How to Raise Money-Conscious Kids

There are all kinds of life lessons that parents want to impart to their children. You want them to know that they are loved and that they are capable of giving love. They must learn to respect authority and treat others with kindness, compassion, and tolerance. Confidence and self-esteem should be fostered with frequent encouragement and praise. And obviously, education is essential to their lifelong success. Of course, there are also fundamental skills like cooking, cleaning, and driving that you’ll have to teach them at some point if you want them to grow into independent adults. These are things that all parents think about and worry over. But the area that many parents often neglect is also one of the most important: money handling. Most kids go out into the world with no idea of how balance a checkbook, formulate a budget, get a loan, build good credit, or invest for the future. And in this day and age, letting kids learn these lessons on their own could lead to costly mistakes.

The point is, you need to teach your children about money, and the sooner you start the better chance they’ll have of managing their assets wisely. Of course, many parents don’t have a very good idea of how to handle their own finances, much less teach their kids about money management. So this can be a learning experience for you, as well. Although you can probably figure out the basics, it couldn’t hurt to read up on more complex issues like different forms of investment or how to create a workable budget, a retirement account, or a comprehensive financial plan. But let’s start at the beginning.

Kids can learn about money from a very young age. Even toddlers understand the concept of rewards, and while money may hold little value for them initially, even small kids will find shiny coins appealing (just make sure they’re past the stage where every object goes in the mouth). You can start your lessons simply enough with monetary rewards for chores. Small kids can pick up toys, make their own beds, and even help out in the kitchen (stirring, rinsing dishes, etc.) under supervision. Make a chart with their chores and then reward them with a weekly allowance.

From there you need to start teaching responsible money-handling techniques. So allow them to keep some of the money for spending (on toys and activities) so that they begin to see the connection between working and reaching their goals (with money in the middle of the equation, acting as a bridge between their efforts and their ultimate rewards). Then take your kids to the bank to open savings accounts so that they can see their money start to accumulate. You may even want to have kids choose a charity to donate a percentage of their earnings to each year as a way to include the added lesson of social responsibility.

From there it gets more complicated, to be sure, but you don’t need a degree from the best masters in education or finance program to teach kids about money. While you may want to consider a few online courses for your own benefit, even the top online masters in education programs aren’t necessary to get your kids on track with healthy spending habits. They can learn by example if you know how to manage your own finances. And you can find plenty of books, tutorials, and websites to help you learn about budgeting, investing, and so on before you ever have to impart these lessons to your children.

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Getting Back into Good Financial Shape after Bankruptcy

obody wants to think that they could get themselves into so much financial trouble that bankruptcy becomes the only option. And yet, every year over a million people are forced to do the very thing that they fear, in essence committing financial suicide. In many cases, external factors are to blame, and in an economic recession bankruptcy filings are bound to increase. This means that a lot more people could be facing this situation, along with the personal loss, social stigma, and uncertain financial future that go along with it. But declaring bankruptcy is not the end of the world; in most cases it’s nothing to be ashamed of and there are certainly ways to recover from such a loss. So here are just a few tips to help you get back into fighting shape where your finances are concerned, even if you’ve suffered a recent bankruptcy.

The best place to start is by determining what led to your bankruptcy in the first place. Do you have trouble with overspending in general or did you just get over-extended on one big-ticket item (like a house)? Even people that are generally responsible when it comes to their finances can easily get in over their heads, especially when factors outside their control conspire to land them in hot water. If you suffered a divorce, job loss, serious medical issues, or other circumstances beyond your control, your finances may have been impacted through no fault of your own. In a way, this is a better place to start from since you already have a good idea of how to manage your money for success. You should have no problem rebuilding your credit.

But if you were squarely to blame for the situation then now is the time to take responsibility and start questioning what habits you need to change and what you have to learn in order to ensure that the behaviors that led to bankruptcy don’t recur. You will want to start by learning how to budget and live within your means. If you have issues with overspending, impulse control, and poor planning and tracking when it comes to your funds, you have a good springboard for improvement. You’ll want to start by sticking to what’s in your bank account (no credit cards!) and tracking everything. If you don’t feel like you can do this, take the time to talk to a financial planner about setting up a workable budget so that you don’t feel deprived, and give yourself an allowance for extras. You might even want to start visiting a therapist that specializes in cases like yours (aka shopaholics). Getting the right kind of help is essential to a debt-free future.

From there you’ll want to address any remaining debt with a payment schedule (bankruptcy doesn’t always dispel the entirety of what you owe) so that you can start to rebuild your credit. And in that vein, you should also get a copy of your credit report (you can order it once a year for free at AnnualCreditReport.com). As you pay off debts, they should disappear from your report; if they don’t you need to address the issue or your credit will not improve. In order to reestablish your credit, you will probably want to get a credit card at some point. So consider a secure card through your bank. The limit will be low, so you should be able to pay it off each month, and the bank will hold a deposit as collateral for a year (after which you get it back with interest). The result is that you enjoy a lower interest rate than other lenders will offer someone with a troubled credit history, and you can rebuild your rating with less temptation to overspend.

Carol Montrose is a contributing writer for Doyle Raizner, a team of dedicated legal professionals based in Houston, Texas.

Kid Friendly Backyard Design Ideas on a Budget

Every parent nowadays struggles with the idea that their children may be too dependent on the internet, television and cell phones, while neglecting the joys of exercise and physical activity. Parents who are raising their kids in urban landscapes and metropolitan centers are especially vulnerable to this growing sense of detachment from fitness and outdoor exploration, simply because there aren’t many open spaces left. If you have a backyard that goes unvisited even on sunny days, there are many options available to you if you would like to transform the area into a kid friendly refuge. The backyard used to be the center of a young child’s daily life, from running around the grass playing cops and robbers to tossing the ball around with the gang. Today, the expanded role of video games, high definition TV and smart phones has increasingly given rise to an increasingly distracted and detached generation of young people. With some simple renovations based on kid friendly backyard design ideas, you can create a fun filled play area for your children while sticking to a reasonable budget.


A few gallons of colorful paint can go a long way in turning a drab backyard into a vibrant, imaginative center for your childrens daily activities. A few well placed cartoon characters, cowboys or clowns painted on your backyard fence can provide your kids with an outlet into another world, one similar to the virtual reality of websites but one that is tangible and stimulating. If your children have expressed an interest in a particular sport, a weekend of do-it-yourself improvements can create a stadium experience for them and their friends from the neighborhood. A scattering of white lines etched across the grass or strategically located cones can create a miniature football field or baseball diamond. Encouraging your kids to play sports outside fosters a healthy competitive spirit, builds stamina and physical fitness and helps them meet teammates that may become best friends in the future.

Every child’s favorite memories from their early schoolyard days come during the glorious few minutes known as recess. Playing with friends on the jungle gym, heading over for a session on the swing set and finishing off with a rousing ride down the slide are classic experiences of youth which shouldn’t be restrained to school days. You can find affordable pieces of playground equipment to place in your backyard at local school district auctions or through online sales websites. Your kids will light up with delight the morning they discover a personal playground sitting in their previously boring backyard. You can also use a bit of resourcefulness and craft an impromptu playground by arranging some tires on the ground and hanging swings from strong tree limbs. As long as your kids look outside and see an opportunity for fun and enjoyment, you have done your job as a responsible parent in the digital age. Technology will always have its place, but children playing outside until they fall down laughing should never become outdated.

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