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5 gifts that will make your kids rich
money.cnn.com — Tired of battling hordes of shoppers for Tickle Me Elmo, the latest Xbox 360 game and other hot holiday items that feed your children's rampant consumerism? Eager for a present that gives your kids a financial jump on life and is still, well, fun?
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- Artifez, on 10/12/2007, -5/+14I agree with the IRA and the 529 but the Sims? Come on...
- DoctaStooge, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Think about it, the Sims add on teaches you how to micromanage just like any RTS game. It's not about resale value, its about learning to manage money.
- Klisk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10The problem with this is that the parents need to be considerably wealthy in order to really offer an IRA, or savings bonds. This list is also worthless for unintelligent people.
When your parents are 20+ grand in debt... It's not happening. Hell, my grandmother gave me at least a few thousand in savings bonds, and want to know where that went? My (divorced) father cashed them all in prematurely (before I was even 18), and blew it all on himself. (My father insisted he had the same name as me specifically so he could leech into my finances when I got older. Fortunately, I changed my name.)
Yeah... The list is a nice thought, but it only goes as far as the parents. The games/book seem a lot more plausible for most families than the other 2 options, though. - d8cam, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1It's difficult to find a 360 game???
- dilbert, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5DoctaStooge:"...,its about learning to manage money."
How? By using a cheat code to get more money? - shootthemonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It taught me that traditional jobs don't earn much money. And also that I could win free money through the phone.
- dankoleary, on 10/12/2007, -9/+13Make your kid get a job. If anyone on here is a parent, make them work! Provide them with the basics, and show them how to earn everything else they want. (HINT: No drug dealing!)
- ginty, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22getting a job is a miserable way to try and get rich, and it isn't very likely to happen that way.
- Klisk, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Obviously you live in a bubble.
- wendelgee2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10actually, research has shown that kids with jobs do not perform as well academically as students without jobs...therefore they either do not get into college or do not go to as prestigous a college...which means they'll make less money.
- gaoshan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21My parents made me get a job. I had a newspaper route from age 10-14. I worked in a library from 14-15, was a bus boy from 15-17 and worked in a gas station from 19-21.
End result? Not worth it. I would have been better served by spending my time studying/playing sports/socializing/learning.
1. The newspaper route ruined my sleep and destroyed my confidence. I am 38 now and still have horrible sleep problems.
2. The library was OK. Cushy job, easy hours. Friendly old lady co-workers.
3. The bus boy job introduced me to 14 hour work days, little pay, rude rich assholes (it was at a country club), how unfaithful so many men are to their wives (they filled the bar and often tried to hookup with the waitresses... or waiters... or busboys). Also introduced me to gay people (about half of the waiters were gay) and showed me that they were nice, regular people which was a plus as I had previously been afraid of and hated them (I was only 15, remember). Overall, though, the job was hell. I will die before I let my kids work in that industry.
4. The gas station introduced me to armed robbery, getting my head bashed in for smokes, cocaine, crack, prostitution (they used the bathroom in certain stations), co-worker theft, being held at gunpoint, insane people with axes trying to hack into the booth, etc. All in all... stuff I could have done without, to be quite honest.
My children will work. In the summers. A little. In a library. They will/do share household work. They will/do learn about investing and saving. They get to play, read, explore, learn.
They will not work before or after the school day. They will not work crap jobs that are supposed to "teach them about the hardships of earning a buck" because I did that and it is *****. I still resent my parents for that and can see absolutely no benefit that cannot be gained through other, more reasonable means. - ginty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Training your kids to work jobs for dollars won't really benefit them. They need to learn financial principles and how to manage money. Making them get a job without a sound financial understanding will lead them into the spend then earn lifestyle that has the majority of the US screwed.
Instead of a job, why not encourage them to start a business? Sure there will be some sort of work involved, but it won't be at BurgerHut or whatever for minimum wage. Plus the other things they learn will far outweigh being a mindless drone. - Klisk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Exactly. Getting a job can also encourage a child to just "deal with" repetitive mindless jobs, thinking they're the only way to earn money, and being stuck in that rut for the rest of their life.
They'll never investigate the real methods that get you "rich".
- RichPowers, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Is anyone else sick of these absurd lists from Forbes and CNN Money? I mean the ones on the world's most expensive homes were OK, but now they're making slide shows for "richest fictional characters." These lists are nothing but ***** filler copy.
- ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5im more sick of the total lack of news digg has
- DOUBLEz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Pardon my ignorance but what exactly is the IRA?
- Aliarse, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16IRA - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_Army
- ed2hip, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1here's some info. http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Savemoney/P147209.asp
i suggest you check it out, it's well worth it - gharding, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Individual Retirement Account. It's basically a tax-deferred investment account (there are a bunch of different kinds of IRAs, commonly Roth or Traditional but there are a few more). You can contribute a certain amount to an IRA each year, and you have to make less than a certain amount of money to be able to contribute. They're a great investment tool, in addition (or if you can't get one) to a 401k.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Retirement_Account - gharding, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Oh, and I'm pretty sure IRAs are specific to the US (not sure though.. never really thought about other countries' retirement accounts, heh).
- Gizza, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Here in Aus we have Superannuation where every week an extra 9% of what u earn gets automatically put into the account. It has high interest rates so it earns big, the only draw back, u cant have access to the account until your 55.
The great thing is, if you have a job, u have one of these accounts.
I assume this IRA is like that?
- xGBox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12There is only one gift that'll make your kid rich, and that is to get him into the cold, hard world of Monopoly.
- jay0312, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Individual Retirement Account
- foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1But a couple of PS3s, sell them on eBay, and you just secured all the college money your kids needs!
- spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Sure, you'd have made a whole few hundred bucks profit
- uberlord, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Few thousand.
Those things are selling anywhere from $2500 to $4000. And people are buying. - CaitSith4343, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah... they were selling that high on launch day and a day or two after... Now, like has been said, you'd only make a couple hundred.
- spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Odd, I was just thinking about this earlier
If my parents had given me half as many Christmas/birthday presents since I was a baby, and put the other half they would have spent in a savings account or something for me, I'd be damn thankful they had now
First few years, I might have felt hard done to, few years after that, I probably wouldn't even notice. By the time I'd got into my teens, I'd probably already be thanking them - titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -2/+76. A Playstation 3 and eBay account.
- mywhitenoise, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4have you looked on ebay lately? They only made a big profit the first 12 hours they were released.
- muvment256, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Or you can just sell your kids to a the salt mines and become rich yourself.
- Zidul, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2this is the kind of crap you take one look at and thow aside top rip open the newest Mortal Kombat game.
its Christmas for crap's sakes, make your kids happy..this is like givin em socks for xmas.
I allways hated the "you'll thank me later" crap that my parents shoved down my throat every time i got a 'present' - MuTeD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/moneymag/fivegifts/index.html
Direct.. - quickgold192, on 10/12/2007, -0/+36: $10 million cash
- coheedcollapse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I'd kill my parents if they got me that stuff as a kid. Also i don't know if you should be preaching monetary responsibility like that through toys so early. Being a kid is all about not worrying about crap like that.
I understand that you should teach monetary responsibility early and all, but I dunno... - Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Just remember, money isnt everything
is people would stop and think (I mean really seriously think)
half of them wouldnt want to be rich
sure a sudden windfall of $1000000 would be great
but the proper way of being rich most people would turn down- beotch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1What is the proper way of being rich and why wouldn't I want it? Most rich people inherited their money.
Maybe you are thinking of the hard work and dirty tasks that becoming rich sometimes entails? Like murdering and looting in Iraq as part of Blackwater or paying your politicians to screw everyone over for your copyright bill to pass? Yeah, I wouldn't want to do those things. - Patented, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@beotch
"What is the proper way of being rich and why wouldn't I want it? Most rich people inherited their money. "
Do you have statistics for such a boldly contrary statement to what is considered common knowledge, or did you just build yourself a soapbox to make a half-baked political diatribe?
- beotch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1What is the proper way of being rich and why wouldn't I want it? Most rich people inherited their money.
- digitaldater, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I only agree with #2 Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday....most books are indispensable. The message is "buyer remorse" and what could be a better lesson!
The Sims? How about Second Life? Myspace? Is Habbo Hotel still around? Kids of the suburbs hit the cyber streets!
Monopoly rules! Make that money and figure out what to do with it later. Learn from yours and the mistakes of others. Screw Payday. Payday is paying advertisers to make a comeback. Teach consumerism and marketing to your children. It's all smoke and mirrors.
Want your kids to be rich? Home school them until high school and enroll them in college programs by the age of 14-16 and guide them on the basics and let them learn the rest on their own unless you already are or know how to be rich. They need a passion to be wealthy but if you can instill that drive and self confidence and your not rich yourself you are off to a good start.
529's are a ripoff. It's called a scholarship. IRAs are putting money that could be invested elsewhere to lay to rest.
When are people going to wake up to the likes of CNN? Come on! - MadModMike, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Does anyone know if that's the book where the kid trades his dollar for 2 quarters, because 2 is more than 1, and then for 3 dimes, because 3 is more than 2, and then for 4 nickels, because 4 is more than 3, and then finally for 5 pennies, because 5 is more than 4?
It didn't teach me much than I already knew.- Klisk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I think the basics of "If you save, you can get what you REALLY want" is something that either gets through to a child, or doesn't. Some people 'get it', others don't. Which is fine.
But the more lacking thing is will power. Sure, a lot of people know they should save, but do they have the will power to do it? Or more specifically, do they know when to treat themselves, and when to hold onto the more so they can treat themselves to what they REALLY want?
It's pretty basic logic, but then again I know people who are 40+ that just don't get it at all.
- Klisk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I think the basics of "If you save, you can get what you REALLY want" is something that either gets through to a child, or doesn't. Some people 'get it', others don't. Which is fine.
- Arbus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6There's a Hanukkah joke in here somewhere.
- Yakubovich, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5This is disgusting. Kids of this age should not be concerned with money. If you want to teach your kids something, teach knowledge and logic.
- Raz75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is the first I've heard of 529 plans. I'm gonna see if I can set up accounts for my niece and nephew.
- eatdontsendspam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1529 plans may not make sense in your situation. Do not just get one blindly. In many cases it is not a good idea because this will ruin the child's chance for a significant amount of financial aid by raising their tax bracket. The person going to collage is expected to send more of their money on collage then parents. So it doesn't make sense to save money for the child the government would give you. If you worried about taxes just put the money aside for them in a municipal bond.
- bickdigg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@ eatdontsendspam
"The person going to collage is expected to send more of their money on collage then parents."
I think that the person going to collage should expect to use more glue on collage, and use scissors more than their parents.
Also, people talking about education are expected to spell "college" correctly. - eatdontsendspam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@bickdigg
Thank you for pointing out a simple typing error. Your comment was a very useful insight.
- cgoff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think one easy thing to do for your kids that's very wise is see if they are interested in coin collecting, particularly coins with silver content. You can't loose, the kids will enjoy the oddities and older dates in addition to having a piece of REAL money that won't inflate. It's also cheap to do, even for parents that are $20K in debt as someone mentioned above.
I know I wish I had collected coins instead of baseball cards years ago!- beotch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Buying baseball cards is retarded, anything would be better than that scam. By the way, it's "lose" not "loose".
- Palmetto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2excellent.. I collected coins as a kid and loved silver dimes.. now, I have those dimes in case the economy crashes..
- dimpledott, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Buy a kid the Kiyosaki game and book....little more pricey ($55), but will teach them things most adults don't know (a home isn't an asset, buy low sell high is flawed, the futility of working for money, etc.)
http://secure.richdad.com/product.asp?id=H601- beotch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2A home is an asset, provided you have more than one. You got to live somewhere though so don't flush it down the drain on loans.
- intense321, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Your primary residence is NOT an asset. The house you live in is your biggest LIABILITY! A 2nd house might be an asset, if you're renting it and turning a profit. That's the biggest thing Kiyosaki teaches us. Our financial models are all wrong. Buy a small home to live in. Your rental properties should be worth a lot more than your primary residence. Then sit back and watch the money flow into your investment portfolio.
- flexocc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sorry, Kiyosaki is wrong. A house is an asset. The mortgage you may or may not have on that house is the liability. Asset = what you own, liability = what you owe. Kiyosaki tries to redefine an asset as "something that makes money" but that isn't the definition used by most people who talk about money (unless they're trying to say something so *revolutionary* in an attempt to sell books and seminars).
- theRIAA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4give him some popsicle sticks and a hot glue gun and see what happens.
- bickdigg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0teach'em hold'em... or something which value will increase overtime, like some nice bottles of wine. They'll get rich by their 40's.
- Barnonski, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Awesome... We're going to have a bunch of little J.P. Morgans running around.
- intense321, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I wish my parents were more financially wise when I was younger. I would have loved to have any of these "financial advice" gifts. I had to learn it all for myself at a much later age. My kids will definitely learn it early. There's no need for them to struggle through 20 years of postgraduate life trying to make a buck like I had to.
- Palmetto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I grew up at a motel my dad owned. It was in the middle of nowhere. We had 5 acres of grass I had to cut with a push mower. I earned a dollar a room (late 80's) for cleaning.. I also had to hang the laundry on a line cause the dryer was expensive to use and was saved for rainy days. My dad worked extra jobs to help make ends meet. We raised animals and had a garden for extra food. It was a great life but very hard. So, I worked my way through college and became a mechanical engineer.
Kids need difficulties to overcome and a whole lot of guidance.. I'm not rich by any means but my wife and I went to Greece for our honeymoon and I have about 100k in my retirement portfolio and am 33. So, work hard and save wisely.. those are my only pieces of advice... oh yeah, and don't trust the government, no matter who is in power.
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