Book Review: "Someday Is Not a Plan" By Dave Straube

Someday Is Not a Plan, by Dave Straube, is a basic personal finance book for young adults.  However, it reads like a novel and introduces financial concepts in an easy to read, personal manner.  There are no charts, spreadsheets or complicated financial terms.  Someday Is Not a Plan is a wonderful first finance book for any young adult who is just starting out their career.

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Indoor Kids Activities on a Budget

Looking for fun indoor activities that won't break the family budget but will keep your kids entertained?  Here are 20 cheap, indoor family activities to get you through the darkest of winter days.

From Bruce Guenter's photos on flickr.com

1. Put together a puzzle.  We recently started a 1000 piece puzzle.  I hope we have it finished before Spring arrives.
2. Play card games like Go Fish, Slap Jack, Rummy or Crazy Eights.  A simple google search for the rules and a deck of cards can lead to hours of entertainment.
3. Indoor balloon volleyball
4. Stack up plastic cups and knock them down with a remote control car.
5. Marshmallow Olympics.  This might get a bit sticky so I would suggest holding the Olympics in room with a hard (mop friendly) floor.  Who has the best distance for throwing a marshmallow, kicking a marshmallow and, yes, spitting a marshmallow?
6. Family talent show.  True story:  several years ago, we took our family to Disney.  One of the most talked about memories from that trip is the family talent show that we did one night after dinner.  The highlights of the show --- one son burped the ABCs and another son hit himself in the head with a pot lid.  Absolutely, 100% pure silliness…but it didn’t cost a thing.
7. Play speed stack with plastic cups.  Who is the fastest in your family?
8. Build a small catapult out of craft sticks, rubber bands and a plastic spoon.  Have contests to see who can fling a paper ball or marshmallow the farthest.  Here's a great set of directions from a Cub Scout dad, Devin Collier.

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Buying Teacher Gifts? Why Not Teach Your Child about Budgeting at the Same Time?

From The Daring Librarian on Flickr.com

Many kids love to give their teachers a present for the holiday season. When my daughter was in elementary school, she wanted to give presents to practically every teacher and adult in her school. It was very sweet, but not the most budget friendly attitude to have!

At the beginning of December, I would ask Brittany to make a list of all the teachers that she wanted to give a gift to. Then we would talk about the total amount of money we were willing to spend on teacher presents and do the math to determine how much she could spend on each present. I honestly did not realize it at the time, but this process was modeling budgeting skills for her. It was age appropriate and was relevant to her, both of which are key to making the concept of budgeting less abstract to kids.

When Brittany wanted to hand out 15 – 20 presents, we had to come up with gifts that would still fit our budget. Here are some of our more creative, frugal ideas:

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My 12 Year Old Really Hates Debt

 Alan Cleaver's photos on flickr

A few months ago, my twelve year old son borrowed $300 from us.  It wasn't for a new cell phone or a new iPod.  It was for a field trip to Orlando.  Yup...quite possibly the world's greatest field trip!  His sixth grade class went to Epcot and Sea World and he really, really, really wanted to go.  As much as I wanted to just hand over the money and make him happy, the reality is that with four kids (one of whom is starting college this fall), our family budget doesn't have room for optional, $300 field trips.  So...we told him that he could borrow the money from us as long as he agreed to pay it back.  You can read about his loan plan here.

This is not the first time we have loaned money to our kids.  Our older son went on this same field trip when he was in sixth grade and he repaid the money.  Our daughter borrowed money for some of her school trips and paid her loans back over time as well.  However, this is the first time I have blogged about it and publicly discussed it.  The blogging comments were all positive, but I did get some questions and raised eyebrows from friends and family.  I even got the question, "Are you really going to make him pay you back?  He's just 12."  Ummm....yes.  We worked out a plan and he agreed to it.

The results of our loan arrangement:

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How Mickey and Shamu are Teaching My Child about Loans and Debt Repayment

My 11 year old is learning about loans and debt repayment from Mickey Mouse and Shamu the Whale.  Not your standard financial literacy experts, are they? 

Photo by Brittany Whitlock

Here’s how the situation came about.  The sixth grade class at my son’s school has an optional two night field trip to Orlando, where they will be visiting Epcot and SeaWorld.  The field trip comes with a price tag of $300.  With a family of six, one of whom will be starting college this fall, an optional activity with that kind of cost is not in our family budget.  So…we told our son that he could go on the trip…if he pays for it himself.

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The Hidden Cost of the Birthday Present

I am annoyed this week.  Let me tell you what is going on and see if you folks have any suggestions for me.  My youngest child just turned nine (Happy birthday, big guy!).  He asked for one toy for his birthday present, a remote control helicopter. My older son had also been saving his money for one of these snazzy copters so when I went to the store, we purchased two.  And…of course…I bought the 6 AA batteries that went with each helicopter.  I spent about $10 on the batteries.

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Let's Talk about Money! 4 Tips for Starting the Conversation with Your Child

Image via paulhami on flikr

Would you ever hand your car keys to a teen that has never driven?  Would you hand a book to a 4 year old child and expect her to learn to read it by herself?  I am guessing that most folks would answer "No" to both of those questions.  When teaching a child or a teen new skills, there has to be some parental interaction and guidelines.

The same thing applies to teaching a child or teen about money management.  If you just hand your child a wad of money, they will learn very little about responsible money management.  There has to be ongoing conversations and consistent guidelines (regardless of whether your child gets an allowance or not) in order for your child to become financially literate.  I was thrilled to find two articles recently that covered this topic.

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What Can Shopping for Kid's Clothes Teach about Financial Literacy?

Twice in the past week I have noticed that my kids are once again out-growing their clothes.  My youngest child put on a pair of pajama pants that fit him last winter and now they look like Capri pants.  And then…one of my older boys reminded me that he needs new dress shoes.  I was a bit skeptical, until I realized that his current shoes were two sizes too small.  It’s kind of hard to argue with that.  It looks like we will be doing some shopping this weekend.

Shopping for kids clothes doesn’t have to be a budget buster.  In fact, there can be opportunities for your child or teen to learn and practice responsible financial management skills.

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5 Steps to Understanding & Organizing Kid's Finances

This week I was selected to post a guest blog on Raising CEO Kids.  Dr. Jerry and  Sarah L. Cook are the founders of this wonderful program.  The "mission at Raising CEO Kids is to to educate, empower, & encourage parents to RAISE smart, savvy, successful, and confident CEO KIDS as well as to support CEO Kids or those who want to be CEO Kids!"  Here is the beginning of the article...

January is National Get Organized month and many of us have made resolutions to organize our finances. With just a little time and effort, you can also organize your child’s finances so that your child can develop and practice responsible money management habits. 

Generally the same theories and steps that we would take to organize our adult finances can be applied to our kids’ finances. Kids and teens have income and expenses, just as we do. And, they can learn to keep track of their finances and analyze their habits, just as we should do.

Try these 5 Steps at home with your kids to get their finances in order:

Read the entire article at Raising CEO Kids...

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You Cancelled What? Life Without 200 TV Channels

We did it.  We cancelled cable TV.  It almost caused a rebellion from our four kids.  No more Adventure Time?  No more Phineas and Ferb?  No more History Channel? (Yes…one of my kids is a history buff.  He does not get that from me.)    And…I’ll admit…I was having a hard time envisioning life without Top Chef.  But, we did it. 

This is something we had talked about for months.  We were spending $85 per month for our service and we knew we wanted to trim excess spending this year.    So, we whacked it.

Within the first 24 hours of no cable, the kids banded together and presented us with a plan to get Netflix.  They would each kick in $2 of their own money per month to cover the cost.  I was initially impressed that they had worked out a less expensive option and were willing to pay for it themselves.  I almost went along with it.  Almost.

Frank and I felt strongly that our family needed to break the TV habit.  So, we said no to the Netflix idea.  Living in the Atlanta area, we are fortunate to have very good antenna reception and found that we could get 10 or more clear, HD channels for free.  We are three weeks into our new lifestyle and things are going much better than I expected.

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Budgeting the Holiday Wish List with Older Kids and Teens

The holiday season is usually a fun and exciting time for kids, teens and families.  I can remember going through the Sears Wish book when I was a kid and circling the toys that I really wanted.  I have seen that same gleam of excitement in the eyes of my kids.  However, when kids are asked to make lists for Santa, grandparents, parents and other relatives, the focus on “what do I want” can sometimes turn into an attitude of “gimme, gimme, gimme.”   Introducing a budget limit for the wish list can help reduce the “gimmes”. 

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How Giving Presents to Teachers can also Teach Budgeting Skills

Many kids love to give their teachers a present for the holiday season.  When my daughter was in elementary school, she wanted to give presents to practically every teacher and adult in her school.  It was very sweet, but not the most budget friendly attitude to have! 

At the beginning of December, I would ask Brittany to make a list of all the teachers that she wanted to give a gift to.  Then we would talk about the total amount of money we were willing to spend on teacher presents and do the math to determine how much she could spend on each present.  I honestly did not realize it at the time, but this process was modeling budgeting skills for her.  It was age appropriate and was relevant to her, both of which are key to making the concept of budgeting less abstract to kids.

When Brittany wanted to hand out 15 – 20 presents, we had to come up with gifts that would still fit our budget.  Here are some of our more creative, frugal ideas:

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Book Review: Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids

Clark Howard is a nationally recognized radio-show host and bestselling book author.  He is generally regarded as a money-saving expert and his motto is “Save More, Spend Less and Avoid Getting Ripped Off.”  Clark is also a father of three and combined his money savvy skills with his parenting experience to create Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids.  This book was originally published in 2005 but his advice and thoughts are timeless for any parent who is concerned with teaching their child money management skills.

The opening sentence conveys the theme of the book.  “Teaching young children about money produces a trifecta of benefits:  it helps them in school, it helps them with values, and it helps you save money.”

Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids is divided into sections by age:  kids, teens, adult children and your parents.  There is also a section with worksheets, activities and resources.  For the purposes of this blog, I am only going to share with you the highlights of the kids and teens sections.

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Mom, Can You Buy Me a New Saxophone?

I am a big believer in using everyday moments with our kids to teach them the basic concepts of financial literacy and money management.  Making the connection between familiar events and abstract concepts creates a more meaningful, relevant understanding.  I was lucky enough to have one of these moments recently with my 11 year old.

During the first week of middle school, he came home and announced that he wanted to play the tenor saxophone.  Then he proceeds to ask if we would buy him one.   (Important background info:   we bought him a good quality, used Alto Sax two years ago.  He really enjoys playing it, practices on his own and is in the school band this year.)   He just wanted to try something new and didn’t consider the financial aspect of his request to buy another saxophone.   He and I talked about the options:

1. We could spend a few thousand dollars and buy him a new Tenor Sax.  This wasn't going to happen.
2. We could spend $300 - $400 to rent a Tenor Sax for the school year.  I felt this was a bit much for a spur of the moment request.
3. We could say "No."  Initially, I did say "No".  However, after about a week, he was still asking about this instrument.  Perhaps this wasn't a passing fad or an instant gratification moment. 

So...

     4.  We looked into other options.  I knew from prior experience that occasionally, the school will own instruments that are available for the use of the students.  I emailed the band director and learned that there was indeed a tenor sax available.  We could rent it for the entire school year for $25.  

This final option fit within our existing band budget for the year and was able to allow our son to try out a new activity.  Most importantly, he was able to be involved in a financial planning process that was meaningful and relevant to him.    Time will only tell whether the Tenor Sax holds his interest.  For the moment, we are all happy with the decision that was made.  And...I haven't even needed to buy ear plugs!

 

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Using Lunch Money to Practice Budgeting Skills

School lunches...Lunch box or cafeteria food?  Sandwich or yogurt?  Milk or water?  I have been discussing these choices with my children since my daughter started kindergarten in 1999.  She is a senior now and my boys are in 9^th, 6^th and 3^rd grades so I have a few more years of school lunches ahead of me.  A few years ago, I discovered that the issue of lunch money can provide an excellent opportunity to involve kids in budgeting and help them practice their money management skills.

 When my oldest son started middle school, he and I were both unprepared for the lunch costs. (My daughter took her lunch every day so I was blissfully unaware of the expanded choices in middle school!)   The school still had the basic lunch option which is very reasonable from a cost standpoint.  However, the middle school also offered a la carte items, such as chicken fingers, pizza and fries.  My son thought this was marvelous and was buying a la carte items every day.  At the end of the second week of school, he had spent practically all of his lunch money for the entire month.  I reviewed his purchases online and realized that he was spending $5-$6 a day on lunch.

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