What Does 2008 Have in Store for You?

Well Christmas Day was once again full of laughter, fun and way too much food! It was an early start for most parents with young children as the excitement and the build up to Christmas tends to spill over into light sleeping and frenzied anticipation of hearing sleigh bells ringing delivering gifts from their Wish List. All too often the pre-Christmas time seems so much more exciting than the real thing. The budget usually gets pushed beyond original intentions and by the time three bin bags of excess Christmas Gift boxes and packaging have been filled, you usually feel somewhat deflated as to what all the fuss was about in the first place.
Christmas cheer soon takes on a reality check somewhere after the New Years Eve Party and you start literally counting the cost of Christmas. If the cost of Christmas has been funded yet again by credit cards then 2008 can suddenly seem less of a Happy New Year and suddenly feel like "yet another year of the same old thing".
Whatever your plans are for 2008, make sure you start with a properly prepared Christmas 2008 - start thinking about it in January. Our Kids Money Packs don't just teach children good money habits, they usually have a profound effect on their parents!
It is without doubt that children form life long habits from their parents intially and this can be the only influence when it comes to money habits, as the subject is not taught in schools. So take a moment to think that if you just struggled your way through yet another Christmas - you are probably dooming your children to a lifetime of the same.
If you truly want to clear credit cards in the fastest time possible, get a copy of Control Freak A Recipe for Debt Freedom here www.payoffyourmortgagein8yearsorless.co.uk

If it is better money management and budgeting ( the way Millionaires do ) then get a copy of Money for Life here www.controlfreakltd.co.uk

I am so excited about 2008, I jump for joy just thinking about it - how do you feel about it?
Kind regards
Diane

Merry Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas to one and all. As another year draws to a close, it's a great time of year to reflect on 2007 and make plans for 2008. Remember to spend quality time with your family over the Christmas Holidays, the most treasured memories are moments that you share. Your children will remember the day you played Monopoly with them more than what they opened on Christmas morning. It is becoming increasingly important to make sure quality time is shared with all the latest gadgets taking away from traditional family values. It is still thankfully one of the rare occassions that all family members gather round the dining table to enjoy a feast together in celebration of Christmas. What a great opportunity to look into the glistening eyes of children's excitement on the day and remember what it is like to look forward to something so much you can hardly sleep at night.

2008 can be a fantastic year, it really is what you make it. Most of us set out a goal for the coming year, but very few of us set out a plan for the future. Make sure you think past the next 12 months when it comes to your children's future. Add up the cost of Christmas this year and take a moment to fast forward to Christmas 2017 - what plans have you got in place now that leave you prepared for the cost of that Christmas.

Best wishes for a healthy, prosperous New Year, Diane

Wow I Wish I Had This When I Was a Kid!

When I was growing up my parents gave me a money box for my savings, I had a National Savers account at The Post Office, a paper round and not a clue about compound interest. Luckily as a scholar of life with a fascination for philosophy and a follower of The Secret I have through study, trial and error formed a natural tendancy for problem avoidance and a wealth of knowledge about money management.
It is with deep sorrow that I read today's headlines showing shoppers are nervous of spending, their homes are starting to devalue and there is suddenly an ill wind of worry and doubt sweeping through a large part of the population. the crazy thing as I see it is that the whole "worry" issue can be avoided completely if you learn that compound interest plus time = a financially secure future. The reason for the blog title is simply this - your children have time on their side and I know if I really had got a Kids Money Pack at a young age I would have saved myself and my family an awful lot of worry, pain and sleepless nights. Best wishes Diane

Conspiracy Theory or Not Banks Are Making a Killing from Financial Ignorance

It cannot be a coinicidence that the apparent withdrawal of prominent young savers schemes has added to the demise in the so called "credit crunch". It was not that long ago that you could not walk down a high street without seeing a "We Welcome Young Savers Sign" in banks and building societies. Our tests revealed that out of 9 random visits only 1 had a leaflet for young savers on display.
Conspiracy theory or fact - you decide. If this country continues to operate in the dark in basic financial literacy by the time your children reach 18 they will more than likely be completely unprepared to handle the credit cards, store cards and student loans that suddenly head their way. Which has been the case for too long already.
Have you ever thought banks might like it this way - if we continue being uneducated in financial terms the banks can charge us interest. If you grow up knowing that compound interest is what the banks should be PAYING you in the long term - then it is you that regains what is rightfully yours.
This post appears today, the day it is revealed that over 1 million homeowners in the UK will not be paying their mortgage this month because of Christmas. Surely it is time the tide turned.

How Consistent are you being with your Kids & Money?

IS THIS SCENARIO FAMILIAR?

Having listened to a group of Mums recently discussing the subject of money with their children a message seemed to be coming across over & over again.
The same message is why your children will not grow up with any knowledge about money management and it is because as parents we tend to do the same tired old thing— we let them use OUR money to buy things instead of using their own. Now children will usually fall into one of two categories—they will either be hoarders or spenders. Some will have no money left 24 hours after pocket money day & others will not have spent a penny of their OWN money for weeks, months, sometimes even years.

Now whilst we are on the surface being kind hearted, two things usually follow:- the first is that we are guilty of not actually TEACHING anything by this behaviour and secondly we are very rarely absolutely consistent with this approach.

For example :- It’s your child’s disco at school, it only happens a couple of times a year, it costs £1 plus your child will need some money for drinks and food when they are there. It is just after pay day, you can relax for the next few weeks and you have some surplus income, so you say to your child,

“here’s the £1 to get in plus here’s another £ 2.50 to have some treats when you are there, maybe you can even treat your best friend.” Your child says WOW, he/she is more happy & off they go.

SAME SCENARIO but one big difference—it is 7 days AWAY from pay day when the next disco comes round. Now you have already not only been great about the entrance fee, but you gave them a little “extra” last time. Your child runs in from school—comes straight up to you smiling ( because it was such a good experience last time ) and says “ Can I have £ 3.50 to go to the disco tonight please?”

I am not a betting person, but I would put money on you not repeating what you did last time, the phrase” What do you think I am , made of money?” usually appears in there somewhere, or “How many more discos are there to go to?” may be your reaction , but you can begin to see where our inconsistent approaches to money with our children begin to emerge.

By using our principles, that are easily applied, this sort of occurrence should become a thing of the past.

Stop being too kind hearted when it comes to buying your children everything, especially if you insist ( or worse still; they insist ) that they do not spend their own money. Of course given the choice they will spend yours! Not only that it will become a life time habit—a computer game today £39.99—a car when they are older £ 2500—they WILL not see any difference, unless you start to apply these principles. Your children will appreciate knowing these skills forever.

Kind regards
Diane

UK's first site about money management for kids!

2007 / 12 /06

The new site is the first of it's kind aimed at introducing simple money management for kids. In the USA when a child is born - they think college fund, when a child is born in the UK - they think education is free. If education is free why is there so much student debt?
So I am out to change the way an entire nation thinks - introducing a ground breaking concept for parents - Kids Money Packs

www.kidsmoneypack.co.uk