Day Five The Frugal Parent

The Frugal Parent, this could be the toughest to become in our quest to live frugality defined. From clothing to toys, from ice cream and friends, and from sports to needing a car, our kids put a lot of pressure on us and our purse strings.

One way to make it easier on both you and your kids is to begin setting an example of frugality while they're young. Doing so will help your kids get away from the materialistic mentallity. While young, kids are prompted into materialism by television adds and the examples that they see around them. It should be part of the parents job to protect their kids from suffering from the dreaded and expensive "I want it and need it now" syndrome. This is a learned behavior, however it can be inherited.

Here are a couple of ideas that might help you on your path of living frugal defined while parenting.

-Shop for kids clothes at the second hand store. Start doing this early in your childs life. You might be able to get away with not having to purchase new, name brand until the kid hits 10 or 12 years old. The money that you save by shopping at the second hand store while they're young will help subsidize the financing of the name brand clothes when their older!

-Put a little money away every payday for college. It doesn't have to be a lot, just so long as you set aside something. $15 per week, every week will amount to nearly $18,000 (depending on interest earned, the type of account, etc.) by the time they turn 18 years old. Certainly a good start!

-Buy pre-owned electronics like the gameboy, ps2, etc., whenever you possibly can! Sure, the kids will want the latest and greatest, but let their friends parents buy it, and let the kid visit the friends house! I know its not quite the same as having your own, but the idea is to live within our means, not to keep up with the neighbors. If it is a MUST HAVE item, let the kid(s) work, save and EARN it.

-Minimize TV time. This does a couple of things. First, it keeps the advertisers away from your children. Second, it reduces your electric bill. Third, you won't need to subscribe to an expensive cable package. Fourth, and most importantly, it give you and your kids some time to really be together. Whether your doing household chores or just sitting next to each other while each of you read a book, having this time to interact is very important and missing in a lot of kids routines.

-Go on family outings that don't cost anything! A trip to the amusement park sure is fun, but it is expensive too! Instead, for the cost of a few gallons of gas, take a ride into the country and go on a hike. Find a pond or stream someplace and look for frogs or salamanders. Pack a lunch, food always taste better when you eat outside. Kids love to do this, especially looking for frogs and things around ponds and streams! Very low on the cost scale, and very high on the doing something special scale!

-Read and apply what you've learned from the Series Frugal posted this week on Money and Credit:

The Frugal Shopper The Frugal Home Owner Frugal Banking Frugal Motorist

-Regularly Visit the following blogs to learn more about frugal living;

Frugal For Life Frugal Living Frugal Simplicity Frugal Village Mighty Bargain Hunter

The Frugal Law Student The Secret to Saving Money Money and Credit

Thanks for reading and please comment if you found something that helped you

Financial Illiterates

During a recent interview, Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad , was asked, "What's the most challenging issue in your industry?" He said "Financial illiteracy. Schools don't teach us about money."

What's the one thing that people mis­understand about you? "That I sincerely care -- and worry -- about the financial future of millions of Americans (especially the baby boomers) who are not prepared for retirement. And the need, worldwide, for financial education."

Not a huge revelation, but noteworthy when a self-made millionaire and two time high school failure talks about his own generation this way. Who is teaching our kids? The baby boomer crowd? Is that a good or not so good thought? How are our kids supposed to prosper if they aren't taught? Where are they learning financial managements skills?

Here's a selfish thought; these kids are OUR future! Without financial literacy, what's in store for us?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Implore your schools, churches and community groups to embark upon a financial literacy program for your kids (and perhaps you too!). Contact your teachers, school superintendents, school board directors and ask them what they are doing to add to your kids financial education.

It's a whole lot more than balancing a checkbook. Who does that now anyway? Today its all about controlled borrowing, cash management, retirement investment vehicles, and making money work for you (read Rich Dad, Poor Dad for more on this) instead of the other way around.

By teaching our kids how to be wealthy, we are protecting them, and us!

Have you heard of the National Strategy for Financial Literacy? This is a federal program that endeavors to improve financial education for all Americans.

Taking Ownership of the Future: The National Strategy for Financial Literacy

(Strategy) is the game plan for improving financial education in

America. The Strategy was called for by the Fair and Accurate Credit

Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003, which also directed the Treasury

Department to lead a group of 19 other federal agencies, officially

called the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (Commission),

in an effort to help Americans learn more about their money. In

addition, the Treasury Department is issuing this

Quick Reference

Guide

, which offers readers a brief summary of the Strategy's tactics

and calls to action, as well as a list of financial education resources.

Let's do our part today and invite our bankers and financial planners to our schools to talk about money and credit with our kids.

Be sure to visit Getting Green who is hosting the next Carnival of Personal Finance on June 11th for more great posts!

Teaching a son about borrowing

Just read this post about "Discussing money and credit with you children" by Marc Chase over at My Credit Group.

Marc writes about a dad that was paying his 15 year old son a $20 weekly allowance. This dad thought that he would teach his son about borrowing money and paying interest and late fees.

I think dad was on to something. At the very least, he was taking steps to ensure that his son learned something about using money.

In a previous post here on Money and Credit, I talked a bit about our responsibility to help our kids reach their finacial goals. It was nice to read about this dad that was teaching his kid about being responsible with borrowed money.

Teens overly optimistic about earning potential? Huh?

According to an annual survey recently released by Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. , our teens may be overly optimistic about there future income.

A recent article in ACA International says;

"Highly motivated by money, eight in 10 teens ages 13–18 agree that “it’s important to me to have a lot of money in my life,” and nearly three–quarters (73 percent) believe they’ll be earning “plenty of money” when they’re out on their own. In fact, American teens confidently predict a future in which, based on the career that interests them most, they will be earning an average annual salary of $145,500 (boys expect $173,000 vs. girls, $114,200). The reality: Only five percent of the U.S. population currently earns a six–figure income, and the average national wage stands at approximately $40,000."

We as parents and leaders, should do our level best to help our kids reach their financial goals. This article in ACA International and survey by Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. suggests that our kids might have high expectations of themselves. Well, what's wrong with that? The higher the expectation, the more likely it will happen.

Let's nurish our kids expectations of themselves! How dare we suggest to them that their dreams aren't possible or likely? Let them go for it! Let's get them the financial education that they need to make their income dreams and financial goals a reality! Talk to your schools, banks and credit unions. Get the professionals in front of your kids to help them learn about money and credit. Have your kids visit this blog on a regular basis! Click here for another good site for your kids to learn about money and credit.

We owe it to our kids. Don't be one of the nay sayers. Encourage your children to achieve their hopes and dreams!

Be sure to visit FIRE Finance for information about financial freedom!