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 | 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.
by Elisabeth Donati | Apr 12, 2012 | Financial Literacy, Financial Literacy Principles, Uncategorized, What you can do
Everywhere we turn these days, we hear and read about others who have figured out, and want to share, the secrets to creating our dream lifestyles, live the way we want to live and so on.
There are books and seminars galore promising to share these secrets with you, for a nice fee that is. Often, it’s the fees from these seminars and books that are affording those people their new dream lifestyles. But that’s not the point.
The fact is, there are a few things you need to know in order to create the lifestyle you say your really want:
1) What lifestyle DO you really want, and
2) Is this lifestyle one you can and want to support?
The first question is obvious because if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there. We teach this principles in our Camp Millionaire programs.
The second question is the most important one and it’s the one people not only forget to ask themselves; they don’t even consider it.
When working with teens who often have starry eyes when it comes to growing up and living ‘the dream’, they talk about big, fancy homes and expensive cars and lots of toys and vacations and clothes, and…you get the picture. Heck, there are a huge number of adults who still think they want this stuff.
When it comes right down to knowing yourself and getting a feel for what really matters and what you really want for yourself, it’s often more about comfort, convenience, ease, enjoyment, satisfaction and well, a little love and joy thrown in makes a nice finish touch.
The Reality of Fancy Lifestyles
Now there’s nothing wrong with wanting to live a certain way or have certain things…if you’re willing to work to support it. The challenge with most people I’ve coaches is that their dream lifestyle isn’t congruent with their willingness to work to support it. In other words, they just don’t want to work that hard to support the things they thought they wanted.
What happens next is they either realize they don’t want that lifestyle or they admit to themselves they aren’t willing to do what it takes to support it. Either way, they are now stepping into their REAL lifestyle reality and this is the beginning of financial happiness and contentment.
I met with a man last year who is a millionaire about possibly using The Money Game in his programs and one of the first questions he asked me was, “Are you a millionaire?” I said, No. He asked me why not? I replied, “You know, it’s not what I’m aiming for…being a millionaire doesn’t mean much to me. Having a simple lifestyle that doesn’t require thousands of dollars to support every month so I can do this ‘financial literacy’ thing that moves me does mean something to me.”
He wasn’t really sure how to take all of that. But I am serious…it’s really what I want. Why? Because it’s so much easier to support than having a big old house (rent or own), a new fancy car and a bunch of stuff I don’t need.
The older I get, the simpler I want it and I know I’m not alone. I’ve talked to many of you my age (54ish:) and I’m hearing the same story told in many different ways. Luckily I’ve known this about myself for a long time so have structured my life in such a way as to afford the things that are really important…like getting away for periods of time.
If you noticed in the paragraph above I said, ‘my life affords me’, instead of, ‘me affording my life’.
Teens and Lifestyle Reality Checks
So, if you’re the parents of a teen with high hopes and grandiose ideas about how life is going to look when he/she grows up, an educational reality check can do wonders to help prepare them for what they will have to do to support their dreams.
And by all means, support their dreams. Be positive, do NOT roll your eyes at them, do NOT tell them to ‘get real’ or anything else that may cause them to think they can’t have what they really want…because they really can. It’s your job to show them how and let THEM make the final decision…a decision that moves them in whatever direction they want with clear eyes and a vision for what it’s going to take.
Start out the conversation by asking your teen if he has thought about how he wants to live when he gets to be an adult. If he has, ask him if he’d like you to help him see what it will look like financially on paper. Get all the details you can….let him go wild with details: what, where, when, color, size, etc.
When you have it down, make a list and start doing the research to determine:
1) What it’s going to take to buy those things, and
2) What it’s going to take to support those things.
We’ve all thought we wanted a certain something until we, or someone else, figured out what it was going to cost and take to support. All of a sudden, you just don’t want that thing as much as you thought.
Let this be a fun project you do with your kids, either as a family project or one to one with each child. Make sure it’s a positive, uplifting activity…remember, your job as the parent or guardian isn’t to talk them out of anything, it’s to help show them the numbers, put dreams down in dollars and then let them make choices based on reality instead of unthoughtout dreams.
Lastly, remember that we all have dreams and without them, we’d never get anywhere. Where would we be today if Martin Luther King hadn’t had a dream? Or Steve Jobs or …
Enjoy..
by Elisabeth Donati | Mar 22, 2012 | Financial Literacy, Latest News, Uncategorized
Guest Blog By Jill Suskind. Since we expose our Camp Millionaire campers to the principle, “Your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes determine your wealth potential”, I thought Jill’s article was a great fit.
Financial Thoughts
As an adult, financial beliefs are at the core of your success of failure financially. One of the best books you can read to find out just what you think about money and wealth is T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. But don’t just read it…actually DO the wealth work. I’ve read it three times and each time I learn more about myself and money.
The Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar is also an amazing 3-day seminar (free!) that will change your life. It did mine and it has for everyone who that took my advice and attended. Click here to register now!
Here’s Jill’s article about teens and money…
When I was young, I had very specific beliefs about money:
- I really and truly believed that wealthy people were shallow and not very smart. (My parents were academics, so you can see how I arrived at that conclusion.)
- I also believed that money was a pain. I never had enough, and whenever I wanted any, I had to argue with my parents. I usually lost that argument. (You can see how I arrived at that conclusion, too.)
- I thought it would be fine if I never learned to manage money, because I fully expected to marry a man who would take care of that area of our lives. (My step-father was in charge of the money in my home, so you can see how I arrived at that conclusion, too!)
- I was jealous of my friends who had more spending money (in spite of #1), because they got to have things and do things that I didn’t get to have and do. I believed that money was something “other people had, not me”. (My parents were very tight-fisted about money, so you can see how that thought got hatched in my young brain!)
- I thought there were only two things I could do with money: save it or spend it. I got an allowance, which I immediately spent on who-knows- what, and my sister always saved her allowance. She would save and save and then buy herself a beautiful sweater. (My parents gave us an allowance, but never taught us money management strategies, so I never knew how to save, spend, give, and donate in managed ways.)
- I thought rich people gave to causes that mattered, and people like me just “walked” and “sold stuff” to raise money. I never thought of myself as a person who could use my money to make a difference in the world in ways that mattered to me. (That’s what I saw people doing, so I figured that applied to me, too.)
- I never thought I needed to manage my money, because I hardly had any. And no one told me anything different.
Long story short, I brought these beliefs about myself, people, and money into my adult financial life. From these beliefs, I became a teacher with a disastrous financial life. . . until I learned to think and believe differently.
If you consider the messages your teenager has received from you, by what you say and do with regards to them and money, how do you predict YOUR teen will fare?
Here is a basic list of the beliefs you can instill in your teen that will form a solid foundation for a healthy financial life, regardless of how much money they have now.
- Managing money well MAKES it grow. Not having much money is the BEST reason you can find to manage it well.
- Wealth is the result of a series of small steps, taken repeatedly over time. Anyone can take these steps and have this result.
- Money is a tool that funds the life of your dreams, allows you to have options, and empowers you to make a difference in the world as a leader.
- Managing your money takes energy and time. Being broke is truly and deeply exhausting, though. Your choice.
- Wealthy people make money important. Broke people say, “Money isn’t important. It can wait. It’s too much of a pain. I will let someone else take care of it.”
- Money doesn’t MAKE you shallow or greedy. People show who they already are by the way they use and manage their money.
- Money and money management is NOT hard or complicated. Learn a simple money management system that is clearly related to your life, your dreams, your goals, and your values. Practice it when you’re young and then keep using it when you become an adult.
One tool you can use to make money matter to your teen is the WealthQuest for Teens Online Video and Workbook. It’s narrated by and for teens, engaging, interactive, convenient, affordable, and effective.
Note: This post is one of five in our series, Our Comprehensive Approach. You can see the others by visiting: http://wealthquestforteens.com/
© WealthQuest for Teens, Ltd., 2012 All rights reserved worldwide.
