By Kathleen Boucher
Are you educated about how to attract money, use money, give it away and have it return back to you tenfold? Have your parents, or close relatives taught you as a young child how to use money to your advantage? If not, why not? Probably because no one taught these skills! Wouldn’t it be great if this knowledge was part of your upbringing? Absolutely!
If someone asked you what the greatest lesson you could have learned as a child or you could teach to your kids right now about money, what do you think it would be? Do you need a moment to think about it?
From all the books I’ve read, the greatest lesson you could teach your kids would be the power of compounding interest. Compound interest or compounding allows you to make interest on the interest you made the year before on your principal. Your principal is the amount of money you originally invest.
- Let’s say your principal is $1000 and the interest is 10%. (I know this is ridiculously high but it serves my purpose, as 10 is an easy number to work with.) So at the end of the first year, you have $100 interest on $1000. Now you have an investment of $1100 that will be accruing interest at 10 percent the following year. If you teach your kids to regularly invest money into their account, their money will grow faster.
I bet you’re thinking: well, it’s great to teach compounding, but my kids have no money to invest – and neither do I!
Money-making ideas are everywhere! All you need to do is to change your mindset. What could your kids do to earn money? Sit down with them and figure out some ways they could earn money. Does your neighbor need to have their pet walked or tended to when they are away? Does an elderly person need to have their driveway cleared or grass cut in return for a nominal fee? What about newspaper routes? Brainstorm with your kids and get some ideas flowing!
Instead of your kids immediately spending their hard-earned money, teach them this simple rule. Help them to put the money in a compound interest saving account. If they really want to acquire an expensive item, ask them to wait for thirty days before purchasing it. Thirty days? Are you crazy! They’ll never wait that long! Maybe, or maybe not!
This is what may happen. They may decide that they don’t really want the item after all. During the time they are waiting, their heart’s desire may go on sale. They may decide that they enjoy watching their money growing in their savings account instead. Who knows? But you will have taught them to focus on long-term goals, rather than the need for instant gratification, and they will be able to revel in the joy of being in control of their own choices and money.
What if you don’t have kids and you are in need of money instead?
“Find a need and fill it.” – Ruth Stafford Peale
Say you have just lost your job and your savings are low. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, start observing what you and others use on a daily basis. How can you improve upon it? One day a gentleman purchased a cup of coffee. When he got into his car, he managed to spill the hot coffee onto his lap! Ouch!
“There has got to be a way to drink coffee in my car without spilling it!” The man thought.
He designed the lids that we all use when we buy coffee at a coffee shop. This simple idea generated this man an income for his whole life time.This is exactly what I mean by finding a need and filling it. It doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, the easier the solution, the better! Go to the company that could make your product and present your business proposal. The best book I’ve read to help you to license your invention is A Simple Idea by Stephen Key(1). You don’t even have to wait until you are an adult to licence your idea. If you are a child, your parents or guardians could assist you. Remember, you are only limited by your imagination.
I wish you great success in all that you do!
Bibliography:
(1) A Simple Idea by Stephen Key, copyright 2011 by Stephen Key, Published by McGraw- Hill Companies, ISBN 978-0-07-175615-0