Archives For Saving

It’s always exciting to get to welcome a new Guest Blogger to our platform. Let’s welcome Kathy Manson to The Life You Can Afford to Live! Kathy has an extensive resume and bodies of work within Financial Planning and Money Management. You can view her latest endeavors at Catalina Structured Funding. I feel certain that we will see her back here again soon. However, for now learn from her wisdom on this important subject around Money Management and your Teen!

                                                                                                                                          – Todd Burkhalter and our team at The Life You Can Afford to Live

 

The last thing on your teenager’s mind might be money and budgeting but prioritizing these lessons at this age might be one of the most important undertakings you can do as a parent. While there are certain online sites that provide tools, we believe some good old fashion techniques are a better way to lay the groundwork.  Below are 4 tools to help you get the conversation going (if you can get them to look up from their phone):

 

4 Tips to Teach Your Teen

Budgeting

Budgeting and More Budgeting. Maybe the best way to start teaching your teenager about money is to give them some to control. While some parents provide a monthly allowance, we believe that weekly increments help reinforce the principles on a more consistent and regular basis. By doing the allowance weekly, the teenager is giving the opportunity to “save up” for a larger purchase and understand the ramifications of spur of the moment purchases.

Teach them the Concept of Sales

While for adults shopping for the best price or waiting for an item to go on sale is second nature, the concept of delayed gratification is an additional benefit of showing a teenager to wait to an item they want is discounted.  It also begins to show a teenager that is focused on consumption how finding items at a reduced price may allow them to get more things they desire.

Projecting What They Need

Too often at teenager sees something and then “needs” to have it.  We suggest having your child come up with a list of items they will need for the upcoming semester or seasons. While it is a new backpack, a pair of sneakers or the hottest new jeans on the market, the teenager will learn to respect money more if they independently establish a “wish list” for the near future and then you sit down and distinguish necessities from luxuries. While we are not suggesting every purchase needs to be a necessity, we do think it prudent to make a teenager to set priorities on the non-essentials.  In time this proves a valuable tool instead of a discussion every time the teenager walks into a store and sees an item he or she desires.

Earn The Money

Whether it is on top of a basic allowance or not, and whether it simply being paid to do additional chores around the house, making the teenager earn the money instead of it being given to him or her, is maybe the most basic and powerful took in teaching the “value of the dollar”.

With all the lessons that need to be instilled by parents, and there are countless important ones, understanding and appreciating money should be near the top of the list.

 

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Are You Ready Name and logo ad

 

 

Ready for what you may ask……

 

The short answer is for whatever comes next. Regardless if it is positive or negative, do you have your house in order? Recent events both globally and locally have emphasized the harsh truth that most people do not. For most of us the busy nature of life seems to be a roadblock standing in the way of preparation. A lack of money is often used as an excuse for not taking care of the items which we know to be important. So, what are these items which are so important to have in place?

 

When tragedy strikes it typically exacerbates when someone is ill prepared. However, there are times when positive events can occur and we are totally caught off guard. For example, I have seen small companies get approached by larger corporations to be purchased. As much as that sounds like a dream come true for a business owner; the smaller company, with poorly organized records and bookkeeping, wasn’t prepared to demonstrate their value. In this example being ill prepared resulted in a missed opportunity.

 

On a smaller scale, I have seen opportunities missed to invest, take a fun trip, take advantage of a good which have been missed due to a lack of liquid money available. Placing your savings or investments into plans which are restrictive can sometimes result in missed opportunities. Obviously NOT saving at all will likely create a poor result as well.

 

Upon the death of Prince many people have begun to speculate about the value of his estate and how it will be distributed. Early indication/speculation is that like so many celebrities there were no definitive plans in place. According to LexisNexis, 55 % of adults in America do not have a will. So, while Prince was an exceptional artist he was totally normal as it relates to his efforts in planning.  Being prepared is something that you address now. Age isn’t a determining factor regarding preparation. Recently, I have personally experienced several deaths close to me of which the oldest was 41 years of age. Clearly money in Prince’s case wasn’t the driving factor, so it must have simply been a feeling of I’ll get to it later.

 

The last 20 years of my career has been dedicated to assisting individuals and businesses with their preparedness. Being Ready brings a great sense of relief to you and your family. It isn’t only about preparing for the worst, it is also preparing for the best times.

 

 

 

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Here is a list of the items we assist with to help our clients Be Ready:

 

Areas to Plan DP

 

We have the tools in place to ensure that You Are Ready. Our clients enjoy The Protection Savings and Growth Model and The Drive Planning Financial Dashboard. Take two minutes to view our short Video, Life In A Box, which explains The Financial Dashboard.

 

Whatever you do…. take the time to Be Ready! If you have any comments or questions please reach out to me directly or connect on-line via Facebook, LinkedIn or twitter.