Food |
House |
Money |
Fun |
Saw this report on CNN about preparing kids for a leaner Christmas in the wake of the current economic conditions. It’s so important to make sure their expectations are in line with the family budget. And kids will get it when you sit down and explain things to them - as it says in the report, they’ll probably be anxious to help think of presents that are more manageable.
5. Acknowledge – Take time this holiday season to acknowledge those important people in your life. Encourage your kids to write them a letter, poem or story to acknowledge those important people in their life and why they are part of it. What a great gift! Consider the thought and heart that goes into writing an eulogy… wouldn’t it be a great gift to write something that acknowledges our loved ones, friends and mentors right now when they are present to receive it!
4. Time - ever heard the expression that “Time is Money”? Save Santa and the spirit of the holiday season this year by giving time to your family and others rather than buying the traditional gift of a Christmas candle or figurine. How many of you have received these small gift items and either left them packed away, donated them to a charity or re-wrapped them and passed them onto someone else? As time is such a valuable commodity, giving your time to your family through family traditions, volunteering at a community fundraiser such as Santa’s Anonymous and visiting with friends is one of the greatest gifts we can give over the holiday season. It will truly show those you care about how much they mean to you and it creates lasting memories.
3. Needs vs. Wants - help your child understand the difference between needs and wants. Retailers and marketers “sell” to our wants and feed on our emotions to capture our purchasing dollar. Children are easy targets for mass media advertising and the temper tantrum at the store check out counter is not an unfamiliar scene for most parents. By teaching your children about the necessities for life and how to plan and save for the wants, empowers them to budget their money, have choice and make sound purchasing decisions in the face of high pressure advertising campaigns. Your children will learn about the power of delayed gratification which is the cornerstone to developing healthy saving habits!
2. Activate Abundance – the spirit of Santa or the holiday season is about sharing what we have with others. Helping your child understand that receiving “what is” or whatever they get with gratitude, is the key to creating abundance in their lives. When we feel abundant and grateful for what we have, we are able to give more generously of ourselves with both time and money.
1. Spend Wisely - Don’t buy knick knacks and “on volume” just to fill the space under the tree. These things clutter the house and become “Cash in the Trash” very quickly. Pick one major gift for your child that is a lasting and more memorable item. This will serve in teaching your kids about the value of the dollar and help them develop a solid foundation around what value is.
If the economic crisis is getting you down, blogger, photographer, and mom, Heather Ives has posted her list of ten favourite things to do that are free. I really liked this one in particular - something I’d never thought of before:
3. If you still must have a massage. Train your kids in the practice. (or husband, but kids are sometimes more willing. ha ha.) I remember when I was pregnant with Lizzie and I gave each of my four little ones some lotion and a limb of mine to massage. Someone came to the door asking Jacob to play and I could hear him saying, “I can’t right now, I have to massage my mom.” He was 7 years old. Can you imagine that kid relaying that explanation to his mom. “Oh, Jacob can’t play right now he is massaging his mom.” I was cracking up. As a result my kids are seriously skilled. Especially in foot, hand, and scalp massages. Which are my favorites.
Living well, but spending less is all about knowing what’s most important to you. What are your priorities? What do you really want? What have you been doing to get it?
Many of us dream of traveling, owning a home, and retiring early, yet we put our money towards everything but. We eat out, we fritter our money away on lattes and lottery tickets hoping for a new life, but few of us really take concrete steps to figure out how to live well with the money we have.
Here’s a free tool to get you started:
Download “Identify Your Life Goals - What’s Important to You?”
As a parent, do you cringe when the mass media advertising hits the airwaves in November and your children start to chant, “Mom! Dad! Come see what’s on TV! That’s what I want for Christmas!”?
Well Christmas doesn’t have to be stressful for you or your pocket book if you teach your kids the language of money and early saving habits. You can help your kids embrace the holiday spirit, spend wisely, minimize the devastating impact on your wallet and credit card balances, and have one of the best holiday seasons ever.
Find out how with our Kids & Money expert Kim Deep, as she presents the five steps in her “Saving SANTA” strategy - that starts Monday November 10 for five days.
Save time and worry on your next trip by creating a travel checklist on a spreadsheet. By listing all the items you need and tasks to complete for your journey, the less stressed you’ll be and the less likely to forget something.
Put everything you can think of on your list, dividing items into categories, like business travel, vacations, home preparation, travel arrangements, etc. You won’t need every item on every trip, but why have multiple lists? You could create a column like REQUIRED so you can quickly see what’s relevant to a particular trip.
If you’d like some help getting started, Microsoft’s Office website has a traveler checklist template for Excel that you can download.
