Get your mind in the game

Get your mind in the game -  learning how to save, invest, donate and spend money takes time, dedication and focus.  Its more fun when you know.  Start by watching the videos right here on this blog to get you thinking.  Go Team!  Coach Brett Ellen

Turn Kindness On increase your giving bank

By joining non-profits like Turn Kindness On you and your family can fill up their own "giving bank" by doing good deeds for others.  Being fulfilled through philanthropy helps you, your family and the people your are giving to feel great.  Give it a try.  Go Team!  Brett Ellen, The Kids Finance Coach.

Know your ABCs

On to C:  Charity:  generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill, or helpless: to devote one's life to charity.

A free gift - Kindness

One easy way to not break your budget this holiday season is to give one of the best gifts of all (and it's free) ... kindness.  A smile, a "hello", helping a neighbor carry in groceries, or opening a door for someone can simply make their day - and your's.  It feels great.  Let's all Turn Kindness On.  Happy Holidays.  Coach Brett

"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!

Learning the “Real” Value of Money through Giving

I have always believed that a necessary part of learning about money is learning how to value what you have and sharing with people who do not have as much as you. In an effort to teach these lessons to my own children, my wife and I helped our sons Keanu and Tristen establish their own non-profit organization call Turn Kindness On (TKO) Helping Hands. TKO Helping Hands motivates children of all ages to change their world through volunteering, harnessing their uniquely empathetic energy and empowering them to build a lifelong relationship with community service.

During a recent family vacation to Africa, our family did what we always do when we travel. We took money and supplies collected through the efforts of TKO and local students and delivered them to children’s organizations in the communities where we visited.

Click here to watch and see what a difference you can make when you understand the “real” value of money.