Teacher, Debbie

So it’s time to go shopping again for school clothes.

Many years ago I dredded that day. Not only because of the time it took, but all the “Please. Please, Please, mom, it only costs $75.00 and it’s so cool, I just have to have it. Please mom.” Well you know the story, and most of the time you would give in and spend more than you intended to.

Then one year it came to me. I go to work to earn the money it takes to buy all this stuff while my dear little angels sit at home watching T.V. doing nothing I’ve asked them to do, or very little. Then I would complain about all that I needed to do when I got home. So why was I doing this to myself?

I came up with a plan. I would teach them about money, work and I would get all those things that I thought I had to do, accomplished.

I got them together and asked them if they would like to earn $100.00 each.

Now of course you choose what amount you spend out of your budget to match the amount you would like to spend. You know by the time you buy shoes, pants, shirts, socks, undies, jackets, backpacks,supplies, well you’ve already gone over your $100.00. So you may want this to be for clothes.

Of course they were excited to earn that amount of money. ‘There are rules first, you have to spend every penny on school related items. They also have to match my standards of modesty. And when you have run out of money you have to stop, so be very careful what you spend it on.’ Decide with them what it is that they need, how many shirts, pants etc. You can even estimate costs or go into how much on supplies, pants, shirts etc. be as detailed as you want.

Now head for the store. Show them the Clearance and % off racks first so that you have an alternative when you need one. Let them pick it out and you just hold onto it. Remind them how much they have and begin the shopping. When the “Please, Please, Please mom” starts tell them, “Well you have $100.  if you spend $27 on one shirt then you may not be able to get any others, or you could get these 3 shirts for the same amount, the choice is up to you, are you sure you want to spend that much on one shirt?”

Do the same with all their choices. They may even decide to use last years backpack so they can get something else. Above all you stay true to the amount. They must learn the consequences or this won’t work. Now if you do want to give them the option of doing more work for you at home, you can go ahead and purchase the item and give it to them only when they have earned the money to pay for it, just like the real world. Then when X-Mas comes around you will know just what they need.

Here is a caution, don’t let them think they have to get paid for everything they do around the home. They should earn the money from extra jobs. And you may want to only do this for special times, especially if you give an allowance.And of course there are times when they NEED  to get new shoes or coat, you can go ahead and take them shopping on your terms. This really helped me with the dreaded school shopping trip.

I found that this took the effort away from me to have to make them help me around the house and yard. If one child didn’t want to do the job another one was there to say, “I’ll do it.”

You may want to try it or use the idea and come up with what will work for you.

Happy Shopping

This was sent to me through an email. Unfortunately there was no author. I want to thank the person who wrote this for bringing it to all our attention. I would also like to thank the Teacher, Martha Cothren for teaching us a valuable lesson.

First Day of Schllo ( A Must Read)

This is excellent. If only our Congress could teach such positives by example.

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a school teacher at Robinsom High School in Little Rock, Arkansas did something no to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she moved all of the desks out of her classroom. When the first period students entered the room they discovered tha there were no desks.

Looking aroun, confused, they adked,”Ms. Cothren, where’re our desks?” She replied, “You can’t have a desk until you tell me what you have done to earn the right to sit at a desk.”

They thought, “Well, maybe it’s our grades.” “No, she said. “Maybe it’s our behavior.” She told them “No, it’s not even your behavior.”

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in MS. Cothren’s classroon to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, “Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarly found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.”

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniform, walded into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall.

By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, “You didn’t earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it’s up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don’t EVER forget it.”

This is a true story…. for more details, please read this:

…http://www.snopes.com/glurge/nodesks.asp

If you can read this - thank a teacher!

If you can read it in English - thank a soldier!

You may remember this from other years, some things are worth reading every year.

 Dear Internal Revenue Service:

Enclosed you will find my 2008 tax return showing that I owe $3,407.00 in taxes.

Please note this is from an article from the USA Today newspaper; dated 12 November, wherein you will see the Pentagon (Department of Defense) is paying $171.50 per hammer and NASA has paid $600.00 per toilet seat.

I am enclosing four (4) toilet seats (valued @ $2,400) and six (6) hammers valued @ $1,029), which I secured at Home Depot, bringing my total remittance to $3,429.00.

Please apply the overpayment of $22.00 to the ‘Presidential Election Fund,’ as noted on my return.

You can do this inexpensively by sending them one (1) 1.5′ Phillips Head screw (see aforementioned article from USA Today newspaper detailing how H.U.D. pays $22.00 each for 1.5′ Phillips Head Screws).
It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year.

Sincerely,
A Satisfied Taxpayer
 I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
           -Winston Churchill

Debt-Free Living

There are two types of people in this world …

those who have learned how to pay off their debts sooner and

those who are certainly getting taken advantage of.

Just for a moment imagine what your life would be like if you didn’t have a mortgage payment, credit card bills, or auto loans. Imagine what you could do, go on a trip you’ve always wanted, fix up your home, spend more time doing the things you want to do, feeling the peace of mind that can only comes with freedom of debt.

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Starting Off Early With Teenagers and Money

I remember my first paying job working at an Arctic Circle. At sixteen years old I was making an impressive $2.50 an hour, and having nothing to spend it on but myself. My mom even put gas in my car and paid all the expenses on the old Falcon 500, grandma’s old car.

I’m not really sure were the money went each week, I don’t remember having anything to show for it. But I do remember thinking I was rich and not realizing, I really was. Because the next year I went to live with my father and boy did things change very quickly. He made me pay for everything, gas and all. How unfair was that?

As I have watched my own children with their first jobs I have often asked myself, which way in the long run was best for me? So I have taken the best of both, and have taught them how to plan, save and choose what is most important. And have helped them balance their budgets and learn the value of money to make their dreams come true.

 I found these guidelines to help me, I don’t always do everything suggested, but it’s a start.

The following are good guideline for helping your kids manage their money effectively.

1. Start Saving Early. One of the tools we have used is starting a savings account for the kids’ college years when they were about 9 or 10. Even at $10 every two weeks, the savings added up to a noticeable balance by the time they were older teens.

2. Set Spending and Savings Patterns Early. Our rule at home is that 10% of each child’s earnings is used for charitable contributions–a way to give back to the community or church. An additional 40% goes into a savings account that Mom or Dad have to sign for to withdraw funds. This we call the “college fund” and is reserved for getting the child into college or some appropriate post secondary activity. The remaining 50% can be used at the child’s discretion, but we also set up an additional savings account for them to use for this play money. By setting some patterns while they are under your roof, kids can learn good spending and budgeting habits.

3. Consider a Matching Savings Fund. Some parents I have talked with encourage savings by matching dollar for dollar what their children put into a college fund. This pattern allows them to see first hand their parents’ attitudes about money management.

4. Family Financial Councils. About once a year, we take one of our weekly family counsel meeting to discuss family finances. We take Mom and Dad’s gross monthly income and convert it to Monopoly money and then go through the family budget with the children. This helps them see how Mom and Dad budget and how much things cost in the real world. Utility and transportation costs are usually the most shocking for them, and it helps them see the trade-offs that are inherent in any budgeting process.

5. Checking Accounts. Helping an older teen establish a checking account can be the next step in teaching financial responsibility. Most banks and credit unions offer special plans for teens. Also, sit down with your teen at the computer and visit the Checkbook Basics site at aboutchecking.com. This site offers online lessons in writing and recording checks, reviewing statements and balancing your account.

Linking to United First Financial.

I’m happy to be blogging for the first time, learning a new skill and meeting new people. Tell me about yourself.

I’m a mother with a famous name, a 1st grade teacher of 18 years and I have a great job teaching others how to keep more of their own hard earned money.

A lot of us people are having trouble making our paycheck stretch, we just don’t have enough money. We need to change what we’re doing to be able to change the outcome we see coming. We need to get out of debt.

Some people have learned how to get out of debt quicker and within the same budget.

Some people have learned how to retire early, and be out of debt.

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