August 5th, 2010 by matthew
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One of the reasons my kids get their pocket money only every now and then is that there isn’t always enough money to go around. I have always maintained a very tight grip on my wallet, which is great – as far as it goes. Once more I refer to the great Ramit, here he is guest posting on the Man vs Debt blog :
to make 2010 the Year of Earning More. The past 7 months have been dedicated to helping people earn more money by earning more on the side, and the response so far has been massive. Hundreds of thousands of people read, commented, and Tweeted and otherwise chimed in on earning more. Everyone wants to make more money.
Great enthusiasm — but there’s just one thing wrong with this…
Most people who say they WANT to earn more… never will.
I have been as guilty of this as the next person. Take a look at this blog – it has been almost six months since my last post! This is a project to earn and learn (as my daughter would say – that’s a programme she is doing at school this term!) However I have managed to spend six months waffling about a new webhost, which plugins should I run and even questioning the very name of this project! All well and good points to consider for an hour or two, but this is silly.
My challenge to you, to all of us, is to get started on earning those extra dollars that mean our children can have regular pocket money! What are you going to try first?
March 11th, 2010 by matthew
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An ‘expert’ in Chicago says teens as young as 16 years of age should be given the chance to charge (i.e. to have their own credit card.) Surely this is a joke? Sadly no, it is a story from Fox News in Chicago.
What the, Fox?
» Read more: Would you give your 16 year old a credit card?
December 3rd, 2009 by matthew
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Our ultimate goal here is to discover an easy way to grown our very own Golden Goose, one that consistently lays golden eggs. By golden eggs, what I mean is a secure and steady income for us down the track by selling the eggs, not the Goose. [Att Technorati: 3A65KHWDYSSW ]
This is a noble cause, to be sure, and there’s no shortage of people out there with all manner of advice. There is advice on how to make money, invest like a pro, beat the market, hedge, trade and imitate others who’ve made it big. It can all get a bit confusing.
» Read more: Conflicting advice
November 30th, 2009 by matthew
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“Have an Attitude of Gratitude”
“The greatest of sins is ingratitude”
“If you don’t feel gratitude, you’ll feel resentment”
Our North American friends have just celebrated (or survived!) another Thanksgiving holiday. This is one tradition from that part of the world that we could all take to heart.
Why is this idea so important? Why talk about it here on the Golden Goose? (Aside from making the Goose nervous in case this is the year someone decides to switch from turkey!)
» Read more: Feeling resentful? The cure is to be thankful.
November 27th, 2009 by matthew
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Last week’s papers carried a story that estimated Australian children are being paid one billion dollars in pocket money (allowance) each year – and they have to do very little to get it.
Kids clean up in a billion-dollar industry [SMH]: AUSTRALIAN parents are spending more than $1 billion on pocket money a year but children are expected to do far less around the house in return … experts say [chores] are important in developing life skills
This story illustrates the problems when parents don’t consider the philosophy of pocket money. Take the time to think and discuss your own philosophy to handing over the cash.
» Read more: A billion dollars in pocket money and no chores?
November 27th, 2009 by matthew
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In a great opportunity for this Goose, Neerav Bhatt asked me to write a pair of articles for the Finance & Money section of his blog recently. » Read more: My Rambling Thoughts article about The Philosphy of Pocket Money
November 21st, 2009 by Admin Guy
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My writing has not been flowing as easily as I’d like it to of late. Partly that is because I’ve been wanting to move away from the stock Wordpress theme. Well, that’s fixed now. So what do you think of the new style? I’m excited because I feel that this is a great clean style that allows me to share even more with you. Notice the new sections in the sidebar?
‘Featured Video’ is there to highlight great videos from around the web. This first one is from UBank, who have a great series of short videos that explain and demystify financial markets. ‘Recommended Reading’ is there to point you in the direction of some great books for you and your kids to learn more and yes, there are the ‘Sponsored Links’ that will help me pay for running this site.
Onward and upward, as the saying goes!
October 31st, 2009 by matthew
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This week a disturbing story appeared from the ABC “Charities reveal high marketing costs” :
the charities concerned have defended the practice, saying it happens worldwide and is just part of doing business [...] But 95 per cent of money raised through street marketing in its first year is not going to the charity.
Wow. Ninety-Five percent of your first year’s donations are going to the marketing company who signed you up on a regular donation plan. That sounds plain crazy to me. Who are we really donating to? Speaking personally I’d rather as much of my hard-won money as possible ends up in the hands of those who really need it!
» Read more: Who are you really donating to?
October 23rd, 2009 by matthew
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To celebrate my first two paid posts over at @neerav’s Rambling Thoughts Blog, a very interesting friend of ours took us to yum-cha lunch today. Yes, he went all out and ordered the crab.
As we talked briefly about developing my blog, the conversation turned to how (let’s call him ‘Barry’) Barry used to earn money as a kid. He spoke of interminable summers of being dragged along to regional test cricket games (which take, literally, days) – which gave Barry a healthy dislike for all things cricket.
To get away from the very slow pace of test cricket, Barry and his mates would catch snakes for Eric Worrell. They would get paid twenty dollars for each snake, but only ten dollars for the non-venomous ones!
My jaw just about hit the table when I heard Barry talk about this. So it made me wonder – what is the craziest way you ever earned money as a kid?
September 30th, 2009 by matthew
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The smart people over at the Children’s Television Workshop (you know them – the home of Sesame Street) have created a special show you can watch online that helps explain tough economic times to kids.
The official description : “hour long television special hosted by Al Roker, Deborah Roberts and Elmo, with financial expert, Jean Chatzky, and clinical psychologist, Joshua Coleman, to help families with children, ages two to eight, experiencing difficult economic challenges.”
Sesame Street: Families Stand Together
As I commented over on Lifehacker Australia – “Deploy the Muppets” indeed! It really is very important to talk to kids about these situations – keeping them in the dark isn’t really possible (they’re kinda smart 
better to have an open and frank discussion about your financial situation. This video looks to be a brilliant ice-breaker to get the talk happening in your home. Way to go Children’s Television Workshop.
