Skip to main content

Are you a saver, spender or an investor? A day of Family and Finance at Vanguard to Connect the Dots

I'd like to think I am all three, but in reality I am a spender, the grocery shopper, the gift shopper, the clothing shopper, the errand runner, and the appointment maker.  Have you ever tried to go a day or two without spending any money at all? Even if we don't leave home, we are spending money for our house, utilities, insurance, meals, pretty much everything we need.

Could I be a saver or an investor? To find the answer I went to a conference called Family and Finance, Connecting the Dots. It was held at Vanguard's Headquarters one beautiful late Summer day recently. They had me at Family and Finance. I'd love to learn more about that, and so I did. It was a power packed conference and Vanguard was most hospitable and friendly.

So, what did we learn? Start young. This is a terrific project to do with your kids: find four cylindrical containers with lids. Cut a slit in the top of each lid. Decorate the containers. Label each container with these four labels: Spend, Save, Share, Invest. Talk with your children about these three categories and how they will manage their money. Make a motivation board with photos of things to save for and goals you are working toward. Get the whole family involved with a motivation board and their own set of containers.
We were given these stickers and paper to decorate our containers:





If you are a teacher, know a teacher, or would like your child's classroom to take part in a learning program called My Classroom Economy then set sail for myclassroomeconomy.org. You can visit this site or inform your child's school about this site. This is a free financial literacy program for kindergarten through 12th grade.



The program simulates real life saving, budgeting, delayed gratification-not to  buy that something then and there. It helps students learn to save and invest. Students can earn a "paycheck" by doing classroom jobs, for rent and other expenses and savings.

My Classroom Economy integrates into any class or curriculum, and lets students learn financial concepts.

To get a free program guide and free supporting materials go to http://www.myclassroomeconomy.org

The conference also covered areas of Principles For Investing, Juggling Multiple Financial Goals, College Saving Choices,  and Reaching Your Retirement Goals. Each topic was very interesting and the speakers made it easy to understand each topic. I hear the word investing and look at my husband to take over that area. Now that I have attended the conference it's opened a whole new thought process!

Here is another awesome idea from the conference:
Do you have a financial inventory? A place for documenting your family's important financial information? You can grab any binder and put all your account information from banks, properties, and investments, assets, liabilities,and as well as where the original documents are kept, your attorney and financial planners name and number, and funeral plans. I keep a copy of each statement in here so that the contact and account information is easy to find.



Did you know Vanguard has a blog? You can read it anytime, no log in or account needed. Find their blog here: http://vanguardblog.com/.

Did you know Vanguard has a facebook page and they often give away all kinds of free Vanguard swag? So, go visit them!
 
 
Disclosure: I was given a gift card for my travel and Vanguard materials. The comments and views are my own.

Popular posts from this blog

Giveaway of New Soft Scrub® 4-in-1 Toliet Cleaner to three lucky winners.

  Let's talk about cleaning toilets. Hmm, I'd rather not talk about that, or clean them. However, I don't want dirty toilets in our house, so I have to clean all three of them. I'd clean four or five because I really would like two downstairs bathrooms in my next house. We have one powder room on the first floor and two full baths upstairs.I'd like three full baths upstairs. Why in the world would I want to clean all that? Who knows, but having a product that can help out cleaning the three we currently have in my house is greatly appreciated. Soft Scrub ®  is honestly amazing me with their new and improved products. I've learned about them in the past few months from trying them out and writing reviews. My kitchen sink has never shined so much, the bathrooms are cleaner, and now Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care is now here! It is new, it smells nice, and it is so easy to use. Just clip it on the side of the bowl, make sure it is in the flow of water when the toil

Win an Ultimate prize pack from Betty Crocker Ultimate Meals and Mixes

So, how's the dinner time prep going? The kids are back in school, and  then after school is sports, band practice. Do you have the taxi light on top your car on? Sound familiar? I can relate. Those nights of soccer practice and games kept us moving. I am the late afternoon here on the East Coast, and glad to have my dinner thoughts together. How did I do it? The ultimate way, with new Ultimate Hamburger Helper from Betty Crocker ®, that's how. I whipped up, I'm calling it that, because it was easy to prepare and cook. I made Ultimate Hamburger Helper Three Cheese Marinara. Easy to understand directions are on the back of the box, and don't forget to cut out the Box Tops For Education Label before you toss the cardboard into your recycling bin.   How to make this warm hearty meal for your family: open a box of Ultimate Hamburger Helper Three Cheese Marinara Brown 1 pound ground beef in a skillet. I used organic ground beef. In that same skillet, add and stir in: 1 cup o

Giveaway of Three Copies of Les Misérables on Blu Ray DVD combo Pack

You know that part of a DVD that prompts you to select play, scenes, bonus, set up while bits of the movie play? I did not get past that for several plays through the song "Do you hear the people sing" with  people of France waving their flag, and singing about they will not be slaves again.  The song is so moving, so powerful. It can stir up your the strength within your soul, it can remind you of the freedom of being an American, and it can bring you to tears of sadness, happiness, and joy. Now on to select play: I saw Les Misérables at the preview screening last year and was captivated, motionless in my seat. The DVD has the same effect. You'll be taken back to another place, another time. The cast is perfect, the singing is moving, and the scenery is real old world "Paris". As I watched Les Misérables it's a reminder to myself, a wake up call for us all to be humble, be better. To forgive each other, let go of our egos, help each other at times of need,