Effective Resources to Help Strengthen your Family’s Finances

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Growing up in my community, we didn’t talk about finances. The husband went to work and brought home the paycheck. The wife took care of the household and was given an allowance for household necessities. Talking about money and saving for the future weren’t spoken about and bringing them up resulted in an argument. Times have changed and speaking about finances is encouraged in families, even with young children. High schools teach Economics (or Student Finances) to help students understand the basics of running a business as well as accounting (e.g. budgeting). There are numerous books on finances, especially those to help families be smart with their money. The books below offer great tips and plans to get families started (or continue) on a bright financial path. 

 

  1. Rich Kid Smart Kid: Giving Your Child a Financial Head Start — This book is from the author who wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki. He continues to educate people about finances (e.g. financial literacy) and now focuses on teaching parents how to give their children a financial head start. It provides the practical guidance needed to teach children to be financially responsible. The foundation of the book is education – learning about personal and financial success in today’s world. Kiyosaki points out that we are now in the Information Age, which is drastically different from the Industrial Age. Children have different obstacles than their parents and must learn to navigate them, and it starts with smart money management. 
  2. Family Budget Book: Gaining Control of Your Personal Finances — This is geared for families to help them gain control of their finances. This book offers “real world” advice and worksheets to help you apply what you have learned and to make it a habit. You’ll learn to address unexpected costs and to plan for future goals (e.g. a vacation). Also, you’ll uncover where your money goes when creating a budget — one that’s easy to manage and stick to! 
  3. The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money — I choose this book not only for its title but also for the great advice it gives parents on talking to their children about money. The author shares his experiences with finances and those of families of various backgrounds to illustrate the importance of money management. Parents should talk to their kids about money, even answering the difficult questions about its nuances. This book will help parents to raise grounded kids who are financially smart. 

A Condensed History of Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency

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Cryptocurrency is different from other kinds of legal tender in that cryptocurrency like Bitcoin isn’t regulated by any kind of federal reserve. Instead, cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that is generated by encryption techniques, which are used to regulate the generation of new units of the cryptocurrency in question.

 

Encryption ensures that funds are accurately transferred without the need for interference from a central bank. The fact that cryptocurrency is decentralized is also seen as a tremendous asset to enthusiasts from around the world.

 

Bitcoin: The First Cryptocurrency

 

The supposed founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, is a man shrouded in mystery. What is known about the creation of Bitcoin is that the first cryptocurrency came into being in late 2008 with the publication of a landmark paper by Satoshi entitled, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System.”

 

In that paper, Satoshi outlined the ways in which Bitcoin would utilize the blockchain, a record keeping system for cryptocurrency transactions, in order to keep the nascent currency up and running. The first block of the blockchain wasn’t “mined” until early 2009 when Satoshi himself mined the aptly named Genesis Block.

 

A Year After Bitcoin, Rivals Appear

 

If you had purchased $1,000 of Bitcoin around the time that the Genesis Block was mined, you would have about $45,000,000 today.

 

Though that’s an impressive number, Bitcoin spurred a number of rivals that may have hampered its own success. Rivals to Bitcoin, sometimes known as altcoin, cropped up almost immediately after Bitcoin’s creation in 2008.

 

A few years after Bitcoin, rivals were purportedly offering altcoins with greater levels of anonymity, a key concern for those trafficking in altcoin, and faster transaction speeds. The Litecoin and Namecoin were early cryptocurrency rivals to Bitcoin.

 

Bitcoin Crashes Before Recovering

 

Bitcoin is today valued at around $9,500 per coin. It wasn’t always this rosy a picture. In 2013, Bitcoin had real problems. The price of Bitcoin dropped well below $1,000 for the first time, and eventually the price of Bitcoin would reach its all-time nadir of around $300 per coin.

 

Later in 2013, the value of Bitcoin would once again rise above $1,000. Four years later, Bitcoin would surpass the $10,000 mark for the first time. 

 

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, which opened the door to other cryptocurrencies. As the world begins to accept cryptocurrency as a legal form of payment, it will be interesting to see how it will be regulated. 

3 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Lower their Stress Levels

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Being an entrepreneur can be extremely stressful. Just like everyone else, entrepreneurs still have bills to pay and in some cases even a family to support. As their business grows, more and more people become dependent on them for their livelihood as well. This can place an incredible amount of pressure on entrepreneurs. The higher your stress rises, however, the less capable you are of making calm, rational decisions which can actually jeopardize your business. For both business and health reasons, it is important to keep stress levels in check. Here are three ways entrepreneurs can lower their stress levels.

 

  1. Unplug

 

It is vitally important for entrepreneurs to take some time every day and every week to simply let the world run without them for a while. While this can in and of itself be stressful for an entrepreneur, it is important. If you don’t, you will eventually burn out. Vacation is also critical, so don’t put it off “until you get your business up and running.” Without taking time for self-care, you won’t make it that far.

 

  1. Delegate

 

For an entrepreneur, delegation is similar to a new parent hiring a babysitter. It is just as nerve-wracking and just as important. While your business may be “your baby” it’s going to take a village to make it a viable proposition – just like raising a child.

 

  1. Take good care of your health

 

Exercise, eating a healthy diet and getting a good night’s sleep might be some of the hardest challenges for busy entrepreneurs, but they are also the most important. Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. If you put managing your own health on a back burner while you are building your business, there is a good chance you won’t be around to enjoy it once it is viable – if it ever even makes it that far. In addition, all three of these activities work together to help you reduce stress. 30 minutes of brisk exercise can help burn off adrenaline and even help you get a better night’s sleep. A good, healthy diet can give you energy to make it through the long days and even get a good workout in at the end.

Understanding the Latest Passport Changes

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Passports are a requirement for international and domestic travel. Increased threshold of threats to security, especially terrorism, are prompting most countries across the globe to revolutionize their passport regulations and requirements. The US and other European countries have been on the forefront as far as the introduction of the new passport changes and requirements are concerned. Here is an overview of what has changed or is expected to change in the near future regarding how you apply and use your passport.

 

  1. Passport Makeovers

 

To enhance the speed of processing of passengers in airports, passports are being incorporated with microchips designed to hold passengers’ data. The machine-readable microchip will make it possible for instant changes to be affected across all airports and countries. For instance, the microchip can be instantly updated across all airports, thereby affecting travel restrictions more effectively at the touch of a button.

 

  1. Improved Security Features

 

To make passports more tamper-proof, new security features are expected to be incorporated in order to decrease the prospects of criminals defrauding customs agencies and personnel. The data chip will be virtually impossible to replicate, thereby eliminating prospects of forgery and other forms of malicious tampering.

 

  1. Strict Application Rules

 

In order to curb the increased threat to national security, governments, led by the United States, have revised rules and regulations for applying for passports. For instance, if a passport photograph does not meet a certain requirement of clarity and size, the application will be turned down. Other aspects include the restriction on the use of eyeglasses on passport photographs and the requirement to produce proof of US citizenship, including birth certificates among other requirements which make the application process watertight.

 

  1. Passport Renewal Regulations

 

Governments across the globe have enforced a 6-month validity rule requiring all passport holders to have their passports’ expiry date not less than 6 months from the time of entry to a country. This implies that you will have to renew your passport way in advance before the 6 months travel restriction period. Individuals having passports expiring within 6 months will be denied entry. The entire passport renewal process has been made much simpler in most countries as one can renew online at the click of a button.

Top Three Franchises for 2019

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When you think of a franchise, you think of food — Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds. Both of these companies have strong brands and bring in a great deal of money. We even see ads looking for people to become franchisees. What exactly is a franchise? And why do people buy into them? When you (the franchisee) buy a part of a business from the owner (franchisor), you are getting the rights to sell the company’s products and/or services as well as use its brand, processes, business model and equipment. Although you pay the franchisor an initial fee and royalties pertaining to the business, you do get support and use of the trademark. It’s important to note that the franchisor retains the license to the business whereas the franchisee can only use it. The franchisor grows his business through the franchises. It is not the same as growing a business by increasing its locations (e.g. Starbucks).

People are quick to buy a franchise because they are essentially cash cows. They also want to learn how to manage a business. That said, let’s take a look at some franchises that will be popular this year.

  1. McDonald’s — This will always be a popular franchise. The company started out as a small hamburger shop and became a multi-million dollar corporation. Brothers Maurice (Mac) and Richard McDonald opened their restaurant in 1948 in San Bernardino, California. Restaurant equipment salesman Ray Kroc saw how the brothers sold their food cheaply with a self-serve counter and came up with the idea of franchising the restaurant. The first franchise opened in 1954 in Des Plaines, Illinois. McDonalds continues to grow based on its brand, quality of food and reinvention (e.g. renovated restaurants).
  2. Dunkin Donuts — The fast food chain is now called Dunkin (or DD). The franchise decided last year to drop the “Donuts” and focus on beverages. Like McDonalds, the chain has grown due to its brand, products and convenience. It was started by William Rosenberg in 1948 and was originally called Open Kettle. The mission was to sell donuts and coffee quickly. However, after meeting with consultants, it was changed to “make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well-merchandised stores.” The name was changed to Dunkin Donuts in 1950 and the first franchise opened in 1955. The mission holds true today with numerous franchises across the nation.
  3. The UPS Store — Originally called Mail Boxes Etc., this postal services company grew and embraced technology. It created the “business services category” with its digital capabilities for small businesses. In 2001, UPS acquired Mail Boxes Etc. and became the world’s “largest franchisor of retail shipping, postal, printing, and business services centers.” In 2003, the UPS Store Brand was introduced. In 2012, the Mail Boxes Etc. was absorbed into the UPS Store. Last year, the UPS Store was ranked #1 by Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual “Franchise 500.” There is no doubt this franchise will continue to be popular.

Themed Hotels Are Gaining Popularity

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When going on vacation, you plan the activities around yourself or your family. If you have children, you include fun things to do, such as theme parks or beaches. For adults, you would go to the regions known for its wine, beer or cuisine, aside from the scenery. In the past ten years, there have been vacations designed around a theme, and hotels have not only have taken part in these themes, but some have their own individual theme. Why would a hotel create its own theme? There have always been themed hotel rooms (e.g. the Honeymoon Suite), but aside from theme-park resorts, themed hotels have been few until recently. What sparked my curiosity is the number of themes. And each state has its own claim to themed hotels, from ones that are underwater to the ones in trees.

The popularity of themed hotels began in the past decade, with the increase of boutique hotels. More than receiving customer feedback that guests would like more fitness equipment in the hotel gym or even creating a hotel gym, these hotels decided to make themselves stand apart from their competition (e.g. hotel chains) and create their own guest experience. There are many hotels themes that are based off of pop culture (including movies and TV shows), such as The Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, where everything is clowns. This will create smiles or cringes, since clowns have been made to be evil in some movies (e.g. It). Another theme is animals. The Dog Bark Park Inn is built to look like a huge dog. Located in Cottonwood, Indiana, the beagle-shaped hotel offers a low-tech stay with old-fashioned games instead of the latest TV in rooms. And there are themes based on nostalgia. The Legoland Hotel offers nostalgia for parents (LEGO is 86 years old) and plenty of fun for kids. The brightly-colored hotel located in Winter Haven, Florida, is an alternative to the beach hotels. It not only has themed rooms, but the entire resort is one big LEGO set.

Staying a themed hotel is not cheap, though. You can expect to pay hundreds of dollars a night. However, the experience is worth it, especially if it’s on a person’s bucket list. These hotels make every stay memorable without the guests paying for the activities in the town they are located in. They are easy to find since people post their experiences, which the hotel owners encourage since it’s free publicity. The number of themed hotels increases each year, and you can count on unique themes.