My First Mister Linky

Top Mamma Maddness

I finally became a Top Mamma member. I think it's a fun site. Check it out!

Teaching by Example

Working from home has it's advantages besides financial and time freedom. Being home with your kids also teachs our kids how to live their dreams. Most families in my business community live life by example. They teach their kids to work smarter not harder!!!

My Top 5 Lessons For My Son:

1. Kids model what they experience. My son will follow my example and leverages his time and money.


2. Your career should be something you Love to do. The fact is that wealth is developed when you have passion in what you do.


3. Family is the most important part of life. Putting family first shows our children the meaning of life. The reason we are who we are is because of family and that should be praised.


4. The path you choose is your own. There's nothing more important in life than being your own person. I'm a huge believer in thinking for yourself. If I wasn't then I would be working for the man, wishing for my next break or something like that. In life there are followers and there are leaders. I'm a leader and my son knows this about me. Therefore he will follow in my footsteps and call his own shots!

Peer Pressure All Over Agian!!

We've all experienced peer pressure. It's a part of life and there's not much us parents can do about it. My best advice for parents is to keep the dialog open with your children. I speak to my son about it all the time. Yes, he might think I'm nagging him but when the time comes he'll hear my voice and advice. My fiance always told me that the way he stayed out of trouble was his moms' voice in the back of his mind.
My son is at the age where his class mates are asking him to do the silly things that boys do. I make it a point to go to my sons' school and meet his friends. Children tend to respect their friends a little more when they know their parents. I found this article on the web and thought you might like it. If you have any other advice I would love to hear about it.

15 Ways to Teach Kids About Money

15 Ways to Teach Kids About Money

Introducing Kids to Money Money gives people -- both young and old -- decision-making opportunities. Educating, motivating, and empowering children to become regular savers and investors will enable them to keep more of the money they earn and do more with the money they spend. Everyday spending decisions can have a far more negative impact on children's financial futures than any investment decisions they may ever make. Here are 15 simple ways to help educate children about personal finance and managing money:

1.As soon as children can count, introduce them to money. Take an active role in providing them with information. Observation and repetition are two important ways children learn.
2.Communicate with children as they grow about your values concerning money --- how to save it, how to make it grow, and most importantly, how to spend it wisely.
3.Help children learn the differences between needs, wants, and wishes. This will prepare them for making good spending decisions in the future.
4.Setting goals is fundamental to learning the value of money and saving. Young or old, people rarely reach goals they haven't set. Nearly every toy or other item children ask their parents to buy them can become the object of a goal-setting session. Such goal-setting helps children learn to become responsible for themselves.
5.Introduce children to the value of saving versus spending. Explain and demonstrate the concept of earning interest income on savings. Consider paying interest on money children save at home; children can help calculate the interest and see how fast money accumulates through the power of compound interest. Later on, they also will realize that the quickest way to a good credit rating is a history of regular, successful savings. Some parents even offer to match what children save on their own.

Allowance and Spending Decisions

6. When giving children an allowance, give them the money in denominations that encourage saving. If the amount is $5, give them 5-1-dollar bills and encourage that at least one dollar be set aside in savings. (Saving $5 a week at 6 percent interest compounded quarterly will total about $266 after a year, $1,503 after 5 years, and $3,527 after 10 years!)

7. Take children to a credit union or bank to open their own savings accounts. Beginning the regular savings habit early is one of the keys to savings success. Remember, don't refuse them when they want to withdraw a portion of their savings for a purchase--This may discourage them from saving at all. You can also introduce children to U.S. savings bonds. Bonds are still a good value, costing one-half their face value and earning interest that in some instances will be tax-free if used for a college education. Perhaps more importantly, when given as a gift, bonds will not be spent immediately, reinforcing saving and goal-setting lessons.

8. Keeping good records of money saved, invested, or spent is another important skill young people must learn. To make it easy, use 12 envelopes, 1 for each month, with a larger envelope to hold all the envelopes for the year. Establish this system for each child. Encourage children to place receipts from all purchases in the envelopes and keep notes on what they do with their money.

9. Use regular shopping trips as opportunities to teach children the value of money. Going to the grocery store is often a child's first spending experience. About a third of our take-home pay is spent on grocery and household items. Spending smarter at the grocery store (using coupons, shopping sales, comparing unit prices) can save more than $1,800 a year for a family of four. To help young people understand this lesson, demonstrate how to plan economical meals, avoid waste, and use leftovers efficiently. When you take children to other kinds of stores, explain how to plan purchases in advance and make unit-price comparisons. Show them how to check for value, quality, repairability, warranty, and other consumer concerns. Spending money can be fun and very productive when spending is well-planned. Unplanned spending, as a rule, usually results in 20-30 percent of our money being wasted because we obtain poor value with our purchases.

10. Allow young people to make spending decisions. Whether good or poor, they will learn from their spending choices. You can then initiate an open discussion of spending pros and cons before more spending takes place. Encourage them to use common sense when buying. This means doing research before making major purchases, waiting for the right time to buy, and using the "spending-by-choice" technique. This technique involves selecting at least three other things the money could be spent on setting aside money for one of the items, and then making a choice of which item to purchase.

Buying Smart

11. Show children how to evaluate TV, radio, and print ads for products. Will a product really perform and do what the commercials say? Is a price offered truly a sale price? Are alternative products available that will do a better job, perhaps for less cost, or offer better value? Remind them that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

12. Alert children to the dangers of borrowing and paying interest. If you charge interest on small loans you make to them, they will learn quickly how expensive it is to rent someone else's money for a specified period of time. For instance, paying for a $499 TV over 18 months at $31.85 a month at 18.8 percent interest means the buyer really pays about $575.

13. When using a credit card at a restaurant, take the opportunity to teach children about how credit cards work. Explain to children how to verify the charges, how to calculate the tip, and how to guard against credit card fraud.

14. Be cautious about making credit cards available to young people, even when they are entering college. Credit cards have a message: "spend!" Some students report using the cards for cash advances and also to meet everyday needs, instead of for emergencies (as originally planned). Many of those same students find themselves having to cut back on classes to fit in part-time jobs just to pay for their credit card purchases.

15. Establish a regular schedule for family discussions about finances. This is especially helpful to younger children--it can be the time when they tote up their savings and receive interest. Other discussion topics should include the difference between cash, checks, and credit cards; wise spending habits; how to avoid the use of credit; and the advantages of saving and investment growth. With teenagers, it's also useful to discuss what's happening with the national and local economies, how to economize at home, and alternatives to spending money. All of this information will be important as they take on more responsibility for their own financial well-being.

Kids to Parents: Leave the Stress at Work

NEW YORK — Working parents might think they leave it at the office, but kids know better.
Whether adults realize it or not, their job-related stress affects their children, scientists said here this week at the annual meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

Over the past 30 years, time spent at the office has jumped 10 hours a week. And one in three employees in the United States reports feeling chronically overworked, said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York.

Read The Rest

Suggestions to help Combat Personal Fraud

Be very aware of your valuables, i.e. purse, wallet.

Use postal service mailboxes for envelopes containing checks or personal information especially Social Security numbers.

Consider using a paper shredder for personal trash destruction, including financial solicitations you receive in the mail.

Before sharing personal information, especially Social Security numbers, ask why personal information is being requested, how it will be used, and whether it will be shared.

Careful who you write a check out to (your checking account number and routing number is on the check) - Careful with who has your checking account info.

Don't carry ID cards and credit cards unless you intend to use them.

Report lost or stolen checks immediately. Promptly review all checks when you receive new deliveries to be sure that none of the checks have been stolen in transit.

Order a copy of your credit report annually from each of the major credit reporting agencies. Check the records for accuracy.

• Equifax www.equifax.com, order a report 888-766-0008 or write P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
• Experian www.experian.com, order a report 888-397-3742 or write, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013
• Trans-Union www.tuc.com, order a report 800-680-7289 or write, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022

If you identify unauthorized activity on your credit reports, report fraud by contacting:

• Equifax 800-525-6285
• Experian 888-397-3742
• Trans Union 800-680-7289

If you suspect fraud, contact the major check verification companies to request that retailers using their databases be notified not to accept the stolen checks.

• Telecheck 800-710-9898
• Chex Systems 800-328-5122
• Equifax 800-215-6294

Consider removing your name and telephone number from Direct Mail Marketing groups. This can be accomplished by sending your name, address and telephone number to: DMA Telephone Preference Service, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014. Additional information is available on-line at www.the-dma.org.

Consider adding your name and phone number to the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call List. You can register on-line at http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall or call 888-382-1222 (TTY 866-290-4236).

Store cancelled checks, new checks, line of credit checks in a safe place.

Young Student's Documentary Leaving Audiences Stunned

I found this video the other day when I did a search for inspiring news clips. I see it to show a certain mindset of these children. It's crazy how early some children learn this type of mindset. After watching the video I think that parents should be a little more aware of the information our kids are watching.

Abraham-Hicks Daily Quotes

Abraham-Hicks
As you identify the thing that you want and you achieve vibrational harmony with it, by Law of Attraction you summon the Energy through you, and that is what life is. When someone stops desiring, Life Force no longer flows through them, and then they re-emerge into the Nonphysical where you have all kinds of goals and intentions.

Top 10 reasons to be a WAHM!

1. Save on Daycare Costs
2. Eliminate the stress bosses dish out for not being able to work because our kids need us.
3. Do away with commuting, traffic and nervous tension assoicated with driving to work.
4. Big savings on eating out and work clothes
5. Freedom and Flexibility
6. The opportunity to be yourself and do whatever you want with your time
7. Work a home business that you can feel proud about and make as much money as you want
8. To be able to say “I own my own business”
9. Kids can learn how a business works
10. To be in control of your own destiny

1. Save on Daycare Costs:
According to the Children's Defense Fund and Runzheimer International parents are paying an average of $250 to $1,250 monthly for daycare. A mother who is making about $20,000 a year will probably find that she is really only bringing home only $5000 a year once all the additional costs of her working are figured in. Some moms are actually loosing money each month by working outside the home.

2. Eliminate the stress bosses dish out for not being able to work because our kids need us:
No More Bosses Giving You the Stink Eye For Not Working Due To Kid Issues. There’s nothing worse then when your daycare provider tells you they can't watch your kid because he's sick. So there you go, having to take time off work as your boss and coworkers resent you and your chances for promotion become slimmer and slimmer because "you're unreliable at time".

3. Do away with commuting, traffic and nervous tension associated with driving to work:
No more commuting when you work from home. No long drives, bad traffic, added expenses for car upkeep (car upkeep costs about $250 a month on average). You can simply wake up in the morning and walk a few feet to your home office in your most comfortable choice wardrobe.

4. Big savings on "eating out" and work clothes:
Between eating out and buying uniforms or an office wardrobe (even if you don’t have to wear a uniform) you are looking at paying about $145 a month. Nice thing about working at home and being your own boss is you can decide what you want to wear to work.

5. Freedom and Flexibility:
There are field trips to go on, sport programs to get the kids to, exercise classes, family that needs extra care at times that goes on in a moms life. Working at home offers the freedom and flexibility needed to do all these small things that add up and make a huge difference in everyone’s life – including your own.

6. The opportunity to be yourself and do whatever you want with your time:
The ability to be a work-at-home mom is the best gift you could ever give yourself, for so many reasons. The big one though is being able to create a home business around something you really like and enjoy doing. You shouldn’t have to hate your job or the way you make money. This is the perfect opportunity to finally put your interests and talents to good use, and make money from them.

7. Work a home business that you can feel proud about and make as much money as you want:
Being the owner of your own business you can decide if you can work full or part time. This can depend a lot on the age of your children and how much you can dedicate to your business.

8. To Be Able To Say “I Own My Own Business":
When you can say, “I own my own business” this is very empowering. As something Emeril might say, “It definitely kicks the self-confidence level up a notch or two.”

9. Kids Can Learn How a Business Works:
Your kids can learn first hand how a business runs. There will have no problem answering any questions like, “So what does your mommy do.” Kids become very proud of their work-at-home moms. They love the fact their moms are there for them, and that it makes mom happy to make money doing something she loves.

10. To Be In Control Of Your Own Destiny:
Work at something you love to do, have the flexibility to work around your families schedule, wear what you want to work and becoming the person you are supposed to be. These are all ways that you can have control of your own destiny.