ParentWonder

Helping Parents Succeed

Family Finances

Everything about money: from budgeting to controlling expenses of the household. From teaching your children about money and more.

How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

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Pay Off Credit Card Debt
Photo Credit: Andres Rueda

After I first started working (God knows how long ago), a friend approached me and helped me get a credit card through her brother-in-law who was a credit card consultant. I tried to apply for one before that but my application was turned down. It was harder to apply for credit cards those days.

When I got my first credit card, I was ecstatic. Credit cards can be friend or foe. No doubt, it was invented for convenience but if you do not use it properly, it can ruin your life.

Fortunately, from day one, I never get myself into credit card debt. I am NOT saying this to brag. [Read more…]

6 Money Lessons for My College-Aged Daughter

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money lessons for children
Photo Credit: Philip Brewer

My daughter Chloe is starting out in college in the fall, and with her newfound independence will come the newfound responsibilities of dealing with money.

Like many young people, she hates thinking about finances.

I was one of them. I always dreaded budgeting and paying bills and thinking about savings and retirement, and figured I could always deal with it later. [Read more…]

Taming Consumerism in Young Children

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beating consumerism
Photo Credit: Aaron Muszalski

It’s true. Every child is unique. My elder daughter J has learned the lesson quite well but my son K can’t seem even to get the message.

With exposure from TV and the Internet, children are vulnerable to all sorts of advertisements from a very young age. And quietly they are influenced to think that getting things is something they must do.

Lately, K has become very persistent. He wants everything. And he wants it now. He doesn’t have the patience to wait and he is very strong-willed.

When he can’t get his hand at things he wants, he gets cranky. He throws tantrums.

In my book of parenting, this behavior is totally unacceptable.

In the latest incident, it happened in a shopping mall last Sunday.

The scene was set in a bookstore. [Read more…]

What Lessons To Teach Your Child About Money?

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Photo Credit: Alan Cleaver

As families continue to adjust to an economy that is very different from just a few years ago, parents are realizing how important money lessons are to the future of their children.

It is true that kids will take what they want out of lessons learned in their youth, however if something becomes part of their day-to-day life, there is a good chance they will carry that behavior into their adult lives.

[Read more…]