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One of the best ways to teach young kids about anything is to make learning a fun experience. This is especially key when it comes to anything money related.
If you can find a way to think outside-the-box you can get kids excited about finances, budgeting, saving, and making money. And hopefully that excitement and eagerness will stick with them for years to come.
My oldest daughter has been saving her money for quite a while. In fact, she loves to earn and save money. In order to help foster this excitement and create long-term spending habits, I’ve been letting her partake in some more money making opportunities.
Here are five fun activities you can get your kids involved in so they can earn some extra money and get excited about future savings.
So you’ve made that very difficult first step and decided it’s time to do something about your debt. Maybe you’ve reached the end of your financial rope. Perhaps you signed up for a money management program, enrolled in a debt relief plan, or maybe you’re doing it all on your own.
You’re excited about the prospect of finally getting your finances on track and starting down the path to achieving this thing called financial freedom that you’ve heard so much about. But before you take the plunge, there’s one prerequisite to getting started.
Before my husband found his first house, he looked at several multi-family properties, thinking that renting out the extra apartment would be a great additional source of income.
As the resident killjoy, I pointed out to him that becoming a landlord, with the associated necessary maintenance work, would be very difficult with his 60 hour a week job plus 45 mile commute. I was also very concerned about him finding quality tenants and dealing with the necessary paperwork.
Since that time, I’ve often wondered if I gave him bad advice. Renting property is a (somewhat) recession-proof method of maintaining income, and a good way of building equity in a home you’re not ready or able to sell.
However, being a landlord is not for everyone. Here are some of the things you can expect from becoming a modern-day Mr. Roper:
Words like “budget”, “bills”, or “expenses” can instantly raise the stress level in some marriages, but the common family spends and receives money on a weekly if not daily basis. At the end of the day, the more communication about it, the better. Here are some helpful tips on how to get on the same page with your fellow significant consumer (err…other) in your life.
Recognize Each Other’s Strengths
Recently my wife said no to an impulse buy she’d been eyeing. Sometimes it’s possible to spoil, but other times I have to remember the bills and expenses and have to say no. My wife does a terrific job at watching what she buys. Instead of just noticing, I’ve found it helpful to praise her for such self control. As a mother of toddlers, she needs to shop quite a bit. This means giving her trust in our finances and me taking the time to acknowledge and thank her for handling our budget well. If your spouse is particularly gifted in a financial area, acknowledge it! Don’t let strengths go unnoticed. This will help as you both plan and prepare for financial goals. [ continue reading… ]
“Stop wasting your money on paying rent” is likely a phrase you’ve heard often. After all, the common version of the American dream consists of owning a home.
But is renting really all that bad? No, and sometimes it’s actually better than buying your own home. Yes, it’s true! In some cases, and for some families it’s smarter to rent than to buy.
However, that’s not the advice we often hear. I was personally suckered into the notion that buying is always better than renting. Why not, right? I was throwing thousands of dollars into rent each year. That’s money I could have used to buy a home and start building equity.
For about a year, I was looking for a place to call my own. But the catch? I live in NYC where property values are notoriously through the roof. Doing a quick search on Zillow.com shows the average home value in NYC is $548,000. If I had a million or two lying around, I wouldn’t have to think twice about buying.
But after searching and searching in the Big Apple, I soon realized that maybe buying wasn’t in my cards right now. Here’s why:
Common sense finance should be easy, right? But it’s not. Human nature and our inherent weaknesses cause us to make serious, expensive financial mistakes. What are the most basic, yet also the most important financial tips that we would want our kids to follow? Some of these tips are painfully obvious, and we’ve included them here, but many of us still ignore them. You’re very welcome to add your own of course, in the comments section! [ continue reading… ]
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