I was listening to the Presidents speech about the need for government to create more jobs and to protect the union workers. That we have to change the old ways of government helping the “Rich get Richer” while the middle class and the poor suffer. It was a good speech.
When the speech was over I flipped the channel over to VH1 and watched an episode of “How the stars make their millions”. It’s an interesting show - depressing to see how many millions of dollars some of these stars are making compared to the average American worker. But I watched, I thought about the Presidents speech, about how he believes the Rich are taking advantage of the poor and I thought: “ We the poor deserve to be taken advantage of”… We ask for it. In fact, we go looking for it.
Taking Advantage of the Poor
As I watched the program and wished it was me making all those millions - I had to stop day dreaming and take note of a few comments made by some of the commentators.
“ Hillary Duff is worth $25 Million Dollars …”
As of this episode and the tax year of June 07 to June 2008 - Hillary duff has an estimated worth of $25 million dollars. How did she do it? Well, according to the shows commentators she [ intelligently ] tapped into the $100 Billion dollar Tween market. The tween market is made up of 11 - 12 year old children who buy anything and everything the stars they love so dearly sell, endorse and push down their throats.As one commentator put it:
“Hilary is making millions because all these tweens have Parents who buy them everything they want.”
Not only are our kids being taken advantage of by marketers who are selling them junk saying they need this or that to look cool, grown up - or grow up to fast, but now they push garbage endorsed by the stars they love at them. The sad thing is these kids have no money - their Parents are the ones who are going out of their way to buy these products and going to extremes to get them what they were told by some commercial they needed to have.
* need a book bag - get the $60 dollar Hillary bag.
* you want your third pair of $100 dollar sneakers - no problem.
* Oh how cute - your dog has a thirty dollar Hillary Duff sweater.
Why the Rich get Richer
People always get angry and blame the rich for their problems. We all say things are “unfair” - but we forget, who ever said anything in life is fair? But since we have to blame some one - lets blame the Rich, then the government and the schools. After all, it can’t be our own fault - can it?
The reason why the rich get richer is because they think & lead - the poor just follow. We want to work less, get paid more and spend even more. In fact, we have sunk so low as to allow ourselves [ Parents ] to be used by marketers, as the tool to train our children to spend with no control, on garbage they really don’t need [ and if you think about - don’t want ].
A $3 dollar T-shirt can sell for $25 dollars if you slap Hillary Duff’s name on it. So what do we parents do? - we go out and buy our child three or four of these poorly made, over priced pieces of garbage. Do you remember those Cabbage Patch dolls? Tickle me Elmo? Parents were killing each other to get one of those stupid dolls…. I wonder where that $300 dollar Elmo doll is now????
Teaching our kids to invest in themselves
Martha Stewart [ Sept 16, 2009 ] on CNBC said that“ Due to the recession people have gotten use to living without the things they don’t need. It’s our job to get them to start buying again & find that which will drive them to the stores. “
Interesting that she would choose to say “things we don’t need”…
My daughter is 12 yrs old and she’s being bombarded by TV shows, commercials, movies and even by her gullible friends - who all want to influence her on what she should wear, how she should dress and so forth.
I find myself trying very hard to teach her how to be wise with her money. To learn how to think for herself - invest today rather than wait until tomorrow. Who really needs 20 pairs of shoes … gosh you only have two feet. I try to teach and instill in her the idea that she is her own person and that pier pressure comes in all forms - even when it comes to money, saving and investing. Instead of being a blind follower - set goals, be independent, work on reaching those goals, strive for financial independence. Despite what she hears on TV - the government is not there to take care of you.
I sit with my daughter now almost every other day and we read “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. I talk to her about self worth, preparing now for the future, managing money, instilling the idea into her that it is better to be the business owner than the employee of a good company. I teach her about principals that can help her in all the facets of her life. That mistakes does not mean failure - but an opportunity to learn and succeed. That what others say about you does not define you. That just because the crowd is scared to excel - that we should not conform to mediocrity.
Even simple every day situations are used as a means to teach:
* You want new shoes? Save for it or create more money.
* You want to have fun - fine but don’t forget your responsibilities, goals.
* Your young - not dumb!
Today she might think dad is a bit pushy, she may enjoy the time we spend together & our talks but not grasp all the concepts I share. But my hope is that little by little - what I share with her will sink in. That what we’ve read and talked about will make sense and she’ll be able to weigh both side of the argument. Do I try to be a follower and poor - or be my own person and have financial freedom. Even if she doesn’t become rich - she will be better off in the long run.
As a side note: As I strive to learn in order to teach my children a better way - I put what I learn to practice. Your never to old to learn and improve.
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