A Conversation with David Domzalski from Financial Bin

I was honored yesterday to be interviewed on a podcast with David Domzalski of Financial Bin, a company that focuses on personal finance and entrepreneurial education for the Generation Y age group.  If you haven't checked out his website, please do.  It is a fabulous resource for personal finance, budgeting, wealth, real estate and entrepreneurship.  He has a long list of highly qualified contributors that keep their content fresh and relevant.  David also hosts podcasts several times a week so scoot on over to his site and take a look around.

Here is the internet radio segment of David and me talking about MoneyTrail and teaching kids & teens about money.

Listen to internet radio with FinancialBin on Blog Talk Radio

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Gift Card Management for Kids & Teens

Kids & teens learn to manage gift cards

My kids really like getting a few gift cards for presents.   My younger kids view them as a “free” shopping trip and enjoy getting to use a plastic card like the grown-ups.  My teens like gift cards because they are just darn picky when it comes to gifts and would often prefer to pick out their own stuff.    Whether or not you like gift cards, the reality is that at some point your kids will have them and will need to learn to manage them appropriately.  With four kids in our house, gift card management can occasionally get challenging.    (Several of these obstacles prompted us to add a gift card tracking feature to MoneyTrail.)

Here are some of our common obstacles and the solutions we have developed over the last few years.

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What do our Kids Really Understand about Money? 5 Assumptions that Parents Often Make

There’s a family story that my mother loves to tell from years ago when I was a child.  She was fixing dinner one night and heard me crying in my room.  Without stopping what she was doing, she yelled for my older brother to leave me alone.  His response?  “Mom, I’m not even in the same room with her!”  My mother claims that from that point on, she never assumed that she knew what was going on with her kids until she laid her eyes on the situation.  I guess I need to take my mother’s advice and never assume that I know what is going on with my kids.  It is pretty darn good advice, not only for child behaviors, but also for teaching kids about money. 

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Use Labor Day to Encourage Entrepreneurship in Kids & Teens

Labor Day is “a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” (via www.dol.gov)  This year let’s make Labor Day an opportunity to talk to your children about potential careers, entrepreneurship and taking pride in their work.  Here are several great resources for you and your children.

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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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Getting Teens to Determine their Net Worth

As our kids have gotten older and are well into their teens, we have noticed that their money management needs have grown and changed also.  They are earning larger amounts of money, saving for larger goals and juggling cash, credit with us and multiple gift cards.  Throw in the occasional check from Grandma and the chances of items getting lost, forgotten or spent on impulse grow tremendously.  Our teens have moved beyond the piggy bank or simple allowance systems.  However, they aren’t ready for credit cards or online banking.

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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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Footballs & Helicopters: How to Avoid Shopping Meltdowns with your Kids

It has happened to most parents at one time or another.  You are in a department store with your kids and one of them sees “the toy” and simply must have it.

     “Can I get it?”

     “But Mama….I really want it.” 

     “I won’t ask for anything else.”

     “I promise I will do my chores.” 

     “Please, ple-e-e-e-e-e-ease.” 

      “I’ve wanted this my whole life.” 

For such a little person, they sure can have a loud voice, especially when you are in a store and feel  the eyes of all the other shoppers nearby glaring at you!  At this point, you have three options: 

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