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| FAMILY PRACTICE |
| How to Help Your Teen Prepare for a Strong Financial Future By: Jeanette Joy Fisher |
| 13 Things For Your Child To Do (Instead of Watch TV) By: Carrie Lauth |
Volunteering in the community is a great way to
serve the people in the area where you live. Many
non-profit organizations are run by people who
give a lot of their own time and money to make
your community a better place, and volunteers
help these services to continue.
In addition, community service is a great way for
teenagers to become aware of needs outside
themselves. Don't wait until your teenagers are
required to perform mandatory community service
to help them get more involved in your community.
Our first experience with volunteer work came
about when our daughter was about 12. I was
working full time, and we were looking for
something for her to occupy her time during the
summer. We contacted our local "volunteer center"
to find out about available volunteer opportunities
in our community. Through that center we found
out about a local day camp for disabled children. It
is administered by adults but almost completely run
by teenagers. The older kids (ages 16-21) are
employed by the organization as camp counselors,
and the younger teens (ages 12-16) are
volunteers. Each disabled child has a teen "pal" for
all activities. They go to the park, go swimming,
and a variety of other activities for about 4 hours a
day. Volunteers sign up for 1 week at a time, and
can volunteer all summer if they want.
This kind of volunteer work isn't for everyone, of
course, but our daughter had a great time
volunteering for this organization and worked there
every summer for four years. A lot of the
volunteers come back as paid counselors when
they turn 16. The younger teens also love hanging
out with the older teens, and the disabled kids love
all the attention. This service gives the parents of
these kids very needed time off and is a wonderful
resource in our community, while also offering a
unique experience for the volunteers.
There are many other types of volunteer work.
Other types of services our daughter has been
involved with:
* Your local humane society is a great place to
volunteer as a family. My daughter and I used to
go to our humane society and play with the cats
and take dogs for walks. They called this "pet
socialization", so that the animals would have an
easier transition into new homes. We had a great
time doing this together. Our daughter also
organized her own yard sale and published a
newsletter for kids to raise money for the humane
society.
* When our daughter was 16, she became involved
in a teen "suicide hotline" program sponsored by
our community. She went through an intensive
training program to teach her how to talk to teens
who are considering suicide. Teens volunteer to
man a phone line in 4-hour shifts.
* Local churches are great resources for volunteer
opportunities. For several years I was a youth
group leader in our daughter's high school youth
group. One year we spent a week in Billings,
Montana, working in their homeless shelter and
food bank. To me this was quite an eye-opening
experience, especially talking to and sharing
experiences with the people who work at these
places every day. Last year our daughter spent a
week in Idaho fixing up and updating several
schools, and this year she is travelling to Honduras
for two weeks.
The services performed through volunteer work
are only a portion of the benefits of volunteering
time in the community. Teenagers by nature are
very often self-focused and need to be offered
opportunities to reach out of themselves and help
others. The earlier they learn to do these things
the more natural it will become for them later in life.
Other benefits of volunteer work are valuable
experience for applying for jobs and college
scholarships.
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of
four. For more inspirational articles and tips for
everyday living, visit her web sites at
www.creativehomemaking.com and
www.christian-parent.com.
serve the people in the area where you live. Many
non-profit organizations are run by people who
give a lot of their own time and money to make
your community a better place, and volunteers
help these services to continue.
In addition, community service is a great way for
teenagers to become aware of needs outside
themselves. Don't wait until your teenagers are
required to perform mandatory community service
to help them get more involved in your community.
Our first experience with volunteer work came
about when our daughter was about 12. I was
working full time, and we were looking for
something for her to occupy her time during the
summer. We contacted our local "volunteer center"
to find out about available volunteer opportunities
in our community. Through that center we found
out about a local day camp for disabled children. It
is administered by adults but almost completely run
by teenagers. The older kids (ages 16-21) are
employed by the organization as camp counselors,
and the younger teens (ages 12-16) are
volunteers. Each disabled child has a teen "pal" for
all activities. They go to the park, go swimming,
and a variety of other activities for about 4 hours a
day. Volunteers sign up for 1 week at a time, and
can volunteer all summer if they want.
This kind of volunteer work isn't for everyone, of
course, but our daughter had a great time
volunteering for this organization and worked there
every summer for four years. A lot of the
volunteers come back as paid counselors when
they turn 16. The younger teens also love hanging
out with the older teens, and the disabled kids love
all the attention. This service gives the parents of
these kids very needed time off and is a wonderful
resource in our community, while also offering a
unique experience for the volunteers.
There are many other types of volunteer work.
Other types of services our daughter has been
involved with:
* Your local humane society is a great place to
volunteer as a family. My daughter and I used to
go to our humane society and play with the cats
and take dogs for walks. They called this "pet
socialization", so that the animals would have an
easier transition into new homes. We had a great
time doing this together. Our daughter also
organized her own yard sale and published a
newsletter for kids to raise money for the humane
society.
* When our daughter was 16, she became involved
in a teen "suicide hotline" program sponsored by
our community. She went through an intensive
training program to teach her how to talk to teens
who are considering suicide. Teens volunteer to
man a phone line in 4-hour shifts.
* Local churches are great resources for volunteer
opportunities. For several years I was a youth
group leader in our daughter's high school youth
group. One year we spent a week in Billings,
Montana, working in their homeless shelter and
food bank. To me this was quite an eye-opening
experience, especially talking to and sharing
experiences with the people who work at these
places every day. Last year our daughter spent a
week in Idaho fixing up and updating several
schools, and this year she is travelling to Honduras
for two weeks.
The services performed through volunteer work
are only a portion of the benefits of volunteering
time in the community. Teenagers by nature are
very often self-focused and need to be offered
opportunities to reach out of themselves and help
others. The earlier they learn to do these things
the more natural it will become for them later in life.
Other benefits of volunteer work are valuable
experience for applying for jobs and college
scholarships.
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of
four. For more inspirational articles and tips for
everyday living, visit her web sites at
www.creativehomemaking.com and
www.christian-parent.com.
Our college-bound son just bought his first home at
21. He was able to buy a home for forty thousand
under the appraised price, get a low interest rate,
finance the closing costs, and pay no money down.
How could he possibly do this? His credit score is
over 700.
You can help your teenager prepare for his or her
financial future by establishing a high credit rating.
Offer your teenager these three crucial credit tips
for a great financial future:
1. Start early. Begin by successfully managing a
checking account-- the first credit requirement.
Wells Fargo Bank has a program for children to
open joint accounts with a parent as young as 13
years of age. For a free individual checking
account, Washington Mutual requires a minimum
age of 18 or a manager's approval for younger
account holders.
2. Apply for a major credit card at 18. It's easier to
get a first-class credit card with favorable rates and
terms while a student attends college before the
age of 22. Why do banks want to open accounts for
students who have no credit history or
employment? Because lenders know that college
graduates in general make more money and also
pay their bills on time. Also, most consumers don't
like shopping around for credit and tend to keep
their credit accounts. Therefore, lenders desire to
establish strong relationships with the preferred
market early in their credit experience.
This doesn't mean that you as the parent need to
co-sign; banks expect parents to help out with the
payments when necessary. Just be crystal clear
with your child what you expect regarding debt
management. The purpose is to teach responsibility
and to establish credit--not to go into debt.
3. Manage the credit card account with credit
scores in mind. Once the account is opened,
encourage your child to use the card for necessities
that would be purchased with cash--not
luxuries--and to pay the debt before finance
charges accrue. However, don't pay the entire
balance off each month; let a little roll over at least
every two months. Banks don't appreciate accounts
paid in full each month. More important, paid
accounts don't factor into the credit score as much
as an account with a low balance.
Explain to you teenager that the purpose of using a
credit card is to establish good credit. To do this, a
credit card should never have a balance over 50%
of the available credit. The best credit scores have
accounts with only 10% of the credit line used.
Setting up a checking account and a credit card
account helps your teenager learn about
responsible money management, with the bonus of
building strong credit to finance a home.
Copyright 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher All rights
reserved.
Article by:
Jeanette Fisher is the author of "Credit Help! Get
the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate" and other
real estate investing books. For more credit articles
and free Credit Tips Ebook, visit
www.worryfreecredit.com
21. He was able to buy a home for forty thousand
under the appraised price, get a low interest rate,
finance the closing costs, and pay no money down.
How could he possibly do this? His credit score is
over 700.
You can help your teenager prepare for his or her
financial future by establishing a high credit rating.
Offer your teenager these three crucial credit tips
for a great financial future:
1. Start early. Begin by successfully managing a
checking account-- the first credit requirement.
Wells Fargo Bank has a program for children to
open joint accounts with a parent as young as 13
years of age. For a free individual checking
account, Washington Mutual requires a minimum
age of 18 or a manager's approval for younger
account holders.
2. Apply for a major credit card at 18. It's easier to
get a first-class credit card with favorable rates and
terms while a student attends college before the
age of 22. Why do banks want to open accounts for
students who have no credit history or
employment? Because lenders know that college
graduates in general make more money and also
pay their bills on time. Also, most consumers don't
like shopping around for credit and tend to keep
their credit accounts. Therefore, lenders desire to
establish strong relationships with the preferred
market early in their credit experience.
This doesn't mean that you as the parent need to
co-sign; banks expect parents to help out with the
payments when necessary. Just be crystal clear
with your child what you expect regarding debt
management. The purpose is to teach responsibility
and to establish credit--not to go into debt.
3. Manage the credit card account with credit
scores in mind. Once the account is opened,
encourage your child to use the card for necessities
that would be purchased with cash--not
luxuries--and to pay the debt before finance
charges accrue. However, don't pay the entire
balance off each month; let a little roll over at least
every two months. Banks don't appreciate accounts
paid in full each month. More important, paid
accounts don't factor into the credit score as much
as an account with a low balance.
Explain to you teenager that the purpose of using a
credit card is to establish good credit. To do this, a
credit card should never have a balance over 50%
of the available credit. The best credit scores have
accounts with only 10% of the credit line used.
Setting up a checking account and a credit card
account helps your teenager learn about
responsible money management, with the bonus of
building strong credit to finance a home.
Copyright 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher All rights
reserved.
Article by:
Jeanette Fisher is the author of "Credit Help! Get
the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate" and other
real estate investing books. For more credit articles
and free Credit Tips Ebook, visit
www.worryfreecredit.com
| Timely Thank-yous By: Rachel Paxton |
When I was growing up there was an unwritten rule at our house: "Thou shalt write thank you notes." And in a timely
manner. You could beg, plead, and hope mom would forget, but she never did.
I still remember my 6-yr-old brain struggling over the pencil and stationery my mom put before me after Christmas
and my birthday each year. I didn't know how to spell most of the words I wanted to say, and I struggled trying to
come up with a unique note for each relative, my mom spelling the hard words for me as I wrote.
I didn't realize then what a valuable habit my mom was teaching me. To this day I can hear her voice in my head
asking "have you written your thank you notes yet?"
I never realized how important saying thank you was until I became an adult and started spending more time and
energy trying to do something nice for friends and family.
Some people write out their thank you notes the same day, the thought of not being appreciative completely
mortifying them, others prefer verbal thank yous, whether by phone or in person. Whichever method you choose,
you should always thank people for the time and/or money they spend to help you or make your life a little brighter.
One of the most precious things I've ever seen is young children writing thank you notes to teachers or friends or
someone who has done something nice for them. What a wonderful habit to instill in young children.
Nothing saddens me more than spending weeks or even months on a handmade gift given at a wedding or shower
and not ever even having the gift acknowledged one way or the other. There's just no excuse. When my daughter
complains about having to write her thank you notes I remind her how she feels when someone doesn't take the
time to acknowledge her thoughtfulness, and she immediately has a change of heart. She wants people to feel
appreciated just as she herself wants to be appreciated. And that's not too much to ask.
Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of "What's for
Dinner?", an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your
home, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at
www.creativehomemaking.com.
manner. You could beg, plead, and hope mom would forget, but she never did.
I still remember my 6-yr-old brain struggling over the pencil and stationery my mom put before me after Christmas
and my birthday each year. I didn't know how to spell most of the words I wanted to say, and I struggled trying to
come up with a unique note for each relative, my mom spelling the hard words for me as I wrote.
I didn't realize then what a valuable habit my mom was teaching me. To this day I can hear her voice in my head
asking "have you written your thank you notes yet?"
I never realized how important saying thank you was until I became an adult and started spending more time and
energy trying to do something nice for friends and family.
Some people write out their thank you notes the same day, the thought of not being appreciative completely
mortifying them, others prefer verbal thank yous, whether by phone or in person. Whichever method you choose,
you should always thank people for the time and/or money they spend to help you or make your life a little brighter.
One of the most precious things I've ever seen is young children writing thank you notes to teachers or friends or
someone who has done something nice for them. What a wonderful habit to instill in young children.
Nothing saddens me more than spending weeks or even months on a handmade gift given at a wedding or shower
and not ever even having the gift acknowledged one way or the other. There's just no excuse. When my daughter
complains about having to write her thank you notes I remind her how she feels when someone doesn't take the
time to acknowledge her thoughtfulness, and she immediately has a change of heart. She wants people to feel
appreciated just as she herself wants to be appreciated. And that's not too much to ask.
Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of "What's for
Dinner?", an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your
home, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at
www.creativehomemaking.com.
