What Does “Invest” Mean?

I talk a lot about dividing your money into 4 categories: SAVE – SPEND – DONATE – INVEST. Investing means using your money to buy something that can make you money when you sell it. You can use your money to buy stocks, bonds, real estate, collectables and more. It is important to remember that in real life, before someone can invest money, they must make sure they are saving enough money to meet their daily, weekly and monthly expenses. Below are a few definitions to help you start learning about investing:

• Investor: Someone who uses their own money in order to make more money in return.
• Interest: Payment in exchange for the use of money over time. For example, you can earn money (interest) by lending your money to a bank. In addition, you pay money (interest) when you borrow money from a bank.
• Stock: A unit of ownership in a company. The value of a stock goes up or down depending on investors guessing about future profits.
• Bond: A contract between an investor and the US Government or agency. The investor agrees to lend money to the government for a set period of time in exchange for interest.
• New York Stock Exchange: The busiest stock exchange, representing more than 3000 companies where millions of stock shares are traded every business day.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA): 30 Stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow is used a scorecard to show average stock performance for each trading day.
• Diversification & Asset Allocation: How money is divided up between different types of investments.

Six Simple Steps to a Savings Plan

Build from the ground up with solid foundation!
• STEP SIX - Review Your Progress
Are you on track to reach your goals? How long will it take? Do you need to make any adjustments?
• STEP FIVE - Identify Your Earnings Plan
Will you be getting an allowance? Would you like to get a job? What other income can you expect?
• STEP FOUR - Establish a Savings Vehicle
Do you want to save your money at home? Do you want to open a bank account? Do you want to start a collection?
• STEP THREE - Set Up a Budget
How will you earn money? How much money will you need to reach your goals? How will you divide your money if you are saving for 2 budget items?
• STEP TWO: Set Your Goals
What are your financial goals? What do you WANT and what do you really NEED? What do you need now and what can wait a few months or even a year?
• STEP ONE: Get Educated
Where does money come from? How does a bank earn money? How can you make your money grow in value? What is compound Interest? (Hint: Check this blog’s archives. I’ve answered these questions before.)

Covering Your Bases - A Game Winning Strategy

As a financially savvy kid, it’s important to set short, medium and long-term goals. Then create a budget and a financial plan to illustrate how you can meet all of your goals. Consider how much money you will put into the following 4 categories:

SAVE – SPEND – DONATE – INVEST

Before you spend, you must save. You must spend on your budgeted items before you donate. With excess money, you can then invest for the future. Then it’s time to save some more!

How Can I Earn That?

So you’ve either earned or been given some money, but what do you intend to do with it? The age-old lesson of need versus want it too often lost in today’s vast world of consumerism. The newest, greatest version of everything is coming at us faster than ever, making it easy for us to get confused about what we really need to spend our money on and what is just too cool to pass up. As soon as my children were old enough to point and ask for a toy or candy bar in the check-out line, I taught them to say “how can I earn that?” rather than “I want that”. This simple little step can completely change how you view all the stuff around you. If it isn’t worth doing an extra chore to get it, then maybe it really isn’t that important to have, after all. And if you choose to put a little skin in the game (earn the money to pay for the purchase) it makes you appreciate the item all the more.

As a New Year's Resolution, I challenge you to stop asking your parents to buy you things and starting asking them "How can I earn the things I want?"!

Happy Holidays!
Aren’t the holidays great? School’s out and gifts are in! But hold up. Sure we all can use a little break from school work, but is this season really all about the presents? No matter what religion or tradition you embrace, I believe this season is a great time to give back to your family, friends and community. So I challenge each of you to change your holiday story from an emphasis on “getting” to a time of “giving”. And there’s no better gift you can give than the gift of your time.

• Spend one evening playing board games with the whole family
• Play with your younger brother or sister
• Do someone else’s chore for them
• Bake cookies for your neighbors or the local fire station
• Visit residents at a retirement home
• Collect and deliver food to a community soup kitchen
• Pick up trash at a local park
  
  So whether the lights at your house are on a Menorah, a Christmas tree or a Kinara, this holiday can be even brighter and more meaningful when you choose to give back to others.
  Peace!

At Thanksgiving, we stop and say thank you for all the people and things we are grateful for. It’s a time to remember how fortunate we are to be healthy, to have a warm home and to never go to bed hungry. However, being grateful should not be an annual obligation, but rather a way of life. Let this season be the beginning of a new more thankful you for the entire year.

Simple ways to say, “Thank you”:

• Thank you notes are nice but it can be really fun to make a handmade note. Be creative and decorate it anyway that shows off your personality.
• How about a fun treat for someone you appreciate? Bake a giant cookie and write “You’re Sweet” with icing.
• Design a certificate for the “World’s Best Teacher” to say how much you value what they do for you.
• Do a chore around the house without even being asked. Your parents will be thrilled and it lets them know you don’t take them for granted.
• Even if you just say thank you to a stranger for an ordinary act such as holding the door, look that person in the eye and speak loud enough to be heard so they know you genuinely appreciate their thoughtfulness.
• Volunteer to collect items for the needy or sort cans at a food bank. Anytime you give or time to help your community, you are showing gratitude for what you have that others may not.
• Perform a random act of kindness. Need some inspiration? Check out what other kids are doing at TKO Helping Hands.

"Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking." ~ J.C. Watts

Did you ever have a chance to cheat on a test, but chose not to? Perhaps when no one was looking, you picked up the pencil your teacher dropped and put it back on the desk for her. Maybe instead of spending all your birthday money like your parents think you did, you actually put some of it in the collection box at church when they weren’t looking. We don’t make these decisions and take these actions for praise and rewards. We do them just because it's the right thing to do.

That being said, it sure does feel great when someone notices you being good! I was recently honored to receive a Community Leadership Excellence in Mentoring Award for doing what I love most – helping kids. I got dressed up, flew to New York City and went to a fancy dinner where a large group of professional people thanked me for teaching kids about money and for motivating children to change their world through volunteering. Sure it felt good to get all this attention, but the best part of the award was a large donation check that was given to my favorite charity, TKO Helping Hands.

I would coach kids and teach children and volunteer to pick up trash and more even if no one knew I was doing it, because I know it is right. You should be proud of yourself for doing all the good things you do when nobody’s looking. You may not know it yet, but you are making us adults very proud of you, too!