Financial Quote 8/28/10
“This would be a much better world if more married couples were as deeply in love as they are in debt.” ~Earl Wilson
June 24, 2010
Have You Set Up Boundaries in Your Life?
While traveling today, I was able to listen to part of the Clark Howard Show and a portion of the Dave Ramsey Show. This is a rare occurrence for me, so I was thrilled to hear some financial advice. It’s a shame I was driving, because there was plenty of information that I could have jotted down to share with you. I do remember one particular bit about parenting and boundaries.
One of the callers on the Dave Ramsey Show said that her son had been living in her basement for two years, rent free. She said that he worked full-time and whenever she asked him to help out with the bills, he said he couldn’t afford it. The lady was seeking advice and basically, Dave Ramsey told her this:
1. Immediately buy the book Boundaries. Read it. (Boundaries can be purchased through Amazon and through CBD, which also has a workbook.)
2. Talk to your spouse and agree upon a plan.
3. Sit down with your child and apologize. Tell them you’re sorry that you have failed them and allowed them to live this way. Let them know that you’re going to do the right thing and help them be responsible.
4. Give your child 90 days to move out. Have them sign a contract with the date to move out.
5. As a gift, offer to pay for Financial Peace University Classes for your child. (These are great classes!!!!) The caller said she had offered these to her son but he was not interested.
6. Guide your child along the way, helping them to manage their money. Do not pay their bills for them, but let them know you’ll be there for them if they’re hungry.
7. If at the end of the 90 days your child has been working hard and you feel they need additional time, you can offer them an additional 30 days.
I think the reason that this story stood out to me so much is that I know of a few families that have been in this situation. Let me just say, if your child is 25 or even 30 years old, works full-time, has lived at home for years and has NOTHING to show for it, there is a big problem! I am not normally this direct and opinionated on my websites, but you are ENABLING your child to fail! You’re not doing them or yourself any favors. We should be training our children to become adults, to be self-supporting, and successful in life. Some people are more motivated than others. Unmotivated children sometimes need a push in the right direction. Paying their bills for them and not requiring anything of them is not doing anyone any favors.
The world is full of people that moved out at a young age, got married young, put themselves through college, or whatever the circumstance may be. Many times success comes from having no other option but to succeed or fail.
Based upon the Amazon reviews of this book, it is also a good book for those that feel like they can’t say “no”, are a doormat, or those with problems parenting. I have not read this book, but it has received positive reviews.
Do you know of a family that has failed to set up boundaries with their children?
As always, please use common sense with this approach. I don’t think this type of plan would apply to an 18 year old that just finished high school, a full-time college student, a child with medical bills, or someone going through a hardship. This is for children whom are not in school and are unmotivated to move out of their parents’ home.
Image: CBD
May 27, 2010
Thrifty Teenager Buys House with Cash
When we think of teenagers and money, it usually brings thoughts of expensive name brand clothing, lattes, movie nights, accessories, and more. This is not the case for Lindsay Binegar of Ohio.
Lindsay has been saving her 4-H earnings since she was 4-years-old. Lindsay recently used her earnings from the past 15 years to pay cash for a house!
I hope Lindsay’s story inspires us all to realize that if we live beneath our means and save, we too can stay out of debt and have financial goals. Enjoy the story!
April 8, 2010
U-Stream Live Chat with Suze Orman
Join personal finance expert Suze Orman in an exclusive U-Stream live chat this Friday, April 9, 2010 at 4:00 PM EST. This is Suze’s very first U-Stream chat and she wants you to be there to ask her questions!
Suze will be hosting on open forum where participants can ask questions on matters relating to children and personal finance. This would be a great opportunity to ask questions about how to budget for your family, plan for your child’s college education and teach your children about finances from a young age. She’ll also be talking about her recently updated and revised The Road To Wealth. This new edition includes an entire new section about changes to student financial aid.
Suze also will be discussing and taking questions about her brand new Protection Portfolio a state-of-the-art program gives you all the tools you need to protect your valuable documents, assets, and personal information.
When: Friday April 9, 2010 at 4:00PM EST
Where: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/suze-live
April 8, 2010
Looking to Get Rich Quick?
The next time someone asks you over to “share something” with you, to invite you into their newest opportunity, or to get rich quickly, you might want to remember this video from The Consumerist.
March 20, 2010
31 Tips for a Successful Yard Sale
Yard sales are a lot of work, but they can be very profitable. Here are some tips to get you started.
1. Go through closets, dressers, toys, cupboards, cabinets, bookcases, etc before the yard sale. Take out items that you no longer want and add them to your yard sale pile. It’s good to do this at least once a year. You may want to wait until spring when you’re doing your spring cleaning.
2. Find a decluttering buddy. I don’t know about you, but it is easier for me to get rid of things when I have some moral support. It helps to have someone that can honestly say, “That doesn’t look good on you. That’s out of style. You haven’t used that in years.” Sometimes a little nudge is all we need. Unfortunately, I don’t have a decluttering buddy.
4. Price as you go. As you find things in your home that you want to add to your yard sale, go ahead and take the few seconds to put a price on it. This will save a lot of time and aggravation on yard sale day.
4. Spread the word. Let you friends, family, and Sunday School class know that you’ll be having a yard sale.
5. If possible, post signs. We like to use the fluorescent poster board and thick black permanent markers for our signs. We have found that we do better with signs than with advertising. People stop by and say that they saw our signs.
6. Put your signs up the day before the sale so that people see them on their way home from work. Then they’ll think, “I’m going there tomorrow.” Otherwise, they might not be out and about the day of the sale.
7. Let friends and neighbors be a part. You can advertise the yard sale as a multi-family yard sale. This will let customers know that there will be more things and a bigger selection to choose from. Participants can also share in the advertising expenses.
8. Put a price on everything. Some people will walk away rather than asking the prices for things. Even if the item is 25 cents, you need a price on it. All those 25 cent items add up.
9. To save time, buy the premade price stickers. You can purchase these in the office supply departments at most stores. Recently, I even saw these in Dollar Tree.
10. If you’re selling an expensive item, take the time to print a copy of what the item cost new. I’m doing this with toys that were expensive. This helps the person to see that they are getting a good deal.
11. Advertise your yard sale, garage sale, or moving sale on Craigslist. It’s free!!!! Specify what you will be selling. Sometimes you can sell things before the yard sale starts.
12. Get up early the day of the sale. If your sale starts at 7 am, you may consider getting up at 5 am. This will allow you time to get everything organized and set out before customers begin to arrive. Some early morning commuters may even see you outside and stop on their way to work.
13. Specify if you don’t want “early birds”. Some people are pretty serious about shopping yard sales. They’ll come out as early as you’ll let them.
14. Look through purses, wallets, pant pockets, coat pockets, etc to make sure there is no money or credit cards. Someone once told me they paid $1 for a purse that had $10 inside.
15. Put attractive items in clear view. A lot of people are looking for furniture, so it would be wise to put the furniture where drivers can see it from the road.
16. Don’t pick a holiday weekend to have your sale. I remember we did this one time and we made less than $100. It was such a waste of our time.
17. Don’t have continual yard sales. You’ve seen people before who seem to be always having a yard sale. It gets old and then people don’t drop by their sale anymore. Plus, it’s tacky and your neighbors will be really annoyed.
18. Have change. It’s hard to determine how much change you’ll need and what kind of bills to get. It seems as though first thing in the morning you’ll have customer after customer with $20 bills. It’s really frustrating.
19. Guard your money. Unfortunately, sometimes thieves show up at yard sales. Usually every hour or so, I take my wad of cash out of my pocket or fanny pack (lol) and put it inside my house.
20. Have bags available for your customer’s purchases. I can’t stand plastic bags and I don’t understand it, but some people do like anything they purchase to be put into a bag. It’s a courtesy.
21. Be friendly. Greet each person or group that comes to your sell.
22. Group like items together. All of the Christmas items should be together in one area, the kitchen stuff in another area, baby clothes in another, and so on.
23. Sell miscellaneous items together. When we were moving, we sold a lot of odd things together in lots. We sold a large box of half used spray paint. It is better to sell it to someone that can use it, rather than throwing it away.
24. Get some baggies and rubber bands. The baggies and rubber bands will help to secure like items together or keep you from losing the pieces. Come sell day, it will be hard to make sure your customers get all the parts that go with their items.
25. Have an extra person around to help out. For me, this would be my husband. This insures that you’ll get potty breaks and be able to eat. It also helps so that you can talk to customers while someone else collects money or answers questions.
26. Check with your local government or homeowner’s association to see if there are any restrictions. Some areas require you to have a yard sale permit. Yep, just another way to make money.
27. When the yard sale is over, clean up your area and take down your signs. Don’t you just hate seeing signs that are several weeks old or searching for a yard sale that was probably last week?
28. Advertise. This could be in your local paper or in a free online ad. Regardless of where you decide, you’ll need help letting the public know of the sale.
29. Check your yard and make sure it’s safe. Wrap up garden hoses, fill any holes, and tape down extension cords or cables. You don’t want you visitors tripping and getting hurt.
30. Have a strategy in place for what you’ll do with the leftover items. Will you put them back in your house for another yard sale later in the summer? Will you give them to charity? Have a plan in place.
31. If possible, get someone to watch the kids. I can’t tell you the number of yard sales I’ve been to where the person’s children were out in the yard digging through their old stuff and getting upset that mom was getting rid of it. If you can’t get a sitter, then you need to have some discussions with your children before the day. Perhaps they could even help decide what they would like to sell.
What tips do you have for making your yard sale a success?
