This first writing project deals with the circumstances, people and events in our past which have led to our present financial habits. I proposed this topic as the first of our group writing project as I had been planning to write something about our background and why we live the way we do.

We are one of those people who have a somewhat complicated history. In our first 25 years, we had lived in 3 different countries and called approximately 20 different places “home.” After several hours of attempting to put it all in prose, we have finally given up and decided to put our family financial history and relevant events in timeline format (and with authentic pictures), for your sake and ours.

A note before we begin: The time periods used to head each section are names of actual time periods from history; however, they are not all in correct historical order, but rather arranged to fit eras of our lives.

Pre-History

• 1978 July - Oakland, CA
  Mother, an art student from Taiwan, marries a young engineer and flight instructor from Japan whom she feels sorry for because he is poor and alone.

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Apologies for not posting anything of substance yesterday or today, but due to feeling a little under the weather these few days, I thought I would post a summary of recommended reading for those of you who are new to this blog, and a few news items from the personal finance blogosphere.

From Our Fourpence Worth

• Father’s Day
  If you’re still looking for a Father’s Day present, many of our ideas from Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions could also apply to fathers and father-figures in your life.
• Tax Rebate
  If you are truly interested in helping the US economy, check out Don’t Spend that Tax Rebate Just Yet for a few suggestions on how to and how not to spend your tax rebate based on an article by Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money.
• Motivating Children to Practice Music
  Take advantage of summer vacation to help your kids get ahead on their music practice and get the most out of your music lesson fees with some advice by Madoline, who majored in music and has had experience in teaching children’s piano lessons.
  • Motivating Children to Practice Music: Introduction
  • Part 2: Playing the Piano is a Privilege (Not a Chore)
  • Part 3: Playing Slower for Faster Results
  • Part 4: Divide and Conquer

  (If you like the image to the right, which is an original illustration by my sister Madoline, check out our CafePress store Mozartini for gifts and collectibles featuring this image and other artwork by the same hand.)

• Editor’s Picks
  We’re starting to get the hang of blogging (which was completely new to us when we started this blog in February), and have produced a few Editor’s Picks in recent blog carnivals:
  • The Frugal Literate’s Guide to Affordable Reading
  • Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions
  • My Favorite Money and Time Saving Websites
  • Guide to Safe and Smart Traveling with Pets
  • Lottery Tickets: Worthy Investment or Waste of Money?
  • Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt

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While gifts are a great way to show that you care, an important thing to keep in mind is that most mothers and grandmothers would probably prefer to spend quality time with their families on Mother’s Day rather than receive a fancy and expensive gift. The most frugal and meaningful gift would therefore be a family get-together: watching movies at her house, a backyard barbecue, playing games, a picnic at the park or going to the zoo with her children and grandchildren. If you do have such as family outing, make sure someone takes lots of pictures and provides her with an album or photo CD of the day. This is, of course, unless your mother lives with you and your kids and what she would like most of all would be an entire day of peace and quiet to herself at home.

As for actual gifts, we believe most mothers would appreciate something you made or put some thought and effort into. Below are some suggestions for Mother’s Day gifts. Ideally, you would do some of these things all year round, but Mother’s Day is a good time for them too. Not all of these ideas will suit everyone, but hopefully some of these will work for you and your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, or any other maternal figure in your life.

Note: Not all of these suggestions are really “frugal” as in “cheap”, but they are frugal in that they are ideas for prudent, useful and practical, but still meaningful gifts that show you’ve put thought and effort into it and, therefore less likely to go to waste as many commercial Mother’s Day gifts tend to.

Hobby Gift Baskets

A few suggestions for baskets you can assemble. You can often find nice baskets at dollar stores or at thrift stores for a very low price. Many of the items recommended in the following list (i.e. books and music) can be purchase used and still in good condition. Used items often clean up nicely with a bit of rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. And even purchased new, these items still make useful gifts with lasting benefits.

• For the Literary Mom
  If she likes to read, scour used books stores and library sales for books she would like (mysteries, vintage books, classics, etc. - paperbacks suggested) and assemble a book basket. You could even include a few snacks to enjoy while she reads (cookies, chocolates, cocoa, tea or coffee mix).
• For the Crafty Mom
  A basket of yarns, fabrics, sewing, knitting or crochet supplies. You could pick out a craft instructions book, find a project she might like and assemble the necessary supplies for that project.
• For the Musical Mom
  CD’s, sheet music, and music books. You might pick a particular theme such as Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, romantic piano, or Italian opera or music from her youth. For older moms, you might have to include a CD player. For pianist moms make or buy a cushion for the piano bench (the unpadded ones are incredibly hard even for young bodies).
• For Moms with Pets
  Assemble inside a new litter box or pet bed: treats and necessities such as grooming supplies, pet vitamins, hair catching tools, odor control, collars and leashes, training equipment, hair bows, super odor suppressing cat litter, car restraints (seat belts), and/or an obedience class paid for by you.
• For the Gardening Mom
  An assortment of seed packets with flowers, spices, fruits, and vegetables. The frugal mom may save a lot of money growing her own produce. For areas with insect problems, herbs such as lavender may deter bugs from the home. You can also include a book on using herbs for health and beauty and include seeds for the plants described.
• For Culinary Moms
  Collect free recipes online to present on index cards or a handmade book. You might choose recipes based on a theme, such as appetizers, a certain ethnicity, a favorite ingredient, or health benefits. You might wish to include few kitchen gifts like a baking pans, knives, silverware bought on clearance (we got ours for under $5), cheese graters, rolling pins, seeds for herbs or young herb plants. Instead of a basket, you could give a blender filled with fruits and smoothie recipes.
• For the Scrapbooking Mom
  Scrapbook supplies and the promise to provide future memories for her to document. Look for creative scrapbook materials such as pretty paper salvages from greeting cards, gift wrapping paper, and nice packaging from things you buy. Ribbon, beads, lace, small toys, letters of the alphabet cut from magazines, cards, and used books. Doilies and decorative embellishments can be purchased at half price or less after a holiday. Glue and scissors might be useful too.

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It is not easy to be young, single and frugal these days when designer clothing and accessories, iPods and Blackberrys are king, and being cool and having fun is dependent on how much money you can spend. Frugal is not a word often associated with the first 2 traits - young and single - and frugality is something looked down upon as uncool, un-fun and downright unnatural.

So here are a few basic points and tips for the young and frugal. They may not help you climb the social ladder, but keeping them in mind and practicing them in whatever you do can keep you from falling off, and maybe help you to climb up, the financial ladder. And remember that basics are not just for beginners. They are taught first to beginners not because they are easy and therefore less important, but because they are the foundation upon which to build everything else.

Basics for the Young and Frugal

• Frugality is a Virtue
  This is not just another feel-good phrase to make you believe something that’s not true. The word frugal actually comes from the Latin word for “virtue” or “virtuous,” “valuable,” “worthy,” “deserving,” and many other good things. Check out my post Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue and see for yourself. You should not be ashamed of being frugal; in fact, you should be proud that you are thinking ahead and planning and saving for the future - be it a down payment on a house or car, your retirement, a family, etc.
• Frugality entails sacrifice
  You will have to give up some luxuries if you truly want to save money. This doesn’t mean you have to give up every single joy in your life, but you will have to cut back.
• There is nothing wrong with staying home
  A little extra time to yourself at home is good. You’re paying rent or mortgage on your home, why not actually use it for something other than sleeping?
• It is never too late to take up a new hobby
  If you’ve always wished you could play a musical instrument, speak another language, sew or knit your own clothes, the sooner you start, the less time you’ll have for regrets and “if only’s” later. Invest in a useful hobby that will benefit you in later life as a professional or a parent, and stay home and practice it. For example, when you are a mother with a handful of children and not enough time in the day, you will be glad that you already know how to sew and mend clothing rather than having to learn to sew at that time.
• True friends will respect your choices
  If your friends put you down for your frugal lifestyle, then it’s time to find some new friends. Friends who really care about you will not repeatedly ask you to make sacrifices to feed their need to spend money. You don’t have to sever all ties with such friends, but there is nothing wrong with making new friends who share your values and can help you stay on track in your frugal lifestyle.
• It is never too early to think about your future
  Even if you are still 40 years from retirement age, you must start thinking about and take responsibility for your future. What if you’re lucky enough to live another 40 years after retirement? And this is assuming that all goes well and you do not need to take early retirement for any reason.
• A penny saved is a penny plus interest earned
  Check out my previous article Prune your spending and watch your savings grow and learn just how just a few dollars saved per day can turn into a small fortune over the course of 1-40 years.

Check back soon for suggestions for frugal activities and hobbies.

Advice on Motivating Children to Practice Music

from someone who once hated to practice the piano

In order to persuade anyone to read or believe what advice I attempt to provide, I must first relate that my strong disinclination for music practice is long past, and that not only did I major in music, but practicing the piano is now a favorite form of study and recreation. From growing up among other musicians and my little experience in teaching piano lessons, I have never doubted that inability or reluctance to practice is more common than it is uncommon. I have the firsthand experience of being a reluctant piano student and a trial upon the patience and efforts of several piano teachers and my mother and so would like to help those in that frustrating position by sharing my observations concerning the various reasons which may prevent regular and productive practice by young or beginning music students and offer some possible suggestions for improvement.

It is a funny thing that practicing the piano should seem to require so much discipline. My sister and I were really very easy to manage as children and teenagers. We did well in school, preferred to read books rather than go out, hardly spent any money, were never punished, and did everything expected of us except to practice the piano (we started learning at the ages of 5 and 3). In fact we both so severely disliked piano practice that our usual way was for each of us to play through our pieces for 20 minutes once a week just before walking to our teacher’s house. Incredibly enough, we advanced enough to show that our dislike of practice did not result from lack of ability because we successfully performed at recitals, church and school events, and our parents were proud.

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