Firebird
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Post by Firebird on May 24, 2011 18:52:50 GMT -5
When we are older it's wise to let them all know in a family meeting what you have and where it's going. If something happens to you or/and your wife, they need to be prepared. It's a nasty thing to try to figure things out when people are mourning.
Good point, frugal.
At the very least, there should be sealed documents stored with your life insurance agent that detail all of your assets and how your heirs can access them, which are to be released in the event of your early demise.
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coffeegrl
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Post by coffeegrl on May 24, 2011 22:17:20 GMT -5
"Watch the scene from Bill Cosby where Theo is going to move out, and Dad uses the monopoly money to make things realistic. " " There IS a problem, YOU HAVEN'T EATEN YET!"-Cosby. LOL ![](http://us.social.s-msn.com/s/images/emoticons/thumbs_up.gif) "you'll need a helmet" Theo--"...with $200 left over. So, no problem!" Cliff--"You planning to have a girlfriend?" Theo--"For sure!" Cliff takes the $200.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on May 24, 2011 23:00:24 GMT -5
When it comes time to do the FAFSA and apply for college scholarships this information will come out whether you want it to or not.
When DD became a junior in high school we opened a checking account for her. I deposit money each month to cover her bills, but she writes the checks. She is also responsible for balancing her checkbook each month.
When she was doing a budgeting exercise in high school we took it a bit further. We used paycheck city to calculate what her take home pay would be if she was working making minimum wage. Then she divided that up using the formulas provided in the school exercise. I then had her go the newspaper classifieds and look and see what kind of apartment she would be able to rent on that amount and what kind of car she would be able to afford. It did not take her long to realize that she wanted to make more than minimum wage.
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on May 24, 2011 23:49:01 GMT -5
Great thread.
My thoughts, concerns, questions in no particular order. 1. I don't know why anyone would think it rude for a child to ask his/her parents a question. I understand teaching a child it might be rude to ask OTHER people questions about money. If a child can't go to a parent for answers, what good is the parent--well, excpet for you know, food, clothing, etc.? Can those believe this explain it a bit more to me?
2. My parents had me open a checking account when I was 14; I was a sophomore. That helped me a lot with understanding how a checking account worked. I was completely pissed off at my dad--who deals with the majority of the money for my parents--for almost a month when I found out how mortgages worked. I was purchasing my first house and had NO idea that the amount of interest was going to be more than the house. Now, I understand I was 24 years old at the time and was intelligent enough to figure that out on my own. However, I was pretty sure my parents were supposed to inform me of how the world works.
3. My children know how much I make and how much my husband makes; I've talked to them about how much their father made while we were married; all of our children know how much my husband pays in alimoney each month. Whether or not they remember any of this, I do not know. There are several reasons behind this: 1)our salaries are public information as we are state employees. 2)my children were not understanding why we live in the house we do and own two other houses while their dad has his power shut off on a regular basis but still has one hell of a cell phone. 3)I want my children to know what it takes to earn x amount of dollars. I went to Community college, university, and grad school; their dad refuses to go to any type of schooling past his high school diploma.
4)My children "earn" paychecks and budget for television, junk food, activities, etc. on a weekly basis. My kids are 9 & 13. I have done this with them since they were four years-old. It's not funny like the Cosby situation, but we've had our moments. Does anyone else do this? My kids don't get paid with "real" money, but they can exchange what we call swizzles for real money.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 25, 2011 10:52:38 GMT -5
This morning my husband said "Kelly Blue Book estimates the value of our car will go down $47 in the next 90 days." My son said "Whoa, that's a LOT." So, we have a ways to go with him...
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Mrs. Dinero
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100% about truth & justice. Always trying to give mercy a chance.
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Post by Mrs. Dinero on May 25, 2011 11:27:26 GMT -5
I meant it was rude to ask in general. My children do not need to know our salaries. I would like my kids to know generally how much a person makes in different fields and how much groceries, utilities, houses, and cars costs. Why would someone (other than financially needing to know for loan/business purposes) need to know how much you make?
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on May 25, 2011 11:48:39 GMT -5
Why would someone (other than financially needing to know for loan/business purposes) need to know how much you make?
Maybe it's just something this board has brought out in me, but I personally don't think it's all that rude to ask someone their salary (I'm talking adult to adult here - KIDS certainly shouldn't go around asking people what they make).
I mean, obviously there's the right relationship and context for asking (I wouldn't ask a casual acquaintance) but if a friend asks for budget advice, sure, I'll ask what they bring home and how they currently spend it. And I don't think any of my friends would be offended by the question - they might not answer, but they wouldn't think it was rude or anything. We're a pretty open bunch, though.
And I'd have absolutely no problem with my kid asking ME. I don't think it should be privileged information within a family, although I don't think I would tell them until they had reached a certain age where they could at least put it a little bit into context. They should be taught not to ask others, though.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on May 25, 2011 14:08:03 GMT -5
Why would someone (other than financially needing to know for loan/business purposes) need to know how much you make? My brother asked me recently, because he's thinking of following a similar career path. Currently in the military doing satellite command and control, but thinking about getting either a BS in computer science or some IT certifications. He wanted to know about how much I made, which path he should take (certs or school), etc. I had an old military buddy ask recently for pretty much the same reason. He has a similar background to mine, and was considering separating and working for a defense contractor in CA. You can look up salary info online and whatnot, but I haven't seen one that takes a security clearance into account. I have a security clearance, I work for a defense contractor, and I'm in CA. It's a lot easier for him to pick up the phone and call me to ask questions than it is to poke around online and have no idea how reliable the information is. Besides, I get a $2k bonus if I recommend him for one of our jobs and he gets hired.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 25, 2011 14:10:05 GMT -5
I meant it was rude to ask in general. My children do not need to know our salaries. I would like my kids to know generally how much a person makes in different fields and how much groceries, utilities, houses, and cars costs. Why would someone (other than financially needing to know for loan/business purposes) need to know how much you make? It's repeatedly mentioned on here that you should consider the cost benefit analysis before embarking on a career. How, praytell, is someone going to know what a certain job in a certain area makes, unless they ask?! Google is all well and good to get the information, but it's only averages for geographic areas.
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moneymaven
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Post by moneymaven on May 25, 2011 14:31:40 GMT -5
insmoneymaven, I really like the way your parents did it. I would like to do it the same way.
Of course, I question how much you could cram down a kid's throat if they didn't happen to be interested in the subject. I would have been eating this up, just as you were. But not all kids would.Yes, you're right. I have worried on the financial side of business for 10 years and that's what I studied in college. I just love numbers. I still attribute that to my parents. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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