Today we have the pleasure of an interview with Marie at Family Money Values, a site with an eerily appropriate name. Be sure to stop by and read about how personal finances impact a family and how, even if you have kids, you can still focus on your family's wealth.
1) How did you get started in personal finance blogging? What was your inspiration?
I had (and have) a message I felt was important – money brings it's own problems. I didn't feel that message was being conveyed anywhere and that a certain segment of our population would need to hear and be interested in hearing all about it.
2) What changed in your financial life as your family grew that was a surprise? If you can instill one financial value in your children in the future, what would it be?
What changed and was a surprise: Kids raised in the same household, by the same parents learned very different financial lessons.
One financial value: Money is just a tool – the work you do to earn it is the real reward – providing you with honor, respect and the self-satisfaction of making a contribution to society.
3) You discuss the possible downsides of wealth for families. What is the biggest downside and the best way to negate that problem?
I think the biggest downside differs depending on where you are in life and what you want out of life. In general though, I believe that being unprepared for the effects of wealth affects most people at some point in their wealth cycle. I'm hoping that FamilyMoneyValues can help educate and inform folks that they do need to prepare, as well as, on how to get prepared.
4) What is the biggest personal finance lesson you learned the hard way?
Bailing someone out of their financial mistakes by throwing money at them is not the way to solve the problem. If you really want to help, you somehow have to effect behavior changes. Sometimes that means letting the someone fail miserably.
5) Outside of blogging, what has been the biggest change you made to your financial life that made a difference? (i.e. making more money, frugal changes, budgeting, investing)
In our case, the biggest change happened when I chose a new career and worked hard to succeed in it. It immediately helped our bottom line. It provided bonuses, stock options and other opportunities for added income and it provided our children with a great example of a lucrative career path (which they both chose on their own to pursue).
