1. Life isn’t about stuff. The most important lesson a child needs to learn to lead a healthy money life is that stuff isn’t the most important thing. A great way to teach this to your children is to lead by example, and have conversations with your kids about what their perceptions of rich and poor are. It’s sometimes shocking what comes out. Another way to instill this important principle is by giving gifts for birthdays & other special events that aren’t things but memories to make. A family play day at a park, or hosting a sleep over for friends.
2. Money is earned! Kids have a completely abstract concept of money. They need or want something and money appears to acquire whatever that something might be. Instead of just purchasing something for your child make them earn it. Everyday they make their bed, take out the trash, or put their toys away they earn money toward their new toy.
3. You can’t always get what you want. Instant gratification is not just a problem for children. Many adults have to deal with it too. This is why so many people end up with mountains of credit card debt. Instead of buying them a new video game when they see it in the store make them wait a week and see if they still really want it. Most of the time they have already forgotten about it.
4. Save for big ticket items. Too many adults rely on credit to buy a new big screen TV. If they want a new bike have them save for it. Get your child a savings account. ING has a free one online. See if they will start saving on their own, and as an extra incentive match what they save. Every month sit down and look at how much they have saved, how close they are to their goal and how much interest they have earned.
5. Have a rainy day fund. My mother always said, “keep a quarter in your pocket so you can call home.” This is obsolete now, but the idea is still important. This is a hard lesson to teach children since we want to make sure our children are taken care of. But next time the unexpected happens, the air conditioner breaks or the car needs repaired sit your children down and talk to them about how you financially deal with the unexpected.
By: Gracie Mohr
Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Simple Wisdom
by Spencer Sherman & Brent Kessel
It happened again last week. I met a well educated investor (a Master's degree in finance) who knew better than to put all his eggs into one basket--but did anyway. He lost 30 years worth of accumulated savings and his residence.
I meet people regularly who invest in complicated and undiversified strategies and deals in the hopes of retiring early or beating the market. While most of these investors have a lot of formal financial education, it is common sense and bringing awareness to our fear and greed that creates financial success. If we all just followed these adages, we would eliminate investment stress, avoid cotastrophe, and most likely make more money:
Don't put all your eggs into one basket.
Invest for the long-term.
Diversify. (Unless it's a very diversified index mutual fund, put no more than 2%-5% of all your money into any one investment, one piece of real estate, one stock)
Start investing on an automatic monthly basis even if you're over your head in credit card and other debt. Start with $50 per month for example. Don't wait for your finances to improve--take advantage of the magic of compounding for a longer stretch of time by acting today rather than tomorrow.
Simple. And rarely followed. But if you want to be one of the few and NOT follow the herd, follow these rules and enjoy financial freedom.
It happened again last week. I met a well educated investor (a Master's degree in finance) who knew better than to put all his eggs into one basket--but did anyway. He lost 30 years worth of accumulated savings and his residence.
I meet people regularly who invest in complicated and undiversified strategies and deals in the hopes of retiring early or beating the market. While most of these investors have a lot of formal financial education, it is common sense and bringing awareness to our fear and greed that creates financial success. If we all just followed these adages, we would eliminate investment stress, avoid cotastrophe, and most likely make more money:
Don't put all your eggs into one basket.
Invest for the long-term.
Diversify. (Unless it's a very diversified index mutual fund, put no more than 2%-5% of all your money into any one investment, one piece of real estate, one stock)
Start investing on an automatic monthly basis even if you're over your head in credit card and other debt. Start with $50 per month for example. Don't wait for your finances to improve--take advantage of the magic of compounding for a longer stretch of time by acting today rather than tomorrow.
Simple. And rarely followed. But if you want to be one of the few and NOT follow the herd, follow these rules and enjoy financial freedom.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Go Green: The 4 Day Work Week
Being a worker bee myself the idea of a 4 day work week makes me giddy, but for upper level management and senior staff it probably makes their stomach churn. After doing quite a bit of research I believe this idea will be the future of the American working landscape because of the benefits it offers to not only the employees, but the company and Mother Nature.
The traditional 5 day 8 hour work week was instituted by the Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938. 70 years ago this was a vast improvement for the many Americans who worked 10 plus hours and 6 days a week. In a time when change now comes daily how is it that this is a model that has endured? Innovation has become a must in today’s working environment, and Utah just might be the innovators we all need to change our reality from living to work to working to live.
In 2008 the state of Utah implemented a 4 day work week for it’s 17,000 state employees. Utah state workers now work 10 hour shifts 4 days a week, which has cut energy use by 13% and saved employees as much as $6 million in gas cost. The state is estimating it will cut green house gas emissions by more than 12,000 metric tons a year. In 2006 the United States green house gas emissions were 7,181.4 million metric tons. Comparing the two numbers makes 12,000 look like small potatoes, but if a 4 day work week was implemented on a national scale just imagine the impact we can have on the planet. The force behind this mandate was to reduce energy costs for the state, but the extra incentives are what will keep the initiative trucking along.
The benefits of a 4 day work week for companies and employees go hand in hand. With the implementation of a 4 day work week comes a sharper focus and more productive workplace. In 2007 salary.com did a survey and concluded the average employee spends 2 work hours a day surfing the internet or interacting with friends. That is your 5th work day, so why not just cut it out all together? With more personal time employees might not feel the need to create personal time on the clock. In 1930 W.K. Kellog decreased his companies work week from 40 hours to 30, and had this to say about it, “The efficiency and morale of our employees is so increased, the accident and insurance rates are so improved, and the unit cost of production is so lowered that we can afford to pay as much for six hours as we formerly paid for eight.”
Happy employees are efficient employees and study after study has proven this. With an extra personal day a week employees are less distracted by tasks they need to get done at home, play “hooky” less, and need less time off during working hours for doctor’s appointments and the like.
The last benefit I would like to point out is the benefit to your customers. The state of Utah saw an unexpected benefit to the 4 day work week. Having longer office hours 4 days a week made Utah’s government offices more accessible to people who in the past had to miss work to get there in time.
4 day work weeks might not be something every workplace in America will be able to implement, or implement right away. But with advances in technology and mobilization soon many companies will not even need a physical office and will move to a virtual one. 4 day work weeks or less in office work time creates healthy employees, a healthy bottom line and a healthy earth.
By Gracie Mohr
Sources:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919162,00.html
http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=2223
The traditional 5 day 8 hour work week was instituted by the Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938. 70 years ago this was a vast improvement for the many Americans who worked 10 plus hours and 6 days a week. In a time when change now comes daily how is it that this is a model that has endured? Innovation has become a must in today’s working environment, and Utah just might be the innovators we all need to change our reality from living to work to working to live.
In 2008 the state of Utah implemented a 4 day work week for it’s 17,000 state employees. Utah state workers now work 10 hour shifts 4 days a week, which has cut energy use by 13% and saved employees as much as $6 million in gas cost. The state is estimating it will cut green house gas emissions by more than 12,000 metric tons a year. In 2006 the United States green house gas emissions were 7,181.4 million metric tons. Comparing the two numbers makes 12,000 look like small potatoes, but if a 4 day work week was implemented on a national scale just imagine the impact we can have on the planet. The force behind this mandate was to reduce energy costs for the state, but the extra incentives are what will keep the initiative trucking along.
The benefits of a 4 day work week for companies and employees go hand in hand. With the implementation of a 4 day work week comes a sharper focus and more productive workplace. In 2007 salary.com did a survey and concluded the average employee spends 2 work hours a day surfing the internet or interacting with friends. That is your 5th work day, so why not just cut it out all together? With more personal time employees might not feel the need to create personal time on the clock. In 1930 W.K. Kellog decreased his companies work week from 40 hours to 30, and had this to say about it, “The efficiency and morale of our employees is so increased, the accident and insurance rates are so improved, and the unit cost of production is so lowered that we can afford to pay as much for six hours as we formerly paid for eight.”
Happy employees are efficient employees and study after study has proven this. With an extra personal day a week employees are less distracted by tasks they need to get done at home, play “hooky” less, and need less time off during working hours for doctor’s appointments and the like.
The last benefit I would like to point out is the benefit to your customers. The state of Utah saw an unexpected benefit to the 4 day work week. Having longer office hours 4 days a week made Utah’s government offices more accessible to people who in the past had to miss work to get there in time.
4 day work weeks might not be something every workplace in America will be able to implement, or implement right away. But with advances in technology and mobilization soon many companies will not even need a physical office and will move to a virtual one. 4 day work weeks or less in office work time creates healthy employees, a healthy bottom line and a healthy earth.
By Gracie Mohr
Sources:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919162,00.html
http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=2223
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Autumnal Equinox
Fall Equinox represents a time when the light and dark exist in sacred balance. It provides you with an opportunity to tune into the balance of your life. As the sun moves into Libra, it also brings the teaching of balance. As teacher of balance in relationships it shows you how to honor another’s point of view, balance opposites, and consider options.
During this time evaluate things that may need your attention in order to come into greater harmony and alignment. Notice if you need to balance anything in your life to more effectively bring your desires into being? Perhaps you need to balance your active outer world actions with more quiet restful energy or balance your time indoors with more time spent in nature. Or maybe you need to focus your actions to get some energy flowing. You can simply ask internally what is it in you that needs to be balanced at this time so you can begin making the necessary changes.
excerpts from Lisa Micheals
Learn more at www.NaturalRhythms.org
During this time evaluate things that may need your attention in order to come into greater harmony and alignment. Notice if you need to balance anything in your life to more effectively bring your desires into being? Perhaps you need to balance your active outer world actions with more quiet restful energy or balance your time indoors with more time spent in nature. Or maybe you need to focus your actions to get some energy flowing. You can simply ask internally what is it in you that needs to be balanced at this time so you can begin making the necessary changes.
excerpts from Lisa Micheals
Learn more at www.NaturalRhythms.org
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