What Makes a Parent Rich?
My ‘poor’ mom believed that by working and giving me things she was doing the best she could for me, even though it meant I was raised largely by daycare and babysitters first, then after-school programs later. She loved me as deeply as any mother loves her child, but she made her career a priority, spending 50+ hours a week away from me. She did this thinking that was the best way to provide for her family.
My ‘rich’ mom stayed at home with me, participated in my life and gave me the best care she was able. My rich mom couldn’t always buy me things. Other kids had DVDs and Wiis and iPods. We had board games and the radio. My rich mom was just as smart and educated as any working mother, but she made her children a priority, knowing that nothing else would matter more than them in the end. She did this thinking that was the best way to provide for her family.
Robert Kiyosaki, in his famous (infamous?) book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, laid out the idea of having had “two fathers” who taught him different lessons about life. One (his biological father) taught him that hard work, a good job and lots of education were the keys to success. The other (his best friend’s father) taught him that hard work, investing your money in assets and frugal living were critical. The former, the “poor dad”, was wrong, and the latter, the “rich dad”, was right – according to Kiyosaki. Interestingly enough, Kiyosaki focuses solely on the money lessons of his fathers. So let’s be sexist for a minute and say that the father represents the “outside” world – money, work, achievement. Let’s imagine that we could frame the same rich vs. poor argument for moms – but in terms of the family and its emotional life.
Quick disclaimer: in this article I use the term ‘mom,’ but it’s not meant to be sexist. The ‘mom’ below could just as easily be the man in the family, and I always want to point this out. I plan to be a stay-at-home dad sometime in the next ten years, once we are financially independent. So substitute “parent” for mom and you’ll get the idea. Rich parent, poor parent just didn’t have the same ring to it.
Rich Mom, Poor Mom
The rich dad taught Kiyosaki that frugal living was key. The rich mom agrees with this thinking. Making sacrifices so she can stay home is at the core of the rich mom’s philosophy. Her “investment” of time in her children now will pay off later. The poor dad thought that you made money to spend money on liabilities, like cars and expensive gadgets and money-sucking homes. The poor mom thinks that her children need more money – more than they need her.
The poor dad believes that education is a requirement. The poor mom thinks that the school system is the most important part of a child’s development. She chooses to overlook the fact that schools are only responsible for teaching subjects. American schools long ago learned that values, character, financial intelligence, morals and even physical fitness were toxic areas that caused lawsuits. Teachers are too overwhelmed by bureaucracy and huge class sizes to spend time with individual students. The rich mom knows that the schools are an important part of a child’s development, but having a good character starts with lessons at home… and a good character will take the child farther than 8th-grade botany.
The rich dad believed in investing money in assets and letting those assets earn money for you. The poor dad believed you should work to enrich your employers and hope they would provide for you when you could no longer work for them. The poor mom hopes that others will raise her family (the husband and children!) while she works. She hopes that after she’s worked through her children’s formative years that they’ll come out OK. The rich mom knows that there is only one sure way to do a job right – to do it yourself. The rich mom knows that when she is 90 years old, struggling with health and money issues, that her children will come to her aid, but that company she gave 75% of her waking hours to will have long forgotten she existed.
I think in Kiyosaki’s book, one of the best lessons is his concept of the true definition of an asset. An asset makes money for its owner. A liability loses money for its owner. A house is, by that definition, not an asset if you live there. Everyone needs a place to live, for sure, but it IS costing you money. An asset is a house you rent to someone else at a profit.
In the same way, the rich mom understands that children are an asset, not a liability. If you think of what having children will mean in terms of loss (losing free time, losing independence, losing a career, losing your own youth) then they will be liabilities to you and you’ll be a poor mom. If you think having children will be a GAIN (the joy of watching them grow and learn, adventures that give you a chance at a second childhood, the knowledge of leaving the world a better place with these new people in it) then you will be a rich mom. With the rich dad and the poor dad, there is no physical or mental or any other sort of difference between the two men. They make choices. In the same way, every parent – male or female – has the ability to be a rich mom or a poor mom.
9 Effective Tips to Save on Car Insurance for Teenagers
Car insurance for teenagers can cost as much as five times more than the rates for adults. This is because of the greater driving risk involved in teenagers evidenced by greater number of accidents and higher number of serious injuries and fatalities compared to adult drivers.
In order to lower actual rates and maximize your teen’s auto insurance coverage, you can give your teen a simpler or older car; let your teen keep a good driving record; let him keep a clean insurance record; enroll him to a driver safety education; get your teen a safer car; let him maintain good academic grades; keep the mileage low; keep the car safe; and apply for multiple policies with your insurance company. To help you save on auto insurance costs for your teenager, here are proven tips you can consider:
Give your teen a simpler or older car
A brand new sports car would make a very nice birthday gift for your beloved teen, but if you want to save to insurance costs, this would not be a smart move. Remember that one of the factors that make up an expensive car insurance would be a brand new car because of its high book value. A sports car would also be expensive to insure with its higher horsepower compared to a four-door sedan. With a stronger car, your teen would tend to drive faster, making it more prone to accidents and damages. If you are giving your teen an older car model, you can also save by dropping collision coverage.
Let your teen keep a good driving record
If this is not your first year in getting your teen a car insurance and he or she had a good driving record, you can ask for a discount from your insurance provider. Most auto insurance companies give discounts to drivers who have not been issued a ticket or those who have not been involved in any accident since they have been driving. Remind your teen that it always pays to be a good driver.
Let him keep a clean insurance record
Aside from having a good driving record, insurance costs may also be lowered if your teen keeps a clean insurance record. It is advisable for him to keep from claiming for very minor car damages from insurance companies in order to avail of discounts.
Enroll him to a driver safety education
Some states require teenagers to get driving lessons first before he gets a driver’s license. Aside from this condition, the cost of car insurance for teenagers may also be reduced if your teen had been enrolled to a driving course before driving his own car, most especially if he had good grades. The insurance company would most likely give discounts to responsible student drivers who have had lessons to safe driving than to those who have not.
Get your teen a safer car
Just like in applying auto insurance for adult-driven cars, discounts also apply to teenager-driven cars with safety features. Airbags, anti-lock brake systems, and alarm systems can help lower the insurance cost of your teen’s auto insurance as they reduce risk for injuries as well as theft and damages.
Let him maintain good academic grades
Yes, indeed. If your teen proves to have good grades in school, most especially if he is in the honor roll, you can avail of the good student discount. Most insurance companies offer this incentive to responsible students who are most likely more sensible and responsible too when it comes to driving.
Keep the mileage low
When you ask for auto insurance quotations, companies do ask for estimated mileage your teen has to travel from residence to destination, as well as estimated annual mileage. As much as possible, advice your teen to keep his mileage low and use the car only when needed. Do not encourage weekend road trips and the like. Higher mileage leads to higher risk of meeting accidents, thus resulting to higher insurance cost.
Keep the car safe
Another very important determining factor for insurance premium is the place where your teen brings and parks his car. Insurance companies will be asking where the car will usually be brought and parked. Is the school parking safe? Are the places he goes safe enough, too or are there many reported cases of car thefts and damages? If at home, does he park his car in a covered garage or just outside the apartment? Of course, the more risky the situation, the higher the insurance cost.
Apply for multiple policies with your insurance company
If your teen’s insurance provider with other concerns, such as life or home insurance, also covers car insurance and you get a policy from them, you may be given a discount on your auto insurance for your devotion to their company. Alternately, you can also apply for the whole family’s car insurance policies in one insurance company and be granted of discounts for each of your plan. Do not hesitate to ask your insurer about these discounts to save bucks.
Other discounts you may avail of with your teen’s car insurance include loyalty discount, if you have been with your insurance company for a certain number of years, as well as multiple car discount, when you enroll more than one car for your teen.
When to Stop Using a Pacifier
Are you the parent of an infant who currently uses a pacifier? Many parents do not know when to stop giving their child a pacifier to suck on. Some parents feel like their children need their pacifiers in order to fall asleep but allowing this dependence to continue to develop actually hurts the child in the long run.
Many experts have written opinions on when to stop pacifier use. “The AAP and AAFP recommend weaning children from pacifiers in the second six months of life to prevent otitis media. However, the groups say, pacifier use should not be actively discouraged and may be especially beneficial in the first six months of life. The child should be weaned from the pacifier between the ages of six months and no later than four years.”
Child development specialist Warren Umansky, PhD, recommends weaning from the pacifier at eighteen months. If your child isn’t ready to give up the habit at this age, it may help to start gradually by giving a pacifier to your child only at nighttime or nap time to help him fall asleep.
Parents need to be brave and unwavering when they decide to stop giving their children their pacifiers. It is crucial to make sure that the child understands what is going on. You are trying to help your child not punish them by taking something meaningful away from them. If stopping pacifier use around age six months then you should do this process slowly and limit the use to just bed time at first. Do not give it to the child during the day or at night time so that the child can slowly get used to what is going on. It is very hard to break a habit such as this in younger children.
When dealing with children over the age of eighteen months you want to speak to them on their level and convince them that big boys and girls do not use pacifiers to go to sleep. Children this age do not want to be thought of as babies so this helps them adjust their mentality toward the pacifier. Gather all of the pacifiers that you own and place them in a bag. If you know of a baby who uses a pacifier then maybe have the child give theirs to the baby as a symbolic gesture. Then, the parent of that child can throw them away when they get home without your child seeing them.
As a parent it can be hard to wean your child from a pacifier. You will hear crying, wailing, and screaming but in the long run being steadfast and holding your ground will help your child sleep without depending on something to suck on. Your child will thank you down the road for your efforts.
Sources:
http://www.drwalt.com/blog/?p=605
http://www.swedish.org/16592.cfm
photo by emdot
Happy Fourth of July!
You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck
New foreclosure defense: Prove I owe you
How clever! Can the banks produce original mortgage note signed by me? I didn’t think about it this way, but then again I am not facing foreclosure. If I did, who knows what kind of strategy I would think up. This one is definitely going to delay foreclosure if banks cannot produce original documentation.
ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. – Kathy Lovelace lost her job and was about to lose her house, too. But then she made a seemingly simple request of the bank: Show me the original mortgage paperwork.
via New foreclosure defense: Prove I owe you – Mortgage Mess- msnbc.com.
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