Stimulus Package for Your Family

Over the last several months, you’ve probably read and seen a lot of news stories about recently adopted and proposed government stimulus packages.  First, what is a stimulus package?  An economic stimulus package is an attempt by the government to stimulate or grow their country’s economy with government spending, lending or tax incentives.   Some refer to it as “priming the pump”.

This blog entry is not about discussing the pros and cons of the currently proposed stimulus package.  It is to encourage you  to stimulate your family’s economy.  Here are just a few ways you and your family can strengthen your financial health.

Family members can increase family income with part time jobs or small businesses.  Even $50 a week adds up to over $2,500 a year!

Offer incentives to family members when they think of ways to save money for the family.  Make sure that incentives are tied to the actual execution of these ideas.  Example:  If you help your family save $25 a week on groceries, 20% of those savings is “paid as a finder’s fee” in the form of a savings account or other savings vehicle.

Buy less.   When you or a family member says that they “need something”.  Make sure it’s really necessary.  First check the closets, attic or basement to see how much you currently have already.  Maybe you’ll find something that you forgot you had and is even better than buying something you may find in a store or on a web site.

Learn about personal finance and the economy.  Improve your and your children’s financial literacy by (here it comes…a shameless plug) watching a Money Lessons for Life DVD or by reading a personal finance book, magazine, or financial section of a newspaper.

Money Lessons for Life  teaches about money in fun and meaningful ways.  Participants learn to make informed money decisions that will affect their lives now and in the future.  Even complex financial concepts are explained so that they are easy to understand and remember.

Bailout anyone? Or, bailout everyone…

NOTE:  This post puts all politics aside and discusses our current economic crisis.

I don’t know about you, but most people wouldn’t mind being bailed out everytime they made a bad financial decision that ended up costing a lot of money.  Most don’t have a “Bailout ATM” in their house.  Unfortunately, some large banks, insurance companies, automobile companies and others need our government to survive these difficult times.  Without some form of assistance, some will go out of business which would mean tens of thousands of people would loose their jobs and without their jobs, they would be forced to spend a lot less money.  And, the companies that go out of business would crush their suppliers causing them to shrink or also go out of business.  Now, you get the general idea of a downward economic spiral.

How these bailouts or rescue plans are implemented is key, because just throwing good money after bad is a recipe for disaster.  The focus should be on how to get back on track and how to prevent these situations from happening in the future.

Everyone including governments need to be smarter about how they spend their money.  If our political leaders, corporate leaders, and everyday citizens were taught about money when they were young, we’d be in much better overall financial shape today.

Instead of making excuses, we need to be more competitive in the global markets.  We need to produce more, distribute more and market & sell more of what we have to offer to other countries and their citizens.  Bailouts will only help the short term, but for long term prosperity, we need to grow our economy otherwise, bandaids and bailouts will become a regular occurance and our government will need to print a lot more money which will lead to hyperinflation.  Can you say $10 for a gallon of gas or a loaf of bread?

If you haven’t already done so, you should sit down and speak with your children about the current economy and what’s going on with your family’s finances.  They see and hear more than you think and it’s better to educate them so they don’t get the wrong messages.

To help protect our country’s financial future, we need to teach our children about money.  Visit Money Lessons for Life  to learn more about money and to teach your children and teens about money.

Teach Your Children About Money & Learn from Today’s Money Mistakes

Troubles from Wall Street to Main Street…

How’s the value of your real estate lately?  How about the value of your 401K, IRA and other retirement accounts?  Are you spending a lot more money on gas, food, insurance?

Although markets normally experience ups and downs, the economic troubles our country has been facing for about a year now have been largely been caused by “financial experts”, elected officials at all levels of government and the general population.  Easy money (extremely low interest rates) have fueled excessive overspending and foolish investing.  The good news is downturns actually present many opportunities IF you are financially fit enough to take advantage of them.  Even if you’re currently struggling with big money challenges, it’s a great time to teach your children about money, so they don’t make the same mistakes. 

For starters, teach your children these simple but crucial money concepts:

1.  Only buy what you can afford to pay for today, not tomorrow.  The first question is, do you really need it?  Wait a few days and ask yourself if you still “need it”.  Then, ask if can you really afford it now?  Do you have any outstanding credit card debt that should be paid off?  Have you saved enough money this week for your children’s college fund, vacation, holiday shopping and your retirement?

2.  Save early, save often, save as much as you can and then save more!  This concept is hard to adopt when we are consistently tempted with advertising offers and social pressure to buy, buy, buy!  But, you must set savings goals and you must have the discipline to stick to or better yet to exceed your goals.

3.  Buy Low, Sell High.  If you follow the first two principles, you will have lots of extra money available to invest in assets (stocks, bonds, real estate, gold and others) at bargain basement prices.  This is how many people build significant wealth.  If you and your family are not well positioned now, start preparing for your future and your children’s future NOW.  I guarantee our economy will bounce back and yes, several years from now it will also “crash” again.

For more money tips and a new innovative DVD that teaches kids, teens and adults about money check out:  http://www.moneylessonsforlife.com