by Elisabeth Donati | Jun 22, 2012 | Financial Literacy, Latest News, Uncategorized, What you can do
I’m going to make this short and sweet…or at least that’s my intention.
I just stumbled on a prepaid card called the UPside Visa Card but I don’t see any upside to this.
Why would you pay a monthly fee to use a prepaid, preloaded ‘debit’ card if you could just put that same money into your checking account and spend it using a REAL debit card? This is just flat out stupid (yes, ask me how I really feel).
This card, called the UPside Card is dubbed as ‘the prepaid Visa card for teens and their parents’ and well, I must be missing something because I don’t understand the point. They say on their website:
UPside Visa is a reloadable prepaid Visa card designed for the 13-25 age group and their parents. The card remains under the supervision of parents.
OK, so if the teen has it, HOW exactly is it still under the supervision of the parents?
This is text right from their site:
- For high school students, it’s a great alternative to cash allowances that are unsafe, offer no spending control and often require trips to the ATM. It’s also a great educational tool to learn about financial literacy.
- For college students, it’s a convenient way to manage their money, track spending in real-time and stay away from credit cards. College students can receive occasional funds from their parents, receive a pay check directly onto the card and even write checks online (For cardholders 18 or over)
Let me get this straight…if you have this card, kids can control their spending but if they have cash they can’t? This is completely bassackwards as my mother would say. When kids SEE the cash start to run out, they stop spending but if they can’t SEE what’s on the card, they have to stop when the card doesn’t work anymore!
As far as a convenient way to manage their money, track spending, etc., my experience is that my checking account using Quicken or my old fashioned check book register certainly does the same thing!
FEES…there are ALWAYS fees!
If you’ll look here, if you want to be able to access your money via an ATM, you pay $2.99 or you could just pay a $29.95/year fee (evidently that’s a better value than saving the $29.95 in your saving account and not using this card).
But look…they don’t charge the parents a fee for putting money INTO their kid’s card from their checking account but don’t try to load it from a credit card…more fees. How generous…NOT.
And finally, don’t be fooled by the Rewards program. Note that you redeem some of the points in the UPside Mall (oh goodie…a trip to the mall) but they do offer some cash rewards.
Bottom line: USE THE BANK. Teach your kids to use THEIR money using a REAL bank account and then when they’re ready to handle the responsibilities of a real credit card, have them apply and manage a credit card wisely. And tell them to get a card with points so at least if they are going to use a credit card, they can use the reward points to book a flight home to visit you once in awhile for free!
by Elisabeth Donati | Jun 21, 2012 | Coaches Corner, Financial Literacy, Latest News, Uncategorized, What you can do
Have you ever wanted to work from home, work for yourself or market a new product idea or invention?
Have you been stopped in your tracks by all the ‘what abouts’ that you don’t know about? You know, the “What about this and what about that?”
If so, you’re not alone. And…it doesn’t have to be this way.
Today, I’d like you to invite you to think differently about starting a business for yourself. Here’s what you do….
DON’T THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING AT ONCE…and this is what I mean.
For those of you who have been following Creative Wealth and me for awhile, you have probably guessed that I have more ideas in one hour than a lot of people have in a lifetime. I want to start lots of businesses and bring a lot more of my business ideas to reality. And I know that I can’t do them all…or at least not all at once.
I can, however, create as many businesses as I’d like as long as I do them One Step At A Time.
I’m currently in the beginning throws of starting down a new journey that started when I switched to all Gluten Free baking. At first it was a challenge because I had a hard time figuring out how to make my yummy muffins and cookies (ask the neighbors how yummy:-) gluten free and still be yummy.
Over the last couple of years, I figured it out and now I’m in the process of starting Santa Barbara Gluten Free Goodies…an online and offline company that will market my very own Muffin and Cookie Flour Mix as well as deliver fresh, homemade muffins and cookies to local homes, businesses and coffee shops.
Do I know how to do this? NO!
Am I learning one piece at a time? YES!
Am I having fun? ABSOLUTELY!
All you need to do is take one small, baby-step forward on your new business idea and pretty soon you start to see a business plan. A little bit after that you start seeing the real thing materialize before your eyes.
What? You say you’ve tried this method before and weren’t successful? Well, you either had an idea that wasn’t going to work (this is not about you…it’s just an idea that isn’t marketable…get over it) or you needed some coaching to move it along. Either way, there are lots of great ideas waiting to happen and lots of great business coaches wanting to help you be fabulously successful (me for one).
So if you’ve always wanted to have your own business, offline or online (hint…online is easier!), START RIGHT NOW. Take some notes, create a binder for those notes and everyday add to the plan:
- Your vision
- What you want to sell, make, market
- Product and service details
- Competitor information
- Marketing ideas
- Contacts to make or ones made
- Steps, steps, steps
- Etc.
Then one day, out of the blue, you’re going to look in that notebook and see your first Action Step and then you’re going to take it.
The next day, you’ll take another Action Step…and on and on and on.
Finally, you’re going to wake up one day and have a full-fledged business of your own.
It’s that easy…
p.s. Take your kids along for this ride. Maybe by the time they’re out of high school or college they can either work for you or have their own business up and running. How cool would that be?
Just something else to think about…
by Elisabeth Donati | Jun 14, 2012 | Financial Literacy, Latest News, Uncategorized
Guest post by Valery Satterwhite
Henry David Thoreau once said, “Wealth is the ability to experience a free and full life“. We think that money is what will give us that ability – and that’s just not true. Think about it..
Do you know a wealthy person who feels anything be free. She’s living a life that isn’t her own.
Do you know someone with a lot of money who feels empty instead of fulfilled? His life lacks meaning and purpose.
Money can’t create our experiences because experiences are created from within. They’re informed by our inner dialog. Furthermore, money can’t buy what we want and need the most – a sense of love, belonging and meaningful significance.
In order to experience the life Thoreau speaks of you have to define your worth from the inside out. Rigorously challenge your inner status quo when making spending and investment decisions. The next time you’re about to make a major purchase ask yourself this…
“If no one were to see me with it, in it, beside it, wearing it – or know that I would have it – would I still buy it?”
If the answer is NO, dig deep. What is it that you’re really trying to buy with that purchase? Remember, nothing outside of you can give you what you want and need the most.
If you want to feel respected, you have to respect yourself. If you want to feel valued and validated, you have to value and validate yourself. If you want to feel loved, you have to first be able to love yourself, unconditionally.
Besides, there isn’t a Prada bag in the world that is packaged with sustaining self-esteem. The bottom line is, it takes a strong sense of inner wealth in order to experience an outer one.
Today is the day for you to realize that you, and you alone, are your greatest asset. The time is now for you to capitalize on and leverage your human assets – your wealth of spirit – as much (if not more) than your financial assets.
Why? Because the life you lead is the legacy you ultimately leave.
You can see what Valery Satterwhite is up to at www.WorthyWealthyWise.com
by Elisabeth Donati | Jun 9, 2012 | Latest News, Media Attention, Uncategorized
I wrote this letter in response to a gentleman’s Letter to the Editor in the Santa Barbara Newspress. I thought it important enough to post for you.
Dear Editor:
In response to Lane Fillers letter to the editor entitled “Facebook isn’t looking out for your children” (June 9, 2012) you are wrong when you said, “children are not stupid”. They are generally ignorant about the ways of the world and lack experienced but they most certainly are not stupid…they are very smart. And it isn’t Facebook’s job to look about for your children, it’s ours.
I do totally agree with his directive to parents to keep kids away from the online social media sites. They are certainly not always a safe place for your children to hang out. However, when the pressure gets too much and you succumb to, “but everybody else has a page,” here are some pointers…
- Supervise, supervise, supervise.
- Let your child know you WILL be watching and reading.
- Don’t let them use a really detailed photo or post photos of themselves in places that are easily identified. Explain why this is so important and if necessary, find stories on the web where this has led to problems.
- Make your kids use Facebook in your presence and let them know you will remove their account if you find out otherwise.
- Teach them the ‘forever’ aspect of social media websites and the web in general. Explain that close to a billion people have Facebook accounts alone and that Facebook, and other social media sites, are where people go to not just check up on you but look for victims for all types of crimes. It’s a balancing act between not wanting to scare them while impressing upon them the potential for danger.
- Teach them appropriate participation in social media sites: no swearing, no embarrassing photos of friends, family or others or photos of themselves that may embarrass you.
- Under no circumstances assume they are following your rules. Refer back to pointer #1.
Parents…here’s the thing…your #1 job is to grow/raise adults who are not just still alive and safe, but adults who are fully responsible for themselves. This is not our government’s job, the school’s responsibility, Facebook or anyone else’s job for that matter…it’s yours.
Since technology has changed the way we do life (and not in a positive way in my opinion), you must be ever vigilant in your parenting duties: teach them how to communicate with others without technology, teach them (by showing and telling) what it takes to be a responsible, successful adult and then step out of the way and let them stumble. A few self-imposed battle scars they learn from will help shape their character and determine the type of human being they become.
While we’re at it, here are two more tips for your teens in regard to the Internet to help them professionally as they move toward adulthood:
- Register the URL for their name so they can use it for posting their resume and or business later, i.e., if your son’s name is Bob Smith, register www.bobsmith.com. You may have to add a middle initial or do some variation if you wait too long but many people’s names are still available. Make sure you register it for several years…at least until they can take it over themselves.
- As soon as your son or daughter becomes good at something, shows a passion for something, gets an award, volunteers to help others, has their first job or successful business idea/venture, help them set up a page on www.LinkedIn.com. Headhunters and other professionals use this site daily to find highly qualified employees, potential business partners and clients.
Lastly, remember that it’s never too early or too late to start teaching them what it really takes to not just survive, but thrive in life but it’s usually easier to start earlier.
by Elisabeth Donati | May 24, 2012 | Financial Literacy, Financial Literacy Principles, Latest News, Uncategorized
Guest Post By Jill Suskind
Talking to teens about money is an art form!
Remember the parents’ voices in the Charlie Brown movies? Ever feel like your teen hears “wah wah wah wah” like Charlie Brown and his crew do when you bring up the subject? So, how do we talk to our teens about money in a way that makes it real, makes it matter, and makes it last?
I like to keep in mind two main things when I talk to teens about money: first, there’s what we say out loud about money; and second, there’s what we don’t say out loud about money. In both cases, though, messages are sent and received, loud and clear.
These messages form the foundation of the financial education our children receive, so it’s important to give it some care and thought. Here are four areas to consider: allowance, needs vs. wants, giving, and goal-setting.
1. Allowance
If, for example, we give our teens an allowance by just handing them money each week with nothing tied to it, and let them spend it however they want, I wonder what they learn. Do they learn, “Money just comes to me, and it doesn’t matter what I do with it”? What does that translate into when our teens become adults?
What would they learn, then, if we said, “I’m going to put you in charge of purchasing this, that and the other thing, which I currently spend $xxx a week on. This way you don’t have to ask me for money for those things and I’ll help you make great decisions around that money as well so you can learn what it takes to handle your money wisely.”
We certainly want to teach our children what money is: Money is a form of exchange for goods and services and it’s one of the important tools that make our dreams come true. Because of this, it’s important to begin inspiring your children to create their own money. They can do this by offering their services to others or creating products that they can sell to others that solve a problem or fill a need.
When our teens are older, we then add, “You’re doing such a great job managing your money; we’re going to give you a raise in your allowance so that you can now be responsible for xxx, xxx and xxx. We’re still going to be helping you every step of the way. You will be responsible for the right choices as well as any mistake you make with this money and that’s how we all learn.”
Just remember, as the adults in their lives, it becomes our job to provide them with the tools and information they need to become excellent money managers. The goal of giving an allowance this way is that they are fully responsible for the financial decisions of their lives by the time they are 16-18 years old. This way they can move out or move on to college and know what to do with their money.
2. Needs vs. Wants
If you have been reading my blog for a while, you already know I am a maverick in this area. Lots of folks think it’s really valuable to have teens learn to identify what a “need” is and what a “want” is. I beg to take a different position. Why? I think these words hold judgment in them, and I find that teens stop listening when we try to tell them what they need and what they want, based on OUR beliefs.
What would the teens in our lives learn if we said, “You can have whatever you’re willing to have” (excluding harmful things and those that are truly inconsistent with the values we are teaching them)?
I find that some things I think I NEED suddenly become not-so-necessary when I consider what I would have to do to get them. A lot, in fact, gets taken care of in this framework of “Are you willing to do what it would take to get that?”
My thought process, when I am deciding whether or not to buy something, is: What would I need to sacrifice? What would I need to do to get the money? Am I willing to discipline myself to save for that thing? Am I willing to wait for it? Will I still want it by the time I have saved for it?
I prefer this context over “Do I need this or want it?” and trying to live within the confines of a disempowering money conversation based on a subjective values. It reminds me that I, not my bank account, can determine what I can have. Because, I can, ultimately, have whatever I am willing to have.
After all, when it comes down to it, I don’t want everything. I just want what is IMPORTANT to me; something that is unique to me, and it doesn’t fit into a Needs vs. Wants diagram.
3. Giving
What do we say and not say about Giving to our teens? Do we send the message that they can keep all their money and that adults will take care of charity? Do we send them to ask for sponsors for fundraisers, and not expect them to be a sponsor? What are they learning from this? Do you think they learn, “You need to have a certain amount of money before you give some of it to causes that matter to you? Or, do you need to be a certain age before you assume responsibility for how things go –in the greater sense?”
I believe that it’s important to raise our children on the ideas that we ALL can give, and we are ALL responsible for the greater good of humanity. By living these values in real time, with real money, we teach our children how to view themselves and the difference they can make now AND for the rest of their lives.
4. Goal-setting
There are few conversations you could have with your teen about money that are as important as this one. Once we set a goal and we know the value of that goal, we suddenly start to rearrange ourselves around this goal.
Think about how teens that are college-bound, for example, operate. They see their grades and all of their activities in terms of “Will this help me get into college?” As a teacher, when I see a student underperforming in school, I always ask them about their goals. In almost EVERY case, underperformers either don’t have a goal that rides on their performance in school OR they don’t see the value of that goal, OR they don’t see themselves as having what it takes to reach that goal, so they aren’t committed to it.
Likewise, we organize our financial lives around our goals. If we don’t have money goals that inspire or motivate us, OR if we don’t think we can set meaningful money goals and reach them, we spend and save accordingly. When we have a clear goal and a clear reason for that goal that really matters to us, then we get really interested in how to achieve it.
Teens can set a long-term goal for their money, as soon as they can see that they have the tools to reach it and that starting now, when they are young, makes it SO much easier to reach. (This is where you pull out the compound interest charts!) The structure of this goal-setting conversation can result in a statement that goes something like this:
By the time I am 70 years old, I want to have a net worth of $X. When I have this amount, I will be able to ____________ for myself and _______________ for others. If I start now, I can reach this goal by doing 5 things:
- 1. Talking about money with my parents and other people who know about it;
- 2. Learning about money and engaging in lots of opportunities where I get to explore it;
- 3. Practicing an effective money management strategy;
- 4. Giving some of my money to a cause I care about;
- 5. Aligning my mind so I learn to think about money like a wealth builder.
Note: This post is one of five in our series, Our Comprehensive Approach. You can see the others by clicking Learn, Give, Practice, and Align at www.yourteensmoneyskills.com
© Your Teen’s Money Skills, Inc., 2012 All rights reserved worldwide.
by Elisabeth Donati | May 9, 2012 | Financial Literacy, Latest News, Uncategorized
We all know that banks, credit unions, and companies that offer credit cards are in the “use our money so we can charge you compound interest on the balance and make a lot of money from your inability to pay it back in full because you never learned about money” business. And you know what? That’s their right as companies residing in a capitalistic country. I’m all for it.
I believe in capitalism; it allows us to earn and make money in a multitude of ways, giving us the freedom to create our own lives…a freedom that people in other countries may never experience.
Visa (and MasterCard) are actually the processors of credit card transactions between the customer and the merchant…kinda like Fedex or UPS which deliver packages but doesn’t send them. They don’t offer credit cards or extend credit to consumers though they are certainly part of the process that has allowed uneducated and undisciplined consumers to run up debt they can’t handle.
What do VISA and capitalism have to do with each other? Great question! VISA has an extensive financial education program for kids and adults.
Before we connect the dots, let’s look at a concept near and dear to many of our hearts…financial freedom.
Definition of Financial Freedom
When you ask kids or adults what the phrase ‘financial freedom’ means, you get a myriad of answers…most of which contain one basic theme: financial freedom means you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want and not have to work anymore to earn the money to do these things.
Financial freedom used to be connected to the phase of life we refer to as retirement and retirement used to be connected to a specific age group…over 60ish. Over the years, however, this has changed. Now, we meet people in their 30s or 40s who are retired or semi-retired. If you grew up with the former meaning of retirement, you are often taken aback because they don’t seem OLD enough to be retired.
But what does age have to do with retirement, except that it plays into our preconceived beliefs that if you’re retired, you’re old(er)?
I think Robert Kiyosaki coined it best in his famous book, Rich Dad Poor Dad…
Robert says you are financially free when you have more income coming in each month from your investments than you have going out for the expenses of your chosen lifestyle. In other words, you have your money and assets working for you instead of you working for money and assets. You may, indeed, still be working but you’re working because you want to, not because you have to.
This is a good position to be in…at any age! And the beauty of it is, that the earlier you can put yourself in this position, the more good you can do with your life, your energy and your extra money.
VISA’s Practical Money Skills and Capitalism…The Connection and What’s Missing
There IS no connection and therein lies the problem with their financial literacy course. Yes, the program does contain the basic financial literacy lessons most of us have come to expect in a financial education curriculum. The missing elements are critical lessons about investing in assets…namely about creating a business or investing in real estate…the only two investing pieces (two out of many) are about IRAs and Mutual Funds and the stock market.
In Camp Millionaire and The Money Game, players learn about, and get to invest in, The Three Pillars of Wealth: real estate, the stock market and business. We explore the advantages and disadvantages of all three, dispel the basic myths about each one, (e.g., the stock market is risky) and talk about why it’s important that you own, i.e., invest in, more than one type of asset.
Ever heard the financial principle, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket?” That’s where that comes from.
Kids and teens learn that most financially free people invest in at least two of the pillars, and probably all three, but normally focus on one…usually the one they enjoy, understand the best and are the most successful in.
We talk about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs being big Business Pillar people, Donald Trump being the most well-known Real Estate Pillar investor and Warren Buffet being the Stock Market Pillar guru. They understand that Donald Trump does real estate as a business, that Gates and Jobs had a lot of stock in their companies and owned real estate and that Mr. Buffet probably owned a few houses and stock in other people’s companies as well as owning his own stock market business.
So why do most financial literacy curriculums leave out these critical investing lessons? Probably because most people aren’t versed in anything but getting a job and investing their money in the company’s offered 401K OR they’ve hired a financial advisor/planner who also only has his or her money in the stock market…and probably mutual funds at that.
The financial lessons that teach the basic principles of “diverse investing” is so critical to an adult’s financial success in life that any financial literacy curriculum missing them should be passed over in favor of one that does. Really…it’s that important!
Check out the Camp Millionaire and The Money Game financial literacy education curriculums if you want to teach your students the whole picture.
