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4 Ways to Stay Frugal with Money

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In the fast paced life of today’s world, we have pretty much everything at our fingertips. While that is fantastic in so many ways, it can also be really financially problematic. This land of instant gratification can make it so easy for our money to slip right out of our hands. And when that happens, all of our hard work to become financially fit goes out the window with it. So, here are 4 great ways to help you stay frugal with your money. Even when Amazon Prime day is lurking around the corner!

#1 Pay off credit card monthly

Even if you prefer to pay cash whenever possible, using a credit card is just much easier to get things in life done these days. In fact, approximately 80% of us prefer a credit card over cash for transactions, and most retailers prefer this method of payment as well. But, paying with a credit card for the majority of your purchases can also make it extremely easy to rack up credit card debt.

The best way to avoid this is to make sure you pay off your credit card(s) in full every month. When you do this, you avoid any interest charges from accruing. Plus you will still get to take advantage of the credit card rewards, which makes it more like free money.

I suggest checking your balance weekly so that you know exactly where you’re at with your spending. We do this every Sunday when we have our budget meetings and it helps us stay frugal.

#2 Open a high yield savings account

No matter what your debt-to-income ratio is, there is always room to save something. It could be as little as $20 a month, but that will add up over time. We’ve found the best way to bulk up our savings is to switch to a high yield savings account.

A regular savings account at the bigger banks are typically giving out minimal interest on your money. Not even enough to keep up with inflation. But, the high yield savings account with MySavingsDirect that we use is currently giving us 4.35% interest on our money. While that may not seem like a ton, even this little bit helps us to stay frugal by saving a little bit more each month.

Every week when we have our budget meeting we discuss how much we can put in there. But for those who get a regular paycheck, putting a specific minimum amount in each month can really help boost your savings faster.

#3 stay frugal by determining Needs vs wants

Setting up your financial goals and a good budget are good first steps. But staying on track can certainly be difficult when life happens, or a really good sale on something you’ve been eying. This is the time for you to dig deep into needs vs. wants.

Determining if the item/service is a need or a want can help you be more disciplined about your money and stay frugal. Before you pull the trigger on anything, it’s good to think long and hard about any purchases.

If it is a need, then go ahead and do it. But if the item is actually something you want instead, it’s usually best to hold off. If you still want the thing after you’ve really thought about it for some time, and it’s within your budget, then go for it.

But just remember that every “want” you purchase can derail you even a little bit from overall financial freedom. So, it better be something really good!

#4 avoid peer pressure

In the game of financial freedom, you aren’t even necessarily your own worst enemy. Friends and family can play havoc with your own personal finances if you let them.

We all want to have a good time with our friends and family, but it doesn’t have to kill you financially to do so. This is the part where you should budget for some fun and entertainment in your monthly budget. Once you decide how much that monthly allowance is, don’t go over it. Having this in place ahead of time will help you feel more freedom to relax and have a good time, while still staying frugal.

stay frugal summary

Overall, there are plenty of great ways to help you stay frugal if it’s really that important to you. And I think, for most of us, that’s the case. But we also don’t want to live life only to reach certain financial goals. We have to enjoy living life at the same time. Everything in life is about balance, and frugal finance management is no different. So, to help keep yourself on track, you should:

  1. Pay off your credit card monthly
  2. Consider opening a high yield savings account
  3. Determine your needs vs. wants
  4. Avoid peer pressure like the plague

When you can do all of these things regularly, the balance you seek between enjoying life and creating wealth should be much easier to come by.

What are some of your best tips and tricks to stay frugal?

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How to Increase Your Income by Diversifying Your Skill Set

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With the rate of inflation not getting any better anytime soon, one of the only ways to get ahead is to earn more. While there may be many different ways to do this, there is one way that works so much better than everything else. At least, in my opinion. In order to increase your income at a faster rate than inflation, it’s important to learn how to diversify your skill set.

WHY Should you DIVERSIFY?

First and foremost, when you learn a new skill you’re already diversifying. You do this by going outside of your comfort zone, and by doing so you become much more effective at problem-solving.

Therefore, diversifying is what can help increase your income fairly fast. And at the same time it also helps increase your problem-solving skills. These two happen to have a direct correlation to each other, coincidentally.

When you learn a new skill you are increasing the thickness of the myelin sheathing in your brain. This white matter protects the large system of nerves that run through your brain, which is what sends all communications to every part of your body. By increasing the thickness, you’re increasing how fast, and accurate, messages travel in your brain. This increases your overall cognitive ability and, therefore, your problem-solving skills become that much stronger. By doing this, you increase your potential value as an employee, which then directly correlates to increasing your income.

INCREASE YOUR INCOME

If you’re already happy with your job, learning new skills is the next step forward. By doing just this one thing, you set yourself up to earn more money.

You can do this by now being able to potentially perform another possible job function. Or can perform your job at a higher level, and both of these increase your overall worth. This increases your value and therefore your worth.

Some of the best skills to look at incorporating to gain the highest rate of return are:

  • Accounting
  • Bookkeeping
  • Currency Exchange Trading
  • Customer Relations
  • Data Analysis
  • Digital Marketing
  • Excel
  • Graphic Design
  • HTML/CSS Coding
  • JavaScript
  • Mobile App Development
  • Networking
  • PowerPoint
  • Public Speaking
  • Python
  • Real Estate Investing
  • Social Media Management
  • Video Creation
  • Website Development
  • Writing

THE ALTERNATIVE

If you aren’t as happy in your current job, then another way to diversify your skill set is to take on side hustles. Whether you work a primary job or multiple side hustle types of jobs, adding in another can only help increase your income. By incorporating side hustles, you’re not only increasing your skill set but also diversifying your income stream.

By doing both of these you end up creating more overall financial security for yourself. I have found this to be extremely helpful because things change all the time. So by not putting all of our eggs in one basket, there’s a much better chance that major changes at a primary job, or the market, won’t affect our financial bottom line as much.

Some of my favorite side hustles are:

  • Accounting/Bookkeeping – Quickbooks is what I have been using since the 1990s, but Freshbooks is another great option.
  • Airbnb & Airbnb Experiences – these are great options if you have extra space or a specific talent to share.
  • Buying and selling electronics – some of my kids have been doing this for years and made some pretty good money.
  • Real Estate Investing – buy and holds, land, lending trusts, fix and flips, etc.
  • Rover – this can include boarding dogs, doggy daycare, dog walking, drop-in’s for dogs and/or cats.
  • Selling at Consignment Sales – while you might not make a ton of money doing it, it’s still a pretty great side hustle.
  • Surveys – such as America Consumer Opinion, Pinecone Surveys, Survey Junkie, and Swagbucks.
  • Uber and Uber Eats – these can be done on your own schedule, which is great for those of us with a hectic lifestyle.
  • Writing a book or Freelance Writing – this can even create passive income, which is a huge bonus.

Increase your income summary

By learning new skills you increase your diversity, which in turn increases your problem-solving skills. And when you increase your problem-solving skills, you have a much better chance of increasing your income because you’ve become a more valuable player at your job. Or you can use these increased problem-solving skills to embark upon some side hustles instead.

Either way, you’re only setting yourself up to be a better version of you in the future and also increase your income at the same time. This sounds like a major win-win to me!

What are some of the best ways you have found to ultimately increase your income?

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21 Awesome Ways Children Can Earn Money

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Making money as a child was a lot trickier for people in my generation than it is for kids today. But, because of the strides people in my generation made, it is so much easier for kids today. And because of these strides in evolution, children can earn money with much less effort today.

Along with my children being able to make money at a much younger age, I also want my children to be more financially savvy with their money. These two things go hand in hand when it comes to how I teach them about work and finances. Therefore, I have introduced them to as many different ways to earn money at a young age as possible. This helps them diversify, but also see the things they really like to do to earn money.

children can earn money in-person and online

Earning money in person isn’t quite what it was when I was a kid, but there are still plenty of opportunities. But, that’s not they only way for them to earn money these days. There are also a ton of ways for them to earn money online, which might end up being an even better fit for your individual child. However, not all of these suggestions will be appropriate for all ages.

  1. Babysit – Babysitting is something I started doing at the age of 12. And parents are always in need of good babysitters. If you have any friends or family that could use your child as a babysitter, just to try it out, this is a great way to start.
  2. Create a yard sale – Have your kids help you go through their old clothes, shoes, and toys. Then, have them set up a yard sale and run it, while you oversee. They can keep whatever money they make.
  3. Employ your kids – If you are self-employed and have any tasks your children can help you with, then you can pay them to do so. My younger kids help with things like shredding mail and picking up dog poop. Anything that’s business related counts.
  4. Organize people’s stuff – If any of your kids have an eye for organizing, then this may be a viable money earning opportunity for them. This is another one you’d have to oversee, of course.
  5. Peer product flipper – One of my kids likes to flip candy, shoes and trading cards at school. This is a really good way that children can earn money if your child has a good eye for a deal.
  6. Selling t-shirts – Designing and selling t-shirts all in one fail swoop is extremely simple to do today. Some of my kids love to create designs, so this is a good way for them to make some money on their hobby. A few good websites to check out that cater to this market are: CafePress, Shopify, Teespring and Zazzle.
  7. Walk dogs – Walking dogs is something that most kids love doing, and most adults could probably do more of. So this activity could be a threefold option to spend more time together, get some exercise and earn money at the same time.
  8. Wash cars – All of us need our cars washed, probably more often than not. Not only can you pay them to wash your car, but they can help with your friends, family and neighbors also, if they are willing.
  9. Water plants – Helping your child find families that are vacationing, work long hours, or are elderly that need help taking care of their plants is another great option.
  10. Yard work – Yard work is something that a lot of families would love help with. This option is another one that gives them some good exercise while earning money.
  11. App tester – There are quite a few places your child can begin earning money playing with app. Two of the best places to get started are TesterWork and UberTesters.
  12. Create games – Similar to being an app tester, your child could get paid to create games. If this sounds like something your child might like, then it may be time to investigate creating their own game and monetize it.
  13. Create illustrations – If your child likes to create illustrations, then this is a fantastic option for them. All they need is a decent illustrating tablet and intuitive software (Clip Studio Paint Pro is a good one). A great website to have them set up a portfolio on is Deviantart.
  14. Make crafts or jewelry – If your child loves to create jewelry and crafts, then selling them online may be a great way for them to make money as a kid. The most popular website for things of this nature currently is Etsy.
  15. Making music. If your child has a musical ear, then this may just be the money-making genre for them. One of the best places to get started is Soundtrap.
  16. Make YouTube videos. Kids can be product testers and make videos of them testing out products from different companies. Even if your kid just wants to make videos talking about particular subjects (video games, how-to-videos, etc.), they can place ads in their videos to start generating income. As a parent, however, you should be closely monitoring them.
  17. Selling digital goods. Creating an eBook or a course is a great way to begin selling digital goods with very little overhead.
  18. Sell their old stuff online. There are many different platforms for your kids to sell their old stuff online. Some of our favorites are Amazon, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Poshmark.
  19. Start taking photographs. Taking photographs can be a great way to put your child’s hobby to good use. Some of the best sites they can check out are: EyeEm, Foap, Pexels and Scoopshot.
  20. Streaming. If your child is already big into watching streamed live content, then it may be time for them to start creating their own. Live streaming through Twitch is a great way to get them started.
  21. Take online surveys – Since the kids are on their devices more often than not, they might as well be making some money and have fun at the same time. Some good online survey sites to check out are: MyPoints and Swagbucks.

how children can earn money summary

Overall, there are so many different ways children can earn money these days that it could make ones head spin. I personally prefer for our kids to try all of the in-person options first because it gives them more social skills also. Which is a huge bonus. But, going through the list of all the money earning opportunities have helped us as parents see where our kids interests and skills lie. Which has ultimately helped us learn more about what they might really thrive at as adults in the work world. And this knowledge will only help them more financially in the future also. Even bigger bonus!

What are some of the best ways you have found that your children can earn money on their own?

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4 Ways to Create a Budget Without a Fight

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I don’t know about you, but we are always trying to do better with our finances. One of the best ways we’ve found to do this is by creating a budget together. And having a weekly budget meeting where we discuss every aspect of our budget helps keep us on track and speaking the same financial language. Just these few things have really helped us in our financial journey towards getting out of debt and, hopefully, retiring early.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we always see eye to eye on everything in our budget. Therefore, here are 4 ways to create a budget without a fight.

#1. DETERMINing YOUR WHY

Determining the main underlying reason why you both want to create a budget is extremely important. While you and your spouse may not be on the same page regarding every aspect of finances, discussing your main reason WHY can really help get you more in sync. Ultimately, if you don’t have a strong reason to create a budget in the first place, then there really isn’t any point in doing so. And it may just cause undue stress on your relationship instead.

When it comes to most common reasons why couples choose to begin a budget, here they are:

  • Debt pay off
  • Build an emergency fund
  • Save to retire early
  • Fund travel
  • Home improvements
  • Purchase a house
  • Grow a family

While you and your spouse’s WHY may not fit into these categories, it really doesn’t matter what it is. As long as you both have on and discuss it in depth. You and your partner’s WHY will become your driving force to not only create a budget, but stick to it.

#2. CREATe THE VISION

Once you have determined both of your WHY‘s, then it’s time to discuss the best action plan to get to each of your goals. This can be both together, as a couple, and also separately. After all, you can’t do everything together all the time!

At this point, some great questions to pose are:

  • What is the ideal timeline for both of your goals to be reached?
  • How much do you both ideally want to save each month?
  • How much can you actually save a month with your current income?
  • Where are areas that you feel you both can cut back on?
  • What areas does your partner think you can both cut back on?

These questions are great jumping off points to create your budget because they are setting the foundation for all future budgetary discussions and goals.

#3. BUDGET CATEGORIES

The next step in this process is setting up the budget categories. Categories really help you see, on a monthly basis, what you are ACTUALLY spending on things, as opposed to what you THINK you are spending. Most of the time, what we think we are spending on things ends up being completely different than what we are actually spending. Therefore, this is a very important piece to any budget.

The categories I suggest to start with are:

  • Income
  • Recurring Expenses
  • Automobiles/Transportation
  • Food/Drinks
  • Household
  • Travel
  • Clothing
  • Gifts
  • Luxury
  • Savings
  • Investments
  • Misc.

These are the basic categories that we use, personally. However, if you want to break them down further to really dig into what you are spending on every little thing, then I highly suggest that also.

#4. BUDGET COMPROMISE

Once the budget categories are set up, then it’s time to determine how much of your income goes into which category. This can actually be the most difficult part of the whole process because it’s the most in depth. And due to this, it can create the most friction among couples. So going into it with an open mind and patience is really key to making your household budget a success.

The first year you do this can be the most difficult because you don’t have as much past data to pull from. While part of it is a guessing game, most of the big categories can be fairly easy to determine. These categories usually include:

  • Income
  • Recurring Expenses
  • Automobiles/Transportation

Once you have these categories figured out, you’ll need to take what’s left of your income and and divvy it up among the remaining categories. This can be much easier said than done though!

You and your partner should discuss how each of you thinks the remaining dollars should be appropriated. And this is where disagreements can come into play. So talk through each category calmly and in as much depth as possible to come to the best budgetary compromise on spending.

Create a BUDGET without a fight summary

My partner and I may not be on the same page with everything all the time (and who is, really?). However, we both respect each other’s point of view. We also both want to be financially independent by the time our youngest leaves the house, so we have a major goal.

Therefore, we talk weekly about our budget and change things accordingly when we feel like we are off track, if things change, or if one of us voices a concern. Sometimes, we decide that we want to pivot and reallocate our funds to one category more than another. This works well for us because we communicate well with each other. And we’re always careful to be respectful of each other’s opinions about where we would like to see the budget going.

Ultimately, good clear communication is the most important part when trying to create a budget without a fight.

What are some of the best ways you have found to create a budget without a fight with your partner?

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7 Ways to Help Your Teen Build Credit

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When it comes to having teenagers, there are a lot of things we as parents need to teach them. And nowhere is this more important than when it comes to to their financial education. Teaching our teens about money, finances, credit scores, etc. is extremely important to do before they leave the nest. There are many different ways we can go about this, of course. But, one of the most important things I feel that we can teach our teens is what a credit score is and how it impacts every aspect of their future financial lives. Therefore, before they leave the nest to fly on their own, helping a teen build credit is high up on my list of important lessons.

1. Get a job

One of the first things I told my teens when they turned 16 was that getting a job would be a good first step into the adult world. Not only does this give them some idea of what to expect in the work world, but it also gives them a first taste of managing their own finances usually. As a bonus, getting a job helps a teen begin to build their own credit.

2. open a checking account

Once your teen has a job, opening a checking account for them is the next best step to help them build credit. Most banks won’t let a child open a checking account on their own, so you’ll need to be a co-signer on the account until they are 18. This is also helpful when it comes to monitoring their spending, as it gives you a way to see everything that’s happening with their money. And it gives you good talking points to discuss with them about budgeting, when they get off track. Which my teens have done more times than I’d like to admit!

3. open a savings account

Whether your teen has a job and/or checking account, they can still get a savings account. We started savings accounts for our kids when they were much younger, just to put money into for them that relatives gave them for holidays. Having a savings account is a good way for them to watch a nest egg grow. And we have found it’s also a good place to put excess money they earn from their jobs is a savings account. This has helped rein in and regulate their excess spending on random junk they don’t need and help them save for bigger goals at the same time.

4. Open a Roth ira

When our kids started working for me, I opened Roth IRA accounts for them. These types of accounts can only be funded by earned income. So they can’t be opened until your teens have earned income that will be taxed. But, once they have some earned income to work with, you can open a custodial Roth IRA for them that will roll over directly into their name solely once they turn 18. This not only gives them a good first taste into investing, at much lower risk than when they do it as an adult, but also helps your teen build credit.

5. get a prepaid credit card

The next option is to help them get a prepaid credit card in their own name. Typically, you’ll have to be a co-signer on the account, as with all of the other accounts. But, with these types of credit cards you determine how much is put on the card to begin with, so that is all they have to spend. This works out really well if they have a job already also. You can tell your teen to set aside $100 – $500 to put onto the prepaid card and then use this card for all of their purchases. This way they are building credit while only spending the money they already have.

6. credit card authorized user

As another option to the prepaid credit card, you can add your teen to one or more of your existing credit cards as an authorized user. I did this for my two older teens just recently with one of the credit cards we never use that also has a high credit limit. I chose to put them on this one since we don’t use it because it’s easier for me to track who is spending what. Plus, since it has a really high limit, it helps boost their credit that much faster due to the amount of credit used versus the credit available. So far, they’ve both been paying off what they spend before the bill even closes, which is awesome!

7. teach them about credit scores

After all of these other options, the most important thing to teach them about is their credit score. Since they are trying to build credit, understanding how their credit score impacts their financial future is integral to overall financial health. If they have any of the aforementioned accounts opened, they can begin to see how their saving and spending are affecting their credit score. Which is a fantastic way to give them an early taste of how the whole system currently works. And don’t forget to show them how to pull their annual credit report each year so they can run through it for any discrepancies.

Teen building credit summary

Overall, there are a lot of great ways to start helping your teen build their credit score early on. While I don’t use the prepaid credit card method, I have used every other option to help my teens build their credit now. And, they’ve been doing awesome so far with the learning curve. So my hope is that by the time they are out on their own, they won’t have nearly as many issues as a lot of young adults do with their first taste of financial independence.

What are your favorite ways to help your teen build credit early?

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Why I Love Swagbucks to Make Money Taking Surveys

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In a lot of cases, surveys may not sound like a lot of fun. They can be pretty time consuming and aren’t always relevant. But, I’ve found one consistently good survey site to earn money on that has a multitude of ways to earn money. This site is Swagbucks. And they haven’t steered me wrong yet. So, here are the many reasons why I love Swagbucks to make a little bit of side cash.

How Swagbucks works

When you first sign up for Swagbucks, it may seem a bit overwhelming. They will want you to fill out a lot of personal information right out of the gate. But all of this is necessary for them to send you your rewards. And of course for their own marketing purposes. They also want to make sure that they are catering the surveys and tasks to your personal life.

This is important because the more specific you are with the answers you provide, the better they are able to match surveys to you. And by doing this they, and you waste less time in the grand scheme of things. I know, for me, I prefer to only take surveys that are relevant to my life currently. So, while this step can be the most time consuming of the whole onboarding process, it’s the most important.

Once you finish the initial sign-up process, Swagbucks will grant you with some initial SB to add to your account. Everything you do on the site, or through the desktop extension can earn you more SB. Once you have SB in your account, you can begin looking at different cash out options to use your rewards.

how to earn swagbucks

Once you’ve signed up, there will be quite a few options on the home screen to begin earning more Swagbucks. My favorite option is to take surveys. And this is a really easy thing to do while I’m stuck in the carpool line or waiting for dinner to finish cooking. I’m all about multi-tasking!

Another really good way to earn Swagbucks is by using the extension when shopping online. This is similar to Honey, Rakuten and Capital One Shopping. All of these sites will pop up when I’m shopping online to let me know if there are rebates or coupon codes they can try to save me money. Well, Swagbucks is similar but instead I can earn Swagbucks for my purchases. I usually use this option once I’ve tried the coupon codes on the other extensions and none of them work. Because, either way, I’d like to earn something for my online shopping purchases.

Another really great way to earn SB is by using their Magic Receipts option. This let’s you upload your receipts from certain stores and earn SB for purchases of certain items. It’s similar to how Ibotta works, except that you don’t earn actual cash back, but SB instead. Of course, SB can be turned into cash, so it’s really all the same in the end. And the best way to hack this is to turn your receipts in through Swagbucks Magic Receipts, Ibotta and Receipt Hog. Now, you’re really saving a bundle on groceries!

As if this weren’t enough of a reason to give them a try, you can also earn SB by donating to charities, watching videos and playing some mobile games.

what can you use your swagbucks for?

Once you’ve earned enough SB, you can start redeeming them for a myriad of different things. The most popular thing to redeem them for (and what I have always done to date) are gift cards. They offer a ton of different gift card options, as well as monetary values to choose from. Some of the most popular choices are:

  • Amazon
  • Visa gift card
  • American Express gift card
  • Home Depot
  • Walmart
  • Bath & Body Works
  • Google Play
  • CVS
  • Sony PlayStation
  • Door Dash
  • Apple Store
  • Target
  • The list goes on!

On top of this, they regularly have “sales” on their gift cards. This means you can purchase them for less SB than you normally would. So, if you want to get even more side cash, it’s good to keep an eye on the gift cards that are on sale and try to redeem your SB towards one of those.

Gift cards are the primary way to redeem SB, but they do also offer PayPal cash. So this is another good option if you don’t want any of the gift cards they have to offer. Or if you just need money in your PayPal account for an upcoming purchase.

summary

Ultimately, there are so many great things about Swagbucks that it’s hard for me to say anything bad about them. While you may not make a ton of money performing the activities on their site, you can also save some money by using them on regular purchases. It seems like they get more and more robust with their offerings each year, so I’m interested to see what they roll out with next. No matter what, if you haven’t given them a try yet, you’ve really got nothing to lose.

Have you tried taking surveys on Swagbucks to earn some extra side cash? If so, how has your experience been?

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Why a UTMA Account is an Awesome Way to Help Kids Save

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When it comes to helping kids save money, there are just so many different options. Of course, you could go with the traditional savings account. However, those generally don’t keep up with the rate of inflation, so they will actually be losing money. There are also money market accounts and CD’s, which can be some other better options. And if your child has any earned wages, then you can open up a custodial Roth IRA for them. Roth IRA’s can earn the highest market returns of an average 8%. But, if they don’t have any earned income, you can’t use those types of accounts. This is where a UTMA account comes into play instead.

What is a utma account?

A UTMA account is a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account. This is a custodial account that is for taxable investing. Which is slightly different than a Roth IRA account, in that anything your child withdraws from the account in the future will be taxed.

We opened all of UTMA accounts at Fidelity, since they are one of the few that have custodial accounts. Initially, we planned to open all of the Roth IRA’s and UTMA’s with Betterment, since that is where our Roth IRA’s are. But, we found out that they don’t support custodial accounts yet, so that wasn’t an option.

Since I had an old 401k with Fidelity, it just made the most sense to stick with them. Plus, their customer service is amazingly helpful. So, if you decide to open either a Roth IRA or a UTMA for your child, you can call them and they will walk you through the whole process.

HOw can it be funded?

UTMA accounts can be funded through any account you care to connect to it. They don’t have the restrictions that Roth IRA’s do when it comes to the funding or where it comes from. What this means is that you can attach any account with EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) capability to each UTMA. Most banks won’t open anything other than a savings account for younger children, which don’t have EFT functionality, though. So, if you have younger children, you will probably have to fund their UTMA accounts with your own checking account.

Initially, we found out that some of the kids had savings bonds purchased for them when they were first born. Instead of just letting them sit there earning very little interest, we decided to cash them out and put the money into their UTMA accounts instead.

However, you can put money into these accounts at any time for any reason. So it wouldn’t just have to be from old savings bonds.

We also found that some grandparents like to give money for birthdays and holidays. Or they send us a check to get their gifts and we don’t spend all of it. So we have started putting that “extra” money into their UTMA accounts also. This way it will really help the kids in the future because they don’t even realize the money is there. And, they aren’t just getting more toys for us to break our toes on. Bonus for us!

With that being said, here are some ways you can think about funding your children’s UTMA accounts:

  • Old savings bonds
  • Extra birthday money
  • Allowance money
  • Side hustle money (kid’s lemonade stand, yard work, etc.)
  • Money for good grades
  • Gifts (just because)

teaching about investing

One of my favorite things about these accounts, besides how easy they are to fund, is that it helps us teach them about investing. Even the youngest one, at the ripe old age of 8, has found this to be a lot of fun.

Once you put money into the UTMA account, it just sits there in a money market earning basically nothing until you choose your investments. The kids can invest in mutual funds, individual stocks or ETF’s.

Teaching them the difference between the three is just the beginning of the lesson. Once they grasp the different types of accounts, then I let them find companies they are interested in. I had to explain what publicly traded meant a few times, but once they got that concept, they were on a roll.

After they wrote down a list of everything they were interested in, then came the extra fun part for me. I like for the child to see how certain assets are performing before they decide whether to pull the trigger or not. There are many different places to look up ticker symbols to find out how they are performing.

Marketwatch is a good one to start with because it is very in depth. But, if you can’t remember where to go, you can always just type in the ticker symbol in the Google search box and the first thing it usually pulls up is how the stock is performing.

I like to make sure the kids see how an asset has been performing for the past 6 months, 1 year and 5 years. A lot of times this has changed their mind about purchasing a certain fund because they don’t like how it has been performing.

I answer all of their questions to the best of my ability, but I don’t want to choose for them. This is a huge learning experience for them while they are young, so I don’t want to push them one way or another. After all, if they lose money on their choices right now, it won’t really hurt them financially in the future. So this a great time to get their feet wet.

utma account summary

Overall, opening up a UTMA account for your child is a great way to help save for their future. While these accounts are a bit different than Roth IRA accounts, they operate fairly similarly with rate of returns. These accounts have the potential to net your children some great interest on money they aren’t spending while they are young. Which means they have the opportunity to create a decent sized nest egg before they leave your nest.

Plus, you get to teach them about investing and the stock market. Which is a great lesson to learn while they are young. I know I wish my parents would have taught me more about it when I was younger, because I would have been a much savvier investor in my early twenties. But, you can’t change the past, only the future. And that is exactly what we are trying to do with our children by opening up UTMA accounts for them now.

Have you heard of a UTMA account or opened one up? If so, what has been your experience with them so far?

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How to Make Teaching Young Children About Finances FUN!

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When you have young children, teaching them about money is a big part of our job as parents. And this is especially important when they are young because they learn so much more quickly when they are younger. And, they are more apt to listen to us and follow our actions because they look up to us greatly at this age. Not as much once they hit the teenage years! To the earlier you can start, the better.

But it’s not always easy, or fun. Especially when they are really young because the concepts can be much too difficult for them to grasp. However, I have found some great ways to make teaching young children about finances fun. And not just for them!

grocery list

One of the easiest financial lessons I found to begin with was grocery shopping. When my children were around the age of 2, they began helping me make a grocery list. I found the best way to approach this was to have them go through the pantry and refrigerator while I wrote down a list. They would  ell me what they thought we needed and we would discuss it. Because sometimes what they thought we needed was ice cream and cookies!

Whenever we went to the store I would have them help me decide which items to buy. I started out simply by comparing the same item but different brands. That way it was easier for them to see the cost difference between the two products.

Example: If Brand A can of beans costs $.89 and Brand B can of beans costs $.99, which one is the better deal.

This math is usually simple enough for them to grasp when they are much younger. As they got a bit older, I would increase the complexity of the math needed. In that, I would then compare similar products that had different quantities also. This can be pretty confusing for them initially. But once they understand it, it’s a really fun game for them to find the best deal.

allowance budget

Every member of the family should be pitching in to help. So, chores and allowance are another great way to approach teaching young children about finances. However, with the allowance comes some strings. Besides not getting paid if they don’t do their age appropriate chores, they also have to create a budget for it.

One of the most common ways to create an allowance budget is to split it up into the following 3 categories:

  • Donations
  • Saving
  • Spending

Of course, you can discuss this with your children because they may have other categories in mind. But these 3 categories are usually the most simplistic to begin with.

Once you have the allowance budget categories defined, then it’s a good time to open the discussion with your child regarding how much should go in each category. Percentages are easier for us as adults, but may not be as easy for your young child to grasp.

Therefore, if may be best to start with a specific dollar amount in each category.

Here is a good example of both options for a simple $10 allowance since this number can be easier for them to understand from a percentage perspective.

  • $10 = $2 for Donations, $4 for Saving, $4 for Spending
  • $10 = 20% for Donations, 40% for Saving, 40% for Spending

Ultimately, how this is broken down is completely up to you and your child. The main point is that they begin to learn the basics of budgeting their income. So that it will be much easier for them as adults when they have to do it for themselves.

sell their old stuff

As most of us know, with children comes a lot of extra stuff. And as they grow, they outgrow that “stuff” fairly rapidly. Most of the time, the majority of it is also barely used. So, this is another great area to weave financial lessons in for your young child.

When it’s time to declutter the house, have your child go through their stuff to sell also.

The first thing to go through with them is which items they might be able to sell. And then you should have them help you figure out how much they think they can sell the items for.

A lot of times I prefer to sell my kids outgrown stuff online. But, having a yard sale is another great way to approach this lesson since your child will have to be physically present for it.

This lesson helps to teach them the value of their stuff and the value of a dollar. So, it’s really a two-fold lesson that is extremely important for them to grasp now.

Plus, it’s a great place to add on a third lesson while you are at it. Let them keep the money they make on their stuff and put it into a high yield savings account. That way they can watch it grow each month and you can help them learn about compound interest. Now, I call this a big win!

Birthday Budget

And last but not least, the birthday budget. I think my kids always think that money grows on trees. Which is extra funny because we actually have a money tree, but it doesn’t grow money!

With that being said, their birthday wish lists always start out much further outside the budget than they think. So, it’s a good time to bring them back down to earth and have them help with a more realistic birthday list.

First, let them know what the budget is for their birthday. The best way I have found to do this is to tell them that they need to find some gifts that are under $20 and they can find one or two that are closer to $40 – $50 also.

This way, the majority of the birthday gifts they want fall into most people’s budget. And the couple of larger gifts could be from us or a joint gift. But, I also let them know that they will never get everything on their list. That way I help to set up their expectations and keep a bit of the birthday surprise going.

Teaching young children about finances

Overall, there are a lot of great ways you can begin teaching young children about finances and it still be fun. My favorite ways include:

  • Having them help make the grocery list and compare food prices
  • Make an allowance budget
  • Selling their old stuff and putting the money into a high-yield savings account
  • Creating a reasonable birthday budget

If you can start with these easy lessons, then you are well on your way to increasing your child’s financial knowledge. And the earlier you can start, the better. So, have fun with it and get started today!

What are some of the best ways you have found to teach your young children about finances and still make it fun?

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How to Keep More of Your Money This Year

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With a new year comes a new slate. And for us, that means it’s a great time to create more financial freedom and independence for our future selves. And one of the best ways we have found to achieve that is to keep more of our money, as opposed to spending it. But, that doesn’t just mean we keep it and don’t do anything with it. There are many different tips and tricks used to help create more wealth with our money. So read on if you want to learn how to keep more of your money and create more long term wealth.

Setting financial goals

Setting your financial goals is the first part of the puzzle. After all, if you don’t have clear cut goals lined up then what are you wanting to keep more of your money for anyway? The best way we have found to do this is to create 4 different things.

    • Budget
    • Short-term goals
    • Mid-term goals
  • Long-term goals

Once you have those 4 things nailed down, then you can really start rolling towards your personal financial goals.

Open a high yield savings account

No matter what your debt to income ratio is, you can always find something to put aside. Even if it’s only $20 a month to begin with, something is still better than nothing. And with this $20, or whatever you are able to regularly scrape together, you will create your emergency fund.

After all, one of the most important tools in your financial arsenal is your emergency fund. Even if you don’t have 6-9 months of expenses saved to begin with, everybody has to start somewhere. And this money can really help reduce your stress levels in times of crisis. No matter what you put into the this savings account, the goal is to budget the same amount monthly.

Just pretend it’s another bill and it will be less painful. And, the best way to gain a little more on your emergency fund savings is to open a high yield savings account to put it into. 

With interest rates closer to 2% in high yield savings accounts, you will still do a whole lot better than if you put the money into a traditional savings account. Those rates are currently at a national average of .09%, which is just ridiculous!

Stay focused on your financial goals

Once you have figured out your financial goals and started your emergency fund, next you have to figure out how to stay focused on them. Believe me when I tell you that this can really be the hardest part! 

There are a lot of great tools out there to help you track your spending and your wealth. But, the one I have been using for years now is Personal Capital. You can use it on your PC or your smartphone. And once you have all of your accounts connected (that is what takes the most amount of time!), it is very easy to navigate.

You just login to the platform and it will show you your overall net worth based on the balance of each account. I take it as a personal challenge to increase my net worth every month, if even only by a little bit.

Pay off your credit card

While most of us prefer to use credit cards over cash, they can really get us into financial trouble if we aren’t careful. Some of these credit cards have pretty awesome rewards, which are fantastic to get. But if you don’t pay off your credit card in full every month, then you are ultimately spending more than you are getting in rewards.

So, the best way to fully utilize your credit card’s perks is to pay off your card in full every month. If that means only putting basic household expenses on the credit card, because you know you can pay that off. Then that is what you should do to make sure you will have enough money in your budget to pay it off. 

Determine Needs vs. wants

Once you have gone through all of the previous items, determining needs vs. wants is the next step. Because now you are getting into potentially erroneous items that may creep up monthly to spend your money on. And it is these things that can really derail us on our financial path if we aren’t careful.

Therefore, keep in mind whether the item/service is a need or a want first. If the item is a need, then go ahead and do it. But if it is actually a want instead, you may want to hold off on it or figure out a different solution. After all, not spending your hard earned cash on wants will only help you keep more of your money in your pocket.

Keep More of Your Money

Overall, it can be difficult to keep more of your money in your pocket. Especially, since it is just so easy to spend it quickly these days. And this is the reason why we have to be more aware of what we have and where we want to be with our finances. 

Just remember to:

  • Set your financial goals
  • Open a high yield savings account
  • Stay focused on your financial goals
  • Pay off your credit card every month
  • Determine needs vs. wants

For us, following these great financial tips have really helped us keep more money in our pocket. So it will be interesting to see how much we are able to keep this year and continue to grow our wealth.

What steps to you plan to take to help keep more money in your pocket this year?

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