I am currently reading Boundaries (affiliate link), a book by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. Last Thursday I shared the concept of hurt vs. harm and how it can apply to our personal finances. Today, I’ve got another concept from the book that’s worth sharing: the baby bird in an egg.
A baby bird naturally pecks its way out of its egg. This aggressive “workout” strengthens the bird’s systems. If someone were to help the bird out of the egg, the bird would be deprived of the necessary workout, thus lessening the bird’s chance of survival.
In the same way, it’s important to do your own financial workout and “strengthen” your financial skill for your future. If you allow others (like a spouse or financial advisor) to gain ALL the financial knowledge and you don’t know anything for yourself, won’t it be hard to survive alone?
Ok, enough with the analogies. Here are the carnivals I participated in this week:
- The Carnival of Tips over at Tip Diva.
- The Make It From Scratch Carnival #50 was hosted by Stop The Ride!
- The First Carnival of Cash Back & Rewards was held at Me vs. Debt.
- The Carnival of Personal Finance #138: Superbowl Team Edition was held at Paid Twice. Can you spot which position I was?
- Lastly, the Carnival of Everything Finance #12 is over at Everything Finance.
This week I tagged a few bloggers to share what was in their wallets. Here are the one’s that have responded so far:
Finally, here are some interesting articles from this past week from around the personal finance blogosphere:
- Need to know How to Get a Great Deal on a New Car? Glblguy has the answer in part one of this series.
- Find out if THEY owe you cash. Hu$ter presents a List of Class Action Settlements
- Patrick rolls out another solid comparison: Roth IRA vs. Traditional – Which is Better?
- If you still have a landline you should check out How to Remove Your Phone Off of Google from Green Panda Treehouse.
Photo: by warein.holgado
- Prime Time Money: @WordCamp Dallas Roundup
- Prime Time Money: Regular Ole Roundup
- Prime Time Money: “Lost Luggage” Roundup
- Prime Time Money – Cheap Haircut Roundup
- Prime Time Money: Everyone’s Ready for the Tax Rebate Roundup
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Great analogy. My wife has always been responsible about paying bills and handling money, but she didn’t know much about investing when we got married. I’ve been teaching her the basics, slowly but surely. It’s a good thing for everyone to know.
Thanks for the mention.
I am trying to figure out why I feel uncomfortable about something- My husband and I are saving for a car, we are debt-free, have $10,000 for an emergency fund, and have $2,000 in the future car savings account. Dad said to me he wants to “match” our car savings and help us get a car a lot sooner. This bothers me. I want us to do this on our own. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Help me sort this out!! Am I wrong to not want his “gift of a match” or what? I’m confused… thanks.
@Anna – Thanks for the comment and question. Hopefully others will chime in.
I think what’s missing for me to accurately comment are two things: 1. Does your Dad know of your solid financial position and smart choices or does he think you are struggling? 2. Do you sense that your Dad is doing this to assert control over you and your husband?
If your Dad is simply proud of your solid financial situation and is motivated to help you out with some extra funds that he has, I say take him up on it, as long as you guys discuss that there are no strings attached.
On the flip side, you may be offended because you think that he thinks you are struggling. If that’s the case, then politely share with him that you aren’t having trouble, but are just making a smart choice.
Anyone else have something to share?