Family Matters

Financial struggles can put a lot of strain on family life. When I talk to people about the challenges in their life, many of them say that shortage of money is the main source of their difficulties.

"We don't spend enough time with the kids, because we have to go to work and earn money", they say.

"We can't give our kids what they need, because we don't have enough money", they complain.

"We can't even take time off for proper vacations to rejuvenate, because there is just not enough money to fund them", they are ashamed to admit.

"Our kids can't engage in hobbies and extracurricular activities, because they are too expensive for our family budget", they tell me in despair.

And there are many other versions of the same challenge. If you have ever heard yourself saying any of them about your own family or if you have ever caught yourself thinking like this, then you are at the right place. If you have ever wondered if it is possible to have a family and be wealthy and happy at the same time, keep reading!

Most people in the world are not rich. In fact, only 4% of the world’s population is extremely rich and another 6% financially stable, which leaves a huge 90% of the population struggling and frustrated.

Well, this needs to change! If we want to have solid, stable families for the sake of our children, we have to change the statistics.

Here are 8 good reasons to change the wealth statistics

1. Wealthy people are happier than poor people, because they have fewer problems associated with money. If you want to raise happy kids, make sure they do not need to struggle with dilemmas of going or not going to an expensive summer camp or a concert. Be rich! Life is much easier when you have money.
2. Kids who grow up in a financially stable or wealthy family are more likely to absorb skills, beliefs and attitudes that will make them financially stable or wealthy in the future and even earlier in life. This is also true for kids whose parents become wealthy later in life (and I am not talking about parents who win the lottery). So if you want to improve the chances of your kids living a wealthy lifestyle when they grow up, be wealthy!
3. Kids who are involved in hobbies like music, sport, art or any other form are more likely to succeed in life than kids who do not do these things. If you want your kids to explore and invest time developing hobbies (and boy can they be expensive - I can tell you from personal experience), be affluent!
4. Lack of money is one of the major reasons for divorce. However, it has been found that divorce actually guarantees that each child will have even less money, because both mom and dad must live somewhere and suddenly the same budget needs to support two houses. If you want to improve the chances of your kids staying together with their partner in the future, be prosperous and lead by example, modeling good techniques and positive attitudes towards money for your kids.
5. If you have ever dreamed that winning the lottery or inheriting money would give you all that you ever wanted, it is probably healthier to understand that it is not in acquiring money that people encounter difficulties, but in keeping it and making more of it. The greatest challenge is not to earn money but to save it and make it grow. Unfortunately, most people who win the lottery lose their money because they lack the right knowledge, beliefs and attitudes needed in order to survive as wealthy people. Avoid wishing for a winning, especially in front of your kids. Teach them that winning the lottery is the wish of poor-minded people, who do not think they can do better. Be financially free so you do not have to wish for lottery winnings.
6. If you are afraid that there is not enough money out there for you, think again. In fact, if all the money in the world was divided equally among all the people on Earth, including new born babies and starving people in Africa and anywhere else in the world, each would get $3,000,000. Yes, 3 million dollars! So if there was a World Bank that could divide things equally, you, your parents, your siblings, your partner and your kids would get 3 million dollars each. Tell your kids that they have 3 million dollars in the World Bank and that it will sit there until they are ready to claim it. If they ask you, "How come you don't have it?" tell them that you have only just found out about it and that you are now going to work towards getting your money too, at the same time they work towards claiming theirs. Let them know they have an advantage over you, because they have discovered it early in life, which gives them 20-35 years' advantage over you and over so many other people. However, the best way to explain this to them is obviously to have your 3 millions first. So make 3 million dollars, tell them about their 3 millions, and see how readily they believe you.
7. The sad part about the "3 million dollars in the World Bank" story is that, even if it were the case that the money could be divided equally amongst everyone, most people would lose it all within 5 years. When you talk to your kids about having lots of money, remind them that keeping their money is the skill they need to learn if they want to be wealthy. Teach them from an early age about money management and tell them stories about how you keep your money safe and growing. Be well-off and everything you tell your kids about money will be credible to them.
   

   Your children need your presence more than your presents
   - Jesse Jackson

8. Life is so demanding that kids get less and less of their parents attention, because the parents work very hard and for many hours. If you want to give your kids time, remember that time is money. When you are rich, you can spend more time with your kids and be more relaxed and more fun when you do. We need to change the statistics so more parents can spend more time with their kids. Remember, money can give you that time. Be loaded with money and have more hours in every day by paying others to do what you do not want to do.

I hope that you are now convinced it is better to be a rich parent than the alternative. Join me next week for some tips on how to make money and be rich.

Blessings of health, wealth and happiness,
Ronit

You may want to read

• Happily Wealthy Family (4): The Magic Money Jar
• Happily Wealthy Family (3): The World Bank
• Happily Wealthy Family (2): Rich Thoughts, Poot Thoughts