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Rich Woman.com is hosting a Book Study through Rich Woman, a book on investing for women, by Kim Kiyosaki. Click here for the overview and full book study schedule. Each Monday, a new thread is started on the Rich Woman forums for the currnet chapter being discussed. Grab yourself a copy of Rich Woman, follow along and join the discussion with other like-minded women!
Coming up to summer and many parents are wondering what to do with their kids while school’s out and they’re still working (not many companies give us summers off). This creates opportunities for seasonal entrepreneurs.
One of these opportunities is hosting a themed day camp. It could be writing camp or computer camp or fairy tale camp (where campers pretend to be princesses). Think of a hobby or interest and you can design a camp around it.
A buddy did this (magic camp – she knows some great card tricks). She started the first year with a few kids out of her home. She had most of the supplies already (though she did buy more sets of cards and some plastic wands from the dollar store). To keep it simple, kids brought their own lunches (she could have supplied lunches and charged more but in the first year, she focused on the camp itself). She didn’t really have to advertise. All she did was give a free magic show for the school and casually mention that she had this camp. The spaces filled up.
That first year, things went wrong. Some magic tricks weren’t interesting enough for the kids. Parents didn’t pick kids up on time. My buddy didn’t have videos or reading material so she had to entertain them constantly (always, always, always have some down time activities – as any parent knows, kids can run your ragged). But she figured it all out with the smaller, more manageable class.
Now her camp is a little larger and she rents a room in the empty school (allowing parents to stick to their drop off routine). She has magician assistants to help her out. And she makes more profit during the few short months. This has also given her an extra gig as a birthday entertainer.
"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it."
- Rabindranath Tagore
If you ever want a good laugh, read this classic 1936 business book on the public bus during the school rush hour. That’s what I did on Thursday, not realizing that the title is…ummm…quite embarrassing. The looks I received were almost an even split between pity and scorn (the teenagers were most expressive and vocal as only teenagers are).
There’s a reason why this book has survived 70 years and it isn’t because its full of fluff.
Sure the examples may be dated. Like…Did you know that in his early days, Lincoln had quite a mouth on him? So much so that he was challenged to a duel. Supposedly that experience was such a shocker that “Never again did he write an insulting letter. Never again did he ridicule anyone. And from that time on, he almost never criticized anybody for anything.” Almost dying would do that for a person.
While the examples are history lessons, the “rules” hold true today (if not more). You still can’t win an argument (the other side usually ends up more convinced than ever that they are right. Arguing merely embarrasses them.). People still like to talk about themselves (be a good listener and you’ll be welcomed everywhere). They still want to feel important (that’s why using a person’s name is so important). They definitely respond better to praise than criticism.
For those moms out there, Dale Carnegie gives example after example of methods to deal with teenagers. Funny how we hear of the good ol’ days when teenagers were respectful and behaved. Well, those good ol’ days weren’t the 30’s while Carnegie was writing this book, that’s for certain. And considering the story about a mouthy young Abraham Lincoln, I doubt those good ol’ days ever existed.
I’m a big fan of Harry Beckwith’s writing. Loved Selling The Invisible and What Clients Love. You, Inc. is no exception. It has short, little chapters jam packed with good ideas.
Ideas like…
“Try to reduce your average sentences to eleven words. If you must write a large block of copy, try to place a short one in front of it and behind it.
While speaking, practice your pauses. If making an important point, precede it with a pregnant pause, which alerts you listener: “This is important.””
Why?
So “your point has time to take root.”
Also…
Audiences “have been conditioned by television. Every twelve minutes a commercial allows them to take a break. This has conditioned them to twelve-minute bites.”
Or…
“We feel we know people who are similar to us because we know something of ourselves. We feel we can predict their behavior and reactions because we can predict our own.
That makes us comfortable.
Because first impressions deeply influence everything that follows – more than most of us realize – you must find common ground quickly. Try to find it before you actually meet.”
I use the last point to great success. The hubby and I love to travel so that is usually one common ground we can find with others. I’ve also worked in many, many different industries. But I try not to talk much about myself (after all, I know all about me), I use our common ground to ask semi-intelligent questions of the other person.
"To get rich, never risk your health. For it is the truth that health is the wealth of wealth."
— Richard Baker
This weekend, the hubby and I are helping a friend move. For free, of course. This is the same animator friend that every once in a while gives me an original piece of artwork. Again, for free.
A few weeks ago, I completed the tax returns for an older lady (as I do every year). For free. When my hubby was setting up his home theater system, this lady sewed him a beautiful set of curtains. For free.
The government’s official stance is that for each of these freebie acts, we’re supposed to assign a dollar value and claim it on our income taxes. In all my years of completing tax returns, I’ve never heard of anyone doing that but it does illustrate that if the government feels these exchanges are valuable, we should too.
Most of my exchanges are unplanned. I see a need that I can fill for someone else and do it. Normal human beings like to be “even” so they, in turn, look out for a way to “pay me back.”
Sometimes my exchanges are deliberate. Whenever I need something, I immediately try to see if a contact can supply it (keep it in the family, sort of speaking). I usually offer to pay but often there is something (marketing, accounting, tax help) that they would prefer to receive.
Bloggers have this system down pat. If I link to you and send traffic your way, you’ll likely link back to me and send your traffic to my blog. Overall, both of us grow our readerships. We both benefit and no money exchanges hands. That’s about as frugal as marketing gets.
One of my best buds and I were yapping last night. Another perma student friend finally graduated a year ago. She refuses to consider any job paying less than $50,000 a year and three weeks vacation. She’s still unemployed.
My best bud and I remembered back to when we first graduated. Always being the entrepreneurial sort, I was unfamiliar with the full time job market. After submitting over 500 resumes (over because after a while, I stopped counting) I got offered a jack of all trades job for $25,000 a year (less than minimum wage once I accounted for the insane unpaid overtime) and two weeks vacation if I worked there a year.
I was thrilled.
No, I wasn’t just thrilled. I was open the window and yell it out to the street thrilled. I called my hard working, minimum wage making Mom thinking I won the lottery. I was getting paid $25,000 a year to go to a cushy office and type on the computer (and answer phones, and…and…).
My best bud had a similar experience. She remembered getting her first raise a year later and thinking that was the best thing ever. She said, even to this day, that is one of her favorite work memories.
Oh, and we both laughed over statutory holidays. Being an entrepreneur, I had never been paid for one before. I begged to work that day but was told that I couldn’t, the office was closed. I braced myself for the decrease in income. Then I got paid. I remember going up to my boss with my pay slip, thinking that something was wrong. He must have thought I was a country bumpkin but kept a straight face as he explained.
Why am I sharing this?
Because success is relative. Making $25,000 a year, I thought I was the luckiest girl in the universe. Finances were tight but I made it work (with enough for investing).
"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."
— Dale Carnegie
Our buddy Matt tagged us asking about our "Five Obsessions?" and our new friend Start Up Princess wants to know "Five Reasons Why We Blog".
Kimber's shot at the answers.
My Five Obsessions?
1) I'll admit it, I check my stock prices more often than I need to (or should). Thankfully, I merely check them. I follow the plan I have in place for buying and selling.
2) Chocolate...enough said.
3) Hugh baby's cartoons over at GapingVoid. I hear tell they're more addictive than crack. Don't know, have never tried crack.
4) Blogging. RoadToForbes is down right now (til Friday) and I'm getting a bit buggy.
5) Romance novels...got to have a hit at least once a week. Keeps me emotionally stable.
Five Reasons Why I Blog?
1) To give back. First and foremost. Everything I know I learned from someone else so I'm merely passing it along.
2) I like to write. If I never see a cent from blogging or writing business romances (highly likely), I'd continue to write.
3) Meeting awesome people online like Single Ma and Amanda at Young And Broke.
4) Not having to repeat the same ol' stories while posting on discussion forums (I simply link to a post). Yeah, I'm lazy.
5) Having a ready excuse to bug NLL's E and RTF's Jscott.
E's Coffee-Enhanced Answers:
Five Obsessions?
1) Checking my email...
2) Mochas...enough said.
3) Reading, new books, learning and trying what I've learned.
4) Meeting new people (love it).
5) Dancing.
Five Reasons Why I Blog?
1) Ditto what Kimber said: "To give back. First and foremost. Everything I know I learned from someone else so I'm merely passing it along"
2) Accountability for reaching my goals.
3) Meeting other people to learn from, share with, etc.
4) I learn by doing- the more skills I have, the more my world of business opens up.
5) Because I can. The internet has leveled the playing field for women; especially for business, investing, learning, connecting. Love to see more women online making money! (Guy when are we writing that piece on "Women and Business Online"?)
Who to tag, who to tag? How about we mix it up a bit? We''ll tag some new friends and some old pals, and let them pick which question they want to answer?
Belated Birthday Girl: Back In Skinny Jeans
A Grown Azzed Woman
Millionaire Artist
Money for the Rest of Us
and Rich Minx
Our boy Jon over at Art of Money
J.D. at Get Rich Slowly
Kdog at Live Learn Invest
and a shout out to Chris aka the Man over at Chris Perruna (Market Talk) although, I'm not sure his is the kind of blog where answering a "tag" is appropriate!
Yesterday I suggested living off one income and banking the other before taking time off. When I promote that, a few people always ask me why they can’t merely do the exercise on paper instead. Its easier and if the numbers work, the numbers work, right?
Wrong.
Real life unfortunately doesn’t go according to any paper plans (if it did, the hubby and I would have a couple of car seats in the back of the Volvo right now).
Its like me trading with pretend money before plunking down my own cash. Sure I’ll learn the mechanics of trading but its not the real thing (no emotions). Not even close.
I should know. The first time the hubby and I lived off one income, we failed miserably at it. I had done the number crunching (and number crunching is what I do). I knew it’d be close but we could do it.
So we started siphoning off all my income into our investment portfolio. We couldn’t touch it. It was gone.
The first week was a challenge but we did it. Barely. There was a birthday celebration that I hadn’t planned for. Then the hubby went on a business trip for the next two weeks. Sure, he was reimbursed for expenses but expected to pay for them up front. Most went on the credit card (the reimbursement coming before the bill came due). A portion, however, was cash. That business trip blasted our plan out of the water. Too much cash out, not enough cash in (cash flow will kill ya every time).
Back to two incomes.
And thanking our lucky stars for that trial run. Without it, we wouldn’t have known we needed to reduce expenses more. We reworked our paper plan and tried it again. Another failure but this time closer. Again, more tweaking until finally we had the balance right.
"It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well."
— René Descartes: French philosopher.
Visit Nightingale.com
On Friday (late, late, late at night) I finished up my short term contract gig so I’m off salaried work for the summer (that’s why I have time to find pics for my posts). Since business income can be sporadic (understatement of the year), the hubby and I are basically living on one salary (we don’t like to touch investment income if we can help it…just in case we need it more later).
Other women are in similar situations. Maybe they’re taking time off to spend with their kids or enjoying a summer in the south of France wine tasting, eating pain du chocolat and flirting with Frenchmen (okay, the last is more of a fantasy than an example). They’re either down to one income or living off investment income.
So how to prepare?
What the hubby and I do is live off one income for the entire year. My take home pay goes towards investing or when we had some, paying down personal debt. This does a number of things. It takes away the fear that we might not be able to survive (the hubby suffers from this big time, right before I take time off, he returns any unused items for cash, sells gently used items on eBay, and stocks up the pantry with staples). It helps us build an investing/debt reduction buffer (the salary has to go somewhere). It maintains the same spending culture during this time of change (any change, even happy change, is stressful).
Years before actually taking the leap, we would live off one salary. Just to see if we could.
Rich Woman.com is hosting a Book Study through Rich Woman, a book on investing for women, by Kim Kiyosaki. Click here for the overview and full book study schedule. Each Monday, a new thread is started on the Rich Woman forums for the currnet chapter being discussed. Grab yourself a copy of Rich Woman, follow along and join the discussion with other like-minded women!
Spent the weekend in the closet…literally, rotating my wardrobe from winter to summer. My closet isn’t exactly my pride and joy (there’s a reason why it has a door and it ain’t because all my items are neatly laid out). I stuff my clothes in where there’s free space. I have off season clothes stacked in the corner in those cardboard boxes photocopy paper comes in (with the nice lids).
On the other hand, my neat freak buddy has a closet out of one of those so sickening organizing shows. Arranged by color and season with cute totes and boxes. I peak into her closet and feel like I’m at a spa.
I tell my very busy friend that if she ever needed some spare cash, I’d pay her to organize my closet (to which she replied that I couldn’t pay her enough…said something about danger pay and my closet being a safety hazard).
If you’re an obsessive sorter like my friend, I would happily pay you too. And I’m not alone. There are many of us closet impaired folks out there.
All it takes is getting those first few clients and then grabbing some referrals. We, messy people, usually know quite a few other messy people. How to get that first client? Hold a seminar. You could even get a realtor or bank to sponsor the seminar (as they can sell upgrading a house or renovating).
April 22, 2007 is Earth Day this year. The program 20/20 had a very interesting special about our planet, the changes it is under going, and instead of big dramatic "for the greater good" lectures, they gave some very simple things we can all do to make a difference.
Although I have not considered myself an environmentalist, as someone who blogs about personal finance, I understand the idea of conservation- and really that is what this is about: the little things we take for granted today that can drastically affect our futures.
As I watched the program, and listened to the simple tips, I thought, I can do that- and started to right then and there (switched off extra lights around the house).
Here are some simple things you can do today to help conserve our resources, that you may already be doing as part of our financial efforts to be better with our money:
1. Turn off unnecessary lights.
2. Replace at least one light bulb with an energy efficient compact flourescent bulb.
3. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
4. Shorten your shower by one minute.
5. Take your own bags to the grocery store, instead of using plastic bags.
6. Use recycled paper towels, or better yet, use cloth towels that can be washed and reused.
There are obviously many more things we can do, but the ones I mentioned above are so easy to do. Start small, do something. What else are you doing that you could share?
A buddy has a twelve year old. Every year, he likes to go to the nearby theme park. That isn’t exactly an inexpensive outing. Full pop is about $50 a visit (my buddy stores food in the car, the re-entry process is a hassle but the cost savings more than offset). Her kid doesn’t go more than once, not enough to warrant the even more expensive season pass (at $100).
During “off season” (in the spring or fall), the price of a visit can drop to as low as $20. Last year, my buddy did dumbness. She waited until the nag factor was high (mid summer) and then tried to get her kid to wait til the fall. Both spend a miserable summer.
This year, she’s doing things differently. Making a preemptive strike. She’s taking her son (who talked all his buddies into going early too) in the spring. The preteen will ride all the rides before his friends, be able to boost about it while school is still on, and have moved on to other things during the summer (been there, done that).
Plus my friend will save money.
"I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances."
—Martha Washington
I love the interesting conversations I have with my hair girl. Today, she was asking me about how I came up with my boy's names, which lead into a whole conversation about names, where they come from and how they can affect us, especially women.
(
I am hair challenged. So I bring in the big guns, aka, my hair designer (that's what's on her card) every three weeks or so. Any who...)
She was telling me abut how she came up with her daughter's name: she is a beautiful girl, she makes other people more beautiful, and she picked out pretty names for her girl. (One of those pretty names coming from the tag of her favorite sweater!) Her daughter, now almost 20, is a very pretty girl...not a rocket scientist. Coincidence?
My father remarried and he and his wife had two daughters (I was already out of the house). They are very intelligent and were very concerned from the beginning that the girls would be smart and successful as well. Their names? Emily and Ellen.
I remember going through the baby names books, and reading the ideas behind names perhaps contributing to one's success or hindering it. How much do you think it actually holds true?
Are women named Candi, Bambi and Jenna really more likely to be a stripper than an wall street analyst? Do names really have socially limiting impact, as far as women being predispositioned to believe they are pretty or smart, but the two are some how mutually exclusive?
General Social Survey has come out with their list of the most and least gratifying jobs. The most gratifying jobs include clergy, firefighters, physical therapists. The least include laborers (excluding the lucrative construction market), apparel clothing salespeople and food preparers.
The media tries to tell us that the most list contains the “good” jobs and the least list contains the “bad” jobs. I disagree. I think the most list jobs attract the live to work crowd and the least list jobs attract the work to live crowd.
A loved one has a job on the least list. And you know what? They’re right. He’s not “gratified” by his work. His work pays the bills. It doesn’t require overtime or taking home work so that allows him to be “gratified” by writing, his real profession. Does that mean his day job is a “bad” job? Nope. It does what it needs to do and that is not to gratify him.
I’ve been in some challenging jobs in the past. What helps me cope is to understand why I’m working there. Odds are…its not for gratification either. Its for experience or cash or because I’m helping out one of my headhunting buddies needing a short term, quick placement (which ends up as the long term placement that won’t ever end).
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
— Steve Jobs: Founder, Apple Computer, technology visionary.
I can attest to that first hand. When the hubby and I married, I was making substantially more than he was. I was conscious of that fact and careful not to talk about his income and my income. I didn’t want him to “feel bad” or “less of a man.” We talked in terms of household income (since I did the tax planning, that was fine financially).
When I semi-retired, taking summers off (off meaning writing novels, exploring side businesses and concentrating on our investments), and his salary became the bulk of non-investment earnings, the hubby gleefully told everyone who’d listen that he brought home the bacon (definitely not a kosher house), claimed the title of Supreme Sugar Daddy (he’d write that on checks transferring money from the bank account in his name to account in mine) and called me his kept woman. All in good fun, of course (I keep my own darn self) but jokes that I would never, ever, ever think of making.
I don’t know if the hubby would think those jokes as funny if the tables were turned once again. I do know that as a sensitive person (as many women are), I never plan to find out. There’s too much to risk (his feelings, our solid relationship) for not enough reward (an ego boost??? Would it be even that?). Household income it stays.
We are going to put together a special Mother's Day book package for our No Limits Ladies readers, so this past weekend, I was poking around my favorite bookstore looking for anything new and interesting.
I came across a book that was just released, called The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much? By Leslie Bennetts. I answered outloud, "Yes we are!", and intrigued, I picked the book up.
After reading through the prologue, I knew this was going to be a powerful book. However, when I looked up the book's site The Feminine Mistake.com, I stumbled onto this post about the controversy this book is causing.
I have to admit I was sort of surprised. I am of the opinion that all women need to have a way to make, manage, and grow our own money- a man is not a plan (not a good one anyway). It has nothing to do with trusting men, or whether we as women choose careers or family first- it has to do with personal responsibility and the harsh reality of startling statistics like these:
-47% of women over the age of 50 are single.
-50% of marriages end in divorce.
-In the first year after a divorce a woman's standard of living drops an average of 73%.
-Of the elderly living in poverty 3 out of 4 are women - and 80% of them were not poor when their husbands were alive.
-Nearly 7out of 10 women will at some time live in poverty.
(statistics courtesy of Rich Woman.com)
In this day and age, we don't have to necessarily chose between working or staying at home- the internet has leveled the playing field. No matter what side of the issue you are on, I hope this site, the statistics, and perhaps this book will help you take control of your financial future, if you haven't already.
"Everything's in the mind. That's where it all starts. Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it."
- Mae West
As I attend yet another investment seminar and find myself one of the few women in the room, I think “what a waste.” There should be more there. You see, the stock market is a girl’s game. We’re naturally better at it.
In a UK study of 1,000 portfolios, “the average woman's portfolio rose by 10%, compared to just a 7% rise for the overall FTSE index and a 6% increase for that of the average man.” That ain’t exactly a small difference.
Why?
It may have to do with the fact that women “are also more demanding of the companies they invest their money in and more likely to opt for socially responsible or ethical companies when buying shares.” In other words, we dig, dig, dig into a company’s background before buying. We do our research. We ask questions. We use financial advisors.
Plus I find men are more likely to “help” women than other men. They toss me tips. They point out flaws. And I listen. As I should, it’s my money on the line.
This is the reason that I’m easing my seven year old niece into paper investing. It’s a game she can win at. She doesn’t have to settle for 75.5 cents on a man’s dollar. She doesn’t have to fight to be taken seriously. She doesn’t have to go to multiple banks to snag that small business loan.
Sure, I’ll still fight the good fight but I’ll take the easy wins where I can (building the bank account to allow me to win those good fights).
The following is a conversation that I had over on the newly revived Get Rich Slowly Forums with Jethro. He had asked a question about how to teach kids about money which then turned into a discussion about giving kids allowances. It was a very thought provoking conversation, and although it is a bit long, I thought maybe we could get some more of your thoughts on the subject as well?
Prlinkbiz:
"I must be the only one in the PF Blogosphere that doesnt believe in allowances for kids.
While I like the idea behind teaching kids how to save etc,- really the most effective way to teach kids the value of money is to have them earn it themselves.
Not one of the most successful people I know (multimillionaires) received an allowance. They all learned from an early age, if they wanted something, they were going to have to figure out how to earn the money on their own to do it. They believe this one skill has helped them succeed in life more than anything else.
Why? Because it created in them the correct mindset: if I want something in life, how can I achieve it? Instead of being trained to be dependent on someone else to give them money and things and have to constantly live with a mindset of scarcity that says I can't have the water, if I want the money.
Just my two cents for what its worth."
Jethro:
"This is all good in theory, but how do you apply it to a 4-year-old? Do you have any practical examples of how he could go out and earn money on his own?"
Prlinkbiz:
"There is nothing theory about it. I have two kids, 4 and 5. They are already grasping the idea of earning money. Maybe it is because they have watched me buy and sell, build my own businesses and invest, and see the example I set for how I earn, create and find money.
My little guys know how to sell their old toys and items to earn money for new ones. The know how to save money they come across. If they want money for something, sometimes they will ask me what they can do extra to earn it (5 year old helped me pick weeds, etc). I have friends whose kids have set lemonade stands, or even gathered neighbors extra fruit (with their permission) and sold it. There are lots of things kids can do.
Kids are very intelligent and very creative- they can figure these things out, with our teaching advice and guidance. And they will learn important life lessons that will help them be far more successful in life. They will always be the ones who see opportunity where others do not, and who do understand the value of a dollar."
Jethro:
" prlinkbiz wrote:
There is nothing theory about it. I have two kids, 4 and 5. They are already grasping the idea of earning money. Maybe it is because they have watched me buy and sell, build my own businesses and invest, and see the example I set for how I earn, create and find money.
My little guys know how to sell their old toys and items to earn money for new ones.
If a child purchased that 'old toy' to begin with, then I can see that being a good money lesson. But if they are selling toys they got as gifts, then I don't see how this is really applicable. In order for it to be a real entrepreneurial experience, they need to have some form of capital invested in the initial purchase, and need to turn some kind of profit on the deal. If anything, I would see this as a lesson in depreciation.
prlinkbiz wrote:
The know how to save money they come across.
How does one 'come across' money?
prlinkbiz wrote:
If they want money for something, sometimes they will ask me what they can do extra to earn it (5 year old helped me pick weeds, etc).
I would consider this to be allowance, as part of my allowance plan would incorporate 'earning' money by doing certain jobs around the house. Some would say that doing jobs or chores around the house still does not qualify as anything other than 'allowance'."
Prlinkbiz:
"I think this is a good conversation.
You're getting a little nit picky with the whole entrepreneur thing. As an entrepeneur, I have to disagree with you. The key is in being able to to sell, (and make money on) anything. (and see the opportunity in the first place)
Kids come across money in many different ways: birthdays, find it on the ground, holidays, etc.
I don't feel household chores are something anyone should get paid for. Nobody pays me to do the laundry, dishes, etc, why should kids get paid for contributing as the rest of the family does, and cleaning up after themselves?
However, going above and beyond, that I think should be rewarded; money in exhange for time. Hence the money to help with the weeds. And believe me, that is not an every week occurance. I used that as an opportunity to show my five year old how if I hired him to help with the weeds for two dollars, he could then hire his little brother for one dollar, and have his brother do the work, learning to leverage OPT (he didn't do it, but hopefully the idea will stick)."
Jethro:
"The reason I'm being a nit-picky is because of these comments...
prlinkbiz wrote:
While I like the idea behind teaching kids how to save etc,- really the most effective way to teach kids the value of money is to have them earn it themselves.
Not one of the most successful people I know (multimillionaires) received an allowance. They all learned from an early age, if they wanted something, they were going to have to figure out how to earn the money on their own to do it. They believe this one skill has helped them succeed in life more than anything else
At some point, a child has to use capital that they did not earn (either in the form of allowance, a monetary gift, or materials purchased by a parent) in order to earn more money. At some point, something has to be given to them (when they are too young to go out and mow lawns, etc).
Maybe the term 'allowance' should be replaced with something more PC like 'Children's Financial Learning Plan'. In my mind, the initial 'allowance', or CFLP (started at a young age) would be used to teach my children the basics about money -- spending, saving, giving. As they got older, the base 'salary' or 'allowance' would become a smaller percentage of the overall CFLP, and more emphasis would be placed on them actually earning the money themselves, either through extra credit chores (like pulling weeds), or though things like selling lemonade on the street. Eventually, I would hope that they could earn money on their own doing things like mowing lawns for neighbors, washing cars, etc.
I also think that there is some value in teaching things like 'you can have a soda pop or a you can have a dollar', as it teaches kids the correlation between wants and needs, and gives them a real world example of what unnecessary spending can do to your cash supply. I had thought of possibly making them use money from their CFLP to purchase unnecessary items (like a soda pop at a restaurant). Of course, since my kids won't touch soda pop anyways, this example is all hypothetical. Very Happy
Thanks for your input, BTW; you've got me thinking here. (cool face)"
Prlinkbiz:
"Well, I've got myself thinking too! I don't know the "right way", who does? I just know that I was a spoiled brat. My dad felt guilty about not being there, so financially I never had to worry about anything. Neither one of my parents really knew about money mangement.
The best thing that happened was my dad after college (that I did work to pay for, while he paid for necessities each month-$75!) told me, "You are on your own- don't ask me for anything else."
From then on I had to figure out how to survive. I have had to learn a lot of things as a grown up that I wished I learned as a kid. I have actively looked for successful business owners and investors and have learned as much as I can from them.
As I mentioned, I can think of five close multi-millionaire friends right now (how they are my friends I don't know- I think they keep me around for entertainment!). None of them had an allowance or money in their family growing up. All of them knew, if they wanted or even needed in some cases, they were the ones who had to make it happen. So they had to try twice as hard, be twice as creative, etc.
Emergence through emergency.
While my first instinct as a mom is to spoil the kids I love so much, perhaps I need to with hold more than I wish, in order to teach my two boys how to survive in this world as men- not only survive but thrive.
These are just my thoughts!"
"A good goal is like a strenous exercise - it makes you stretch."
-Mary Kay Ash
Rich Woman.com is hosting a Book Study through Rich Woman, a book on investing for women, by Kim Kiyosaki. Click here for the overview and full book study schedule. Each Monday, a new thread is started on the Rich Woman forums for the currnet chapter being discussed. Grab yourself a copy of Rich Woman, follow along and join the discussion with other like-minded women!
A buddy was telling me that there were “no jobs” where she lived. That was untrue and I called her on it. I told her to go into a retail shop (any shop but preferably a store she liked) and offer to work on commission only (a reasonable percentage of sales). I guaranteed that the store owner/manager would hire her immediately.
She didn’t take me up on it but she did stop her bellyaching (at least in front of me).
Some people find the concept of working on commission scary. To be paid for performance means that if the sales person doesn’t work it, they won’t sell anything, and they won’t get paid.
True.
However, if you’re good at selling, commission is the preferred compensation. Earning power is limited only by you. You have freedom to work your own hours. You can take time off whenever you want (as you’re not getting paid). You are usually only “let go” when the company itself goes under.
But…but…but I can’t sell, you say.
Welcome to my world. I am not a natural salesperson (like my hubby is). I’ve not a natural accountant either (wasn’t born with debits and credits on the brain). Both skills I had to learn. I read books, took courses, and most importantly, was mentored (my stint in telemarketing improved my selling immensely).
And I sell. Whenever I have a chance. I was standing in the grocery line last night, turned to the lady behind me and sold her on buying the National Enquirer (yeah, not exactly saving the world but I didn’t think anyone needed chocolate bars – the only other product choice- so soon after Easter).
Many of you single ladies (and married ones as well!) already have a plan in place for budgeting and tracking expenses, which is great. For some of you this is not something you have taken the time to look into much (incuding myself). I thought I'd do a little research on some of the budgeting software that is available for single women, good resources for anyone really, and just make some notes about it. I asked several of our PF Blogger friends to share a little about what they know or their thoughts on single women and budgeting software. Additional Comments from anyone who uses these or other programs are welcome!
The fabulous Budget Fashionista says:
"An accountant once told me an excellent piece of advice when it came to accounting- all you really need to know is what comes in and what goes out. I find the best way to keep track of if, especially if you're not technically inclined, is to just use a basic excel spreadsheet. In one column write down what you've spent... in the other column, what is coming in. It's easy, simple, and straight forward. "
"I have not used it but I hear that Wesabe is a good application for budgeting." said Nichele from Keeping Nickels(and also Ladies Who Launch) ?
Our girl over at Blunt Money had this to say:
"I pretty much just use Quicken (although I only use its basic features along with some reporting) and a couple of spreadsheets. I like Quicken for the long-term tracking and ease of reconciling. I use the spreadsheets to help visualize my monthly spending by category compared month-over-month, and to track networth."
The Millionaire Artist tells us:
I am on a Mac and use software called "Checkbook". I absolutely love it... its just flexible enough to be able to set up multiple accounts and charts but not so overwhelming that it becomes daunting or confusing. (And, I like the way it looks, as a visual person, that's important to me).
Here's a link to an entry I wrote on the subject last year. I took issue with the name of another program I had been using."
Elizabeth over at Money for the Rest of Us had some good things to say as well:
"I've tried using Quicken and Money and in the end have just preferred a simple Excel Spreadsheet. Just recently I've integrated that into Google Docs/Spreadsheets, so now I keep my budget each month on a Google Spreadsheet.
I really like this method because I can access my budget from any computer and know how much I've spent in a category without being at my house. I also like it because I can share my budget with my partner.
I prefer updating my budget myself (rather than importing my expenses into software) because it forces me to see exactly where I'm spending my money and I can't glance over any particular expense. Here's a post I wrote about using Google Spreadsheets for Your Budget.
I think it's interesting that you're breaking it up between being single and being married/partnered. I think that once you're living with a significant other you need to start budgeting together because so many of your expenses are shared. (I'm definitely not saying that you should combine accounts, just compare budgets.)
Even in college my roommate (not a significant other) and I would talk about how much we were spending each month on rent/utilities/groceries, even going out to restaurants. Because when you live with someone you often just say, "Oh I don't have cash can you pay this time and I'll get it next time." This can create some issues if you don't talk about money and who owes whom what. (Wow, I didn't realize I had so much to say...)"
Our friend Amanda (Young and Broke) shared:
"I've always been pretty old school and used Excel. I find that keeping a budget simple, and using fairly simple categories, allows for both structure and flexibility.
For example, I know that some people like to list out EVERYTHING they might spend money on (Entertainment, Groceries, Dining Out, Clothes, etc.). What I do is more similar to a "reverse budget". I use Excel and break things down by paycheck (15th and 30th/31st), and then I list all my fixed expenses for that period.
To the right I use two columns "Amount" and then "Actual". Amount is the standard amount that I pay for these things, and Actual is the actual amount that payment is.
Then, below expenses I have a section for Saving, with the same two columns to the right. (I've attached an example I created that could be customized by individual). Any money that is excess goes towards savings or any miscellaneous expense.
Here are some links to previous posts I've written on the subject:
How Do You Stay on Budget?
Budgeting, Revisted
Budgeting Worksheet
Cash Flow Cafe had a great post about the best budgeting and financial software; what is currently out there, what he does, and some other options It was interesting to note that the two "best selling" are not necessarily the two best to use. He admits that Excel can be confusing to set up, but also shares who that he uses www.youneedabudget.com.
Personally, I discovered Money Pants.com from Nina a while back. And while I have not been a faithful user, I really like that it is fun and easy to use, and won't break the bank at $9.00 a month.
Hopefully you have found some good resources here!
Check out Parade's Annual What People Earn issue!
My friend Kdog blogs over at Live, Learn Invest about, well, his life (how he became and investor), what he is learning (investing, business, life) and about investing (real estate, paper, and business). This past week, he shared two posts that I think go hand in hand together:
Non-financial goals and an adventure race he did this past weekend.
Kenric (aka Kdog) had this to say:
"When we talk about goals, I find that most people evaluate themselves with financial or career type goals. Most goals are measured with dollars. Have you ever thought about what goals you’d have if you didn’t have to worry about money?
Non-financial goals can be anything. They can be as simple as visiting the Grand Canyon this year or as complicated as climbing Mt. Everest. I think that it can be tough to come up with non-financial goals because they can be so vast. Another way to think about them is just to ask yourself, “What do I want to do this year? Where do I want to go?”
I think we all need them, because these are goals that you have because you want them. They are not a neccessity. They are part of what you desire and with that comes a passion to attain them. Unfortunately the path to attaining many non financial goals usually requires money. However, since your goals are now driven by your desire, you’ll see your financial goals with a different motivation...
One of the reasons I got into real estate was because I hated my job. Looking back, it was my hatred of my job and my work schedule that ultimately made me search for another method of supporting myself. That’s how I ended up in the finance section at a book store. That’s what started me down this path. I didn’t start real estate investing just for the money. I did it to get out of my current situation. That type of desire is so much stronger than doing something just for the money. I didn’t know it at that time, but I guess that was my non-financial goal that drove me to my financial goal."
Kenric "walks the talk", if you will. I have known him for years now, since he made the leap into real estate investing. I have watched him set these smaller non-financial goals each year and go after them. For years now, he has talked about doing an adventure race, and now he has accomplished that as well! It's another great post, check out Kenric's adventure race post here, and let it inspire you to set more of your own non-financial goals.
Money alone is not enough of a motivating factor- allow yourself non-financial goals to help you set and achieve you financial ones!
Still working crazy, nutbar hours (and heard yesterday that these hours will be extended into next week), seeing my house only to sleep a couple hours a night (have yet to place a cot underneath my desk – shoot me when that happens). That got me thinking about all the rooms that we never step into unless to clean.
Many of my friends have upgrade-itus. Even the normally frugal hubby wants a big, big house (one of the monster mansions). I told him that until we used all the rooms in our current house regularly, I wasn’t interested. And I mean all the rooms, even the fancy “for show” dining room the hubby dusts every few months.
If you tally up your costs, odds are that housing costs rank at the top. Homeowners spend 18.7% of their gross income on housing. Renters fare worse at 25.5%. So I couldn’t lead Frugal Fridays without addressing this expense.
Having only as much house (this is personal residence, not addressing investment real estate…I’ll leave that to E) as we need is one way to keep the costs (both time and money) down.
That means stepping back and thinking hard before upgrading to something larger. Do you really need the space? Will the extra cost be more than offset by the joy of owning a larger house? What dreams will you have to sacrifice for the big house? Is it worth it?
(Notice that I didn’t ask if you could afford it? If you want a dream bad enough, you will find the means to pay for it.)
As Carol Dweck writes about in her book Mindset, there are ways to change your Mindset from one that is fixed to one of growth. Here are four simple steps from the The Mindset site:
Step1. Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.”
As you approach a challenge, that voice might say to you “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.” “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure” “People will laugh at you for thinking you had talent.” “If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity.”
As you hit a setback, the voice might say, “This would have been a snap if you really had talent.” “You see, I told you it was a risk. Now you’ve gone and shown the world how limited you are.” “ It’s not too late to back out, make excuses, and try to regain your dignity.”
As you face criticism, you might hear yourself say, “It’s not my fault. It was something or someone else’s fault.” You might feel yourself getting angry at the person who is giving you feedback. “Who do they think they are? I’ll put them in their place.” The other person might be giving you specific, constructive feedback, but you might be hearing them say “I’m really disappointed in you. I thought you were capable but now I see you’re not.”
Step 2. Recognize that you have a choice.
How you interpret challenges, setbacks, and criticism is your choice. You can interpret them in a fixed mindset as signs that your fixed talents or abilities are lacking. Or you can interpret them in a growth mindset as signs that you need to ramp up your strategies and effort, stretch yourself, and expand your abilities. It’s up to you.
So as you face challenges, setbacks, and criticism, listen to the fixed mindset voice and...
Step 3. Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.
As you approach a challenge:
THE FIXED-MINDSET says “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.”
THE GROWTH-MINDSET answers, “I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to with time and effort.”
FIXED MINDSET: “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure”
GROWTH MINDSET: “Most successful people had failures along the way.”
FIXED MINDSET: “If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity.”
GROWTH MINDSET: “If I don’t try, I automatically fail. Where’s the dignity in that?”
As you hit a setback:
FIXED MINDSET: “This would have been a snap if you really had talent.”
GROWTH MINDSET: “That is so wrong. Basketball wasn’t easy for Michael Jordan and science wasn’t easy for Thomas Edison. They had a passion and put in tons of effort.
As you face criticism:
FIXED MINDSET: “It’s not my fault. It was something or someone else’s fault.”
GROWTH MINDSET: “If I don’t take responsibility, I can’t fix it. Let me listen—however painful it is– and learn whatever I can.”
Then...
Step 4. Take the growth mindset action.
Over time, which voice you heed becomes pretty much your choice. Whether you
* take on the challenge wholeheartedly,
* learn from your setbacks and try again
* hear the criticism and act on it is now in your hands.
Practice hearing both voices, and practice acting on the growth mindset. See how you can make it work for you.
"If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."
I really bit off more than I could chew in trying to review this rare and powerful book Mindset by Carol Dweck in a couple days! The three main points I hope we can all take away are:
(1) Which Mindset do you have- Fixed or Growth?
(2) How does that affect all the areas of my life?
(3) How can I change my Mindset?
What exactly is a Mindset anyway? I could try to explain it, but the Mindset website says it so well, I'll just share what it says:
"Mindset explains:
* Why brains and talent don’t bring success
* How they can stand in the way of it
* Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them
* How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity
* What all great CEOs, parents, teachers, athletes know
Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference.
In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities."
Which Mindset do you have? You can take a quick test right here to find out!
While I have considered myself a growth mindset person, as I read the book, I realized that is not the case in all areas of my life. There are areas like art and math that I was told I was terrible at, and always believed that, never making an effort. I just thought those were talents or areas people were just naturally smart or good or not. I didn't realize that if I made the effort to really learn, I could be good at those things too.
One of the best examples in the book, as far as illustrating the growth vs. fixed mindset, was the story of Michael Jordan. We all think of him as the most naturally talented player in basketball history. That is not the truth of it. He was cut from his high school varsity team, wasn't recruited by the college he wanted to play for, nor was he chosen by the first two NBA teams that could have selected him. When he was cut from the varsity team, his mother told him to "go back and discipline himself". He took her words to heart.
His work ethic became unparalleled. He would leave home at 6 AM to go practice before school. When he played college ball, he was constantly working on his weakenesses, staying after lost games to work on his shots, even at the end of the season in preparation for the next one. John Bach, former Bulls assistant coach called Jordan, " a genius who constantly wants to upgrade his genius."
Michael Jordan understood that success came from more than talent- it came from effort and practice, from heart and character. He said once, " The mental toughness and the heart are a lot stronger than some of the physical advantages you might have. I've always said that, and I've always believed that."
Having talent is almost worse than not having talent, because when you are not as talented (pretty, smart, rich, etc.) you have to work twice as hard.
The key is in the right mindset and the willingness to make the effort to grow.
You may find yourself saying, my mindset has been holding me back not only financially, but in many areas of life. Maybe you would like to change your mindset. We'll talk more about that tomorrow, as we go through the steps to change your mindset.
No, this isn’t about man hating or farming or anything like that, FeedThePig.org is a website promoting financial security to the 25-34 crowd (guess I’m an oldie at 35).
On the landing page, they highlight ten “quick tips for painless savings” (and yes, they’re talking savings, not investing).
1. Use your PDA or online calendar to create savings reminders for long term goals.
2. Prepare a large meal on Sundays; Enjoy the leftovers throughout the week.
3. Dust off your library card and watch DVD’s for free.
4. Pay your credit card in full each month to avoid interest charges.
5. Don’t forget to check out your company’s 401k plan.
6. Stop racking up wasteful ATM charges. Over time it adds up.
7. Make your morning joe at home.
8. Kick the habit once and for all. Smoking is hard on your wallet and your health.
9. Cut costs by using in-store discount cards. Buy in bulk.
10. Save a raise. Weren’t you living without it yesterday?
Painless? The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and The Advertising Council running the site think kicking a smoking habit is painless? What planet are they on?
I’d also caution against using discount cards. For 10% off a product, customers are giving up their privacy and possibly exposing themselves to identity theft (attached to the cards is personal information). Before I did a bit of research on discount cards, I too used them. Now, I pay the extra 10% or use the store’s courtesy card.
But the site does have some useful information. They even have a whole section dedicated to caring for aging parents.
"Time is our most precious asset; we should invest it wisely."
— Michael Levy
When I wake up in the mornings now, I see sun. The weather is getting warmer (no more snow, thank goodness). Spring coats are coming out (same amount of people on the bus but now more room to move). Yep, summer is on its way.
There are certain things I do in the spring to prepare for summer. I spring clean (even those nasty vertical blinds). I switch my wardrobe around (put the long underwear away and try on the bathing suit, get depressed, and then go shopping). And I have a good long look at my portfolio.
There’s a trader saying that goes something like this “Sell in May and go away.” Yep, even the traders don’t want to look at their portfolios while the sun is shining and everyone else is at the beach. So why should you?
So prepare now. I look at my portfolio and just as I prune my roses back in the spring, I prune back my position in companies I’m not happy with. I keep in the back of my mind “if I didn’t look at this stock again until the fall, would that be okay?”
That doesn’t mean that I really go away. I still peak in on my companies from time to time and I do have my financial advisor babysitting the stocks too. He’ll call me even at the beach if something goes horribly wrong…or right (and we want to sell, realizing the profits). But if I take a couple weeks off to attend some multi-day wienie roast in some black fly infested part of the country, then I can.
I mentioned last week on "What I'm Reading Wednesday", that I have been reading through a few different books, one of them being Mindset by Carol Dweck.
When I first found out about Mindset on Guy Kawasaki's blog a couple weeks ago, I felt compelled to read it. I have conversations with investor and business owner girl friends (and Kim Kiyosaki- who also picked up the book) about how to help women see the importance of taking control of their finances: "How can women change their mindsets?" (without having to go through pain and loss first?)
I looked online for bookstores in the area that might have it. One did...40 minutes across town! I loaded up my kids and headed over. Just as I got on the road, my son said he wasn't feeling well. So we turned around and went back home...good thing we did..it became 48 hours of the 24 hour flu (2 kids x 24 hours each).
The day everyone was better, I was determined to pick up the book. I threw everyone back in the car, and drove the 40 minutes to the bookstore that had Mindset in stock... only to find they were the only store in the Biltmore Fashion Park to be closed due to a power outage! I called and found another bookstore had it in stock, so instead of waiting two hours with two kids, I piled us back in the car and drove another half hour to get this book. (Did I mention I was determined?)
Upon arriving at this store, I was informed the books were "en route", but not actually in said store! I couldn't believe it. I headed back toward the original store, hoping it might be back open by the time I got close...and it was! You never saw anyone so happy to get a book (especially one called Mindset!). I headed home, and promptly started reading Mindset, before I lost it for a couple of days (the book, not my mind...although some would say that is debateable...).
I have got to say this book has impacted me more than anything I have read in a long time. It has challenged me and opened new doors. I'm going to take the next few days to review key points from the book Mindset, since the right mindset is everything when it comes to being financially independent and yes, wealthy.
( Fiscal Musings had a great post about this same idea: wealth starting with the right mindset.)
Also, thanks to Guy Kawasaki for finding this video featuring Mindset author Carol Dweck you may want to check out! Kudos again to Guy for being the reason I went to pick up this book in the first place!
Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? Find out over the next few days out how the right mindset, or the "effort-effect" can change your life...
"If you see yourself as prosperous, you will be. If you see yourself as continually destitute, that is exactly what you will be."
— Robert Collier
I guess I’m kind of guilty of that (keeping secrets not the infidelity part). The hubby and I each have an allowance. I don’t necessarily tell him about where every cent of that allowance goes and vice versa. If I want to blow it all on romance novels (like Sally MacKenzie’s latest…The Naked Earl) then I do but I don’t pile the book bills under his cereal bowl in the morning. Just as he doesn’t tell me that he bought yet another table tennis paddle (unless they’re reproducing on their own, that must be what’s happening).
But that was our plan from the start. The allowance is so we can have our mad money, our little bit of freedom. I know he’s going to blow his allowance on a treat for him and he knows I’m going to blow my allowance on a treat for me. We don’t need to know what that treat is.
So our relationship has pretty set rules about both financial fidelity and romantic fidelity. For the latter, we can look and flirt but not touch. For the former, we can spend our allowances any which way we please but anything over and above that has to go through the approval process. That allows us to feel safe and secure without being chained.
Rich Woman.com is hosting a Book Study through Rich Woman, a book on investing for women, by Kim Kiyosaki. Click here for the overview and full book study schedule. Each Monday, a new thread is started on the Rich Woman forums for the currnet chapter being discussed. Grab yourself a copy of Rich Woman, follow along and join the discussion with other like-minded women!
As regular readers know, I spend my spare time (stop laughing now) writing romances based in the business world (none published...yet, publishing is a long, long process). I often get asked why romance?
Other than the fact that 18% of ALL fiction sold (not including children's fiction) is romance, I have a very personal (and somewhat gritty) reason for writing romance.
I know many, many people at many, many companies so I get asked often to become a recruiter. It is tempting. Recruiters or head hunters as I call them match companies up with the perfect (for them) employee and get paid to do so. Usually recruiters get paid about 20 to 30% of the first year salary. Hours are often flexible. If a recruiter does a great job, her contacts increase exponentially with each placement.
Oh, and you get the satisfaction of helping companies find staff and helping individuals find jobs.
As with most businesses, I recommend training with an established company first (make all your mistakes on their dime). How to find them? Easy. Look in the classifieds. They have the ads for a wide variety of positions in different industries.
Usually these companies hire on a combo of base salary and commission with more base salary during training and less base salary as new hires become established. I’ve known under qualified applicants who sold themselves on a pure commission basis merely to get in the door.
This is a sales job first and foremost and the product is people. A great recruiter is good at selling, relationships and most importantly evaluating people. Howard Adamsky has some protips on becoming a better recruiter.
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
-W. H. Murray
The Scottish Himalayan Expedition
I thought this story might be especially effective, being Easter and all. Forgive me if it offends you, but I think there is a great lesson to be learned.
A friend was sharing a story about survival training he had done as a pilot before going off to battle. He and others were literally dropped off in the middle of nowhere and were to spend the week surviving until they could be rescued.
The week prior to being dropped off, each one was given a bunny. They were to name and care for their bunny for several days, treating it as a child or beloved pet. They brought the bunny with them during their week of surviving in the wilderness. (Some of you see where this is going...)
Most were able to hold off for days with no food or water, until they broke down in a moment of weakness and had the rabbit for lunch. Although, by that point, it was too late. They were already in a state of exhaustion and not able to think clearly.
The lesson of the bunny? Eat the bunny early. Keep your strength up and you wits about you in all areas of your life, instead of letting yourself become weak, depleted and unable to think through decisions, resulting in acting out of desperation and panic.
Robert and Kim Kiyosaki and the Rich Dad company have taken a huge step forward in creating a weekly television show. This show is airing first here in Arizona. The show has been on for three weeks now, tonight will be the fourth episode.
I wanted to share this video of Robert and Kim Kiyosaki along with their friends, family and staff as they celebrate the first episode that aired. Whether you are a Kiyosaki fan or share his philosophies, or not, I think there is something very real and personable about this video and hope more people will give what they have to say a chance. They are the real deal.
Thanks to my buddy John at Rich Dad Underground for posting the video!
Some of you know that I work with Kim Kiyosaki helping her develop Rich Woman. I have the unique opportunity to sit in on the staff meetings each week with Robert Kiyosaki. Every week, I learn something new, and I am always challenged to learn and grow more, to take full responsibility for my own financial future.
This past week marked 10 years since the book Rich Dad Poor Dad was launched (six years on the NY Times Best Seller list). Robert shared what his vision was for starting the company, and why he continues: Financial education so we can all take personal responsibility for ourselves, creating our own "financial ark", instead of trusting the government, a family member, husband, or job to take care of us.
This ties in with a question our friend J.D. asked this week, "When did you start caring about your finances?"
For me, the idea of personal responsibility is one I have known in my head. I have heard it for years. But the reality of it really hit me hard when I became a single mom, responsible for two little ones. There was nobody else but me to provide. The reality is that it was my responsibility all along to take care of myself. But it was so easy to let someone else worry about that, while I focused on raising kids etc.
Ladies, it's time to ask yourself if you truly care about your finances and future- and continue on if you have been taking control. No matter where you find yourself, married, single, divorced- the reality is that your future is your own responsibility. No matter if you prefer Suze Orman, Jean Chatzky, or Kim Kiyosaki, what are you doing today to prepare for the future you will one day live in?
Cash flow is lifeblood: Can’t do much without either.
Our boy Lazy Man (and his money) commented on Jeffrey Strain’s 10 Reasons You Aren’t Rich earlier this week. He also added a few of his own reasons, the last one I had to say a hearty “Amen” to this one:
“You Need to Have Income - Many people will say this is not true, that’s it’s always possible to spend less than you earn. Back in the Dot Com bust, I had lost all my income except for the occasional contracting gig. I became a frugal maven out of necessity. I would not have become rich with that life style though.”
Cash flow, or income is one of those things we tend to take for granted, until one day…we don’t have it. Then we realize how important it is.
I realized the importance of money coming in when starting my first business. We were advised to keep our day jobs and build the business part time. We were also advised to work on the business full time, if we really wanted to make the business succeed. We would have to make time for it, if we wanted to have any money coming in.
We opted to “burn the ships” as it were. We had no income, but the funny thing was, we still had the same amount of bills to pay…or rather more bills to pay because we were starting a business! It was lean times for sure. Ever try living off $200 with a family of four, with two in diapers? Yeah, I don’t recommend it…
I learned some valuable lessons during that time though. #1....
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Pre-Order your copy of The Art of War For Women to be Tuesday April 10!
Maybe it’s the farm girl in me but when we got our house, the first thing I had the hubby do was put up a clothesline. Ours runs along the side of the house, lower than the fence (so the neighbors don’t have to see it and even people in our backyard can’t see it).
I don’t hang in the winter (some clothesline fanatics do – the freeze dry technique) but once spring comes, I’m out there like a dirty…no, wait clean shirt. I can certainly tell the difference between drying inside and out (no matter the dryer sheet, the smell is never the same) and there’s something, I don’t know, homey about seeing my linens moving in the breeze.
Does this save money? Yeah, a bit if you hang laundry for years. A basic line costs about $20 if you do it on the cheap (and don’t get those lovely wooden clothespins that I put on my birthday list). Does it save time? Not really though often I don’t have iron dress shirts if I use hangers (I hate ironing…I once ironed early in the morning and managed to give myself a third degree burn on my arm, not my brightest moment). A time saving trick is putting the pins in an apron. Lets me hang with both hands.
The big win is really the environmental angle. Harnessing the sun’s energy instead of processed electricity. Also clothes last longer (you know what dryer lint is? Bits of your clothes). I had a favorite pair of pants. By the spring they were almost ready for the scrap bin. They lasted through the summer clothesline season, then the first time I put them in the dryer…done. Oh, and don’t forget the smell. Nice.
Project Laundry List lists some other reasons for hang drying.
I am not one much for politics, but I do like to laugh. I found myself watching a bit of the Daily Show With Jon Stewart. He was talking with Doris Kearns Goodwin about her book Team of Rivals , and there was something interesting said about Abraham Lincoln.
The book was about how Abraham Lincoln made it a point to bring in rivals and the people who "would-be" president into his cabinent or kept around to advise. These people disagreed with him, criticized his war policies, etc.
This is brilliant on a number of different levels, and something we can take and apply to our own lives. If we surround ourselves only with people who agree with us on finances, religion, politics, etc. we may end up with a very biased and perhaps inaccurate view point.
At least if we are willing to read, listen to, and talk with people who have differing view points, we will be challenged to look at those things which may not make sense, we may become more firm and convinced of what we believe, but at the very least we will have heard all sides and make a more well rounded and informed decision.
(Lincoln was also quoted as saying, "Do I not defeat my enemy when I make him my friend?" He knew how to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. That's a post for another day I suppose.)
Back to the point of how we may apply to this our own lives. Many of us here are interested in finance, yet we do not all agree on what is the best way. The truth is there are many ways to make, manage and grow our money.
Kimber and I tend to be more growth minded than most others; I follow a more "Rich Dad" way of thinking (which he didn't invent, just repackaged), while Kimber is not a big Kiyosaki fan. We also read and link to different resources and blogs, many of which have vastly different ideas about wealth building and finance. We can learn from all of them, even if they aren't really rivals.
Do you allow for differing points of view or ideas?
"Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions." -- Aung San Suu Kyi
Yes, it is true, Seth Godin has a new book out titled "The Dip". I had a little fun following the links to his new secret site to read more about The Dip. There I discovered he was turning his usual book tour on it's ear and doing something new:
Here's the deal. (Details are here). In each city I'm able to get to, if you buy 5 books (in advance), you get to come hear me give a speech for free. OR, if you prefer to think of it differently, if you pay $50 to hear me speak, you get five books for free.
So far, his plans include Philadelphia and Chicago; however, our Phoenix homeboy Matt came up with an idea to see if he could get Seth to make a trip to Phoenix to speak!
Matt set up a spot at Pledge Bank to rally everyone who would like to have Seth come speak:
"I will pay $50 to hear Seth Godin speak in Phoenix and receive 5 copies of his new book, The Dip but only if 499 other people in the Phoenix area will do the same."— Matt LaPrairie, Phoenix resident
Deadline to sign up by: 30th April 2007
The No Limits Ladies made a pledge. If you would like to take part in this event, whether you live in Phoenix or not, make sure you sign up today to bring Seth to Phoenix!
I made the controller I was training cry yesterday. The man screwed up big time. That didn’t draw my ire (having screwed up more than once…a day myself). What irritated me was that he a) wasn’t sorry about it, b) not only did not take corrective action but c) passed the mess off to someone else and d) then tried to blame that helpful person (not me).
And I don’t think I really made him cry. Because when I left his office in disgust, the man packed up his things, called his wife (quite cheerfully, I could hear the whole conversation) and headed off for an early dinner and movie. The rest of us were left trying to recover what we could of year end.
But that got me to thinking of back in the day, before I was Stone Cold Kimber, when I was Junior Jammer Kimber, and yes, I did cry at work a couple times.
My thoughts on crying at work is
Don’t.
No matter what the circumstances, suck it up til you can cry in private (that’s why there are doors on bathroom stalls). Women have the unfair reputation of being emotional (which is a bad thing, passion, an emotion, is however a good thing). Crying at work feeds that. It says that you can’t handle the pressure and the pressure only rises as you climb the corporate ladder.
I like to take preventative action. If I feel the frustration building, I’ll read a sappy novel or watch a tear jerker (Beaches is good for that). That drains me dry so there are no waterworks at work.
Barring that, my trick is that if I walk into a confrontational/emotional situation, I pretend that I’m watching a tv show. I’m Stone Cold because I’m detached. It’s not happening to me but to that charming actress playing me (if only they could find someone thinner).
That usually works but in the rare instances that my defenses don’t hold, I employ the male method. I get angry. Red hot anger burns all the tears away. Thump the desk. Pace. Give people cut eye. Try not to say anything stupid in anger but even that is better than crying.
What does this have to do with money?
Of course, you can grow wealthy without an extra zero at the end of your salary, but it sure doesn’t hurt.
I read a lot of PF Blogs. I am convinced that our problem is not lack of money, but rather that we have too much. Let me explain.
Single Ma lamented about spending too much money dressing for success. I hear that girl. Why did I spend so much on clothes, books, eating out, and other crap with crappy returns?
Because I could. It's the same as trying to lose weight but making sure you keep the Chips Ahoy in the pantry- of course you are going to eat them! They are right there!!!
Why did I spend that money? I had access to it. So how do we keep from spending money we shouldn't? Here are some solutions I have come up with:
1) More self-control. This is a great one, but I can't really afford to wait for mine to finish being developed (unless anyone knows where I can go buy some- wait- there I am spending more money!)
2) Make the money more difficult to access. I can put my savings in different banks, or in accounts that I do not have direct access to, but are still liquid enough for emergencies.
3) Tie up the cash buying assets. This is what I am going to do.
While I am learning more control over myself, and my savings is being moved to another bank I do not have immediate access to, for me buying assets is the answer.
I know what I can live off, and I know what I have left over each month. I can buy another house with that money, or invest in gold or silver each week. I haven't wanted to, because I like my comfortable life. But it is not going to take me to the next level of financial independence. A scarcity mindset will tell me to hold on to it. An abundant mindset will tell me to put it back out there to grow.
When I buy that next house, things will be tighter. I am nervous. That's good. Emergence through emergency. When I have to make that money, I will. When I have to stretch and grow, or tighten up and be better with my finances, I will.
So instead of taking the easy way out, I face my fears, I make the most educated choices I can, and I move forward because I would rather tie my money up investing in things rather than buy shoes that only tie.
Do you have money you are spending on crap each month that you could be putting into your financial future?
Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what the hell happened.
- Cora Harvey Armstrong-
Jonathan Alter who writes for Newsweek shared very candidly about his experience with Cancer in his article My Life With Cancer.
Since we have been talking with our blogger friend Gekko about insurance and the financial ramifications , this part really caught my attention (though the whole article is a must read):
During my annus horribilis, NEWSWEEK let me work at home and helped me navigate the insanity of the American health-care system. The claims forms are impenetrable and accompanied by pseudo-sympathetic bill collectors. How do other patients with life-threatening illnesses even begin to handle it?Cancer is seriously expensive, and no insurance company covers all of it. I met a lymphoma survivor whose wife left him after he sold the house to pay for his transplant. Now he's clinically depressed, too. But at least he's not uninsured or bankrupt.
The majority of personal bankruptcies in the United States come from medical expenses, not sloth. In its hideous 2005 bankruptcy "reform," Congress sided with credit-card companies and kicked cancer survivors when they were down.
What preparations have you made or how have you come through a difficult health issue? What resources are there out there we can share with one another?
On a side note, today Lance Armstrong had a live chat on this subject and you can read the transcript here or you can visit Lance Armstrong's blog here.
For the next week and a half, I’m swamped. I’m training a new controller at my contract gig during year end, finishing my latest round of edits for the novel, completing tax season freebies, blogging, investing, and to top it all off, my Mom is coming down for her once a year visit next week (always timed for the baseball home opener).
So I asked for help.
But I’ll confess, it was a difficult thing to do. Although I may be the Queen of Delegation, asking for help irks me each and every time. It feels like a failure. Like if I had it all together (which I currently don’t), I could handle it myself.
The thing I forget, however, is that long term relationships are two way. Healthy people feel comfortable if they’re “even”, giving as much as they take (this post isn’t about vampires, and martyrs).
I’m very good at giving. If a friend needs a favor, I’m there. If a family member is short of cash, I pick up the bill. If a co-worker is feeling poorly, I cover for her. Yesterday, I spent the day answering phones because the receptionist had a family emergency. I think I lost more calls…
In contrast, I’m terrible at taking. I’m better at it than I once was, now that I make a concentrated effort. I feel like I’m imposing on people and gasp, if I ask, they might say no. What I forget is that people want to say yes. They want to help me, to get back to being even. Its stressing them out.
If I want to keep these relationships, I have to ask for help.
It always surprises me the things I get to do, the people I get to meet, and the experiences I get to have all because I ask. Of course there are some rules for asking, but really, if you ask politely and are always willing to give something in return, the sky is the limit.
I love how Wayne Gretzky puts it: "You miss every shot you don't take."
The same thing goes for asking. They may say no. However, they may also say yes. What do you have to lose?
It's a friend's birthday this week. I know they really like a particular book and thought an autographed copy would make an especially thoughtful gift. So I researched how to contact the authors, and asked. I asked politely, and explained the situation. I offered to buy the book and pay for the cost of sending it. I also offered to return the favor in some way.
Guess what? The book is in the mail. How cool is that?
What things are you missing out on because you haven't taken a chance to ask? It may be something small, it may be something big. Start today... be the girl who asks!
In order to drive home the point for today, I wanted to share this poem about asking that was posted by our friend Jon over at the Art of Money:
“I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
“For Life is just an employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
“I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.”
You can download Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill for free in ebook format.
It is difficult to build wealth without practicing delayed gratification. The basic concept of investing is to spend a dollar now to buy an investment which will pay multiple dollars later.
Any learning is easier at a younger age (both good and bad) so this weekend I introduced this difficult concept to one of my favorite future investors.
A loved one is turning 7 on Saturday. Another loved one will be visiting her the weekend after. I gave the soon-to-be 7 year old the choice. I could spend $20 on postage so she could have her present on time. Or I could send the present a week later and give her the $20 to spend.
I also told her that she had to make the decision that day (decision making being another key skill).
Now, you and I would look at this choice and think “no brainer” but in a 7 year old’s mind, a week difference is an eternity. Add to that, parents supplying basic needs (and more) and the $20 doesn’t seem too exciting.
My soon-to-be 7 year old contemplated this for about 10 minutes over the phone, running through the different scenarios (the present could get lost, the loved one could not visit, etc, etc). Finally, she decided upon waiting a week (she told me that spending money on postage was a “silly waste”).
She made a decision and she chose delayed gratification. Two big learning in one situation (and yes, handling her birthday money will be another learning).
Oh, and I hear that she’s more excited about making a big decision by herself than her birthday. Go figure!
I have decided to really incorporate building a business into my NLL blogging schedule. Why? Because I feel every woman should be minding her own business. Some of you are entrepreneurs... you just did not know it yet!
I ran across this article in Business Week titled "She did it her way", which highlighted the stories of nine women who, well, did it their way!
One caught my eye in particular, Ladies Who Launch. I checked out their site, and liked what I saw. As a woman who knew nothing about business, read a book, and delusionally thought "I can do that", I think a site full of resources like this one could prove to be invaluable.
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.
-Eleanor Roosevelt-
Rich Woman.com is hosting a Book Study through Rich Woman, a book on investing for women, by Kim Kiyosaki. Click here for the overview and full book study schedule. Each Monday, a new thread is started on the Rich Woman forums for the currnet chapter being discussed. Grab yourself a copy of Rich Woman, follow along and join the discussion with other like-minded women!
I called up a lawn care service last week. I asked the person answering the call basic questions and she answered them happily. When I had a more complicated question, the woman said she’d have an “expert” call me back.
Why did the “expert” have to call me back?
Because what I had called wasn’t the business but an answering service.
Small businesses or busy professionals often outsource their telephone services, hiring people to answer the phones, giving them a list of answers to common questions. They normally pay a monthly rate (in my area about $100 a month).
That person answering the phone could be you.
Organization is key. Multiple phone lines, multiple customers, multiple messages. Being able to switch from one company to another. Tracking everything about the message. Handling irate customers. Selling services over the phone.
But this is also a job that can be done from home or even from the beach. Phone calls are easy to forward and redirect. The call records can be done on a hand held (a crackberry) and sent to the small business email account.
Here are some resources on this business…
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/BizIdeas/answer1.htm#Introduction
http://www.at-homeworks.com/answering_service.htm
I hear from my buddies all the time “Why bother investing an extra $5 or $10? It won’t make any difference.”
Tell that to the elderly lady I met this weekend.
She came in to get her taxes done for free (a volunteer service) and, although the session ended with me bawling my eyes out, I considered myself lucky to complete her return.
She was as sweet as anything, loving and warm, but the topic she came back to again and again was how long it would take to get her meager refund. I was puzzled, and a little irritated (after her asking 15 times in a half hour), as to why.
And then she told me.
You see she’s dying. She has a tumor pressing against her spine. She doesn’t have years or even months to live. She has days. Her husband of 54 years is in a home, also dying but slower. The complication is that he has Alzheimer’s and she’s worried that if he outlives her, he’ll have no one to speak for him, no one to visit him, no one to love him. He’s past remembering, past even speaking. Without her, he’ll be left in darkness.
So what will this dying woman do with her refund?
The bus service for the handicapped has limited resources. She has access to the service only one day a week. The only other way for her to get to the home is by taxi. $75 is the cost of a round trip taxi ride to see her husband. When I told her she was getting $800 back, she thanked me, saying that if she gets the refund in time, she’d be able to see her husband 10 more times.
10 more times.
Yeah, told you I was bawling (especially as she said this like she had been given the greatest gift ever).
So what would $10 have meant to this dear, sweet woman? $10 invested 54 years ago, on their wedding day, at 4% (8% adjusted for inflation) would be worth $83.
She could see her husband one more time.
"The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose."
- E.M. Gray
A girl we know (from back in the day on the RD forums) has her hand in many things, inlcuding this blog where she was talking about Goals Beyond Personal Fulfillment. She plays with the idea of goals met bringing us to a "now what?" feeling or goals met opening up the world to even more.
I think about this a lot. I am very goal oriented. I have to be, because I am so easily distracted (sparkly things and cute boys). I have a financial plan, which for me means building passive income to be secure (got it), comfortable (almost), and then rich. I have specific numbers in mind as well as dates.
This quote sums it up best for me:
“If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.” – Chinese proverb
For me, my financial goals being met will open the world up for me to do what I really want to do. For now, I focus on the financial foundation I'm laying as well as acquiring the tools I will need for the future I want to live.
In setting your own goals, do you the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time?
This page contains all entries posted to No Limits Ladies.com in April 2007. They are listed from oldest to newest.
March 2007 is the previous archive.
May 2007 is the next archive.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.