Hello. Hope everyone is doing well this week. I greatly appreciate the people that are following my blog. With everything that has to be done to market a book, time can get away from us very easily. So sometimes we will be a day or two late with the blog and a couple of times we haven’t posted a weekly blog. I just wanted to let you know that and also let you know how much we appreciate your support.

As we told you we have been testing different names and subtitles with our ads. Once we determine the subtitle of The Doorway we are going to have a special offer, which we will let you know about once it is ready. Stay tuned.

Now for this week’s story:

One of the things that I have always been able to do is to see value in other people. Because of this when I was a young boy I liked to hang out with older people. I figured that they had wisdom that comes with time and I could save time by learning this wisdom from them. The reason I am writing this blog series, Teaching The Game of Life, is to pass on some of the knowledge I have accumulated during my 62 years to everyone.

Bills and Credit Cards – When I graduated from high school and started making my way in the world, I had no idea what I was doing. For this reason I got myself in financial problems early on.

When I was older I was thinking back on those days, and as an inventor I asked the question, “Why did no one teach me and my fellow students how to handle bills?” Although it should have been taught in school, first and foremost it is the parents’ responsibility to teach their children how to survive. Because of this my wife Deb and I decided we were going to teach our kids how to handle bills.

She and I thought about it for awhile. How should we go about teaching how to pay bills and how to be responsible with money? We decided the best way to teach them was to have them pay bills just like mom and dad does.

Deb and I got out some paper and made up bills, water bill, electric bill, cable bill and so on. One of the bills we gave them was a savings bill. They literally had to pay their savings account $1 every week. This taught them to save money for a rainy day. On each one of the bills we wrote the amount they needed to pay. For example, 2 dollars for their water bill and so on.

When it came time to give them their allowance, Deb and I would give them 25 one-dollar bills. We would then sit down with them and they would pay their bills. We would even give them discounts. If they turned off the lights when they weren’t in the room, they saved on their electric bill, or if they closed the door during the winter, they would save on their heating bill. After paying their bills they would have five to eight dollars left for the week.

Once we had our kids used to paying bills, Deb and I added a credit card. We cut cardboard to the size of a credit card and wrote credit card on it. After our kids paid all their bills, Deb and I acted like the credit card company. We told our kids that they could have more money to spend this week if they used their card. We also told them that next week they would just have to pay a little more than they borrowed from their card. We acted like the card companies do, we are your best friend, and it’s ok to borrow a dollar or two.

Our kids each borrowed a dollar from their card for the week. However, when it was time to pay their credit card bill at their next weekly bill paying session Deb and I told them they had to pay $3 dollars for the dollar they borrowed. The kids told us “that’s not fair.” We told them that’s how credit cards work, if you don’t use them right, they steal your money.

They asked us “how do we use them right?” We told them, only borrow money from credit cards if you have the money and you can pay it right back or if it is a dire emergency. Our kids only borrowed from their cardboard credit card once and as adults they use their cards very wisely.

After our kids learned to pay their bills and about credit cards the next thing we needed to teach them was the first step in bookkeeping. Deb and I went out and got one simple ledger book for each of them. We then taught them how to enter their bills and keep track of them.

This way of teaching them how to handle money worked so well that today they are both in their thirties and they have always handled money well.

One of the tragic things that occurs in our society is that so many of our kids get themselves in financial trouble right out of High School. This puts them in a terrible place with their first step into our society. Teach everyone at an early age how to pay bills and how to be responsible with money.

If you like the technique Deb and I used to teach our two kids about money and bills, please feel free to use it with your loved ones. Also if you would forward this message, together we can help millions of kids start their lives knowing how to stay out of financial trouble.

The Doorway – Subtitle coming soon

“They told me I was useless; they told me I wasn’t going to amount to anything… until one person came into my life that changed my world forever and now I want to do the same for you. In You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It!, you will learn how to go from feeling like there’s no hope left to loving your life again… starting today! If you need to find yourself then this book is for you. With beautiful drawings and real inspirational stories that will change your life for the better, faster than you ever thought possible, it will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about life. Finding your purpose in life and becoming the best version of yourself shouldn’t be hard, and that’s why this book was made for people just like you. Through all the hardships I went through in life –  being partially blind, not being able to spell, and watching my loved ones pass on to the spirit world – I  was blessed with this message to share with you. Not only do I show you how I overcame it all, but I show you how you can overcome your hardships too in a way that makes you feel good to be alive. Your best life begins as soon as you read this book.” – Neal G. Brownell

Order today at http://www.youreamazingandillproveit.com

As always, I welcome your comments and stories. If you would like to follow my blog, please click on the plus (+) sign in the upper left-hand corner of this page. See you next week!

You’re Amazing And I’ll Prove It!

Neal G. Brownell

845-657-3009

nealgbrownell@gmail.com

http://www.nealgbrownell.com

http://www.youreamazingandillproveit.com

knowledgeisfreedompublishing@gmail.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/nealgbrownell.author.publicspeaker

Twitter:  @NealGBrownell

Guest on –

Be Awesome Podcast with Dr. Kristina Hallett (air date 3-3-20)

Heroes Like You Podcast with Joe Belliston (air date 3-5-20)

Let’s Live! with Thurman Greco – Woodstock, NY cable TV – Nov. 2019

Beyond Risk and Back with Aaron Huey (air date TBD)

Which Way? with Shari and Jann Simmons (air date Friday 1-10-20)

The Empowered Whistleblower with Dawn Westmoreland (air date 2-24-20)

The Power To Pivot with Elizabeth Miles (air date 3-16-21)