I was in Michael’s yesterday buying key charms for my money management lesson on the keys to compounding. With my 40% off coupon, of course. I was behind a mom who I felt increasingly sympathetic for. But not really because she allowed herself to be in the position she was in. The mom was there with her two daughters. They looked to be about 8- and 9-years old. The older one asked her mom if she could buy one of…
I was working with a group of second graders last week. The topic was needs vs. wants. All of my money classes begin with this discussion as knowing the difference is the beginning of effectively managing money. So when we got to the activity part of the lesson, kids were cutting out pictures from magazines and pasting them on their mini-poster. The poster was divided into two sections…needs and wants. It’s fun for me to walk around the room and talk…
This morning at 7:30 a.m. Ryan became the proud owner of 5 shares of Chipotle. I have to admire him for waiting this one out as he was pretty intent on buying even more shares way back in August at a higher cost. And as you may recall, after the Schwab financial advisor showed him what rating Schwab had given his favorite restaurant, he backed out. But then last Friday happened. And no doubt the past few months helped. But specifically,…
It’s funny how some things just work out and you’re not even aware that it’s happening. That’s the way it was with my new kitchen table and teaching lessons in my money management class. It wasn’t even supposed to be my new kitchen table. It was supposed to be my new office desk. Desk-hunting one Sunday afternoon, John and I ended up at Crate and Barrel. While browsing for office furniture we happened by an awesome kitchen table, the kind…
Last night was Back-to-School night at Ryan’s middle school. For two hours parents rotate through their child’s class schedule to get the low-down on the upcoming year. For me, it’s also a chance to see people I haven’t seen in a while. So there I was, sitting in the gym setting up a carpool for cross country, when the PE teacher began his schpeel. I happen to be very pleased with the program at the school. It’s well defined and all kids are…