Raising Your Children to Not Feel Entitled

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I’m in a serendipitous situation, I suppose. I write this while sitting in a sparsely populated coffee shop. And in knowing that I’m writing on the idea of entitlement, I’m witnessing two events with, perhaps, a critical eye. To my left is a little girl who’s throwing a tantrum. I think you’d need the Richter scale to measure its magnitude. She wants a chocolate covered strawberry that she sees in the display, but her parents are telling her that she can’t have it. “WHY NOT?!” the little girl screams. “Because you’ve already had your breakfast, and it’s too early for a snack.”

I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but judging from the expression on her father’s embarrassed face, I think this little girl will win (she does). Over to my right, there is a girl who appears to be in her early twenties. She’s telling her mom why she needs a new cell phone. As an objective witness to this (apparently one-sided) conversation, I’d say that she doesn’t need a new phone. It sounds like she wants one, and not even badly. This conversation seems routine, and this girl is not trying hard to be persuasive. I get the feeling this happens a lot. And, ah yes, her mother looks out the window, exhales a cloud of apathy and says, “I’ll let your father know.”
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Goal Setting: Setting Personal and Finance Goals for 2009

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Goal Setting 2009 Goal setting, setting personal goals and financial goals in 2009 is what many of us are focusing our time and energies on, as opposed to making new year resolutions that are too often forgotten and dismissed within a matter of weeks.

With the current economic recession and concerns about job layoffs, getting out of debt or managing debt, the increasing number of home foreclosures in the U.S. etc, making a goal to get smart about money and money management is a wise decision for individuals and families.

Personal Finance Blogs

“Telling It Like It Is” is not a personal finance blog per se, although I have talked at length about the Entitlement Epidemic that has been running rampant in society for many years, and the effect entitlement has had on young children, teenagers, grown adult children and parents.

I am subscribed to a generous number of personal finance blogs who offer great advice, suggestions, reviews and recommendations on setting personal goals, financial goals, being frugal and saving money, as personal finance and frugal living is of interest to me.

I’ve read numerous goal setting software reviews and ultimately decided on the goal setting software that I liked best; I’ve purchased Suze Orman’s new book, “Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan”, and am currently re-reading Suze Orman’s book, “Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny” while waiting for Suze’s Action Plan book to arrive in the mail.

My Personal Goals for 2009

I hate to admit it, but I need to lose a few pounds since I’m beginning to develop a big belly, so losing weight is just one of my personal goals this year. Losing thirty five pounds by August 2009 is quite doable in my opinion. After reading many elliptical reviews and deciding between an elliptical trainer vs. treadmill, I’m confident I will lose this weight with the help of my brand new Elliptical Trainer, the Alli Weight Loss pill and a low-calorie, low-fat diet plan.

I/we have set financial goals for 2009 as well, so I thought I’d share with you a few blog posts that I’ve been reading lately, and while you’re at it be sure to subscribe to these blogs (don’t forget to subscribe to Telling It Like It Is too) for free updates either by RSS feed or email subscriptions.

What are your personal or financial goals for 2009? Lose weight? Get out of debt? Manage debt and/or save money? Start an emergency fund? Find a job or find a better job? Keep your house from going into foreclosure? Spend more time with your family?