Parenting and Finance

I thought this post was worth sharing, in highlights, the subject is with regard to savings accounts for kids. Taken from here, emphasis mine:

"You have 16 years to teach him your values about education, how to treat others, money, responsibility, what words are inappropriate, table manners, etc. It's all a package. You can either have faith in your own ability as parents or not."

It can be so easy to question one's own parenting skills, but I guess it's also important to remember that our parents were able to do so, and lucky as we are to have good parents, we are doubly lucky to have a model/method to follow from our own experiences.

"Maybe I was naive and lucky, but I never considered not telling my children about their savings or not removing myself as custodian when they reached 18. My children knew from about the age of six (they were told before, but might not have understood the concepts) that we were saving money for them to go to college. Either then or by ten, they knew it was "their money," but they were expected to use it for college. By twelve, they knew the word "disinherited." Of course we never talked to them about going to college, only about going to graduate or professional school. [You shouldn't have to explain the benefits of going to middle school, and we treated going to college the same way - it's just another step along your path.]"

I thought that this was an interesting approach and I found it quite clever.  I actually agree with it, except I have concerns about putting implied pressure (internal within the child, or external from parents) on the child to get into a graduate / professional program.  Now that I think about it, this might have been what my parents did with me!  Hmm...having said all that, one can only push a child so far before they have to go forth on their own.

"I always thought honesty was a good policy, and children learn by what you do as much as by what you say. That's just one reason why I wouldn't hide the account if I were you."

The first part is a no-brainer.  The whole post is a good reminder of things to consider.  Lots for me to think about.

Star Trek: TNG

Just saying how awesome Amazon Prime is, I get to binge on Star Trek TNG from the beginning, which I have never actually watched in order before.

An Algorithm for Happiness

An interesting, insightful video.  It strikes me as something similar to the saying of "it's about wanting what you have, not having what you want," but takes it a step further.

His philosophy can apply to personal finance, saving money, and so many other things, simply living life and understanding happiness.  I can definitely understand how developing this philosophy probably helped him to move forward after the passing of his son, which sounded heart-breaking and really struck home for me.  It reminds me to take joy in the everyday and the time that I can spend with Little Ender.

Saga - update

Damn, this is a good series.  Like, really, really good.  Twists and turns, this comic is no holds barred and definitely not for kids.  This is especially so for the most recent volume that I read, Volume 7.  I laughed when I turned to page only to see a very graphic depiction of Mr. Robot Prince masturbating to thoughts of various women including his target/our heroine.  It totally caught me off guard.

I honestly can't wait for the next volume, especially in light of what happened at the end of this one. Arggggh!

In other news, I watched the final episode of Naruto Shippuden (episode 500) on Crunchyroll.  Oh, the feels.  I felt the same sadness when I finished the manga a year (or two?) earlier, albeit, less so because I knew this was a long time coming.  I'm not sure if I will watch any of Boruto, we'll see. Attack on Titan, Season 2 is coming, but I'll probably wait until it's finished before I sign up for Crunchyroll Premium again.  The Crunchyroll add-on for Kodi only works for Premium users, but it definitely worked great!

Just A Photo

Took this photo while on vacation.  Pretty nice!  Smartphone cameras are pretty damn good these days, taken with a Samsung Galaxy S7.  No, not the one that blows up.

Xtreme Comforts Bamboo Pillow Review

I had a memory foam pillow I tried from Costco, it was nice.  It was comfy.  I don't use it anymore for good reason.

Little did I know how important a feature it is for a memory foam pillow to be fully machine washable.  Seriously.  Little Ender (LE) really likes whatever pillow we use, and not the kid-sized one we bought for him, which is fine and dandy; until he gets sick and vomits all over your pillow.  Your memory foam pillow that ISN'T machine washable.  How the heck are you supposed to "spot clean" vomit?  Also, did you know memory foam acts like a sponge?

Desperate, I jumped on Sweethome and found the Xtreme Comforts Bamboo Pillow.  In short, it works.  It's quite supportive, and smells only a little bit, initially, gone in 24 hours depending how sensitive you are to these things.  It arrives in a sushi-like package, and then you rip open the plastic and it unfurls and expands.  Fluff it up, smash the heck out of it, or toss it in the dryer for a bit to spread out the shredded memory foam and you can sleep on it the first night.  Works great!  Until the pillow gets stolen by the wife.  Which then gets stolen by LE.  So now...we have 3 of these because other pillows were forcibly phased out by wear and tear, or LE's vomit.  Ah, the joys of daycare.

Standard size, queen size, and slim (for Little Ender.)  Get the slim if you're a stomach sleeper.

Now I can rest easy (ha) knowing if I have another emergency cleaning session, it's as easy as tossing them in the washer.

We took an extra step and got some waterproof pillow protectors too.  Because even though the pillows are easily washable, it's better not to have to wash them every time.  Worth it.

The Sandman - Finished!

Just finished reading the Sandman comics, and in a word, WOW.  I would say that it is deepest set of graphic novels I've ever read.  It's a fantastic piece of story-telling, the artwork is stylized, but totally works for the story that it tells.  It's amazing how the stories tie together and the different perspectives play in to the larger story and the concept of dreams.  Some of it was literally difficult to read, parts of the narration was in cursive to portray a different narrator, which I'm way out of practice as far as easy reading. Nevertheless, this is a series that I will probably read again, because I'm sure I'll notice something different next time.

10/10 - will read again.  For now, I'll say goodbye to the Endless.

I've also started reading Saga.  Very different, but the story is amazing so far, with very interesting, modern-day themes.  Can't wait to read more, but I'm maxed out on my ebook borrowing for this month.  Thank goodness February is short!