How to use this Page

Today President Obama spoke to the nation from Wall Street about our financial crisis, undoubtedly the worst since the Great Depression. It is one year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The word is that we are making progress, but the economy is nowhere near stable. For the millions out of jobs and losing their homes, there is no sense of stability yet.

Listening to Obama speak made me think about financial responsibility. Our nation did not get into this mess overnight. And no one person or organization is to blame. Families did not lose their homes to foreclosure overnight either. We all know there has been exhaustive discussion in the media regarding just exactly it was that put us in this catastrophic financial mess. Now we need to focus on making significant changes so history does not repeat itself.

http://classroomclipart.com

Here’s what I know:

1. Growing up in a middle class family in the 1960s, most kids did not receive nearly the volume and cost of gifts kids receive today-  not even the “rich” kids. At Christmas, there were 1 or 2 gifts for each child.
2. If a child wanted something, he had to work for it.
3. Most people did not live in huge homes like they do today.
4. Many families had only one car. Very few teens had their own cars.
5. Americans did not consume nearly the volume of goods they do today.
6. People were more grateful and seemed happier to me then.

So what happened?

1. We got sucked in by mass marketing efforts.
2. We wanted what others were having.
3. We lost our focus about what is important.
4. We got greedy.
5. We got used to having much more than we need.

So what can we do today to make sure our children do not become a credit crisis statistic when they are young adults?

http://classroomclipart.com

1. When they are in elementary school, talk to them about money and how difficult it is to make for most people.
2. Set up some type of a savings plan for your kids from birth.
3. By the middle school years, show them your check book and explain the simple facts about paying bills.
4. Explain how credit cards work and how the interest multiplies when you do not pay off your balance each month.
5. For high school age kids, talk about the basics of our mortgage crisis and how homeowners signed loans they did not fully understand and how their lack of control of spending led them down a destructive path. Tell them about the bad decisions banks made.
6. Be frank with them about the statistics of debt in America. It is easy to find data online.
7. If you are an overspender yourself, show your kids how you are making changes – no matter what their age may be. If your kids see that you buy everything you want when you want it, and you overbuy for them, they will be under the false impression that there are no spending limits.
8. Give your children chores and reward them in small ways when they do their jobs well.
9. Have your children work toward special gifts – a new computer, musical instrument, ipod, etc.
10. Raise your kids to be grateful for what is important. Achieve this two ways: 1) by you being grateful yourself and 2) by you and other family members not spoiling them with gifts and goods.
11. Work as family on downsizing. Less clothing, less gadgets, less shopping, less consuming. Less waste. My saying is that “More should be taken out of your house than is brought in.”
12. Experience the rewards of giving as a family. Rather than buying every member of the family 10 or 20 Christmas gifts, buy 1 or 2 modestly priced gifts and spend some time or money on needy families in your community. You don’t have to wait for the holidays for giving. People need food and clothing year round.
13. Shift the focus of your family from consuming to enjoying the simple things. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to have a lot of fun together.

There’s that cliche: “The best things in life are free.”

Something we should all consider.