I love to observe human behaviour! Especially how it affects our money habits... I see people worried about buying the perfect gift, and yet, they don't do the little things that count for the people they love. How about taking out the garbage without asking? or just opening a door or carrying in groceries? Think about it... does money and material things replace those thoughtful and loving deeds? Don't get me wrong... I am all for money, I believe it is a vehicle to help us on our journey to achieving our goals. However, money only makes you more of what you already are. It's like people who attend a religious sermon on Sunday and then bash and are mean to people the other six days a week. So if you plan on replacing your affections or buying your affections with money it really doesn't impress me at all!

I would rather the people in my life implement the Savings Santa Plan... that is what is the Holiday season is all about. You can check out my article at http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/saving_santa

It's all about saving SANTA: Spending Wisely, Activating Abundance, Needs vs Wants, Time and Acknowlegment and putting the heart back into the holiday season. My kids love getting gifts like all other kids and they understand that excess is "just excess"! Especially when they have to help sort, clean and purge all the stuff that has accumulated over the years. We focus on making the time together count and giving gratitude to those who have made a difference in our lives. Try writing an eulogy about someone you love... very powerful! Turn it into a letter of gratitude for them... what an awesome Christmas gift! Give more hugs all year round and tell those people in your life that matter "I love you" everyday... this is free and is the most rewarding experience.

check out CBC AM740 Radio today at 12:45 pm MST for some tips on credit... when is it time to teach your kids about it?

Did you catch me on CBC National News on Dec 12, 2008 "the Value of a Dollar" holiday segment?
http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/special_feature/the_joy_of_spending_less/

Start looking at whether you react to money or do you direct money... the Holiday season is a great time to observe your spending patterns and if you are moved to spend when you don't want to or don't have the money... think about it. It's all about the choices you make.

WOW! Holidays are just around the corner... whew... and this time I can really embrace them for what they are. Family, friends, and great memories! I use to go on buying sprees and find the perfect gifts for my family and friends... $2,000 maybe $3,000 spent over the holidays (okay sometimes higher1!). My kids got way too much... after two hours of opening gifts, they just plain gave up! Now that is OVERSPENDING!...

Now we talk about what they really want... we go for quality and not quantity. Garret, my son...so brilliant, had a conversation with his grandma about presents. He told her what not to buy him and what he would prefer to get... and keep it minimal. I have seen the disappointment on the face of a child when they get tons of presents and most are things they can't use or wear. My kids would rather get one thing that they really want and skip all the rest! They remember baking cookies with Auntie for the Bennett Centre and decorating gingerbread cookies with Nanny. Oh yes, the skidooing with cousins at Grandma's house and playing Monopoly until 3:00 am in the morning... and making up spoof songs for fun. Really empowering to know that I can have such great Money Talks with my kids and they get it. They really want to help make a difference and save the spirit of the holidays by using our Saving Santa Plan.

Take time this holiday season... not to buy things but to take time to visit with family and friends, write a handwritten thank you... and acknowledge those you love. Maybe just tell them "I love you" with gratitude and give them a coupon for some time or for a service you can provide for them. That's what really get's me excited this year about the holidays...and guess what I have a budget that is really easy to stick to! Of course, with the help of the kids... now we just have to get Dad on the same page...we're working on it. Create a saving santa plan for your family this year.

Birthing Day!

Whew!!...it has taken me a while to get to this blog. Writing curriculum...writing and publishing a new children's book ...way too much fun! (check it out at http://www.theprosperityexpress.com/!) I really went through a gestational period of gathering my thoughts and figuring out what I wanted to be up to in this world.

Well, with all the financial hooplah and "gloom and doom" that is hitting the media these days, I felt compelled to share my thoughts.
Financial education is the crux of this whole mess... really, think about it. Do most people use credit in positive ways or do they fall into the trap of creating bad debt and using credit to cater to consumerism mentally plaguing our world? But is it all their fault? Our parents and their parents passed on what they knew... money smarts wasn't taught in school! And really how could it? I mean where would a teacher have the expertise to teach financial concepts, never mind their own "issues" around money that most of us have encountered in our lives!
I believe that starting financial education early is the best way to go. If we had done that 30 or 40 years ago, we would be in a very different situation today. Now there is a cycle in the financial realm just like in nature...so would financial education prevent that? Who knows, but what I believe is that financial education would give most people is the capacity and confidence to handle the downward spiral and plan for it!
Helping youth learn the value of a dollar and helping them decipher needs vs wants is one of the first steps to getting on track to financial health. We have been plagued with "Affluenza"and most people aren't willing to treat it...never mind find a cure! Some of us are willing to admit that we go on spending sprees...we are "Shopaholics" and we do "Shoptherapy" to deal with our good and bad days. Think about the example you are setting for the youth in your life.
It starts with all of us taking on financial responsibility.... and if we don't know where to start,...well you got it! Get educated and become financially healthy. cheers!

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