Money Reasons

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Archive for July, 2010

Giving My Kids A Head Start In Building Wealth

July 5th, 2010

I would like for my son and daughter to have a shot at becoming wealthy when they are older!

So what is a middle income earner like me to do?

My “Work in Process” Plan

Basically to contribute $2,000 per kid until they are 21, then hope they build upon the base that I created for them.

Here is the basic calculations table that I created to help them:

Age	Amount	Int. Rate	Interest Earned
6	$2,000.00	0.06	$120.00
7	$4,120.00	0.06	$247.20
8	$6,367.20	0.06	$382.03
9	$8,749.23	0.06	$524.95
10	$11,274.19	0.06	$676.45
11	$13,950.64	0.06	$837.04
12	$16,787.68	0.06	$1,007.26
13	$19,794.94	0.06	$1,187.70
14	$22,982.63	0.06	$1,378.96
15	$26,361.59	0.06	$1,581.70
16	$29,943.29	0.06	$1,796.60
17	$33,739.88	0.06	$2,024.39
18	$37,764.28	0.06	$2,265.86
19	$42,030.13	0.06	$2,521.81
20	$46,551.94	0.06	$2,793.12
21	$51,345.06	0.06	$3,080.70
22	$56,425.76	0.04	$2,257.03

Now I know some of you might be thinking big deal, 56k isn’t that much. And you would be right. But it’s not a bad chunk of change either!

I would hope that they continue to build it, but if they don’t, at least that would be a great down payment on a house.

Another option would be to keep the money for them and let them draw a little at a time. This would be messy and my kids might start to build a dependency on me. I don’t want that to happen.

I have to admit, another part of me just want to sock extra $2,ooo a year into my account and let that amount grow! Just to see what it does!

Either way, I’ve alread started it, and so the numbers that go to age 10 has already been accomplished.

This is still a “WIP” task, I’ll update this in a future report.

-MR

22 comments »

Posted in Kids, Wealth

Money Weekly Cache 2010, July 4th Fireworks!

July 4th, 2010

Weekly Thoughts:

Summer is in full swing here in the middle states! And to give Summer the respect that it should have, I’m going to change my schedule just a bit. I’m not going to do posts on Saturday while summer is fighting me, trying desperately to get my attention!

This past week has been very relaxing and enjoyable for me. I can’t believe that it’s July already! We had old friends up to played cards, while the kids played out back.

Our neighborhood version of the Joneses officially moved out of the their house yesterday! They were good neighbors and I’m actually sad to see them go. Oh well, I hope they are happier at their new over 50% larger house!!!

About now I usually link to other sites that I enjoyed, but the irony is that thy beat me to the punch and linked to me! So what I’m going to do is the all the site that linked to me this week (which is a record amount for MoneyReasons)! Ironicially all the sites I was going to mention this week, pretty much beat me to the punch and linked to me!

So I’m going to create a list of the sites that linked to me this week (in alphabetic order), and I would like to say a BIG “THANK YOU”!!!

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff Even though this great blogger was on vacation, she filled your week with a slew of great guest bloggers! That’s impressive!
Bucksome Boomer I can always find something fun and interesting as Bucksome’s site! Bucksome’s site I just started to frequent these past few months!
Everyday Thoughts and Tips Reading Kris’s site is like reading a perfect version of an article I would write, if only I could write it as well as she can! Relatively a newer blog site, but (in star wars-ese) the force is strong with this one!
Financial Samurai I’ve been a long time reader of Sam’s site! In many way’s Sam’s site is like a puzzle that you can learn from. His commenters are first rate too! I’ve definitely learned to think outside of the box from Sam’s articles! Sam is also creator of the ever popular financial group called the Yakezie! Sam’s site is always exciting and challenging!
Little House in the Valley This wonderful blogger has a split personality! While she still writes on her blog, she is also a wisebread author too. I think the fact that she writes for wisebread gives a good indication of the quality of her writing! Great reading in both locations!
Wealth Pilgrim Another blog site that I have been reading for quite a while! Neil is the real deal! He is a financial advisor, and if you read his articles, you’ll discover that he know this stuff!

I was truly honored and proud that Money Reasons had so many great bloggers linking back to my site in there weekly favorite linkback.

And with this list, I’m going to leave! Please considering check each one out, I’m sure you’ll find that their sites are well worth it!

7 comments »

Posted in Weekly Review

Tags: great pf bloggers

My Favorite Tip For Enjoying Entertainment

July 2nd, 2010

I hate waiting in long public lines! Too much time in life is wasted waiting in long lines to enjoy things!

So do I stay at home squirrelled away in my own personal “fortress of solitude“? Destined and doomed to live out my days as an impatient hermit?

Of course not!

In fact, we just got back from our local public Drive-In. We watched “The Last Air Bender” and the latest Shrek movie “Shrek Forever After“. The kids enjoyed them (especially Shrek). But what compelled me to go on a Thursday night (a work night) with the movies starting at 9:30pm?

Lack of people at the Drive in during that time! There was only about 30 cars that night! If we were to wait until this weekend, the number of cars could be double or triple the number! So by going on a less popular day, it was like we owned the place.

Here is a List of some of the Benefits of Excellent Scheduling

When arriving at the Drive-In, there was no wait to get in, we drove up, paid to get in, and drove straight in.
Once in, we got prime choices for spots to choose from.
We didn’t have to wait in long food lines
Bathroom break were quick without any lines.
People were more quiet since there wasn’t as many people.
The intermission play area for the kids wasn’t crowded and much safer.
Nobody was parked to either side of us, so we adjusted our car to get the best angle for viewing the screen.
Exiting was quick with no waiting in a line to get out.

By taking out the crowd factor, the experience was extra special! It was almost like they were playing the movie just for us (or at least if almost felt that way).

The same is true of dining out earlier during the day (4:30), and on a day in the middle of the week instead of the weekend! Not only is the service better, many places will offer a earlier bird pricing on a weekday to boot!

There is a huge gain if you go to an amusement park during a week day instead of the typical weekend. Line rides are much quicker!

Next I plan on trying the same technique with wave running! We use to go on the weekends when it was super crowded in the lake and less safe. But now since I sometimes work early, I’m going to try going during the middle of the week on a day that I get out earlier than usual. Hopefully, my experience will be the same as with the rest of the activities I mentioned above.

Can you think of an activity that is more enjoyable by staggering the time and day, so that the crowds are at a minimum?

-MR

5 comments »

Posted in Entertainment

Tags: beating crowds better activities better dining out enjoying theater

Why You Shouldn't Keep Your Money Hidden At Home

July 1st, 2010

I have a friend and a few older family members that pulled their money out of their banks and hid it in their house during “The Great Recession“. I asked why, and most said in case the country (United States) falls apart, they want to have that money available

This is damaging on so many levels both personally and for the whole country.

Reasons not to have much money hidden at home:

If everybody does this, money tightens and we are in another “Great Recession” scenario, because banks have less to lend to businesses.
Money hidden at home losses value due to Inflation.
What if you forget where you hid your money? We always hear of stories of people finding money in old houses where the previous owners hid the money and forgot it.
Money hidden at home has a good chance of getting stolen. Sometimes even by other family members…
What if a fire or some other disaster happens? That money wouldn’t be insured!
(Update) My wife mentioned that people that hide money in their house are afraid to leave their house because they are afraid they would get burglarized if they leave. Sometimes, such people even skip vacations because of this fear!

Another thing to remember is if the government does go down, that money is worthless anyway.

Since the banks are Federally insured up to $250,000 through 12/31/2013, doesn’t it make sense to take advantage of the free insurance (via the FDIC) not to mention the abeit small amount of interest you could get paid!!!

I do think it’s a good idea to hold a little bit of money at home, just for emergencies, perhaps a few thousand at the maxium.

I definitely wouldn’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars squirrelled away at home (if I had hundreds of thousands ).