May 2022 – MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

This Mom Is Charging Her 5-Year-Old “Rent”

Five takeaways:

This article is about a mom who charges her five year old daughter $5 out of her $7 weekly allowance– for rent, utilities, food, water, and cable. The remaining $2 is the child’s money to spend however she wishes. The $5 that the mother takes for “bills” actually goes into a savings account she’ll give to her daughter when she turns 18.

The piece debates the merits of such a plan– ultimately applauding the mother for making the value of money less abstract.

Teaching kids that bills come before less necessary expenditures can have hugely positive long term effects.

This practice can teach children that nothing in life is free and that budgeting is the key to saving for things you want.

It can also help overcome a child’s sense of immediate gratification. Saving will introduce the concept of delayed gratification, which will help them become less impulsive.

From Denise Hill at WiseBread:
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

The One Parenting Decision that Really Matters

Five takeaways:

This piece opens by citing a recent study that says that in the first year of a baby’s life, parents face 1,750 difficult decisions– and then applies data to the question: what is the most important decision a parent can make?

There have been many debates over the factors that correlate most strongly with the success and stability of a child relating to almost every aspect of socioeconomic condition, family structure, domestic situation, and more.

Citing data from economist Raj Chetty, this piece argues that the single most important factor in predicting a child’s success is where they grow up.

Using anonymized IRS and Census Data, they found that three of the biggest predictors that a neighborhood will increase a child’s success are the percent of households in which there are two parents, the percent of residents who are college graduates, and the percent of residents who return their census forms.

Basically, it is best to raise your kids in neighborhoods with many role models: adults who are smart, accomplished, engaged in their community, and committed to stable family lives.

From Seth Stevens-Davidowitz at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

10 Things to Remember About Memorial Day

Five takeaways:

It began as a grassroots holiday– many towns had small yearly celebrations of the sacrifices of the nation’s veterans before the holiday was made official in 1868.

The holiday was first celebrated after the Civil War, when it was called Decoration Day

On Memorial Day in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated– by Supreme Court Chief Justice and former president William Howard Taft

In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act shifted Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday in May.

In 2000, Congress established a National Moment of Remembrance, which asks Americans to pause for one minute at 3 p.m. in an act of national unity.

From David Holzel at Mental Floss:
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

A Gentler, Better Way to Change Minds

Five takeaways:

It can seem impossible to change another person’s beliefs. Brooks cites one scholar who notes that one’s personal attachment to beliefs encourages “competitive personal contests rather than collaborative searches for the truth” when it comes to ideological disagreements.

Extensive survey-based research has shown that the two most widely shared convictions are: Harming others without cause is bad, and fairness is good. Beyond that, humans are excellent at finding things to disagree on.

Research shows that if you insult someone in a disagreement, the odds are that they will harden their position against yours. This is called the boomerang effect.

If we want any chance at persuasion, we must offer our opinions happily. Rather than as a weapon, as a gift– something we believe to be good for the recipient. This requires that we present it with love, not insults and hatred.

Brooks offers three tips for greater conversational persuasion:

Do not “other” your conversation partner by scornfully dismissing their held beliefs.

Do not react negatively to rejection, because such rejection is their right.

Listen to your conversation partner more– stronger listening can lead to deeper understanding of their convictions, which they are likely to reciprocate.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

Monthly Archives: May 2022

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