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My teenage son started his first part-time job a about two months ago. Earning $9.75 an hour, and working 25 hours week, results in some nice income for a teenager. I’m requiring him to save half his earnings to be used for purchasing his own car, or for use when he goes to college in a few years.
I don’t want him to just deposit his money into a savings account, however. I really want to use the income from his first job as a tool to teach him about the world of investing.
Here’s why it’s important to teach your teen about the basics of investing now.
There’s a myth that goes along with getting a job: you work hard and your employer will take care of you. Maybe if you work particularly hard, you might eventually get promoted.
As long as you’re doing your job and doing it right, you’re guaranteed to get a pay check. That makes finding a good job the most conservative thing you can do with your career, right?
The truth isn’t so simple, though. Even if the myth of the good job was true in our parents or grandparents’ day, it’s become almost impossible to believe in now.
With the sheer number of companies that rely on contractors, the number of mergers that end with layoffs and all the other ways that a job has become a surprisingly fragile career path, it’s important to recognize that taking job after job can’t be considered a conservative way to make a living. [ continue reading… ]
The holidays can be some of the best times of the year, and a tremendous way to close the calendar, so long as you don’t allow the stresses that come with too much family, food, and gift giving to fill you with unnecessary and unwanted anxiety.
Most holiday stress originates from gift giving, which feels all too frequent by the end of the year. When you have a lot of family and friends, almost no budget seems big enough to amply satisfy everyone.
But who wants to spend the first half of the following year paying off presents?
Big-ticket items are at the top of everyone’s list—iPods, iPads, and the Kindle Fire. But big doesn’t necessarily mean better. You can give a gift that’s meaningful, without breaking the bank.
Here are 7 small gifts that will make a big impact this year.
We all have the best of intentions when it comes to our families. We’re often willing to offer money to help each other out in situations when we would never do it for a stranger. But this also means that when we accept financial help from a family member, the rules can be very different than when we borrow money from a bank or some other impersonal lending institution.
The potential for problems resulting from a loan or a gift are very different when we’re dealing with family—to the point that it’s often better to just refuse the generosity even it seems like the easiest choice. Here are five scenarios where it’s probably better to politely say no. [ continue reading… ]
As Dave sat down to work on his bills Monday morning, he found out how badly he was mismanaging his money.
Dave wasn’t mismanaging his money like everyone else. Dave was different. He wasn’t throwing away money on the lottery or going on wild shopping sprees for fancy cars and electronics he couldn’t afford.
Dave is different because he’s 30 years old, with no kids or debts, and an extra $4,000 a month. It’s hard to feel sorry for Dave, I know, but let’s look at what he could be doing better.
Right now, Dave’s missing an opportunity to become very wealthy and have a retirement he can enjoy. If he doesn’t use his money well, he’ll be stuck working past the ripe young age of 59.5, just like the rest of us. [ continue reading… ]
We’re down to the last few pages of the year, and almost everyone agrees: they’re the most fun. Between trick-or-treating and “3…2…1! Happy New Year!” we bounce from party to event to family gathering and back again. But while these months are the year’s most festive, they can also be the most sneakily expensive.
Here are three ways to combat the leaks the season can poke in your wallet.
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