Fortunately, we are a long way from the day that purchasing an inexpensive computer monitor meant that you were getting a dud. If you have been around to watch the progress of computers from the days before monitors, to orange and green screens that were as large as a small fridge and on up to the LCD screens of today, then you can really appreciate the progress. I remember when a machine with 128K – yes K – cost a couple thousand dollars. Needless to say, things have processed but best of all, prices have dropped.
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When it comes to being a father, teaching your children about the facts of life, or other slightly embarrassing subjects, is often something we would rather leave to Mum. Often men are more comfortable teaching the kids about things like how to chop up firewood, or mow the lawn. It is no surprise then that when I was asked to teach the kids about money and finance I was right up for the challenge.
“This will be easy”, I thought. Then I stopped and began thinking about what I would actually teach them. What angle should I take? Was it too early to warn them of the dangers of sub-prime mortgages or should I keep things simple?
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Reading personal finance blogs is an entertaining pastime for many people. There are interesting stories, new tips and tricks and plenty to think about. But, compared to the number of readers that are out there, there just aren’t that many people that go out and implement the advice they get. They read post after post, even buy ebooks and courses, and never put any of it into practice.
For most of us, there has to be a reason for us to take action on the advice we get. If there isn’t a pressing reason, we’ll put it off indefinitely. I’ve faced that problem myself more than once: I even write about personal finance on a regular basis and still don’t manage to put a lot of the advice that I’ve read into practice.
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One of the things that really gets people excited is the thought of a tax refund. According to CNN Money, the average tax refund last year was $3,003. That’s not a bad chunk of change. And when you get a big chunk of change, the possibilities seem limitless. Your tax refund seems like found money. The only problem is that it’s not actually found money. For the most part, it’s your money — money that you’ve been loaning, interest-free, to the government.
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Jeans are as American as apple pie. Finding a good pair of jeans at a good price, however, seems kind of like hitting the lottery. There is no reason to pay full price for jeans, and unless you are a starlet, there is little reason to buy top-of-the-line, name brand pants.
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Did you know that most New Year’s Resolutions are eventually broken? Some experts say that it just doesn’t make sense to make them – you end up disappointing yourself. But I still think New Year’s, or the beginning of each year, is a good time to reflect on the past and decide on things to do differently in the future.
The key is to avoid vague resolutions or impossible goals and instead decide on a set of very specific, doable steps. For example, don’t say, “In 2011 I’ll get out of debt!” – It makes just as much sense as saying, “In 2011 I will lose weight.” Just as you need to break the “lose weight” resolution into small, manageable steps, you need to do the same when it comes to financial resolutions, and outline a detailed plan for how exactly you will achieve your financial goals for 2011.
Need ideas? Here are a few financial New Year’s resolutions to consider: [ continue reading… ]
