In Case Of A Car Accident

An opinion piece by Jerry

A few weeks ago my wife and I were involved in a collision that could have ended much worse than it did.  While traveling north on a primary highway a car coming south turned left across our lane.  I was able to stomp on the brakes and yank steering wheel to the left so that we just clipped the other car's right rear bumper at about 50 km/hr.

Fortunately no-one was injured. We each were able to drive off the road into the nearby gas station.  There we exchanged insurance information and business cards.  We pulled off the pieces of our right headlight and duct taped the wires down so we could continue driving.  Both vehicles were quite functionally usable.

This was the first time I had ever been in an accident when I needed to make a claim.  It was a learning experience for me.  Here is what I learned from this incident:

Saving Money Is A Choice?

An opinion piece by Jerry

My wife and I finished buying our children's clothes and school supplies 2 weeks ago.  It was a lot of money to spend in one weekend, and there is more to come with school fees and the fall sports/activities registration coming up.  In fact we have found mid August to mid September to be more expensive than Christmas for our family.

We are fairly frugal, and my wife is amazing with a budget.  Before we did any clothes shopping she went through the kids current clothes to see what still fits and the shape of the clothes.  None of them had much of a growth spurt this last year, so many of the clothes can be worn again, those that didn't fit were given to friends that could use them or to goodwill.  There were a few new things they needed, so we made a list.  We went to Old Navy and stuck to the list.  Old Navy carries its own brand and doesn't carry popular brand name clothing, but the quality and prices are decent, although we did notice price increases over last year.

Kids Learn about $ from Parents

I've written articles about teaching youth about finances before.  I wrote about using games like Monopoly or the Game of Life to teach youth about budgets and incomes.

Rocky Credit Union goes into schools (those that let us in) to teach a class about needs vs. wants, online banking, debit cards, credit cards, and student loans.  In these classes I often ask the students "How do you learn about controlling your money?"   The usual response is from parents, friends or their job.  A few students have responded that they don't ask their parents because they are always in debt and can't teach them anything about handling money, and a few others have said they really haven't learned anything about money from anyone.  This is scary considering most of these students are grade 10 or 11 and half of them already have part time jobs.

There are 2 key things parents do to teach kids about money:  1. Teach by example, and 2. Talk to kids about money.

The Best Gift You Have Received

What is the best present you have received?

I am a practical guy, and I enjoy practical gifts, meaning I enjoy getting gifts I will use.  I'm not big on decorations or fancy things.  I don't mind gift cards because I can use them to things that my family will use.  I like movies or books that I will see or read again and again.  Tools or camping gear is always welcome.

Now, I know my wife doesn't think like me.  She is a very practical lady, but she doesn't want gifts that, while making a job easier, try to assist her in doing a job she really dislikes to begin with.  For instance, she appreciates the high quality mixer that a got her several years ago because she somewhat enjoys cooking, uses the mixer almost everyday, and it helps make that job easier.  She currently wants a sewing machine, not because she enjoys sewing, but because she needs one.  So she already told me I can't get her a sewing machine for Christmas, because no matter how good it is, she isn't going to be thrilled at the chance to use it.  Message received; if she tells me she doesn't want something for Christmas, I can clue in and not get it for her.

Teaching Kids About $ - Prize Contest

Prize contest at the end of the article.

A lot of people are concerned about the money habits youth have today.   These concerned citizens often say things like “They need to teach budgeting in school” or “than credit union needs work with kids more.”  The truth is that School does have a class in grade 10 where budgeting is a mandatory part of the curriculum, and the credit union helps by teaching a budgeting class at any of the schools who want us to come in.  These things help youth learn, but the greatest budgeting lessons a youth ever learns come from home.

Youth learn most from seeing what their parents do.  If a parent is poor at handling money, often the youth is too because they learn those same habits.  The best way a parent can teach their kids about money is to handle it well themselves, and talk to their kids about why certain choices have to be made regarding money.

I learned this lesson last year.  My kids were asking for a variety of items they had seen on TV commercials or that their friends had, and my regular answer was “We can’t afford it.”   I have said that for years.  Then I overheard my oldest telling a friend that we were too poor to do a certain activity that he hadn’t even asked us about.  The lesson my son learned was that we were poor and couldn’t do things that he thought were fun.

My wife and I discussed this, and decided we needed to change how we communicate our money issues with our kids.  We started by changing our answer from “we can’t afford it” to “We have decided to spend our money on other things.”  We also made sure that we pointed out the things we do spend money on – scouts, brownies, tae-kwon-doe, piano lessons, swimming…  and that because we have chosen to spend money on those things we have decided not to enroll the kids in hockey, or buy a Playstation…  We want the kids to understand that our budget is about choices, and that we can’t just have everything we want.  We also play money games with the kids (Monopoly, Life…) in addition to them earning money through extra chores around the house and yard.

So, what are your thoughts about teaching kids about money?  The first 3 people to post how they teach/have taught their kids about money will win their choice of a board game (Monopoly, Monopoly City, or Game of Life) a Wealthy Barber Book, and $40 Rocky Bucks to be spent here in Rocky Mountain House.  We’d like to hear from you, not only what you did but how it has turned out for your kids so far.  After posting your response, please e-mail your contact info to rockycu@myrocky.ca so we can get the prizes to you.