Great Tools for Financial Literacy

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Barb

I’ve been using Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers with dd17 for the past 18 months or so, and we’re almost finished. We’ve been having a lot of fun with the projects.

Funny how using Life Prep has been a different experience with each of my children.

Our eldest was very eager to get out on her own, so we emphasized the rent, food and utilities projects over the others. Our son was completely college-minded, so we stuck to more reading and less projects. Dd17 is not in a big hurry to be out on her own, but she’s not sure about college either (she’s already racked up a few credit hours and isn’t sure if she wants to keep going), but she really gets into all of the projects.

She has run a couple of small businesses, so she understands the need to watch your expenses and make prudent choices. She seems to really get into studying how loans work, and how you can save a lot of money by prepaying them.

While working on the projects from the book, she enjoyed playing with some online financial calculators at Bankrate.com. They’re wonderful! I plan on adding mention of them to the next edition of the book when we update it again in a few years.

Frugality 101

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Barb

Breakfast under the Big Birch by Carl Larsson

Breakfast under the Big Birch
I don’t usually post on Sundays but had to share this article about how families can save money. A couple of the tips are specific to the Chicago suburbs, but most are not, and you’ll find some good info there.

Here’s my favorite part:

Do things your mom used to do. Remember how your mom and her friends sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee, rather than meeting out at a local coffee shop? Or how you’d be forced to bring your lunch to the ballgame or museums? That’s probably why your parents have money in the bank now. One mom suggested buying a bag of Starbucks coffee for $8 and then brewing enough for everyone.

Some of my fondest memories are of sitting around a kitchen table having coffee: with my grandma when I was a kid (yep, Swedes let the kids drink coffee with lots of milk in it), or with the other playgroup moms when I had little ones and we met weekly at each other’s homes. Who says you need money to have fun?

College: The Bottom Line

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Barb

My last few posts have explored some major negatives about the college experience. This doesn’t mean I’m opposed to kids going to college. I’m opposed to kids going to college without considering the need for it, what good they’ll get out of it and what bad they’ll get out of it.

Nevertheless, today’s typical college or university may not be what many kids need. Here’s an interesting take on the changes one experienced professor recommends to make college worthwhile for more American young people.

Beware of College: Now What?

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Barb

So colleges aren’t what they used to be. Does this mean you shouldn’t send your teen to college?

Not at all. What it does mean is that you and your teen must be extremely diligent in the choice of a college, once you determine that he or she is “college material.”

How to define “college material”:

Motivated to attend college, to study hard and to succeed.

Strong enough to handle peer pressure of all kinds.

Interested in a career that requires a college degree and will allow the degree-holder to make enough money to cover the cost of said college experience and then some.

Willing to help pay for college (important for what it says about your child as much as how it will help financially).

If you still think your teen is “college material,” it’s time for due diligence. Check out prospective colleges thoroughly. This includes Christian colleges, some of which are Christian in name only. If you’re going to leave your teen somewhere for four (or more) years, you want it to be a good, safe place, not just a well-known place, right?

Finally, in light of what we’ve considered in these college posts, consider online learning and/or community college for at least part of your child’s college experience. Starting out by studying at home can give your child time to mature further, in order to face the trials and temptations of modern college life with more maturity than he or she had at 18.

One good book for those who are attracted to the benefits of distance learning for college is Accelerated Distance Learning.

Next: College: The Bottom Line

Beware of College, Post #3

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Barb

Many college administrators believe that stopping alcohol and drug abuse is the responsibility of the student, not the college.

A recent study finds that not only is alcohol and drug abuse increasing on college campuses, but a majority of college administrators believe that controlling such abuses is the responsibility of the students, not the college.

That may sound good, especially in light of the idea of personal responsibility, but the truth is that parents send their teens off to college to gain maturity as well as learning. Immaturity and personal responsibility are often mutually exclusive. Ultimately, parents expect that their offspring will be safe at college, and that the college or university to which they’re paying thousands of dollars each year will make sure of that.

How do you find a college where law enforcement and the protection of students are priorities? When you’re visiting colleges with your teen, ask questions about campus safety, as recommended by writer Paul Lloyd Hemphill. The type of response you get should speak volumes.

Next: So colleges aren’t what they used to be. Does this mean you shouldn’t send your teen to college?