Woo Hoo! It's My Birthday!

From Flickr

Since it's my birthday, I am going to jump off topic and talk about something completely unrelated to kids & money --- me!  I have enjoyed several blog posts from other bloggers who take a moment to tell you more about themselves.  So, what better day to do that than my birthday?


Here's some things you might already know if you have been around my blog of awhile.  But, just in case...

• I'm 43 years old.
• I have been happily married for 20 years.
• We have four kids, ages 18, 15, 11 and 9.  Our daughter is the oldest and the younger three are boys.
• We live in Atlanta, GA.
• I'm a southern girl, born and raised in NC.
• I am a former teacher (elementary school and preschool special needs) and a former educational daycare director.

And, here's some things you probably didn't know...

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MoneyTrail in the News

Hi folks!  I have taken a little break from blogging this summer so that I could spend time with our kids during their school vacation.  Summer sports, camps and college visits have filled my calendar.  However, in the midst of all this, we were interviewed by Gracie Bonds, parenting reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  She wrote a great article about MoneyTrail, our family and money management for kids that was featured in the Living Section of the July 19, 2011 newspaper. Here is a link to the article, "Money, family matters merge", on the AJC website.

Image via AJC.com

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The Official Launch of MoneyTrail

Sometimes I just need to toot my own horn and share our celebrations with you.  Today is one of those days!  As of today… (drumroll, please), MoneyTrail is officially launched!  We have taken the “beta” off of our logo and are no longer in a public beta testing format.  Many thanks go to the families who have helped us along the way.  The initial public response to MoneyTrail has far exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled to continue on the journey of enabling kids and teens to manage their own money.

Read the full Press Release.

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Welcome to the MoneyTrail Blog!

So…I have been saying for a few months that I wanted a blog to go along with our MoneyTrail website.   I have been writing down ideas every time the light bulb goes off and we finally got the design finished for the blog today!  The kids are in bed, the dishes are done and I am ready to write my very first entry.  Guess what?  I don’t know what to write!  And…I am choosing to ignore the grin on my husband’s face at the moment.

Let’s just start with the basics.  My name is Pam.   My husband and I are the creators and owners of MoneyTrail, an allowance and money management website for teens and families.  We have four great kids, one girl and three boys.  Their ages range from 7 – 17.  To round out our crazy household, we have a 55 lb. Wheaten Terrier named Rascal.  Believe me, he lives up to his name. 

I have been a stay at home mom for 14 years (wow, just saying that makes me feel kinda old!) and was an elementary school teacher and day care director before that.  My husband, Frank, is a computer programmer and has been working in the software industry for 20 years.   One of the parenting challenges that we have encountered over the years has been keeping track of allowances and IOUs.   We also want our children to have smart money skills and eventually grow into financially responsible adults.  The creation of MoneyTrail has been a fun combination of our strengths and our goals for our kids.  I am hoping that this blog becomes an extension of MoneyTrail and adds our voice, and yours, to the financial literacy community.

When I think about what I want this blog to convey, the first thing that pops to my mind is to make this a fun, informative place for parents to read and chat about kids and money --- how to help our kids learn the value of a dollar, new ideas for activities or systems to try with your family, current news about financial literacy and simple observations from this Mom’s perspective.  I hope you will comment on the entries and help me create a great conversation.

Thanks for joining me on this adventure!  Please comment and let me know a little about yourself.


-Pam

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