here’s my suggestion this Thanksgiving when family & friends start talking about grandma & grandpa and what to do as they get older: tell them to give a Financial Planner a call to see if he/she can help. Arguing between siblings can create unnecessary drama, so nipping that in the bud early will make for a more peaceful family gathering. A Financial Planner can help ask key questions that engage them on what they want it to look like and if they need services the Financial Planner can’t offer she/he should have a wealth of contacts that can help them.

Have you had this conversation in your family yet? If so, what did it look like? Did you seek guidance or are you lost like my family was? Now is the time to take a step in the right direction if you haven’t already done so.

Until next week my wonderful readers!

– Financial Landscaper

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Spending $5 to Put into Your Savings Account INSTEAD of Starbucks Coffee…

  By remymartini • November 14, 2012 , , ,

I would like to thank Chris Salzer for this WONDERFUL blog post idea.

From Facebook:

“How much money would I have for retirement if I didn’t spend $5 a day at starbucks for my entire working career?…”

GREAT Question! Love it!

Ok coffee fend (I’m guilty too at times, not going to lie), your financial savvy friend points out you can save A LOT of money if you “spend” that money on your savings account instead of the Starbucks coffee so often. Well I’m glad that’s got you thinking about what that number could be.

 

 

The answer could be A LOT of money if you consider a few things:

1) You’re spending $5 EVERY day of the year on Starbucks or local coffee shop, etc. 365 days a year. So you put a $5 bill in a jar in your bedroom for 365 days a year then deposit into a savings/investment account.

2) Your working career lasts 30 years (at least)

3) Your savings/investment account is a high interest account, we are assuming at least 4%.

4) Calculation is based upon compounding annual interest rate.

5) This is JUST AN EXAMPLE as interest rates change often so actual numbers may vary depending on reality. This is for ILLUSTRATION purposes only to understand the concept. Every investment has its own risk, so please chat with a professional before considering where to put your money. Thanks.

(I used this handy dandy excel calculator so that you can check my work and play with it yourself if you would like)

$5/day for 30 years (I’m not including leap years for simplification purposes here):

Overall investment ($5 x 365 days x 30 years) + your initial yearly deposit of $1825 = $56575

Compounding 4% interest over those 30 years the balance could be = $108,274

What’s even BETTER is instead of waiting to deposit the money once a year is to do it on a monthly basis. The first year you save $1825 in a money jar in your room to help get you in the right habit of saving and open a savings account. Now you put $152 into your account every month for 30 years. You invested the same amount of money for the same period of time, but instead of $108,274.21 you’ve got $111,542.64. An Extra $3268 just for depositing it monthly instead of annually.

Now that I KNOW you’ve glazed over the past few paragraphs let’s simplify this so it’s easy to look at:

Deposit Annually Deposit Monthly Total Invested 4% APR Annual Deposits 30Year Total 4% APR Monthly Deposits 30Year Total Annual VS Monthly Deposits Difference

$1,825.00

$152.00

$56,545.00

$108,274.00

$111,542.00

$3,268.00

$3,650.00

$304.00

$113,090.00

$216,548.00

$223,085.00

$6,537.00

The HARD part of this will be reality. It’s hard to say no to tasty temptations and decide to save, but no worries. It CAN be done! Maybe it’ll be babysteps at first. Cutting down to every other day, then once a week, then once a month, then not really needing it all.

What do you think? Do you think you can save $5/day for 30 years? I KNOW you can.

Until next time!

Financial Landscaper

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Real Winners Fail First

  By remymartini • November 12, 2012 , ,

I read an interesting article the other day about a school in England that’s making their girls take extra risk for a week to learn from it. I absolutely LOVE this idea!

In a time where EVERYONE gets a trophy just for showing up this allows REAL world experience. Take more risk and you either get a greater reward or you fail. This lets them understand input and output of life. It also mentally prepares them that things aren’t as predictable in life as it is in school. Failure happens in life and it seems a lot of people aren’t really prepared mentally for when that happens. This is a great way to teach girls the value of learning from failure as well as showing that failure is a way of life.

There are TONS of examples of this, but the one that is constantly on headlines and has “tips & tricks” is employment. So many people going from high school to college with THOUSANDS of dollars in student debt on the assumption that there is going to be a good high paying job on the other end. Unfortunately, reality is lately that jobs aren’t dime a dozen like previously thought. Even with people with years of experience and the right degree are having a tough time finding a job. Those fresh out of college have a much tougher atmosphere to compete and many times they fail. For those that have only dealt with getting trophies for just showing up and playing without putting in much effort, they’re having a tough time coping. This experience that the Wimbledon School is teaching their girls will last a lifetime. Bringing in famous & successful people through youtube to show that failure isn’t a brick wall to stop you. It’s there to help you learn and get stronger to get to where you want to go.

What was your most notable failure and what did you learn from it? Though I understand this is typically an interview question, it’s a good question for you to reflect on personally, whether you have a job now or are looking. If it’s hard for you to think of one, think about a time you might have regretted. Reflect on why you regret it and what could you have done differently. What was in and out of your control and what you could have done to make a different outcome. Realizing what was in/out of your control can help you deal with “regret” and move on.

Don’t dwell on your failures, learn from them! The bigger the failure, the bigger the learning experience. How much have you learned?

Until next time wonderful readers!

Sincerely,

Financial Landscaper

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The Power of “No”

  By remymartini • November 7, 2012 , ,

The very root to many monetary issues small and large can typically be found to be from one simple little word, or the LACK of one simple word. “No”

Whether it’s choosing to say “No” or avoiding saying “No” is your issue, you’re not alone. It can be for many different reasons. Typically it’s not a conscience decision to avoid saying “No,” it’s an emotional decision.

Let’s take a moment to review some typical scenarios to think about where to say “No” but maybe choose not to.

 

Family

Whether it’s your parents, kids, brother, sister or best friend, it can be very hard say no to your family and friends. Let’s think about a kid wanting to go out to the movies for the weekend. He tells his parents that he wants to go out for the weekend. The parent hand him $50 and tells him to have fun. As the parent, you failed to say “no,” so what does that me for you? Well, you’re $50 poorer for one. Next you haven’t set perimeters and now you’ve set your kids up for just asking and they shall receive. The more often this type of situation happens, the harder it will be to stop. On the flip side of this same example, what if you were the kid, what do you get out of this? Yes, you may be $50 richer, but at what cost? What does this teach you about the real world? Not much. The real world will not just say “yes” to your every desire so it’s really setting real life expectations up incorrectly and setting you up for future failure.

Think of this same example when it comes to friends and family that constantly ask for money. It can be the friend that always gets himself in trouble and needs to be bailed out all the time or the brother/sister that always leans on you to get them out of a financial jam.
Friends

Even if you don’t have friends that are constantly asking directly for money, many can still drain your resources in a different way. Do you like to go and “hang out” at the bar or go out to movies on a constant basis? Being social is completely healthy and needed for a happy life, but it does not necessarily mean it should require to you spend money constantly to keep everyone happy. Let’s say for fun you go out every weekend. The bar scene Friday nights, the club on Saturday, and maybe dinner & a movie. If you think of just the basic cost of that 1 weekend it can easily be in the hundreds, $100-$300 PER weekend. You have 4 of those in a month and it’s $400-$1200 any given month. You can still be a socialite on the weekends, but finding a way to cut costs and being mindful of what you spend. If you save what you would have spent, you’re well on your way to saving a useful emergency fund.

 

Yourself
This happens in a few ways. Spending, not tracking your spending, not saving, and putting it on credit without paying it off monthly. Think about these typical situations:

You work hard and “deserve” that night out or Starbucks on the way to work. Here you neglect to say no to spending. You’re also probably not tracking your spending which is just as important, I mean it’s a couple bucks, what’s the big deal? It can at times be ok to spend on yourself, but if you’re not tracking what you’re spending, how do you know what is ok to spend? Also many times these habits aren’t just 1 timers, they happen on a consistent basis and quickly can drain your resources.  A few bucks here and there quickly add up and you’re spending more than you know it on coffee, drinks, and overpriced nights out.

On the flip side of spending  with what you have is spending what you don’t have AND not saving. If you’re driving through those windows and charging on your Visa, Mastercard, etc and not paying off the balance each month you’re walking on a tight rope. If you’re having to use your credit cards to pay for daily expenses you will be wasting money on interest rates. Also, when an emergency hits, those credit cards will more than likely get maxed out quickly.

 

Working Hard: Saying “No”

I know it may seem silly to instruct people on how to say “no” but it can really get you to think. In the first example when it comes to family it’s about setting clear boundaries and expectations. At first it might be hard to tell your family no, and it can feel awkward to set expectations for your family but it can be the easiest. If you think about it, they love you and want the best for you, so if you can set the expectation by explaining WHY you are doing what your doing in terms of yourself AND them, they should be understand. From this example think about it like this: “I know you want to go out with your friends, so that you can earn the money you need to go out I need you to do x, y, z first.” You didn’t say no, you set the expectation that they need to earn the money they want to spend… Just like real life. Imagine that. After a few different instances just like this, instead of asking for money, they’ll ask what they need to do to be paid.

 

The harder example is telling your friends no. Setting expectations can feel a little awkward and unnatural. Though many friends can be like family, it can be strange to “set expectations” with your friends when it comes to cutting back on social events out. You don’t want to seem like you’re in financial troubles and you want to show that you can “keep up” with their own social activities. First, you don’t know their financial status and they may be trying to keep up with you so this can be an endless logic cycle. If you take the first step, you can actually be helping them cut back too if you think about it. Keep it real and honest and find alternatives that are cheaper. If you have to go out to the bar scene, you can buy the special, or choose water. I’m not a drinker myself so it makes my life cheaper. Cut back on movies to 1 a month if you go every weekend. Try movie nights at home and have a pot luck so everyone can enjoy reasonably priced food and not overpriced candy and popcorn. (Don’t you love it when you’re saving money AND becoming healthier, or at least the opportunity to become healthier)

 

Now comes the hardest person to stick with “No” – Yourself. It’s easy to tell yourself “no” because you understand the reasoning. However, sticking to it is much harder. Temptations happen everyday. It can be something that seems tiny like picking up a quick bite in the drive thru to save time. It could be something larger like getting a new car or going on a shopping spree because you got a bonus check. When you’re responsible for yourself it can be hard to tell yourself no. You work hard and deserve some bonus time to yourself, so why can’t you splurge on something little for yourself? The trouble that gets you in is consistently splurging on the “little” things. Those little instances add up quickly. It will take some training and a good support structure from friends and family but if you set goals for yourself, such as a vacation fund or Christmas fund, it will be easier to see the big picture and say “no” to the little stuff . Make sure you have short, mid, and long term range goals. When you’re out and about think about what is going to get you to those goals.  If it doesn’t contribute to that Caribbean vacation or Christmas fund for the kids, is it worth spending the money? Personally I know I can skip those run through the drive through if the alternative is sitting in the sun on a gorgeous beach.

The power of saying “no” is created when expectations are set appropriately for anyone that has any passing sway of your finances. Setting expectations can be hard, but not impossible. Family and true friends will understand why you are setting the expectations and might use you as a role model.

When setting expectations try:

1) Don’t give them specific numbers, just tangible reasons and goals. “Hey, I’m trying to save up for the Caribean. I’m going to hold off going out for a while”

2) Find alternative that everyone can agree upon. “Why don’t we just hang out at my house and grab a redbox movie?”

3) Communicate what’s in it for them. They could be learning from you as role model, but I wouldn’t say it like that. They can save money too so they might be able to come to that Caribean vacation with you. Vacations can be much more fun when you have friends with you. “It would be great if you could come with us. Why don’t we plan on going together? It would be way more epic if we were both partying at the island”

So what are your thoughts? I know you have the power to say no, so what is your story?

 

 

 

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Finances – A Family Affair

  By remymartini • October 26, 2012

One thing that I really enjoy doing in a financial plan is to get the kids involved in some way. It may seem like a strange concept to get kids involved into a financial plan, but it’s a great way to teach kids not only the fundamentals of money, but responsibility as well. An extra bonus I have found is that the kids often can keep their parents in line when I’m not around.

Why teach kids about finance

Listen, first and foremost, I am not telling anyone how to raise their kids. I’m just giving my honest perspective from when I was a kid and what I learned (or didn’t learn) while growing up. Education and knowledge is power so empowering your child with financial knowledge will last a lifetime. If they can count then they can start learning about money.

 

What you’re teaching them about money (and I bet you don’t even know)

One thing I know many parents want for their kids is more than what they themselves had growing up. Recently, that has translated to giving their kids everything they want, consistently saying yes, and rarely saying no. What this looks like on a consistent basis is wanting to go out with friends, having the newest phone, latest fashion, the new game console, or even paying high insurance cost because of irresponsible activity. When you constantly cave on a kid’s wants & desires it creates a sense of entitlement and gives them an unrealistic view of the world. If they ask then they receive and don’t have any ideas of what it means to earn something as well as they are not accustomed to hearing and responding to the simply “no.” Another factor to consider is if kids don’t learn the importance and value of money, they are going to rely on you throughout their adult years when things get tight. That can be moving back in because of large student loans and/or over inflated sense of entitlement for a prestigious job they’re not ready for. Also when retirement comes around for you, you may not be ready to retire if you’ve spent much of your money on your kids through their adult years.

 

How & What to teach kids about money

It’s going to always depend on the age of your child, but the earlier the better. This is a great website by President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability that has easy ways to teach kids based off their age, so it’s a great starting point. It gives you easy ways of how to get kids engaged in everyday financial activities. The easiest thing I tell parents is to be honest one how you spend money when you’re out shopping. Say “We’ve only got $xxx to spend on Halloween. We can’t go over or we won’t be able to do y. If we spend less we can put the rest in our Disney vacation fund.” Be specific, simple, and most importantly explain the consequences as well as a reward for staying under budget.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

If you have goals you want to achieve as a family, let the kids know what those goals are and what they can do to help. Just like in the previous example, be specific on the goal as well as how they can help, simple in the instructions, and (this is especially important for kids so pay attention here) let them know what is in it for them. At first you want to keep it simple with 1 goal to have the kids engaged in. Once they get that down you can add more goals to their scope.

Allowance – Setting Goals & Giving Them Responsibility

Many times I get “how much is a good allowance for my kids” or “when is an appropriate age to give kids an allowance?” You may be tired of hearing this from me but as usual it depends. You really should talk to a professional because it’s going to depend on your own budget first and foremost when it comes to an amount. Also, you may find more creative ways to “pay” them for the duties you give them. Whether it’s more game time or TV time, or an upgrade to a phone or electronic device, you can find a way to give kids responsibilities and then properly reward/pay them for a job well done.

Age is going to be a parental call. Personally as soon as they can count I would give them some responsibility and then rewarding them for a job well done in some way.

Financial Chat

If the child can say “I want…” then BOOM, that’s the best time to talk about money. Give them a simple lesson of having to pay for things they “want.” If they want to acquire the things they “want” there have to be trade offs. They have to save up for those moments either through direct allowance or getting chores done around the house to help pay for those “wants.”

So what is your experience of teaching kids about money? I’d love to hear from you!

Until next time my wonderful networking partners!