More Mom, Quitting Moms, I'm OK - Now Pay Me! Weekly Family Finance Picks (#46)

We’re constantly scouring the Internet looking for articles related to family finances and teaching kids good personal finance habits. You can visit the FamZoo delicious page to see our ever growing list of family finance bookmarks. We’re up to 1479 now! Each week, we pick our favorite articles from the previous week and post them here.

This week, we’ve got more Mom stuff and an interesting new app, along with a bonus video.

Assorted Mom Money Lessons

by Various Authors on FamZoo Article Directory

In the wake of Mother’s Day last Sunday, there were several excellent articles about money lessons folks have learned from their moms — lots of great personal finance tips and touching stories. You can browse through the ones we liked here.

Sometimes, it’s good to take time out and reflect on what your legacy of lessons (financial or otherwise) will be for your kids. If your child were to write a future blog post with the title “Money Lessons I Learned from My Mom/Dad”, what do you think they’d highlight? Be honest. Do you like the answer?

Why Moms Should Quit

by Mel Robbins guest posting for Lisa Belkin on The New York Times Motherlode Blog

Now here’s a provocative twist on the mom theme: maybe it’s time to quit being one. Lisa features a guest post from Mel Robbins (BTW, Mel is a woman) that puts forth a case for “why every woman in America needs to quit.” Stop doing the household work — all of it — and make everyone else pick up the slack. A little extreme? Yeah, probably. But, there are definitely some valid points in here for women with capable husbands and kids (beyond the toddler stage) who aren’t pulling their weight around the house.

That said, I think this is the key quote in the article and the key impediment: “The hardest part is letting go of how you want everything done.” That’s generally the toughest part of effective delegation both at home and in the workplace. Are you able to let go?

I’mOK Wants To Reward Kids For Communicating With Parents On Mobile Phones

by Leena Rao on TechCrunch

You’re only human: when your teen’s out and about — especially at night — and you don’t hear from her, you worry. So, would you pay your teen to check-in with you regularly to let you know he’s ok? That’s the premise of this new app.

Hmmm. Seems like it might be taking incentives a bit too far. How about this incentive instead: “you don’t call us periodically, you lose the privilege to go out.” Seems reasonable. Your thoughts?

And for the bonus video this week, Alisa Weinstein makes a concise case for letting your kids learn to spend their own money, not yours (which is seemingly infinite).