This post was created in partnership with American Express. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Given that money and finances are such a crucial part of life, it's baffling that more lessons on financial responsibility aren't taught in schools. All that means is that it's up to us parents to pick up the slack. At the end of the day, what we teach our children about money will largely depend on our own experiences with finances. Confession time: I've never been fantastic at budgeting or being financially responsible. While I've had a job ever since I was legally able to work, I was not the best "saver" and I had (have!) champagne taste. That said, my parents tried their best to instill work-ethic and the concept of earning potential in me via tried and true strategies like allowance. I distinctly remember having to complete my set of chores (including cleaning the bathrooms, ugh) weekly, so that I could get my bi-weekly allowance to do with whatever I pleased (within teenage limits, of course). One story that my mom loves to tell (still, to this day) is about how she would give my sister and I money to purchase our city bus pass; we had a choice: we could either use the money to buy the bus pass, or decide to walk to school and just purchase a strip of bus tickets in the event that the weather was bad. Lo and behold, once we got the cash in hand, we quickly opted to walk - go figure! It was great lesson in weighing the pros and cons of making a purchase, and appreciating the value of money. Fast forward to 2018 and here I am with a rising high schooler of my own. She is actually the most responsible of my three kids and approached my husband and I about earning an allowance a couple of years ago. She's very good about completing her chores and saving (and spending!) and recently she's been having to "pay us back" using her cash allowance savings so that she can order items online using our credit cards. Let's face it - it's a different time than when we were teens! We didn't have big online brands so we didn't have the same need for an online payment option as these kids do today. Enter the American Express Additional Card. If you're an American Express account holder, you can add your teen to your account as an Additional Card Member. You'll receive a separate card, tied to your account, for your teen that you can monitor. Adding your child as an Additional Card Member is great way to teach kids financial independence and responsibility, while being able to set alerts and spending budgets. You can add Additional Card Members from ages 13 and older to your account to start teaching responsible spending habits and help those over 18 years old begin building their own credit. Here's the part that I like the most: you can set a monthly budget - as well as alerts, so that I can keep on top of their spending. What's also really cool is that charges for each Additional Card Member on your account are separated on your monthly … [Read more...] about Helping Your Child Develop Financially Responsible Habits Through The Use of American Express Additional Card Membership
growing up
Avoidance, Internet Safety & Me
In addition to being hot as all getout in the DC area, June is also Internet Safety Month. As a tech lawyer, I'm well aware of the dangers that the Internet presents to children and teens when they're given unsupervised access. And those dangers are truly terrifying. My children are ages 5 (almost 6), 4 and 2 years old - and lucky for me, they're still at an age where their time on the Internet is extremely limited. We went through a stint where the preschooler and the kindergartener wanted to use my laptop every chance they got to watch music videos or play games on Starfall. We also visited PBS Kids often. I liked Starfall and PBS Kids because they could click through themselves and the likelihood of them being led astray by flashing ads or attractive links was low. YouTube was a whole 'nother story. I actually bookmarked 2 of their favorite videos so that they could click on them easily. The problem is that, well, YouTube is a huge problem. So we shut that down pretty quickly. We actually brought up my old PC from the basement and hooked it up for the kids, so that they could have "their own" computer. They liked clicking around, and would quickly would get distracted by a banner or smiley face ad. And we know those are all bad news. It didn't take Chatterbox too long to find Google. We have the Google toolbar loaded. I mean how can anyone survive without access to Google at their fingertips 24/7? So she quickly figured out that she could type in "Hannah Montana" or "Barbie" and come up with a bevy of search results - not all of them courtesy of Disney or Mattel. I had to make sure to keep a close eye on her computer time and then not too long after - by the grace of God - the computer died. So we've been on an Internet hiatus when it comes to the kids. And I don't mind one bit. After attending the Cox Summit on Teen Internet Safety, I was bombarded with enough stats and horror stories to not want to let my kids even think about the Internet. And so, for now, the Webkinz that I bought on sale last year will remain safely wrapped up on the coat closet shelf. I know one day I'm going to have to bite the bullet and face the fact that my kids are online. But I'm in no hurry. For now I'm busy enough with shoelace-tying lessons and breaking up arguments over who gets the cherry Popsicle to have to worry about cyberbullying, online child predators, and sexting. And I'm cherishing every moment. A Yahoo Motherboard-inspired post. … [Read more...] about Avoidance, Internet Safety & Me
My Aching Feet Are 56 Though
At her birthday lunch yesterday, my 41-year-old co-worker said that she's actually 27 in her head. I never really thought about it before, but honestly? In my head, I'm about 24. Ask my 3x preggars body though and it's an entirely different story. But really, I still identify with gals in their early twenties, and it doesn't seem like it was all that long ago. How old are you in your head? … [Read more...] about My Aching Feet Are 56 Though
Exhausted
Let me tell you what I find exhausting. I find that keeping up with "friends" that never call you or "friends" that used to call or write but don't anymore is positively exhausting. It seems like, as we get older, our circle of friends dwindles slowly. True friends, that is. I'm not talking about acquaintances or Facebook friends or friends that call you when they need something, but real, true-blue friends. I used to find myself calling people that I thought to be good friends to check up on them and see how things are; to invite them to lunch or a party. And I would never really stop to think about it, but lately I have been thinking: "When's the last time she called me?" I used to think that was a childish way to look at things and that I shouldn't expect someone to call me all the time, but at the same time, a friendship isn't one-sided is it? I mean, I have a life too. A family, three kids, a full-time job, volunteer obligations, etc., etc. So it's not like I have all the time in the world to call and check up on so and so and such and such. I do it because I genuinely am thinking about them. Anyway, I decided to try a little experiement. I stopped making my usual "Hi! How are ya?" calls and waited to see who actually called me. The list? It was short. But I realized that the people who did call were the ones that, as I look back on my adult life, have been the ones that have been by my side time and time again. And so my list shortened. And guess what? Now, when I making my "let's catch up" calls - I'm not nearly as tired. … [Read more...] about Exhausted
