Do you realize there are money lessons we should teach our kids? Teaching our children about money lessons early in life will have a dramatic yet positive impact on so many areas of their life when they become adults.

If we as parents choose not to do so we will see those results play out also in our kid’s lives, as they more than likely will struggle with money issues for most if not all of their adult lives.

You can start out as early as the age of 7 teaching your kids their first financial lesson. This starts with something as simple as rewarding them with an allowance for doing perceived work around the house. This will teach them the importance that hard work renders pay. They also can learn how to best manage their allowance as time goes on and they get older.

Children are easy to teach at an early age and you will be surprised at how fast they comprehend things. I would like to share with you some of the significant lessons that children can learn from us relating to money.

Lesson No. 1:

Teaching them first about the value of money. There are studies that suggest that as early as 7 years old kids should be taught well about the value of money. Why? Studies indicate that if kids are taught at this very young and tender age they are more likely to be successful financially since adult money habits are dependent on what they have learned from their parents during the adolescent years.

Lesson No. 2:

Teach them about the value of need over want. Kids should be taught that it is important to spend money on things that are needed, than those being wanted. Teach them that if wants can be purchased responsibly after needs are met, then that is the mindset they should carry throughout their adulthood.

Lesson No. 3:

Teach them about the value of saving money. Saving money plays an important role in our daily life as well as our future. This is where our net worth is determined.

If we can empower children with the idea of saving money starting at a very early age and show them on paper how much they can have saved when they are our current age, we stand a chance to break the terrible detrimental financial cycle that many young adults find themselves in.

Lesson No. 4:

Let them learn from their own financial mistakes. This goes back to allowances. There will be times when you find that your kids will spend their money for something not necessary at all.

You may from time to time let them experience the consequence of irresponsible spending and then use that as a teaching tool so that they understand their way of viewing and spending money is not the right way.

By doing this, you allow them to learn from an early age the consequences of being irresponsible with money.

Lesson No. 5:

You have to become a role model. This means you have to lead by example when it comes to your finances. Kids are very perceptive and they watch everything their parents do and say trust me! Be willing to make effective choices financially so that your kids see what it takes to be financially responsible on a consistent basis.  

All of these money lessons should be taught to your kids as early as possible. You should understand that whatever seeds you plant now will be reaped in the future. Therefore, when you plant good seeds for your children as early as now, in their future you will see wonderful producing fruit financially.

So, what are some money lessons you have taught or plan to teach your kids? Please share your thoughts.   

I think we all want to achieve what we consider financial success. Who really wants to spend their entire lives stressing about money, right? Today I want to share with you some frugal ways to eliminate waste in your life.

The key to eliminating waste starts with your mindset. What are your thoughts about money? Do you value it? Do you know how to manage it wisely on a consistent daily basis? Do you currently have a budget so that you spend less than you make?

Did you know that the best way to tell what you truly value in life is by looking at your bank account and spending habits? Your bank statement won’t lie, and it will quickly paint a picture of where your money is being spent on a daily basis.

This article is going to show you some effective ways to eliminate waste in your life and ensure your bank account lines up with the things you value in your life.

Make a Clear Difference between Wants and Needs

I am sure you have heard this before but has it really sank in? This is the first thing that you need to do, so you can live in the frugal lifestyle. You have to be able to differentiate between want and need. You need to be able to classify all of your daily needs, in order to eliminate waste in your life. I do this with a tracking software called YNAB – You Need a Budget.

Be Waste Conscious

If you want to eliminate waste you have to be waste conscious. My suggestion is to carry a notebook and keep a record of every penny you spend for an entire week. By doing this you will do a couple of things:

(1) You will learn just how much down to the penny you are spending and if those items are wants and needs and

(2) You will learn what triggers some of these waste reactions in your life so that you can hopefully make changes and create a new financial path and eliminate bad financial habits of spending uncontrollably.

Make a List and Always Know What you Plan to Purchase

If you want to do something that will have a huge impact right away, make it a habit to never shop without a list. I noticed from comparing 2013 to 2014 that I saved over $2600 by using this very simple technique.

Your list may not be perfect but at least it will give you a guideline of what you want to purchase, rather than going down each aisle in the store just randomly throwing all types of items in your basket. Trust me – It works!

Use only Cash or a Debit Card

Many financial experts recommend their clients to stop using credit cards. I must say from experience I feel the same way and give the same advice time and time again. Even if you have a great interest rate on your credit card you are paying to use someone else money.

If your intent for using a credit card is to build up your credit, you can easily do that my making timely rent/mortgage payments, car loans, retailer charge card payments, and credit builder loans just to name a few.

Using a credit card in my opinion is not the way to go if you want to be frugal and save money. What I have learned is there is usually a disconnect about how much you are spending and what you can afford when you use plastic vs if you have to use cash or a debit card that is connected to your bank.

When I make a purchase with my bank card I get a text right away of my balance and this truly keeps me in check and facing reality of exactly how much money I have available. Try it!

These are my frugal ways to eliminate waste in your life. I hope you have found them useful. What are some of your tips you would like to share below?

Just as you have to dress for the job you want, if you really want to be become rich, you have to think like one. Today, I am going to give you some interesting money saving secrets of the rich and frugal …

First off though – Rich is a mindset just as living frugal is. So the first thing you have to do is get into the right mindset and what better time to do it than right before a new year.

So let’s start with where you are placing your money. Before you start saving, it is important that you find the best bank to handle your savings that you are going to incur as a result of your changed mindset.

You may not be able to control interest rates, but you can control a large amount of the discretionary part of the way you live. If you want to get some great ideas on where to place you money read my article Frugal Tips on Where to Place Your Money. OK – here’s some frugal tips for you.

Does the Wealthy Buy on Impulse?

You see, there’s a reason they’re wealthy! If every wealthy person went out and purchased everything on mere impulse, we wouldn’t have very many wealthy people in this world. Once you are wealthy, if you want to maintain your financial stability, peace, and happiness, you can no longer purchase items on pure impulse.

Not only will you regret it later financially, you will be unhappy and lack peace because of suck reckless spending. I have noticed that wealthy people who built their wealth from hard work have a tendency to be a bit more mindful and cautious when it comes to spending recklessly. Perhaps there is a reason they have money?

Wealthy People Love Bargains

When we picture a wealthy person, we picture an individual who is able to go out and buy anything they please. While they are able to buy anything they please, believe it or not, many wealthy people love bargains. It goes back to the mindset of being frugal. Just because you have the money to burn does not mean you should be irresponsible.

Wealthy People Are Good Money Managers

Wealthy people are focused on making sure they manage their money properly. Some of them actually hire an accountant to manage their money. Of course, you don’t have to hire an accountant, you can easily teach yourself how to be an excellent money manager. I am a member of the YNAB Forum and use the YNAB budgeting software to manage my budget.

Keep Your Home Simple

Millionaires can afford a huge mansion with everything they want and many do – look at the Billionaire, Bill Gates – living in a 147 million dollar mansion, but you have frugal billionaires such as Warren Buffet living in a 31,500 dollar home that he purchased in 1957. Point blank, you may have a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean you have to have a mansion.

Well those are some secrets of the rich and frugal. Start 2015 with a bang and begin the frugal lifestyle. Are you ready to start making some changes in your life today? Share how you plan to do so below.

Well as you know, the holiday season is behind us now and stores are flooded with bargains. I understand that you will be tempted to take advantage of some of these deals. But before you do so let me share with you some frugal tips on what not to buy until after the New Year.

While there are some items that are okay to purchase, at the same time, there are some things you shouldn’t buy until after the New Year. Here, I am going to give you a list for you to think about …

Decorations

On December 26^th, retailers start to transition holiday decorations and accessories to the clearance aisle. If you want to stock up on lights, garland, candles and any other Christmas accessories for the following year(s), wait until after Christmas to buy these items.

Once January rolls around, the price will start to drop even more and before you know it, the merchandise will become picked over, so it is a good idea to go in there a couple of days after Christmas so you do not miss out of the very best choices.

Exercise Equipment

For dieters, November and December can be the two worse months of their lives physically. When it comes to the New Year, thousands of people throughout the world will be adding “lose weight” and “eat healthy” to their resolutions.

What I am getting at is during these months, stores are banking on this, so the price for stationary bikes, elliptical and treadmills will be a bit more expensive. Keep your money in your wallet during these months and fight the urge to purchase exercise equipment.

Video Games

When you’re shopping for a gamer, during the month of December, you will come across some cool bundled packages that include the console and a couple of games at a reduced price. Like right now, you can find Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare combined with an Xbox One (that’s a nice bundle).

However, if you’re after a particular game, it’s best if you wait until after the holidays. Why? Because then, you will be able to find the game used as people swap out their old games for new ones.

Those are three items you should not purchase during the holiday season. Yes, we know, you want new decorations for NOW, but you should wait until they are all on sale. During the next holiday season you will be able to enjoy not only the beauty of these items but also how little money you were able to get them for.

What are your thoughts? Are you waiting to purchase something special when it goes in sale in the next few days? Share your thoughts below.

A Weekly Recap

Happy holidays everyone! I hardly can believe 2015 is almost here. I have so much to be thankful for and am very happy to continue to connect and get to know so many awesome people online as yourself. Today I want to share some blog posts I have recently read from some awesome bloggers.

My first mention today is from Kalen Bruce over at Money Mini Blog. Kalen wrote a very interesting article that talked about the 5 Game Changing Things You Don’t Know about Millionaires. I found this post interesting as he described some of the things that many millionaires have in common. I found some of these traits to be very interesting and it gave me a different insight on things like hard work and focus. Head on over to his blog when you get a chance.

I was over a blog called Don’t Pay Full and read a post from Oana Schneider called Warning: Read the Price Tag! What Does it Really Say about the Product. I really enjoyed this article. It spoke about some of the techniques pricing and marketing experts use to lure us in without us even really giving it much thought. Very interesting post indeed.

Erik Emanuelli from Smart Marketerz wrote a very powerful post called 7 Tips to Increase Page Views and Decrease the Bounce Rate on Your Blog. I have read many of his posts and this one was very profound. He gave some really good tips on how we as bloggers can have better engagement and keep visitors on our blogs longer. I urge everyone to implement his tips immediately.

Natalie Bacon wrote a post over at Making Sense of Cents called You are the Average of the 5 People You Spend the Most of Your Time With – Choose Wisely. This post speaks to how our environment has a huge impact on who we become. A very interesting article that is worth reading for sure.

I was over at Enemy of Debt and I read a very good article from Maria Nedeva on 10 Rules to Keep in Mind When You Borrow Money. Talking about powerful! For some reason this article struck me. Probably because I was in deep debt at one point. Definitely make sure you check out this article.

 

Well my friends that is it for today. I hope you take the time to visit each one of these awesome blogs. Have a wonderful and Frugal weekend ahead!

Earlier this week I gave you some pros and cons of debt consolidation. Did you find these tips helpful? If you missed that article READ HERE.

Now since you know a bit more about debt consolidation, you may be asking yourself where should I go for the best debt consolidation loan? Before you start out on this journey blindly, it is important that you take some time to research and make sure you make the most educated choice.

Banks and Credit Unions – Avoid Them

Many consumers who are looking for debt consolidation loans that will accept their bad credit are advised to first contact a bank or credit union. Sure, it may make sense to do business with an institution you already trust but you may be disappointed to find out this is not your best choice and especially so if you have bad credit.

Banks and credit unions have a variety of loans, but normally, they do not cater to people with bad credit nor do a tremendous amount of debt consolidation agreements.

Banks and credit unions go by a risk-based pricing model. What this means is that if you are a big risk, your interest rate is going to be higher. So, even if you were to get approved for a loan, you could end up paying some very high interest rates. In other words, banks and credit unions aren’t really for those with bad credit.

Don’t worry, there are other lenders that can help you …

Debt Consolidation Lenders – That’s What You need

You need to find a good debt consolidation lender. These type of lenders are different from banks and credit unions. Why? Because they cater debt consolidation loans to those who have bad credit (they can also help those that have good credit).

When you apply for a debt consolidation loan with a lender, this means all of your monthly bills (credit card, loans, etc.) will be combined in one monthly payment – you will pay that monthly payment to the lender.

A reputable lender will always provide you with numerous options for the best debt consolidation loan that best fits your needs. Here is a Top 10 Review of the best debt consolidation loans of 2014.

So, all in all, while banks and credit unions offer debt consolidation loans for people with bad credit, you may want to avoid them and go straight for debt consolidation lenders. Share your thoughts below. Do you know anyone who has used debt consolidation?