Wuffle wrote:I would 'invest' twenty times the effort in the career chat than the investment chat.
Without the bung from you the free cash flow only comes from the leftovers from work. And the chat I had from dumb grafter working class parents put me on a low trajectory that I never recovered from.
W.
For the moderators - I know this has gone slightly off-topic but may I suggest it's still connected please. Thank you.
Thank you for your reply Wuffle. I totally agree with you. When she started at secondary school we carried on with our little incentivisation scheme. I'd noticed that at primary school she was doing very well but I got the feeling she was delivering what she could get away with. She was incentivised and she knocked the ball clean out of the park. Her results in the last year of primary school were even more incredible as we found out afterwards she had glandular fever. I'd like to think that she feels as if she is earning her JISA. And if that's correct she will protect her money. She is doing just that. We've also talked to her about discretion. She's aware that she's best not to discuss this with any of her friends. She came home one day from school and mentioned that the subject of pocket money was brought up by one of her friends. They all talked about how much they received such as £5 a week or £10 a week. She followed our advise and remained very quiet. She also said she realised how lucky she was.
When she brought her first report home from secondary school it was good. We hadn't set any targets for her. Nor have or would we. We explained to her that her report was important in future. At some point in the future she would be sat in an interview for a job or possibly further education. And if she worked consistently over the next 7 years her reports would show her commitment and discipline and personal development. We discussed her first report and suggested that she was more than capable of bringing her next report home with no 3's. A 3 being acceptable performance. Noting she did have far more 4's and 5's (5 being the top grade) than 3's. As I've said we set not targets. We outlined the value of her reports. We also told her she was in competition with no one else. We simply asked her to consider her reports as her personal best and something she could possibly improve upon with time, devotion and effort. Her last report had nineteen 5's and three 4's. The fist report was the only report with 3's on it. We've always encouraged her. We've never pushed or pulled. And all credit to her she has made the effort. Of course we have always been there in support.
We've also discussed her options when she's 18. I've explained to her that if she goes to University she may well run up a student debt. Due to long term health issues and an inability to add to my personal pension I am now in catch up mode. I am not sure we can afford to pay for her to go to University. What we have also told her is that a student loan is a debt and other than a mortgage we don't advise any form of debt. Save and pay. She wants to join the police. Our neighbour, a retired policeman, arranged for her to visit the local police station. They were very good with her and showed her the real job. She appreciated that. She has also read the various ways that she can enter the police force and wants to join at 18 and do an apprenticeship route. She's applied to be a police cadet 2 weeks ago.
Subject to the vagaries of probate and my sibling there's a possibility that my daughter will get a little something from her Grandma. Which is more than I will get
It's difficult to do what we are doing for our daughter and not worry that we are teaching her that money is "free". All we can do is place our trust in her. She has a far harder task ahead of her.
Oh ... actually I've just thought ... yes we do make one demand of her. If she feels that we, as parents, have given her the tools she needs to progress in life then please don't bother paying it back. Pay it forward and enjoy being a parent when that time arrives.
We've been looking at various investment options over the last day or two but Easter has got in the way and it's chocolate and relaxation this afternoon.
AiY(D)