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Money Tip 1 – Don’t spend what you don’t have.
First and foremost, regularly spend less than you make. Consider a local mattress dealer that advertises on radio and TV. His madcap skits, offering “no deposit, no interest, and no payments until . . . whenever,” are hilarious. However, I shudder at the thought that someone actually purchases an unaffordable product, gambling that in a year or so the full purchase price can be paid so to avoid scheduled fees and retroactive interest. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Money Tip 2 – You’ll find your financial helping hand at the end of your arm.
A half-century ago, the average American anticipated retirement through an employee pension fund, supplemented by social security. Much has since changed since. Many employers, for sheer survival, are under-funding their pension programs and ridding themselves of employees. And with Social Security rapidly evolving into a welfare system, there is little outside assistance to count on. The significance is clear: Fund your own retirement through regular savings and sound investments. Fashion your life so that part of your income is not consumed, but available for the future. You must do this yourself; don’t expect help elsewhere.
Money Tip 3 – Arrange to make your money grow.
The adage that time is money is accurate; it depicts the earning power of money astutely invested. Let me suggest a method. Open a self-directed brokerage IRA account—preferably a Roth if you’re eligible—in which you accumulate certificates of deposit, treasury notes, and high grade corporate bonds. Begin at an early age and pursue this program systematically through your working years. An annual contribution of $4,000 invested at 7½ percent, compounded semiannually over the 40-year period from ages 25 to 65, results in more than a million dollars. It’s the compound interest that brings this about, a phenomenon as close to magic as you’ll ever encounter.
Money Tip 4 – Don’t be taken advantage of.
There is no limit to the ways your money can be misspent or the persons who will take it from you. Don’t let this happen. Delete spam e-mails unopened. Recognize that all advertisements qualify for the admonition: Ninety-five percent of everything is nonsense. Purchase nothing from uninvited salesmen. Ignore random solicitations for charitable contributions.
Money Tip 5 – Plan for the changes that must surely come.
Life is a constantly evolving process, with significance at each stage. In your twenties it’s acceptable to live on a shoestring while dreaming and scheming for the future. By your thirties, as family or professional obligations take precedence, closely control your spending and savings habits. During your forties assiduously concentrate on asset accumulation. I recommend that by age fifty you are able to subsist on passive investment income if necessary. By your sixtieth birthday, you qualify as wealthy, meaning that you can live in a style you choose with no employment required. Be aware that things will work out this way only by your early decision to make it happen
Money Tip 6 – Don’t expect money to make you happy.
You’ve heard the old saying: “Money isn’t everything.” That’s true. Like it or not, wealth brings with it certain demands and responsibilities, and if you ignore them you’ll regret it. As you become wealthy¾recognizably wealthy¾certain aspects of your life change, and not all for the better. Although the problems of meeting the mortgage and financing the children’s schooling may no longer exist, other problems move in to take their place. Your relationship with friends and relatives begin to change as you are viewed as something apart. It seems that admiration and envy are opposite sides of the same coin, and as your perceived fortune grows, you will be the recipient of both emotions. Merely possessing money doesn’t ensure happiness. Only its prudent use results in satisfaction.
Money Tip 7 – Give away what you don’t need.
In the final analysis, there is a practical limit on personal consumption, beyond which satisfaction is marginal. At some point in our lives there must be more than mere acquisition. In this hostile world are deserving people, and the opportunity to share your bounty in a meaningful way is exactly that – an opportunity. There is satisfaction in giving back a portion of your good fortune. Establish a private non-profit educational foundation into which you contribute sums of money. These funds become available for scholarships to students chosen by the foundation directors whom you select, perhaps faculty members of a nearby college. The student chosen receive payments as long as they perform satisfactorily, and it’s your task to monitor their performance. Not only do deserving students benefit directly to the extent of nearly 100 percent of your contributions, but also your donations qualify as tax deductions. This is a fine way to fund a philanthropic enterprise in which the value to the actual recipients can be seen and appreciated. What finer way might you spend money?
Al Jacobs has been a professional investor for more than four decades. His business experience ranges from real estate, mortgage, and securities investment to appraisal, civil engineering, and the operation of a private trust company. In addition to managing his investments on a day-to-day basis, he is a featured financial columnist for both online and print publications. He is the author of Nobody’s Fool: A Skeptic’s Guide to Prosperity. You may subscribe to his financial Newsletter, “On the Money Trail,” at no cost or obligation, by visiting www.onthemoneytrail.com.
To help each and everyone of our visitors to make money online . I aim to providie simple and real money tips to help you take charge of your money and choices, in order to achieve their financial goals.
Having money is crucial to obtaining the things we need in life, and of course, having extra for the wants is nice too. However, money problems can occur when parents don’t teach money management skills at a young age, usually when the child starts getting an allowance or has a job, such as babysitting or mowing lawns. When credit card offers start arriving in the mail, they are an easy fix when there’s no more money left. Teaching your children about money, as well as credit cards, can be easy, and even a fun experience, but most importantly, a very valuable lesson. Here are a number of ways to teach children about money, so they don’t end up having problems in the future.
Introduce them to money
When they are young enough to count, take an active role in teaching them about currency, such as pennies, nickels, dime and quarters, as well as dollar bills. Have them do simple math including adding and subtracting. When they get older, you can introduce new concepts and issues.
Teach by example
Teaching your children about money becomes a much easier task when you have learned the lessons you are teaching. Children are smart and they know when a parent is a good example. Your kids won’t listen to a word you say if your money management skills aren’t up to par, so learn all you can about budgeting, saving, investing, reducing expenses and cutting out debt. When you’re armed with knowledge, you’re better able to teach your children.
Give them an allowance
Yes, that means give them some money. Even if it’s a few dollars a week, let them take control of their own money and make their own decisions about what they want to do with it. A good example of how much to give them would be a dollar for their age. So, if you have a ten-year-old, give them ten dollars, for either a week or a month, depending on your own budget. If they’re never given any money, they will never learn how to manage it. This way, they can then see first-hand what it’s like to have money. Hopefully, if you have taught them, first by example, and then with the knowledge you have gained, they will think twice on how to spend it, or even if they want to. They may decide to put some away for a rainy day or they may blow it the first chance they get. Whatever choice they make in managing it, will help them be good money managers in adulthood.
Teach them one principal at a time
If you bombard them with everything all at once, they will only be confused. We can’t expect them to be awesome money managers overnight. It takes time. Once a month, teach them one principal about money. For example, this month, you can teach them about budgeting their money. The next month could be about having a savings account, and so forth. If you teach line-by-line, precept-by precept, they will absorb more of the lesson. No one wants to be preached to.
Give them opportunities to earn money
Whether they go beyond completing their chore charts or do a specific job you need help with, give them extra opportunities to earn money. The more experience they have with money, the better skilled they will become. If they choose to blow it all up front, it will teach them about patience and saving for what they really want. This sets up a great foundation for investing money for the future or putting money away for emergencies.
Teach them about credit
Humans are impatient creatures. We want things and we want them now, even if we don’t have the money. Credit cards have become the staple for many families, often leading to out-of-control debt, but when credit is used wisely, it can be very valuable, such as for credit ratings. When you use credit and you pay it off on time, companies are more willing to offer you more credit to buy things such as a home or a car. Having a good credit score rating can open doors for small business or college loans. Teach children that credit is not a gift; it’s a loan. Tell them that credit has to be paid back, often with high interest rates, and that only when they have a plan to pay it back should they get a credit card.
Teach them about savings accounts
When children save their money for a rainy day or for special things, they feel a certain stewardship over that particular item or service, because they had to save money and patiently wait until they had it. That would be hard for any adult to achieve, let alone a child, but it can be done. Having a savings account is helpful; after all, if the money is “locked” away, it becomes less of a temptation to spend it! Not only that, but depending on their age, bank institutions have special accounts that give back small interest payments, which can be an incentive for a hesitant child to begin saving. When you give allowances, give it to them in denominations that encourage savings. So, if you give a child $5, give out five $1 bills and encourage that at least $1 go to savings. When they have saved the money, pat them on the back for a job well done. Children love praise and just telling them you are proud of their decision gives them more confidence that lasts into adulthood.
Teach them about budgeting their money
Even if they only get a few dollars a week, children can list things they want to do with their money and whether they have the money to get those things. For example, say your child wants to put some money into savings, or buy a toy or a new pair of jeans. Sit down with them and help them a few times to budget, or project how much that particular item will be, and then determine if they have the money, or how much money they need to save in order to get it. Once they know about budgeting their money, it will become easier to manage their money in the future.
Have family discussions about money
Check with them about their money management. Talk with them about any concerns you have and encourage them to talk to you. Having a set time to talk about money issues will also help keep everyone on task. Find out how they’re doing and if they are struggling with saving money. For younger children, you could talk about the difference between cash, checks and credit cards. If you have teenagers, talk with them about the effects of the economy, of inflation verses deflation, how to economize at home and alternatives than spending money, such as borrowing an item, making it yourself, or a one-time rental. Sometimes just opening the door for communication will help with any potential problems or issues that may come up, especially if the child begins a new job or looses one. Talk to your kids about upcoming holiday plans or vacations that require a lot of money. Tell them your plan for saving the money and chances are they will want to save their own money as well.
Stay out of debt
Easier said than done. Debt is a four-letter word for many families and can cause un-needed stress, but if we have our own savings account, occasional spending fund and emergency fund, we are more able to be financially secure, so that when the dishwasher goes out, we have the money to replace it. Having these extra funds will help children learn about the importance of making good financial decisions and insurance against unexpected expenses. Remember, children learn from example and we, as parents, need to try to be good examples of money management.
Don’t bail out your kids
If your children get into financial trouble, the worst thing you can do is bail them out. If they were saving their money for something they needed and they ended up spending it on something different, don’t get it for them. It may be a costly lesson, but if children have consequences resulting from their actions, they will learn, and the next time, they may choose differently. When they are older, teenagers usually need money for car payments, fuel and maintenance. Again, they need to budget their money so they have enough money to pay for those things. If they run out before they are paid again, they may have to walk or ride their bike, or a bus to work. Most likely, they will be more careful with their money next time.
Money is a fun thing to have, as we are all aware, and teaching children at a young age about money will go a long ways to ensuring that their financial future is the best it can be. For more information, contact your local bank institution for brochures to give to your children. They will have account options that will fit best with their age and other tips in spending and saving wisely.
David Jones is the founder and CEO of PAYjr and Chore Charts.com, one of the leading resources for financial education for parents, kids and teens. David has appeared on the Today Show, ABC World News, The Early Show and has been featured in Inc. Magazine, the Wallstreet Journal, and Parenting Magazine.
David is also author of ChoresAndAllowances.com, a blog dedicated to kids and money. David holds an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and is the proud father of two young boys.
Have you ever wanted to travel the world and make money for sharing your adventures with the world? Using the web and a simple blog, this couldn’t be easier. There are just a few simple, yet hidden techniques for making a healthy income for blogging about your travels.
In fact, the number of underground travelers who hold no jobs, yet make cash for writing about their travels is growing by the day. We keep our mouths shut about our techniques as we visit worldwide destinations and get paid for telling the world about it. I know there have got to be great people out there who deserve to travel and want this information, so I’ve decided to share a few of our techniques:
1) Own Your Blog. Sites like Blogger, Myspace, and BlogSpot are no good for our purposes, because you can’t tweak the site to make a profit very easily. Instead, if you buy a domain for 10 bucks and then install WordPress, you now have the platform to make it extremely profitable.
2) Utilize PPC (pay-per-click) to get started. You won’t make a massive income off of this right away, but you can easily make 5-10 bucks a day in the beginning. That may not sound like a lot… but it’s enough for a meal every day or a flight after a month, and the number only gets bigger as your blog grows in readership.
3) Collect names and email addresses. You want to do this so that you can bring your readers back to your blog. Very few people ‘bookmark’ a site any longer, but if you email your readers every time you post a new article, you will grow your readership at an exponential rate.
4) Offer an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) subscriptions. Don’t let this intimidate you. Setting this up is as simple as checking a box on your blog’s options. RSS is another way for your readers to keep up-to-date with your blog. Insead of you emailing them, their RSS reader of choice will automatically show them the newly posted content. The more they see your content, the better chance they’ll click on an ad (and therefore, the better chance you’ll get paid)
5) Sell a product that will interest your readers. Once you are up and running, you will see your readership growing as well. Now it’s time to really monetize your site. This is where affiliate marketing comes in. This is simply taking a commission for any customer you send to another product (considering they buy the product). So, every now and again, make a blog post about the affiliate product you are promoting. When your readers see this, those who are interested will click on your ‘affiliate link,’ and if they buy, you get paid. Easy as that. Becoming an affiliate is always free, and there are thousands of products begging for active affiliates.
By the way, affiliate commissions are typically 50% to 75%. Gigantic, and very profitable.
6) Create your own product. The only problem with affiliate marketing is that the product is completely out of your control and you only take a part of the cut. Once you have a bunch of blog posts, you can bundle them together and make an ‘ebook.’ Sell this to your loyal readers, and you’ll be surprised at how many of them will pay for the content they’re getting for free anyway!
There are bloggers out there who are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for writing about their passions. My instincts tell me you’d be happy with a few hundred or thousand dollars extra per week, so start taking action on these ideas. They’re not complicated, they just require action. The best part is, once they’re set up, they can all be automated and can take place without your presence!
**Attention Readers**
To get your copy of our free step-by-step guide showing you how to make money as you travel without ever holding a ‘job,’ visit http://www.moneyfortraveling.com. The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world and will show you how to do the same.
**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.
The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com
have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world. Visit MoneyForTraveling.com to discover 12 ways to make money while traveling.
Not About The Money? Why Joe Johnson Is Better Off Joining Another Team
We are in day three of NBA Free Agency, and the scenarios can not get anymore crazier. With Lebron, Wade, and Chris Bosh joining possibly every team in the league (kidding of course), what can we expect? For now, neither of those three are the topic of conversation. Joe Johnson is the man I have some thoughts on. On Thursday, Johnson seemed to be staying with the Atlanta Hawks. Reports said that …
Read more on Bleacher Report
Get Serious About CO2
Councils have a big say in UK climate emissions – from how we heat and fuel our homes to how we get around. The Get Serious About CO2 campaign is calling for every council to do its bit to tackle climate change.
Read more on Friends of the Earth
