Family Finances

In the early days of my freelance writing career (and if I'm being honest, some slow months even now) I've thought of abandoning the writing hustle for a hustle of a different kind -- one that comes with quick tax-free cash. A wise man by the name of Biggie Smalls once opined, "You're either slinging crack rock, or you have a wicked jump-shot" when describing the two possible career paths for black youths in the 'hood. For freelance writers it can seem like you're either slinging crack rock, or you have a well-paying article (Doesn't really roll off the tongue the same way). I sometimes look up from my laptop and imagine the bricks stashed in the vents on my wall next to stacks of unreported cash -- except there's this little thing called prison and this big thing called death that kind of negates any financial top-up that may come my way.

That's when I got to thinking, 'What are the fastest, easiest and legal ways to make money -- you know, to make sure those lean times aren't quite so lean? Better yet, why not take the WalletPop readership along for the ride...

There's no shortage of surveys out there to show more parents are finding themselves cash-crunched somewhere in between caring for their elderly parents while still supporting their adult children.

If kids are still living in the basement, it's not all bad. In fact, there may be a lot of good reasons for supporting them in this way. [See also: Adult Children Living in the Basement.]

"When you say living in the basement, it just sounds bad. It sounds like a child failed to thrive," says Susan Beacham, founder and CEO of Money Savvy Generation. "Families have been moving in together for generations and for many reasons."

Still, in an effort to grow smart children who won't have hang-ups about money and who, hopefully, won't be living in the basement at 30 because they have no other choices, I asked Beacham and Debbie Ammeter, vice president of advanced financial planning at Investors Group, what can be done to effectively build money skills and impart some financial know-how in children as they grow up.

Fans of Til Debt Do Us Part will be happy on two counts. The show, hosted by Canadian money guru Gail Vaz-Oxlade, has returned for its 9th season on Slice TV this fall and Slice has booked Vaz-Oxlade to host a second personal finance makeover show called Princess that debuts Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 9 a.m. ET.

Princess will deliver even more of Vaz-Oxlade's salt-of-the-earth financial advice. Til Debt Do Us Part has only half an hour per episode to show the financial makeover from all the hours that were shot, while Princess is an hour-long show based on six weeks worth of filming.

Interventions

In each episode, Vaz-Oxlade is asked to stage an intervention to help a "Princess" mend her selfish, spending ways and stop racking up thousands of dollars in credit card debt that she expects her family, husband, or fiancé to pay for. Princesses who succeed at turning over a new leaf during Vaz-Oxlade's financial boot camp get $5,000 to help pay down debt.

I came across an interesting survey this week that found that money is by far the most important issue in the divorce process. There's nothing too surprising about money being an important issue for divorcing couples -- it has long been said that arguments about money are key factors leading to the break-up of a marriage in the first place. But what surprised me about this survey was how low a priority was given to children.

The survey of 2,100 Canadians on the website Divorcechoices.com found that 94% of respondents believed money was the most important factor to them in the divorce process. Only 3% said kids were the most important factor, followed by the emotional aspect and legal issues, both on 1%.

Now I know that not all divorcing coupled have kids to worry about, but even taking that into account, 3% seems rather low. Or perhaps the divorcing couples have already come to an agreement about custody and the kids' emotional welfare and only have money left to argue about. Who knows? What is clear, is that money is a huge concern for divorcing couples -- and I'm not just talking about settlements -- I'm talking about the cost of getting a divorce as well.

Weird Tenants and How to Avoid Them

If you own a rental property or have a rental suite helping you pay your mortgage, you might think that any tenant who pays their rent on time is a good tenant. You would be wrong, and Landlord Rescue explains why in this post about weird potential tenants and how to avoid them. There is a handy list of the eight types of tenants you should avoid.

A Primer on Corporate Bonds

If you're thinking about adding bonds to your portfolio and are wondering how corportate bonds could fit in, our friends over at Million Dollar Journey have put together a lovely Primer on Corporate Bonds. Corporate bonds are not as stable as government bonds and not all corporate bonds are created equal.Did you know companies have credit ratings just like you do? One of the first things this primer talks about is how to check a company's credit rating before buying their bonds.

Just how do you teach a kid to avoid overspending? Everything costs so much that it's hard not to overspend ourselves – usually it takes several, sometimes painful years to learn to live beneath our means in order to make it happen. And this is while we're earning a reasonable salary that should cover expenses!

If a child wants designer running shoes, just how is a paper route going to cover that cost? Well, hopefully by the time they want those shoes they will be coming to grips with the fact that we can't always have what we want without tradeoffs. Providing kids with an allowance seems to be part of that education effort.


See also:
Adult Children Living in the Basement.
Teaching Kids About Money.

It turns out there are a lot of good reasons why adult children end up living in their parent's basements for longer than they used to.

Still, when I read surveys where pollsters discover that some are making no financial contribution to the household whatsoever, I do wonder how a situation like that comes to pass. I also wonder if there are things we can do along the way to make sure the kids aren't still living at home when they're 30.

Whether you want to stay in your own home or help someone else stay in theirs, there are things that can be done in advance and as we age to help meet that goal of aging gracefully (and safely) in the comfort of our own homes.

There can be cost savings related to this, though the emotional attachment and desire to stay at home often outweighs financial considerations. Either way, the best way to meet this goal is to start talking about it sooner than later.

The end of the recession hasn't provided any relief economically for half of Canadian households.

That's what the employees at Toronto-based advertising agency Bensimon Byrne found when they commissioned their Consumerology report this past July. The Gandalf Group interviewed 1,500 Canadians between the 6-13 of July 2010 and found that half of Canadians feel worse off financially now, than they did a year ago, during the recession. Not only that, but one third of Canadian citizens feel like the country is still in the midst of a recession right now and 21% say that someone in their household will lose their job this year.

WalletPop doesn't usually promote specific financial companies, but today we're making an exception. American Express in conjunction with personal finance expert Jean Chatzky is sponsoring a National Money Talk Night on Thursday, September 16th 2010 to help tweens, teens and young adults get a better understanding of managing their finances independently.

As Chatzky points out in the introductory video, parents tend to have the sex talk and the drug talk with their kids, but few have the Money talk, and in these hard economic times, it's more important than ever to turn out financially literate kids.

I had a good look at the materials provided at the Money Night Talk website, and found them to be just as relevant to Canadian families as American, with just a few exceptions. At the website, parents can download and view available resources and ask as many questions as possible. Then, on September 16th, it's time to sit down with your kids and have the somewhat dreaded Money Talk.

The tip sheets are organized into three categories: middle school, high school and college, with excellent, age-appropriate advice for each group. Obviously American Express wants to get parents and their kids using their financial products, but the fact is, this is one talk parents tend to put off. And if this initiative helps some families have it, then we're happy to promote it on WalletPop Canada.

Have a look and plan to have a chat soon, even if it's not on Sept 16, which frankly is a little late for students heading off to uni this weekend.