I guess in our world today, most
of us will not have the money to buy a home up front without the benefit of a
loan. I know we certainly never would. What bothers me now though is that so
much of our western world lives off of- “Don’t pay a cent till 2014” or “No interest,
no deposit” philosophies.
Do we really need that new mattress so much right now, that
we have to take it home today? Do we forget that they will have another sale in
two months on the same product? Do we not have the option to wait? Too many of
us have taken the opportunity to “buy now” on too many luxuries. This attitude is soon caught by our children.
One strategy we adopted with our children is to make a list.
If you want something, write it down. This eliminates the stresses of the in-store
“Please, please, please” routine. If you really want it, write it on your list
and you can save up for it. Its amazing the number of times those “must have” items
never make it to the “must have” list.
Another strategy we have, which many people have, is to have
your children put a certain amount of money away. In this way we teach them to
create a savings account, and not spending every dollar that comes in. One son
couldn’t believe that he had 100 dollars in his bank account and has set the
goal to build that to 200.
Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover has been a real benefit
to our family. I have a link to his site at the top right of this blog. One of
his expressions is to “live like no one else does now, so you can live like no
one else does later.” Simple and profound all at once.
What about you? Do you have financial strategies you’ve used
at home to help with the “I want it now” syndrome?
2 comments:
I actually lived on very little for the first 10 years of my working life and invested it all.
I haven't worked in five years and will never have to work for the rest of my life, but basically the same strategies. I lived poor, but reaped a lot.
Great post!
We went through some tough financial times. As a kid I wasn't taught how to manage money. We are now on track and have talked openly with our kids as to what happened, why and how to manage money. The kids get an allowance. This money is not tied to any chores or anything. They can earn extra money by doing certain things like mowing the lawn. They each have their own bank account where all the money is put. If they want something they have to put forethought into it as they don't have easy access to money. As they get older they seem to be understanding that things don't make you happy no matter what the commercials say, and they talk about that when they see commercials for things.
I love watching "Till Debt do us Part" Gail Vaz Oxlade is an amazing person with a no nonsense money approach
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