Financial Literacy
NURU Personal Finance Cards
With Financial Literacy month coming to a close, I thought it would be a great time to share with readers a nifty little personal finance education product by Nuru. These personal finance cards simulate a portable finance book broken down into various categories, such as:
- Investing
- Budgeting
- Loans
- Insurance
- Retirement
I think this is a great product, particularly for someone in need of an introductory lesson on a broad range of financial concepts. If you just read and absorbed one single concept a day for one month you’d be exposed to 30 different personal finance terms and products.
When I was in my early 20’s I knew very little about personal finance concepts, such as mutual fund investing, bonds, etc. I spent a lot of time pouring over personal finance books trying to get a basic grounding in these concepts.
Too bad Nuru’s personal finance cards weren’t around back then! I could have tossed them in my book bag and reviewed them during breaks in between classes. The cards even come with a key ring, and the cards are punched so they can be loaded and transported together on the ring.
At $10 per deck, they are not necessarily cheap. However, try buying a personal finance book (or books) that covers the range of subjects these compact decks cover for less. They make a great gift for yourself, someone else, and as a bonus for fellow bloggers, these make an excellent reference when drafting posts on a particular subject.
Post from: Frugal Dad
Random Linkage: The Comings and Goings
I thought this following comment about vinegar was interesting. What is your take on this?
In a zeal for frugal living, many people tout vinegar as almost a be-all and end-all of cleaning products. While vinegar is great at removing water stains and good for making glass and metals shine, don’t use it in place of all your cleaners. As a Ph.D. chemist, my husband informs me that vinegar is a bactrostatic. It temporarily immobilizes, but does not kill bacteria. So if you are using vinegar to clean your countertops or toilet, it really isn’t helping to keep your home as clean as you think. The more frugal, environmental choice is to buy a concentrated organic biocide. You add the water, so it’s more expensive up front, but it will last longer and actually kill bacteria. And concentrated cleaners are lighter to ship from manufacturer to store to home, which is also good for the environment.
Lyn K. in Wenatchee, WA
? Free shipping blog has a “go frugal” section of their own and recently they have been running a five day carnival of their own that pulls together frugal links from around the blogoverse. But forget you can also check out the rest of their go frugal blog as well.
? April is financial literacy month and 30 steps have been put together to make it easy for bringing your finances into a healthy place. If you are more blog friendly, you can view the money management blog that posts a step everyday from your fellow bloggers and others who work in the finance industry. (I wrote one for day 18)
Posts coming up:
I will have a post on a recent trip to a storage auction.
I am looking for people who have done swapping over the internet - via swapping sites or classifieds- and would love to interview you - please email me (you can find my email address on my about page)
Have a great weekend!
Weekly Roundup - Financial Literacy Edition
April is Financial Literacy Month, and this year we need to really emphasize the importance of it more than ever. If you notice, I’ve been featuring a number of “kids and money” themed guest posts and advertisers because I believe educating our youth in the world of personal finances is our best shot at righting this economic ship. After all, this will all be our childrens’ and grandchildrens’ mess to inherit someday - let’s hope they do a better job than we did.
You may notice a couple new additions to the weekly roundups. In addition to the “Fab Five” and “Best of the Rest” links, I also plan to mention a “Website Discovery of the Week” and some “Frugal Odds and Ends.” I’m on the receiving end of many emails from people passing along great information, but it does not always fit in a post. I’ll start mentioning the most helpful or interesting finds here.
The Fab Five
Rethinking the American Dream. “Freedom from want” is something we should all stop and reflect on. What exactly does it mean? It boils down to contentment - being happy with the things we have and who we are. As Ron eloquently puts it, “We need to transition from buying and having to being and doing.” Well said. (@The Wisdom Journal)
Making a Choice and Moving On. Often times we are paralyzed by the various options a major decision presents to us. Back in 2004 I decided to leave my job, my hometown, sell our house and relocate for a new beginning (all this while my wife was in her final trimester of pregnancy with our son). It was a stressful time, but we analyzed the decision, made the decision and moved on. I’m glad we did. (@Brip Blap)
7 Ways to Attack Your Monday Morning Stress. And I thought the only way to eliminate “Monday Morning Stress” was to quit your day job. Thankfully, Sara has provided some excellent tips for making Mondays feel a little less like…well…Mondays. I plan to put these in to practice Tuesday through Friday, too! (@On Simplicity)
What Fourth-Graders “Know” About Money. I really enjoyed this post from a teacher who returned to the classroom in the hopes he could share some real-world experience with young people. Turns out, kids think a lot like us adults when it comes to subjects like money, debt and advertising. (@Get Rich Slowly)
The Hows and Whys of Our Car Purchase: A 2009 Toyota Prius. This may not sound like a newsworthy post - just another blogger sharing his story about buying a car. Then you might ask why it has attracted nearly 200 comments. Well, probably because it was a new car, and in the world of personal finance blogging that is a Cardinal sin. I’m sure you know how I feel about it - good for Trent. He thoroughly analyzed the decision, took into account generous new car financing options and incentives, environmental (and personal budget) impact, etc. Would I buy a new car? Maybe. Probably not. But why excoriate someone else for choosing how to spend his money? (@The Simple Dollar)
Best of the Rest
- 3 ½ Steps You Can Take To Eliminate Money Fights With Your Love Bunny. *Congratulations are in order for Jeremy…on March 31st he became a new dad!
- 12 Ways to Generate Extra Income
- 6 Ways To Lower Your Phone Bill
- How We Judge Success Determines Our Happiness
- Living In a Small Home: The Pros and Cons of Downsizing Our House
- What Is The Value of An Hour?
- Are Vanguard Mutual Funds Getting Expensive?
- Save Money on Medicine
- Investor’s Tax Guide 2009
Website Discovery of the Week
KidsMealDeals.com. While I don’t recommend eating out often, we do try to budget for a meal or two out per month because let’s face it, who wants to cook every single night of the week? Besides, eating out is as much about the experience as it is the food. So if you are eating out on a budget like us, take a look at KidsMealDeals.com for restaurants that offer “meal deals” to kids on particular nights of the week. Thanks to ThriftyParents for retweeting this one.
Frugal Odds and Ends
Talk money with Jean Chatzky. Jean Chatzky, financial editor of NBC’s “Today” show, and columnist for the New York Daily News, is hosting a financial Q&A Event today, Thusday April 2, 2009 at 3:00pm. Click the link for more details.
Walgreens Clinics Offer Free Medical Care for Unemployed, Uninsured Workers. Read carefully as there are a couple conditions that must be met before you can receive free care. I like the idea of these clinics popping up for routine medical care rather than waiting for hours at a doctor’s office or ER.
Post from: Frugal Dad
April is Financial Literacy Month!
In March of 2004, the U.S. Senate recognized April as Financial Literacy Month in an effort to highlight the importance of financial literacy among adults and youth. In honor of this, Money Management International (a non-profit debt counseling organization) created a website called, appropriately enough, Financial Literacy Month.
In cruising around the Financial Literacy Month website, I found the section entitled ‘Tools for Success‘ to be most useful. On this particular page, there are links to all sorts of helpful spreadsheets and resources, such as:
- The Income Worksheet
- Tips for Setting Financial Goals
- A Debt Payoff Calculator
- A-List Tips (featuring articles from PF bloggers we all know and love)
A big part of financial literacy is taking the time to learn about personal finance, as well as being responsible for that knowledge. Since no one knocked on my door and educated me about how to pay down debt, how to refinance my house, or how to spend my money strategically, I had to go out and find the information myself. I’m only now beginning to emerge from the fog of self-induced financial ignorance, but I’ve never felt more stable and in-control of my finances.
Each American has the same obligation to find and absorb the information, whether it’s at the public library, in the office of a financial advisor, or in the multitude of pages on the internet. Of course, with internet learning, we always have to be careful that the information we’re reading is reliable.
In addition to the Financial Literacy Month website, the U.S. government’s Financial Literacy and Education commission website is a wonderful resource. There, you’ll find all sorts of links concerning financial planning, paying for education, home ownership, and raising financially literate kids.
In my work with college students, “but nobody told me” is never an acceptable excuse for making a mistake. I’d posit that the same holds true of people who are financially under-educated. As I mentioned, no one is going to call you up one day and offer to give you, free of charge, the information you need (and I’d certainly be wary of anyone who did call with that sort of offer!)
Instead, we should all take responsibility for ourselves and our loved ones, with the helping hand of organizations like Money Management International and, yes, even the U.S. government.
