money

Leave a comment Posted on October 1, 2015 Uncategorized

Take This Parenting Survey for a Chance to Win a Money Gift Card, from Clark University

There are currently four $50 gift cards, one $100 gift card, and one $200 gift card up for grabs, as undergraduate Kayla Landis at Clark University is currently working on her senior thesis which focuses on how other people, namely parents and adults, perceive parents whose children behave disruptively in public.

The study also addresses some topics such as childhood mental illness and disability.

Kayla has asked me to utilize my reach as a blogger to help her find parents who would be willing to take this online survey, in exchange for a chance to win one of these previously mentioned gift cards.

Winners of the raffle will be drawn after data collection has been completed. The tentative date for this is October 21st.

Kayla had stumbled upon Family Friendly Daddy Blog when she was searching for parenting blogs, particularly blogs written by fathers, as this is a demographic that she needs more participants from.

She told me she was struck by some of the posts on the site, including the “Dear Jack” segments and the conversations about identifying as a particular race/knowing how to identify yourself. This just stuck out to Kayla and she thought that perhaps someone who blogged about interesting topics like these might be interested in promoting herstudy.

Kayla found that when blog sites promote the survey on social media, she tends to get a lot of participant responses.

So, if you’re interested, click on this link below. If you complete the survey, you stand a chance of winning a gift card; plus, you’re helping out an undergraduate.

https://clarku.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0kxsME5Va34ZLU1

This is a study being conducted by Kayla Landis, an undergraduate student who is doing research with her adviser, Dr. Nicole Overstreet, in the Psychology Department at Clark University. This study focuses on how parents perceive other parents whose children behave disruptively in public spaces; mental illness and childhood disability are also addressed. The study should take no more than 30 minutes to complete. All participant responses will remain anonymous; however, participants may choose to provide their email address at the end of the study if they wish to be entered in a raffle for one of several Visa gift cards. All email addresses will remain confidential.

1 Comment Posted on September 21, 2015 Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Why We Didn’t Buy a 2011 Suzuki SX4 This Past Weekend (& Trade in My 2004 Honda Element)

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Last Wednesday, as I was driving Mommy’s car back from a work trip in Kentucky, Mommy called me to explain that while she was driving you home from pre-K in my 2004 Honda Element, the passenger side window just rolled down by itself.

And it wouldn’t roll back up.

Knowing that this upcoming January makes 10 years I’ve owned this car, Mommy and I decided we should heavily consider trading in my car for a “new” used car.

So she starting emailing dealerships. Meanwhile, I went to one dealership in person last Thursday on my lunch break.

Because we are Dave Ramsey followers, we are refusing to “finance” a car; despite those natural temptations that we are exposed to. We will only pay cash for a car. If we don’t have enough cash to afford the car we want, we simply can’t afford it. So we walk away.

We found a 2011 Suzuki SX4 with less than 50,000 miles, in our “cash only” price range.

So I spent my Thursday lunch break to check out the car. It was everything I needed. However, I did some research that night and discovered Suzuki stopped production in America back in 2012, and they have no parent company.

In other words, it’s a great deal on a dependable car that ultimately I would have great difficulty trying to maintain, as there are no shops that readily have proper tools or parts available to fix it.

After that, Mommy and I realized it’s best we hold out until January, when we have that many more thousands of dollars (from ongoing monthly savings) to pay in cash.

Here’s the twist on this story: Over the weekend when we picked up my Element after they fixed the window, the guy that evaluates the worth of used Hondas there for trade-ins left me a message.

My 2004 Honda Element is worth $5,850, which is about $3,000 more than I had anticipated; nearly double!

That’s because, according to the elevator, “People aren’t trading in Elements- they’re keeping them. That’s why your Element is worth more than whatever it says online. You’re the first person to ever come back and tell me you’re actually interested in trading yours in.”

So in the end, it was totally worth it in the end to pay a few hundred dollars to fix my window.

It’s like instantly making $3,000! We’re still planning on holding out until January, when we can have that much more money to buy a “barely used” vehicle for our family, when we trade in my Element.

Something else this experience taught Mommy and me is just how boring and unattractive we are to used car salesmen the moment we begin the conversation with, “I’m a Dave Ramsey follower; I will only pay with cash.”

You can literally see the hope in their eyes disappear once you say that. Because most people are willing to “finance” the car. That means there’s virtually no real limit on price, since the focus becomes on the monthly payment, not what person can actually afford.

That’s something I equate with a magician distracting his audience by waving a pink handkerchief with one hand while he hides the “disappearing” object in the other.

I will make sure you always understand the true meaning of the phrase “affording a car.”

It’s this simple: If you can’t buy it on the spot in cash, you can’t truly afford it. That’s why dealerships are so eager to have you finance the “purchase.”

Similarly, an individual or a family is only as financially wealthy as their savings account in addition to having no debt other than their house; that’s because a home is considered an asset growing in value, not a depreciating liability like a vehicle.

So our family will wait. By January 2016, our savings should be that much higher if everything remains on course; meaning we can pay cash for the vehicle that we really want. And as I mentioned, coincidentally, this coming January will be exactly one decade since I purchased my 2004 Honda Element.

Ultimately, I’m not sure if I’m technically going to be downsizing or upsizing…

My Honda Element is a decent sized SUV, but it only has 4 seats. That’s never been a problem, but I think it would be a good idea to have 5 seats for the next car, even if the next vehicle is smaller over all.

Until then, I’ll keep driving my green toaster and saving green cash.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on February 5, 2015February 17, 2015 finance, infographic, Uncategorized

Understanding The Psychology Behind Gambling: New Infograph Included

Last week I published, Lottery Commercials Don’t Target People Who Are Good Money Managers, in which I explained how I ultimately am not a target for those who advertise lottery tickets.

While I’m not personally opposed to a lottery, I feel I’m good enough at math and good enough at responsibly managing my money than to buy a lottery ticket on a regular basis.

I know that my chances of maintaining an overall better cash flow, for a permanent basis, depend on me having paid off my debts, saving and investing my money afterwards, and not playing the game of trying to impress people with faux status symbols, like leased vehicles; as I explained in A True “Status Symbol” Is A Paid Off One, Including Our New House (Which Is Not).

So I couldn’t help but notice that this infographic below, Psychology of Gambling, seems to back up why I avoid that particular mindset in my everyday life.

The infographic points out the illusion of control, the sense of reward, the excitement of chance, and our natural sense on optimism when gambling…

Or in my opinion, choosing to play the “American lifestyle game” in which we try to impress people we don’t care about with that things we bought with money we don’t have. (I sort of style that line from Dave Ramsey!)

Enjoy.

Infographic, courtesy of VegasSlotsOnline.com.

1 Comment Posted on January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 finance, parenting, Uncategorized

Lottery Commercials Don’t Target People Who Are Good Money Managers

What’s the first thing I’d do if I somehow ran into a very large amount of money?

You guessed it. I would immediately pay off the mortgage on our brand-new house. It would be quite the celebration!

Because I know that I’m paying nearly 100% interest for the 1^st half of the life of that loan.

I wouldn’t care about a new car, or a boat, or a big trip. All I would care about would be paying off the mortgage.

Then… placing the rest in savings and investments.

From there, I might consider a family vacation or newer cars; but that would be my last priority.

Yet I’ve never seen a lottery ticket commercial or an injury lawyer commercial showing a winner who joyfully exclaims, “With the money I won… first, I immediately paid off the mortgage on my house, then put the rest in savings and investments, so that I’ll actually be making money for the rest of my life instead of losing it quickly just because I have more!”

Granted, that’s what I’d say.

But apparently, that’s not what the targeted audience for lottery ticket winners or injury lawsuit winners would do, based on what is portrayed in these commercials:

When I see these kinds of commercials, I know that the marketing department for the lottery and injury lawyers are not baiting people like me, who have learned the hard way by living in debt for years, but who finally became debt free after following the teachings of Dave Ramsey, and who are now focused on paying off a mortage ASAP, to better save and invest all future income from there.

Of course, I’m not against the lottery or injury lawyers; I see good in what they do.

I’m just simply deconstructing some of the psychology involved in some of their marketing… the way I’ve pointed out in the past that fast food logos almost always include red and yellow as their main colors to try to make you slow down (like you do at a yellow light) and stop (like you do at a red light) for their restaurant.

It appears that lottery commercials are trying to make people think that if they regularly “invest” in lottery tickets, they will stand a decent chance of living the rock star (or rap star?) lifestyle, by blowing the money on depreciating liabilities, instead of assets that will hold their value; or in legitimate, profitable investments.

Perhaps this is what the advertisers want people to think when they their commercials:

“You deserve more money than you know how to manage, so once you win, spend your money on consumer items shown in this commercial, ones that immediately lose their value once you buy them, instead of ones that keep or gain value.”

Like I said, I’ve yet to see a lottery or lawsuit commercial that portrays the winner immediately paying off their mortgage with the money; then going on to save and invest the rest. I’ve never heard that even mentioned in one of these commercials, yet it’s the very first thing I would care about.

It really shouldn’t be that ironic.

So apparently, people who make lottery ticket commercials and injury lawyer commercials don’t have me in mind as a marketable demographic.

Maybe then it’s not that ironic that back in 1999 when I woke up in a hosptial after having been knocked unconscious after wrecking on a bike, and an injury lawyer was there as I opened my eyes, offering to help me “win the money I deserve,” I politely thanked him, but turned him down.

And for the record, I rarely buy a lottery ticket.

Leave a comment Posted on July 6, 2014 parenting, Storytelling

Will Cash Be Obsolete To The Class Of 2029?

February 4, 2013 at 11:04 pm , by Nick Shell

2 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

This past Saturday morning as I laid down on the floor in a haze, having woken up at 5:40 AM with you, I watched you carry around one of Mommy’s old purses, which for some reason you called your “wallet like Daddy’s.”

You then took out an old expired debit card and slid it across your high chair:

“I buy groceries with my money.”

The fact you have quietly observed Mommy and I scan our debit card enough times to associate that action with the word “money” is interesting to me.

You do understand the concept of coins being money because you have a piggy bank.

However, I’m pretty sure you have no idea whatcash is. I just don’t know that you’ve ever seen Mommy or I use it.

By the time I graduated high school in 1999, I had never even heard of a debit card. All I ever used to buy anything was the green stuff, not a card.

You will graduate high school exactly 30 years after Mommy and I did. It will be the year 2029.

I’m wondering by the time you’re 18, if using cash to buy something will be as obsolete as land line phones, video rental stores, or writing checks.

To you, money may simply be a debit card. (We are Dave Ramsey followers so the thought of a credit card is taboo in our family.)

As for me, I grew up seeing how much each individual bill was worth. I knew that I preferred a $10 bill over a $1 bill. The numbers meant something more… certainly quantifiable.

For you, though, the concept of money will be much different if you grow up using a debit card instead of cash. When you look down at a debit card, you won’t literally see a sign noting $20.

Therefore, it becomes your parents’ responsibility to teach you the importance of budgeting. We must incorporate in your mind that a debit card does not symbolize simply the total amount of money in the account, but more importantly, it symbolizes the key to accessing the specific amount set aside for that exact purchase that particular day.

Mommy and I have definitely had to learn the hard way when it comes to money. But this week, we are paying off our other car.

Then, we’ll just have the rest of my student loans before we’re debt-free.

I think it’s cool to see you scan your debit card like Mommy and Daddy. I really look forward to teaching you how money works; even if it’s without getting our hands on cold, hard cash.

Love,

Daddy

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