Money
Question: How much money should our 8-year-old son get as allowance? Should we tie allowance to chores?
Answer: Allowance is the most important tool parents have for teaching their kids about money management, yet, only 60% of all parents give their kids a regular allowance. Parent’s reluctance to dole out the weekly dough might be one for any of the following reason:
• They’re uncertain how much money to give.
• They don’t know whether to tie the money to household chores.
• They don’t know much about money management themselves.
Fortunately, there are some generally accepted guidelines and suggestions to help answer these money questions.
Most advisers fall into one of two camps on the amount of money is appropriate for kids. Some believe the best solution is to give a child one dollar for each year of age. Every three or four year old kid who ever sat in a shopping cart or in front of a television is ready to learn elementary lessons about money, but $3 or $4 a week is enough to teach them at first.
By the time children are in elementary school, there needs to be a mutually understood agreement about how that money will be spent, with a parental insistence that a specified percentage of the money goes to spending, savings and sharing. Kids also need to know what expenses they’ll be responsible for. Will they pay for school lunches, or will their spending money be for only discretionary purchases?
By the time the kids are tweens, the savings portion should be further divided into short-term and long-term savings. Some parents agree to match their kids’ long-term savings dollar for dollar.
Parents who try linking money to household chores, though, learn pretty quickly that the system doesn’t work. First of all, once kids have enough money for the things they want, they no longer have an incentive to do chores. Secondly, children should be taught they have basic responsibilities to care for their own belongings and contribute to a smoothly running household. If that lesson is tied to financial remuneration, it’s seen as a reward and something they can decide whether or not to do.
That doesn’t mean, however, kids should never be paid for working around the house. For instance, when children want or need extra money to buy Christmas gifts or attend a special event, it’s not unreasonable to demand they do extra chores to earn the money by babysitting, doing additional lawn work, preparing meals or helping with errands. Younger children who want the latest and greatest electronic games can be required to wash the dog or car, or sort through the games they already have and trade them in at a used game store. By doing so they learn the value of thrift and simpler living.
Small business loans for women
Filed under: Small Business Loans For Women, Uncategorized
Loans for woman-owned businesses
Small business loans for women have always been hard to come by because women often have fewer personal assets than men. That’s not to say it’s impossible to find small business loans for women, but that making the right choices can help get the loan, avoid excessive debt, increase business and decrease stress.
Scaling back on the amount of loan requested so it’s more proportionately in line with personal assets is one to increase the likelihood of obtaining the necessary loans. But how can business owners do that without sacrificing perceptions of professionalism?
- Even though it’s easy to use a free package to design a business website, hire a professional instead. The investment is minimal for an advertisement that has the potential to reach millions of potential customers. Besides that, this is an essential component of a marketing plan that can yield small business loans for women.
- Hire a free-lance blogger to continually update web content and drive traffic to the website. The cost will be roughly $5,000 a year for one or two new posts a week.
- Pay for a virtual assistant to answer phone calls, forward messages, make travel arrangements, maintain appointment schedules and create basic correspondence. It’s cheaper than hiring a full-time employee and boosts professional image and productivity.
- If the goal is small business loans for women-owned home-based business, improving workspace is a tangible use of money that bankers like, whether it’s a business loan or a home equity loan. Private entrances are essential.
- Rent a conference room on an a la carte basis to avoid conducting presentations and high-level meetings in a spare bedroom. Consider women’s centers or local nonprofits if their mission is appropriate to your product or services and will help project a desirable image.
Whatever the intended purpose of small business loans for women, the most important element to the business loan application will be a very detailed business plan that plays up the creativity and resourcefulness it took to find ways to grow the business while achieving maximum bang for the borrowed bucks. Contact American Unsecured for more tips on acquiring small business loans for women.
Bank lending survey brings good and bad news
If you’ve been trying to get a business loan, you already know that bank lending has bottomed out during the recession. However, there are some signs that recovery might have begun, and that banks are at least thinking about loosening the purse strings a little.
The Federal Reserve System just released their July 2009 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, a summary of bank lending practices from April through June, and respondents’ projections for future lending.
Their findings on bank lending for small firms (annual sales less than $50 million):
- 35.8% said they tightened lending standards.
- 38.9% said they tightened collateralization requirements.
- 25% tightened maximum size of credit lines.
- 46.3% tightened standards for approval of commercial real estate loans.
- 24.2% decreased limits on business credit card accounts.
- 26.5% decreased business credit lines limits.
- 42.8% decreased commercial construction credit lines.
If none of that sounds like an indication of looser purse strings, bear in mind that these numbers are actually better than in the previous quarter.
The second half of the survey addressed projected trends in bank lending—specifically, when do the loan officers expect their respective banks to make money more easily accessible to business borrowers. Their responses regarding commercial mortgages provides a glimpse into the future of bank lending for business owners.
When will your bank return to earlier standards for commercial mortgages?
- 0% said end of 2009.
- 2.2% said first half of 2010.
- 22.2% said second half of 2010.
- 20% said 2011.
- 40% said their standards would remain tighter for the foreseeable future.
American Unsecured is a loan-consulting firm, which means they can help you get the best terms and rates for your business’ financial needs. Whether you need a start-up loan or money for an existing business, American Unsecured can help.