It all leads back to Financial Education

Today I attended the Re-Imagining Schools and Community Conference. It was exciting to be a part of a group of such like minded people whoʻs vision and goal is to provide the best for the children of our community. There were people from the Department of Education and various organizations in attendance. We had guests from the mainland to share their successes with the Communities in Schools model. A lot of information was presented and a lot of personal stories were shared.

As everyone spoke, I heard things like "Poverty," "Access to health care," and "Parent Engagement," and I couldnʻt help but draw the line from these concepts back to Financial Literacy. Poverty is defined through oneʻs INCOME level. Access to health care is determined through the FINANCIAL RESOURCES it takes to pay for and get to health care. For example the costs of medical coverage, time off from work to go to appointments, and gas to drive to various clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies. Parentʻs are less engaged because they have to work to make MONEY to provide for their families.

So what if I could share a little bit of information with families to REDUCE THE WORRIES of financial struggles and help families to INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE about how to make money work for you no matter what your financial situation is. Wouldnʻt that bring an understanding to families on how to GET OUT of poverty, which in turn would allow for BETTER ACCESS to health care, and GIVE families more time to be engaged in their childrenʻs education and lives.

My hope is that this concept of Communities in School will provide a platform for me to provide parents with Financial Education as well as work with teachers to share financial literacy with their students so that our families can strengthen and our children are not only workforce ready but prosperity ready.

Have "The Talk" WIth your Kids: Financial Literacy Awareness Campaign

In addition to going for my Financial Education Instructor Certification, I am also a registered Community Ambassador for Waianae, HI for the Financial EduNation Campaign. Here is one of our Public Service Announcements. Share, Share Share! 

The Value of a Quarter: Teaching My 5 Year Old About Money

We introduced a chore and allowance system just a week ago with our 5 year old son, Ku. His chores include the following:

- Putting on his own clothes
- Putting his dishes away after every meal
- Wiping the table and placemat after every meal
- Straightening up the shoes by the front and back door
- Putting his own clean clothes away properly
- Putting a new rubbish bag when someone takes out the trash

He receives $0.25 immediately after each task is completed.

In addition to chores, Ku also receives cash incentives for reading from his home library. He receives one sticker for every 'olelo haole (English) book and two stickers for every 'olelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian) book. When he has collected a total of 20 stickers, he earns $5.00.

Every Sunday, we count how much he has in his piggy bank and go over basic concepts about money. (i.e. value of a quarter, that it takes 4 quarters to make a dollar, etc). He is then allowed to trade in quarters for dollar bills.

Right now he is saving to be able to Spend and buy a Ninjago Board Game (Pictured below). He needs $25.00 to purchase this game. However, he will also have to make sure that he puts money into a Giving fund and also into his bank Savings account before he can buy the game. He currently has earned a total of $7.75. I will keep you posted on his progress.

Even within the short time frame that we have implemented teaching him these basic concepts about money. He has shown that he is developing a good work ethic. Today when putting away his own clothes, he asked if he could put away Daddy's clothes too. I agreed to let him help beyond his regular kuleana and I rewarded him by giving him an additional $0.25 allowance. He also scored an additional $0.25 from Daddy when he put his own leftovers into a container to save for tomorrow's dinner.

Building an Emergency Fund and Peace of Mind

In a previous post, I had shared my story about The Power of the Emergency Fund. As promised, here is a follow-up to that post that shares how I build my Emergency Fund.

In all of my adult life, I always had it in the back of my mind to have some kind of savings or "rainy day fund" just in case something happened. Oh how I wish I had heard about Dave Ramsey 11 years ago. There were many rainy days throughout college and even up to this day that I could have used that money for.

I discovered Dave Ramsey after I started attending church at New Hope Leeward. My mom had given me a book called "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey for Christmas two years ago. Probably one of the best gifts she ever gave me, other than giving me life.

Baby Step #1 to his total money makeover is the Emergency Fund. Before I could start paying down any debts, I needed that Emergency Fund to be fully funded at $1,000.00. Being that it was just after the holidays when I started reading the Ramsey book I wasn't quite sure how I was gonna get that much money so that I could quickly start paying down all my debt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So here is how I did it:

1. Roll Loose Coins

I collected loose coins that I had in my car, around the room (with the exception of coins that were already in my son's piggy bank) and rolled them up and exchanged them at the bank. This gave me around $120.00 to start my Emergency Fund.

2. Garage Sale

My best friend from college's in-laws hosted a monthly community yard sale. I got a booth there and sold some of our stuff that we didn't need anymore and made about $200.00 from that.

3. Craigslist

I posted higher ticketed items that I knew I could get more money for on Craigslist. I sold Ku's old Orbit stroller that orginally cost us over $1,200.00 for $200.00 (mind you it was already about 4 years old at the time). I also sold a few other items and made about another $100.00 or so.

4. Creating a Budget

I listed out all my bills and expenses as well as my income to see where I could squeeze a little bit of money out to put towards my Emergency Fund. It meant I had to eat out less and go window shopping more often, but it was worth  the sacrifice. 

5. Additional Income: 

When I started to build this Emergency Fund, Sam and I had been in Visalus for a few months and had good income coming in from that. I took my Commission from Visalus (less 25% that I put away for taxes) and applied that towards my fund. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About 5-6 weeks after starting our Emergency Fund, it was fully funded.

These were fairly painless ways that I could make a little money as well as move around the money I already had to start my Emergency Fund.

Plan out a way that you are comfortable with to be able to get your Emergency Fund started.
Give yourself time. I was able to do it in a little over a month. It may take you 6 months or a year before you can get it fully funded.

But trust me, you will sleep just a little bit better at night because you know that if something were to come up that you will be able to rely on that Emergency Fund instead of using a Credit Card or having to ask a friend or family member to spot you a few hundred dollars.

*Note: If you are single, without children or have minimal income. $500.00 is a sufficient Emergency Fund to get you started. 

Future Certified Financial Education Instructor

I've been working in the Non-Profit field for the past few years. I never pictured myself in this line of work. My 8th grade Publications/English teacher once told me she saw me as a future C.E.O. of a company. At this time I didn't even know what a C.E.O. was. After looking it up, I thought that it wasn't such a bad career to have and I guess my performance as yearbook editor was showing my early skills for leadership.

Fast forward to college and I decided to make my major Business Administration with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship. I was going to fulfill my teachers prediction of being a C.E.O. After receiving my Bachelors degree from Chapman University I worked in several different businesses, always performing my best and hoping for that promotion to be able to work my way up the corporate ladder. I was determined to have a high paying salary at a young age.

However, parenthood changes you. For me, being a mother my priorities shifted. I wanted to watch my son grow up. I wanted to be a part of his early education. Short of quitting my job working for a local retail jewelry company, I got a job where I could fulfill both the need to make my own money to be self-sufficient as well as spend more time with my son. I worked at a parent participation preschool where I could take my son with me to work. I only worked a 20 hour week, which was rough on my finances but the ability to not have to leave my son with anyone and watch him as he grew and learned during the most important years of his development was priceless to me.

I kept at it and when my son started full day preschool at Punana Leo o Wai'anae, an opportunity came up for me to obtain a full time position in the same non-profit organization. Today, I am still working for that program. However, being that I have my Bachelors and I am currently working towards my Masters Degree in Organizational Change at Hawaii Pacific University, I know that I still have the opportunity to be a C.E.O. but this time for my own non-profit organization that I will help to create and build.

My passion is financial literacy, thus the birth of this blog. Even though I am still in school going for my Masters I wanted to further my knowledge in Financial Education. Today, I signed up to go through a training to get my certification as a Certified Financial Education Instructor. Training starts in March and I will be certified shortly after.

My dream is to provide financial education to those from all levels of income. To empower people to understand how to make money work for you and not you work for your money. My hope is to reduce financial stress amongst families that I bare witness too everyday, so that they may have a better quality of life. To get our people off of the system and be self-sufficient and prosperous doing something that they love and enjoy.

I hope that many of you will follow me or join me on this journey and I welcome any feedback or suggestions. I cannot fulfil this dream on my own, but I will do everything in my power to make this dream a reality.

"We Make A Life By What We Give"

Just got a lovely Mahalo Letter from Helping Hands Hawaii for our donation for the Adopt-A-Family program this past Christmas. It mentioned that the number of families that were referred to receive donations through this program increased from 320 families in 2011 to 450 families in 2012.

What is the reason for this increase of families in need? Is it Economic downturn? This is just one of the reasons why I am passionate about giving back and sharing mana'o about financial literacy and education.

If we can better equip our people to understand and have a positive relationship with their finances, the economy won't have an effect on whether or not we have enough money to provide the necessities for our 'ohana. It's time to take responsibility for our financial situations and make the best of it as much as we can.

The letter also included this wonderful quote:

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give"
- Winston Churchill

A $2,000 Magazine Subscription

Internet scams, phone scams, any kind of scam can be very detrimental to your wallet and your financial situation. About six years ago, My other half learned this the hard way, when he found out that he had been scammed into buying a subscription for magazines over the telephone, that he didnʻt even know he was being billed for and later sent to collections for.

When trying to clear up his credit profile, we discovered that this hadnʻt happened only once but twice. He was now being sent to collections for over $2,000.00. For an undergrad college student who worked a part-time job at a grocery store and was relying on student loans to pay rent, this was a lot of money. We werenʻt sure how we were ever going to get him out of this situation. (Even though it was HIS financial debt, as his significant other it was my job to support him and help him find a way to clean up his credit).

About two years after being sent to collections, he was able to pay off his account and clear his credit. Meanwhile, we were and STILL are receiving about 10 different magazines. Anything from ESPN Magazine, RollingStone, Car and Driver, and yes even Penthouse. Almost every other day another magazine comes in the mail and I throw it into a box, which has been piling up after all these years.  Each magazine that arrives is a reminder to him (and I) of this difficult financial burden that the scam put us in.

However to turn a negative in to a positive, I just dropped off 45 unread magazines to the NFL YET Boys & Girls Club in Nanakuli. I figure the kids could read the magazines or use them to cut out pictures for their schoolwork. And donʻt worry I made sure not to include the RollingStone or Penthouse Magazines in the mix. I still have a couple more boxes to sort through, which I will probably take to the Waiʻanae Boys and Girls Club sometime next week.

So what are the Financial Lessons to be learned through our story:

1. Donʻt get scammed! Be cautious of anyone who calls and collects personal information such as credit card or social security numbers.

2. Check your Credit. Obtain your annual free credit report and look it over to make sure you donʻt have any accounts on there that donʻt belong. Rule of thumb is to check your credit report every 6 months, unless you have had fraudulent accounts, then you want to check more often.

3. If you have been sent to collections, negotiate with the creditor to remove the account from your credit if you pay off the account. Make sure to get this in writing BEFORE you make the payment.

4. In a relationship, Finances should not be a taboo topic. Talk about it. Support each other. Itʻll reduce arguments over money.

5. Turn a negative into a positive as much as possible. Give back to the community and share your story with others so that they wonʻt make the same mistakes.

6. Donate unused items, you can itemize these as deductions when you file your taxes. I use www.itsdeductible.com to track our donations. (The retail value of the magazines I donated today was over $200.00, however the value that I can claim for these magazines is $30.00, which is about a $4.50 savings for our 2013 taxes. Hey, every penny counts!)

The Power of the Emergency Fund

2013 has turned out to be a very interesting medical year for me. Many of you know that I spent New Years Eve and Day at the hospital due to a gall bladder attack which led me to have my gall bladder removed. I spent two days in the hospital and received the bill last week for more than $18,000. Thank goodness for medical insurance coverage because my portion to pay was only $75.00. I was able to work that in to my budget and I paid it off almost immediately after receiving the bill.

Fast forward to this week and I received another medical bill for a procedure I had done about a week and a half ago for $190.00. I really wasn't expecting a bill so high for an outpatient procedure, nevertheless I wasn't worried about having to come up with the money to pay for it. I could rely on my EMERGENCY FUND that I had built up last year. 

To add to that, both Kū and I will be having some dental work done next month and although I know I have good dental coverage, I know that there will be costs involved. Again, I am able to rely on my EMERGENCY FUND to be able to stay current on my medical and dental financial obligations. 

Because I live on a budget system where every dollar is accounted and earmarked for specific bills and expenses, it is great to have piece of mind that I have funds to use should any type of emergency come up. 

My question to everyone out there is how much do you have in your EMERGENCY FUND? Or do you even have an EMERGENCY FUND? Please take the time to complete the poll to right side of this post and answer the question regarding an EMERGENCY FUND. You will later be able to see how you compare to others.  My guess is that most people donʻt have not yet established a fully funded EMERGENCY FUND. 

Dave Ramsey compares an EMERGENCY FUND to an old-fashioned Grandmaʻs rainy-day fund. He also suggests to start your EMERGENCY FUND with $1,000. Although this wonʻt catch all the big things, such as a job loss, it will help with little things like my medical or dental bills or if I need to fix my car. 

COMING SOON: In my next blog, I will discuss how to establish and fully fund an EMERGENCY FUND and also what types of situations constitute an EMERGENCY. 

Week #4: Financial Challenge

Today is Deposit Day for the 52 Week Financial Challenge!

Week #4
Deposit Amount = $4.00
Total Savings = $10.00

52 Week Financial Challenge

Looking to save a little extra cash this year? Join me on my 52 week financial challenge. Simply deposit money that corresponds with the number week of the year. 

For example, week 1 deposit $1.00, week 2 deposit $2.00, and so on. By the end of this challenge you will have saved $1,378.00. As the year goes by and the amounts get higher, I will post tips and tricks to work this into your budget. I will also post reminders on Fridays to deposit your weekly amount. 

So far 3 weeks of 2013 have gone by so the total saved is currently $6.00. So itʻs not too late to catch up and join me. 

I am saving as an additional savings for my sonʻs future education needs. What will you save for?