It’s been a busy, but good week at The Heavy Purse and in the Ryan household. The girls finished their last week of school, so there were plenty of year-end school activities to keep us busy. Plus, we had to figure out the schedule to make sure the girls are supervised and get from point A to point B. It’s funny — you can’t wait until your kids sleep through the night, eat real food and are potty-trained because life will be so much easier. But once they’re big, they have so much going on! I need to add chauffeur to my resume. 🙂
Before school was dismissed for summer vacation, I had the chance to read my new book, The Lemonade Stand, to Taylor’s class. It was so much fun, and her classmates enjoyed seeing Taylor as a book character. It particularly warms my heart when I see kids excited to learn about money. I say this frequently, but it bears repeating — kids are hungry for this knowledge.
Some of you asked about the Mother’s Day brunch I spoke at last month, and I wanted to share a short video from the event. It’s more of a highlight/promotional video than tactical information, but I thought some of you may be interested in seeing it. And be sure to visit Christine Havey Smith for more information on From Three Feet Off the Ground. It’s a beautiful book and I highly recommend it. And Stephanie at VeegMama where she shares great tips to eating healthy and some delicious vegan recipes.
This week I talked about legacies, specifically the personal legacy each of us leaves behind. We often put more emphasis and effort around our financial legacy, which certainly matters, but the personal mark we leave behind us is far more powerful. I don’t take mine lightly as it acts as a guiding light for me. Every day I am reminded of those who have made a difference in my life and want to be sure that I am doing the same, which is one of the reasons why I wrote The Lemonade Stand.
The comment section overflowed with your well wishes and support of my new book, which means the world to me. I’ll be sharing more details over the next couple of weeks and reaching out to many of you to review the book as well. And thank you to those who already reached out offering your support and your blog as a launching platform. I appreciate your support so much.
On Wednesday, I also had a great guest post from Vanessa who represents half of the Cash Cow Couple. She shared how money secrets from her childhood affected her relationship with money as a young adult. Many parents choose to withhold money problems because they want to protect their kids. I understand their desire to do so. But as I have shared and Vanessa experienced, kids already know something is wrong, and without you to help them understand what’s happening, their imagination runs wild. They can develop false beliefs about money the way Vanessa did. Yes, there is a delicate balance to strike between too much information and not enough, but strive to find that place. Your children will thank you.
The Heavy Purse was mentioned in several places last week. Special thanks to Young Adult Money, Enemy of Debt, Money Saving Dude and The Frugal Farmer. I appreciate your support!
Here are my favorite posts from the past week. Enjoy!
Laurie from The Frugal Farmer made a great case for You’re Not Done Learning Yet. We all reach a saturation point where we think we know all there is to know until someone comes along and proves otherwise.
Mr. CBB over at Canadian Budget Binder shared Why We Budget an Adult Family Allowance. Whether you are in the midst of getting out of debt or enjoying financial freedom, it’s important to budget some fun money (obviously relative to what you can afford and your other goals) where you and your spouse can spend guilt-free on wants.
In his post, No Effort, No Results, Travis from Enemy of Debt shared a thought-provoking story of a women recovering from the same surgery his mother recently underwent who would rather give up her love of gardening, than complete the necessary exercises that could help her continue gardening. It may seem crazy from our perspective, but as Travis reminded us, we often make similar excuses when it comes to our finances and health. Great post!
Joe from Stacking Benjamins reminded us that Happiness is a State of Mind. Too often we spend our money on things, hoping they will make us happy but it rarely does long-term. Fortunately, we have the power to create happiness ourselves. It’s a belief I share and strongly advocate.
Hayley over at Disease Called Debt had a wonderful post on How Paying Off Debt is Helping Me Change My Life for the Better. Even though Hayley is working hard to be debt-free, she is also embracing and grateful for the lessons debt has taught her, and the person she has become, thanks to her newfound financial smarts.
Well, that’s a wrap for this week! Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!
Photo courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net.
The Heavy Purse Store is now open! My new downloadable Money Club Workbooks are now on sale. Each workbook provides five targeted lessons to help you raise Financially Confident Kids. Please check them out in The Heavy Purse Store.
SHANNON RYAN, CFP®
Hope you have a great weekend!
I really loved the post from Vanessa and I linked it in my Saturday post below. It was really touching and an important message for parents to hear about what they are saying or not saying to their kids.
Going to check Travis' post out now. .... Toodles ~ Debs