Although coupons for travel smith my kids are no longer babies, they are still very young. My daughters are ages 1 and 3, and I have so many dreams for their future. I study them every day and my mind explodes with possibilities. What will my daughters be like when they grow up? What careers will they choose? Will they fall in love and find the happiness coupons for travel smith that I have? Will they graduate from college and become happy and productive adults?
At the same time, I feel compelled to fill their childhood with substance. Although my mother never pushed her ideas on me, she was constantly dropping subtle hints on what life would really be about. Sometimes I listened, and sometimes I didn t. While my mom certainly didn t know everything, she did teach me some amazing lessons about money. She taught me that working hard was not enough and that earning a lot wouldn t be enough coupons for travel smith either. coupons for travel smith She taught me to save my pennies and make plans for the money I made. She also taught me the greatest financial lesson of all to live below my means. She never preached it; she led by example.
My mom used to say this all the time and I hardly understood what she meant. Wouldn t it be smarter to make as much money as possible? Her advice just didn t make sense at the time. Since I was young and hadn t yet entered the workforce, it never rang true until much later in life.
Although I didn t get it at the time, I find her advice very relevant now that I am out in the real world. I am surrounded by people of all income levels on a daily basis, and what I have found is that a high income does not necessarily guarantee financial success. In other words, I know people coupons for travel smith who make a ton of money who are broke. I have acquaintances whose income is double our family income, yet they have little financial stability. Although they are high earners, they are constantly struggling. The reason is because they are simply spending it all. Contrastingly, I know people like my parents who managed coupons for travel smith to do quite well without ever earning very much at all. Living below one s means is the key to building wealth. Although earning a lot certainly helps, it is not the home run that it is made out to be.
I want my kids to know that they can have a very fulfilling and secure life with whatever job and corresponding pay level they choose. Some of the most amazing careers, in my opinion, are somewhat low-paying. Teachers and law enforcement officers should be hailed as heroes of our society, coupons for travel smith yet are paid very little. If one of my daughters wants to be a kindergarten teacher coupons for travel smith or social worker, I want her to know that she can live her dream and be financially secure just by living coupons for travel smith below her means. What I want my kids to learn is that choosing a high paying career does not necessarily ensure financial coupons for travel smith freedom. Living below their means at whatever level that may be is essential to being financially well-off.
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I did what typical young adults do when they start getting credit cards I ran them up. I m not sure if I ever had anything to show for the fluctuating balances that my credit cards always seemed to have, but I know that it was tedious and painful to pay them off. I spent many years ignoring my mom's advice. Instead of living within my means, I bought whatever I wanted and paid for it later. I punished myself in this way many times until I finally matured enough coupons for travel smith to stop for good. Although my mom s words went ignored for some time, they were also so ingrained in my mind that they ultimately (and luckily) prevailed.
I want my children to understand that acquiring debt can be a giant burden for years , even decades. I want to teach them that, yes, they can use credit to buy a house or to start a business, but that they shouldn t use credit to buy things that they cannot afford. coupons for travel smith It is true that using credit responsibly can lead to a great deal of wealth coupons for travel smith and security. At the same time, using credit carelessly can have long term consequences and cause so much unneeded coupons for travel smith stress and heartache. My kids should know that they don t have to struggle. They can instead choose to use debt responsibly and avoid a lot of headaches in the process.
When we were growing up, my mom left the workforce to stay home. She walked us to the city swimming coupons for travel smith pool, she made crafts with us, and she created games for us to learn and play. She taught us to have fun using our imaginations. Instead of playing with expensive gadgets and nifty new toys, we made dirtpies and played softball in the back yard. Since we didn t have new games from the store, we used markers and paper to create coupons for travel smith the games we wanted. We simply made do with what we had and, as a result, we were very happy. Although we never had much, we never really noticed. After all, we always had each other and the great outdoors to play in every day.
I want my kids to find happiness in small things. I want to teach them that sometimes the bigger coupons for travel smith house means more housework and the fancy car means pricey repairs. I want them to know that satisfaction in life cannot be bought or paid for it must be learned and achieved by learning to be happy with the reality of their own life. Stuff will never fill an empty heart. While acquiring things may bring temporary joy, it never works in the long run.
My mom taught me to delay gratification. She taught me how to save and think long and hard before spending my money. In turn, I want my daughters to learn to be happy with what they have and not to covet their neighbor s bigger and better object. My kids should know there will always be someone who has more than them, and that is perfectly okay.
There is nothing I want more on this earth than happiness for my two children. I hope they learn to work hard and be productive members of society. I dream that they will find something to believe in and strive for. I pray that they try not to compare themselves too much to others. And I hope that one day, some of my advice may be so ingrained coupons for travel smith in their minds that they simply cannot coupons for travel smith shake it off if they try. The whisper of my mom's great advice still rings in my head. I can only hope it will ring in theirs, too.
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Some of the most amazing careers, in my opinion, are somewhat low-paying. True that! I personally coupons for travel smith think being a college professor coupons for travel smith could easily be one of the most rewarding professions, but it can come with lower pay. People who get a masters and work in the private sector make more than people who spend an extra 3+ years getting coupons for travel smith their phd and work as a prof. That s the example that popped into my head, at least.
I was taught at a young age about money and if we have kids so will our children. I believe kids need to be taught young so they grow up understanding what living below ones means is about and how to spend money on wants and needs with a clear mind. Great post. Mr.CBB
Holly, I think that your kids are lucky to have a mother like you. You recognize coupons for travel smith that you learned a lot of good lessons from your mother, but had to make a few mistakes yourself to really appreciate them. With your history under their belts, hopefully their mistake time (none of us has been perfect with finances since day 1) will be even shorter =)
I love this post. My mom never taught us about money other than to be frugal, which is sort of vague. We didn t discuss money but I knew she didn t have debt, ever in her life, so I think she grew up assuming we d be the same way and didn t prioritize the money discussion. She grew up in a different era, not being bombarded with credit cards at university or being offered thousands of dollars to pursue post secondary education, she lived in a bit of a hole. I PLEDGE to my daughter to not do this to her. Although I don t think all debt is bad, I want her to know the implications before embarking on it (student loans for example). This world is scary enough for our kids, I don t want to have to worry about her struggling the way I have.
Nice post. I can relate very well to your thoughts. My parents really did not teach me much about money, but I also ran up all sorts of debt. I don t want to see our kids make the same mistakes I did. I totally agree that it s not what you make, but how you spend it. Sure, making all sorts of dough is great, but if it s all being wasted then you ve got nothing to show for it.
Totally agree on the burden of debt (I m sure we all do). For young people, there can really be a lack of understanding of how actions with money can affect the rest of their lives. Understanding the power of debt is one of many vital lessons we need to teach our children.
Sounds like you had a smart Mom! My parents coupons for travel smith did pretty well themselves but never really talked to us about money. I was smarter than running up so much credit coupons for travel smith card debt though. My dad took care of most of the money, so she didn t do much with it. I will always tell our daughter about money and debt, and hope she will figure it out and not make my same mistakes.
My parents never really coupons for travel smith talked to me about money instead I followed their lead. I saw the way they lived their life. While we always took family vacations and had nice things they never lived above their means and this is something that rubbed off on me. It s how I want to raise my daughter to be. I will however be a little bit more hands on and verbal when it comes to money and teaching her the basics.
Great post, there are times when I wish my parents coupons for travel smith taught me more. While they never sat down and explained savings vs. debt, I saw how we lived. My parents drove old used cars and lived a very mild lifestyle. That being said, I have taught them more about finance in my adult years, then they taught me when I was growing up.
My parents never taught me about money and I learned some painful mistakes the hard way. I have a daughter (she
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