“Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.”
Hello, friends!
Here’s a quick reminder to join the waitlist for my new course to save $250 when it goes live.
And because some of you have asked, here’s what you’ll receive as a participant:
- 8-module curriculum
- 8 live, one-hour sessions over 4 weeks
- Unlimited email coaching throughout the course (plus a bonus month of unlimited email coaching after the course)
- One 15-minute coaching session during the course
- One 15-minute coaching session after the course
- 2 live Q&A workshops
- Program-building worksheets
- An exclusive guest interview
- Future updates to course content
- Lifetime access to future cohorts
- 100% money-back guarantee (So you kinda can’t lose. 😉)
Now that you have all the details, let’s move on to this week’s “3 Ideas to Share & Save.”
— 1 —
Moments Make Us: I like to think of myself as a collection of all of my life’s experiences. Every second of every minute of every day of every year has made me who I am.
Yet I still underestimate the importance of each moment and overestimate defining moments. Not surprisingly, I’m not the only one who does this:
“It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.”
– James Clear, Atomic Habits
Most of us tend to think in grand, sweeping visions. But anything we achieve, whether it’s completing college, running a marathon or becoming financially independent, happens step-by-step in our journeys to these destinations.
It’s only when we look back does the story materialize.
“You know, there’s a philosopher who says, ‘As you live your life, it appears to be anarchy and chaos, and random events, non-related events, smashing into each other and causing this situation or that situation, and then, this happens, and it’s overwhelming, and it just looks like what in the world is going on. And later, when you look back at it, it looks like a finely crafted novel. But at the time, it don’t.'”
– Joe Walsh, Eagles guitarist
Clearly, the little things matter.
— 2 —
One Little Thing: Today, let’s all do one little thing for our kids that might help them along their money-smart journeys.
Here are some examples for inspiration:
- Pay for half of a book your child wants to read this summer. Better yet, go to the library or download a book using the Libby app. If you’re a Kindle user and you don’t have Libby, then change that right now.
- Share a money-smart decision you made in the past week that your kids might not know about. For example, instead of using a ride share service, my wife and I took the bus to dinner last night.
- Surprise your children by matching the money they put in their Save or Share jars this week.
- Ask your kids if they’d like to donate their Share jar money to one of your favorite charities. (Or to one of theirs!) Sometimes the Share jar needs a little kick. 🤑
- Share a bit of wisdom from our Instagram feed.
I’d love to hear what little thing you do this week.
These moments matter. And, what’s more, they compound!
— 3 —
Everything In Life Is Compounding: Compounding is the ultimate example of little things eventually creating something big. REALLY big.
And although I think this graph of ours is useful, read on for some other examples that might get across to your kids the importance of compounding.
Does your child have a best friend? You can ask her to reflect on the conversations she has with that friend. How are these discussions different than those she has with more recent friends? What about chats with strangers?
Over time, our shared experiences compound and lead to richer interactions.
We can share examples from our rich friendships to emphasize the adage, “You can’t make old friends.” Or even better, we can spend quality time with our best friends so that our kids can see the benefits of compounding in action.
Of course, I’m not enough of an idealist to guarantee that you’ll be met with more than eye rolls, but I take solace in the advice of friends who have passed through the teenage gauntlet. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, our kids are listening to us.
So modeling a powerful money concept like compounding in a different way is worth the effort.
“All the benefits in life come from compound interest – money, relationships, habits – anything of importance.”
– Naval Ravikant, investor and modern-day philosopher
As always, enjoy the journey!
John, Chief Mammal
P.S. Please consult with a financial or investment professional before engaging in any decisions that might affect your own financial well-being.
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