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Using the Almighty Dollar

Do you know how many countries around the world use the term dollar as their currency?

The Financial Fairy Tales Activity Book is a resource for parents and teachers helping to teach kids about money. It contains puzzles, games and exercises which develop an understanding of money values and principles as well as the mechanics of money.

The Financial Fairy Tales are helping children learn about money in over 12 countries and the list is growing almost every day. We wanted to ensure that the Activity Book is as usable as possible. Therefore we created an international version which has been ‘translated’ into American English and makes reference to the dollar instead of pounds.

I’m delighted to announce that the international edition is now available via Amazon for distribution around the world – visit The Financial Fairy Tales Book Store for details.

Oh and according to my research their are 29 countries using the dollar 🙂

How Saving Young Can Add Up Over A Lifetime

In times like these financial conversations are more common than ever. They are particularly important for those just starting out in their careers. The young generation of today has entered a battered workforce and economic turmoil. This article will discuss the importance of saving in your youth.

Compound Interest

Einstein is known for making the statement, “There is no greater force in the universe than compound interest.” This is certainly pertinent to this subject matter. Saving doesn’t have to be a matter of high salaries or inheritance, it is more important to have a disciplined steady approach. Someone who saves $100 monthly from age 25 to age 65 will have saved a total $48000.00  in 40 years time. These figures assume no interest gained in those 40 years.

Now here is where compound interest takes over. Now lets take that same scenario; $100 a month for 40 years assumed a 6% interest rate annually. Over that period of time your total would now be $200,144.82. Quite a stark difference you might say. Now let’s try to do this scenario with a 10% return; that would give us a total of $637,678.02! Your starting to get the picture now.

But why is it important to start early? Well simply put, your money will grow the most when it has the most time to compound. The example above is certainly impressive, but what if that same person started saving when they were 45 rather than 25? With the 10% annualized return they would have $76,569.69. A nice figure but nowhere near the $637,678.02 over 40 years. This should illustrate both the power of compounding and the importance of starting early. To compute your own scenario visit this compound interest calculator.

How do we find the interest?

So after exploring the scenario above you may be wondering how you achieve these rates of return. There is no simple answer to this. Currently interest rates on certificates of deposit and money markets are near 0%. These are the safest types of investments, but they do not provide much of return these days. The other options are stocks and bonds. These securities can be complicated to make money on even for an experienced investor. The best bet for a new investor would be a mutual fund.

A mutual fund is a collection of stocks and bonds that provide an investor with more exposure to the market. Instead of just buying one stock the investor holds shares of a fund, this fund can hold hundreds of stocks or bonds. This provides more diversification for the investor and more safety overall. Historically growth stock mutual funds have returned an average of between 8%-12% annually. For more information on investing options, check out Morningstar.com.

David Spader is a freelance writer and blogger who usually looks at savings account deals over at SavingsAccount.Org. His most recent review looked at the best saving account rates.

Financial Literacy Products For Children

Book Review – The Zela Wela Kids Build A Bank by Nancy Phillips, MBA

In Build A Bank, the first book in the Zela Wela Kids series, the main characters, twins Emma and Jack learn the importance of allocating their money for specific purposes. With the help of their mother and teacher they create banks for giving, investing, saving and spending the money they receive.

There are many things to enjoy about the book. The main message of allocating money is nicely explained with the added bonus of the children making their own money boxes. Each element of giving, investing, saving and spending are explained in child friendly terms.

As the author is Canadian, there are a few references to dollars and cents, but readers in the UK and elsewhere can still enjoy sharing these messages with their children. There are also some nice multi cultural references.

The book is beautifully illustrated and 10% of all author proceeds are donated towards providing books to children in need.

About the author

Nancy Phillips was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the fifth largest city in North America. Nancy has an Honors Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph and an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from Queens University, Canada. She has twenty years of business management experience including roles in new product development, portfolio management and international marketing. Nancy was a national award- winning sales representative for Bayer Pharmaceuticals in Canada and went on to successfully manage a $40 million international orthopedic product line while working in San Diego.

The birth of her first child in 2002 dramatically changed Nancy’s life and some of her primary goals. After becoming a mother, she had a new focus—teaching her children the skills they would need to thrive in our rapidly changing world. Just before her eldest turned five, she began searching for a comprehensive book series that would teach her children important lessons about personal finance and goal setting. Although many of the books she read had excellent information, it was generally directed towards adults not children. This led to the creation of The Zela Wela Kids™.

Two specific incidents that occurred when Nancy was young significantly impacted her outlook on money management. One day when Nancy was nine years old, Barbara, one of her mother’s friends, came to the house crying. After she left, Nancy asked her mom why Barbara had been crying. Her mother told her that her friend had lost her husband several weeks earlier. Barbara’s husband had been the one responsible for paying the bills and investing for their retirement. Now that he was gone, Barbara was devastated and had no idea what to do. This experience had a major impact on young Nancy. She made a vow to never let this happen to her.

Then, when Nancy was twenty-one, she met a wonderful family. The eldest child, who was only a few years older than Nancy, had purchased a cute house. When Nancy asked her how she could afford to buy such a great place at such a young age, she informed Nancy that she had saved the down payment by setting aside 30% of every paycheck she had received since becoming a real estate agent several years earlier. She said that she didn’t miss the extra money and was accustomed to living on 70% of her paycheck. This made a lot of sense to Nancy, so when she began her own career, she started depositing 30% of her paycheck into a separate account, giving 10% to charity, and living on the remaining 60%. By following this system, she, too, was able to buy her first home in her twenties.

Nancy’s mission is to help create a financially literate society by providing children and young adults with resources that encourage a basic understanding of personal finance and the process of goal achievement. She hopes that by talking about these important subjects, parents and children alike will be inspired to develop responsible financial habits that will increase their quality of life and enable them to achieve their true potential.

More information can be found at www.zelawelakids.com

Build A Bank can also be found on Amazon

10 Ways to Lower Your Water Bill

With Spring just around the corner (we hope) here are some timely reminders of simple steps you can take to use less water and lower your water bill, courtesy of our friends at Change of Address.org

Water is so essential to life.  We use it so many ways without really stopping to think of its consumption.  Nobody as a rule would sit down and measure how many gallons they used when taking a shower.  There are lawns that need to be watered, dishes to wash and so many other ways we run to the faucet (tap) for countless reasons during a day.  Each reason is necessary, but at times, we can do small things to cut back on our usage.  Below are ten ways we can cut our water usage and cost.

  • Shorter Showers. It is so easy to lose track of time in the shower.  That warm water just feels so good that time can slip by without much notice.  Just pausing to be sure you keep the time to a reasonable amount, five to ten minutes instead of twenty, can save a great deal of water.
  • Check Pipes For Leaks. Making a routine inspection of water pipes can help you find any places that have slow drips or leaks. Those amounts can add up very fast when it is dripping constantly.  It will require checking places like underneath the sinks and counters, but can really save water if you put an end to one leak.
  • Check Toilets For Leaks. You might have a crack in the water container or a hose that is dripping.  If the water is dripping on a floor, to where it dries without being noticed, this might never have been stopped.  Feeling around the hoses will help to tell if there is any moisture.
  • Install Water Saving Shower Heads. There are all kinds of new and helpful forms of shower heads that reduce the amount of water used during a shower.  They are easy to install and you won’t need a plumber to complete the work.  With all the varieties there are to chose from, you can easily find one that will add to your shower experience, and yet, save water at the same time.
  • Put Plastic Bottles In Toilet Tanks. This is another great way to save water.  Putting a plastic bottle filled with water in the tank will reduce the water needed to fill up the reservoir.  However it will not decrease the ability to flush in any way.  It just cuts down on the volume of water needed.
  • Only Wash Dishes And Clothes With Full Loads. It can be so easy to toss a few clothes in the washer to do for laundry.  The same can happen with dishes.  We might just want them out of the way for many reasons. But they still use a great deal of water. So, washing only full loads will improve that problem.
  • Water Lawns Only As Needed. Some people may have their lawns set on automatic timings for watering.  They don’t always bother to change them when the summer passes and the lawns don’t require as much water.  All that extra water will be saved, if you do cut back to only when it is actually needed.
  • Don’t Run the Hose Constantly While Washing Your Car. This is one of those habits that can be hard to stop. Simply using a bit of control while hosing down the car can save a lot of water.
  • Clean Driveways With A Broom. If you have gotten in the habit of hosing down your driveway to clean it, perhaps this is a habit you should break. It might take longer to use a broom, but in the long run it will still clean the driveway.  That will save the water for other purposes that are more necessary.
  • Insulate Water Pipes. Putting insulation on the hot water pipes will make sure the water stays warm when it comes from the water heater. This will cut down on how much time you have to run the water for a bath or shower to get it warm out of the faucet. That could possibly save quite a few gallons.
  • None of the above will require any special skills.  They are very simply ways that can possibly represent some great savings on your water bill.

    Financial Education in Schools Debate

    Should financial education classes be compulsory in schools in England and Wales?

    The video below shows a hotly contested debate about the role and place for financial literacy classes in schools.

    Just who should be teaching children about money?