Do your kids know how much your healthcare costs?
December 15, 2010
“I sat in on a group of teens to discuss healthcare a few months back. We watched Michael Moore’s movie, Sicko and then had a open discussion. These kids were all amazed at how folks that HAVE insurance are screwed by health insurance conglomerates (sp)!! They are didn’t know alot about the healthcare (coverage or lack thereof) in their own homes. They were very interested in the cost for them to be cover by their parents, if their family had insurance. The kids that were getting to the age where they would have to get their own coverage were very worried, if they could afford it and if the insurance companies would disqualify them (b/c nowadays this happens OFTEN)! I think that students should be exposed to the conversation/dialogue just so that they are aware b/c in the long run, it will affect them as individuals and as folks that end up caring for the boomers and us X’ers.”
OK, I don’t know where I got this quote. And I apologize for that. I found it way down in my pile of things to do for this blog. If it is yours, please let me know.
But, yeah. Do your kids know how much your healthcare costs? Do you have health insurance? Do they know that you do or don’t? Do they know what it costs you to go to the doctor each time? Do they know what it costs your insurance company each time you go to the doctor? DO YOU?
This is a great discussion to have with your kids. And a great thing to teach them. Especially in light of the discussions we have been having in this country over the past year. It’s important to prepare our kids for adulthood by teaching them about the cost of healthcare. And to help them get smart so that they, as a generation, can find new, innovative solutions for our country.
Justine
Whiny Rich and Working Poor
December 4, 2010
Over the past few days I have encountered all kinds of people in all kinds of financial situations. I have socialized with very wealthy people who have fretted over the long lines in the grocery store and the inconvenience of waiting in the car pool line at their kids’ private school. Wealthy folks who have stressed at needing to achieve *perfection* during the holiday season.
And I have encountered men who were so grateful to have some work on a Saturday morning that they seemed like young, energetic dogs, prancing around on their front legs, waiting for their next instructions.
I see all of these people and I realize, remind myself, that these people are each a priceless, loving human being.
And I then remember to teach this to my children. Over and over.
I teach my children that one’s financial position does not determine their worth. Although in this country, it seems that that is certainly the case much of the time. I teach my children that the working poor and the homeless did not intentionally get themselves there, typically, but they often have issues or problems that got them there. And I expose my children to folks like this on a regular basis so that they can learn this for themselves.
I teach my children that the wealthy also did not intentionally get themselves there, typically. Many of the wealthy our family knows have inherited their money or they just fell into exceptionally high-paying jobs. Yes, they worked hard. But not any harder than the moving guys who are grateful to have the work.
I also teach my children that they, particularly because they are Americans, have the opportunity to be any of these people, the Whiny Rich or the Working Poor, and could very easily. My children’s financial situation in the future will result from luck and hard work, but will also be shaped by the effects of structural violence and bigotry and economic cycles and how risks that they take play out.
Which is why they need to learn all about money. So that they can manage well whatever they earn or achieve.
Justine
Jon lodges his complaint about iTunes’ new tiered pricing
April 16, 2009
Last night Jon came to me and complained about the new pricing for iTunes.
Last week, iTunes introduced tiered-pricing, which you can read about here: http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/music/blog/2009/04/boom_boom_pow_itunes_prices_cl.html
The tiered-pricing system results in the most popular songs at iTunes being priced at $1.29 rather than at $.99.
Jon’s complaint was a great opportunity to teach him a little bit more about money. Jon didn’t understand why iTunes raised its prices on some songs, but not other songs. Jon and I have talked a bit about pricing elasticity and supply and demand in the past. But I never really had a real-world case to explain to him. And here was my opportunity!
I loved that fact that Jon thought that $.30 was a big enough deal to complain about. He said, “I know it’s only thirty cents, but it adds up!” I affirmed his viewpoint by saying that, indeed, it was a big deal. If the price of the movie that he goes to increases 30% from $7.00 to $9.10, that’s a big deal, right? He agreed. And I said that if the price of a car increased 30% from $20,000 to $26,000, that’s a big deal, right? He agreed. So thirty percent is thirty percent. It’s a big deal.
Through our conversation, Jon got a better sense about pricing and what things cost. This, to me, is an important concept to teach my kids. I want my kids to be conscious of prices when they make purchases. And certainly, Jon is!
Jon and I discussed other strategies for minding his money when it comes to music downloads. I pointed out that his sister NEVER pays for music downloads. Hannah goes into iTunes once a week and downloads all of the free offerings. Hannah has found such interesting new music that way. And Jon acknowledged that some of those free songs become hits later, and then you have it and paid nothing for it!
The article that I referenced above talks about shopping around for better pricing. I didn’t think to lead Jon down that road. In fact, I think Jon doesn’t like other music download services. But maybe the change in pricing will cause him to think twice about his not wanting to shop around for better pricing on music. And, as his parent, I need to make the suggestions, to take the lesson a bit further.
This was a fun conversation.
Justine
