Yesterday, I shared with you some of my notes from a seminar I attended (Raising Money Smart Kids). Today I would like to share one more thing that encouraged me as I sat through the seminar. More than the practical tips and financial advice I got, what I actually appreciated more was the fact that the whole family was involved in the event. As you sit there and listen, you would know what their family stood for. Of course, saving and making money grow were obvious interests that ran from the parents to the children, but more than financial values, you could tell that the Faustos stood for family— that family was a priority. I appreciated the fact that they not only brought their children with them to listen, and perhaps offer moral support, but all three children were actually present to also contribute their ideas on the topic.
Their eldest son, Martin.
Their second son, Enrique.
The youngest Fausto– Anton.
(I just edited and added this. Thank you Rose, for sending me a photo!:))
Eep! I can’t believe I wasn’t able to take a picture of their youngest son! ….But this is a cute picture of the couple, don’t you think?
I seldom see this nowadays, and so it quite refreshing and encouraging. I wish to see more parents and children involved in each other’s lives (in a positive way)— even beyond their teenage years. I hope to see more of the next generation rise up as a response to the mentoring and discipleship that occur in their homes. I am believing for more children who will grow up to embrace the values that their parents would teach them.
Of course, I also pray for the parents, that we will be the first ones who will lovingly guide and shepherd our children’s hearts. I pray that we will not need to shove our values down their throats, but that as we live our lives with integrity, they would want to embrace our faith and values as well. I pray that the things we love and believe in, would be a family affair— in agreement with our spouse, and owned by our children.
We attended a seminar last weekend on Raising Money Smart Kids by Rose Fres Fausto, author of Raising Pinoy Boys. Coming from a family who didn’t talk much about money matters, this was very helpful.
Here are some of my notes:
1. KNOW YOUR OWN MONEY VALUES. Your values serve as the foundation for all your decisions. If what you do with your money do not agree with your core values, there will still be no joy there.
2. HAVE CONSISTENT MONEY VALUES WITH YOUR SPOUSE. You cannot teach anything if you are not united.
3. START YOUR CHILDREN’S FINANCIAL LITERACY JOURNEY. The best time to start is as soon as they are born. The second best time to start is now.
4. TEACH THEM THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NEEDS AND WANTS. Live within your means.
5. TRAIN YOURSELF TO BE SAVERS. Pay yourself first.
6. GO BEYOND SAVING. INVEST FOR GROWTH. Teach children that you don’t just save so you have something to spend. We don’t want them to think that as soon as they have the money they can just spend any way they want. Try at the very start to expose them to things where they could earn money.
7. MAKE SAVING AND INVESTING REGULAR AND AUTOMATIC. Our objective is to accumulate real wealth, and real walth doesn’t happen overnight. It is a fruit of regular, consistent, small steps. We want saving to become second-nature for our kids in terms of handling money. The idea is to make it automatic so much so that it becomes harder not to save.
8. USE EVERYDAY THINGS AS TEACHABLE MOMENTS.
9. TEACH THEM THE VALUE OF HARDWORK AND PATIENCE.
10. TEACH THEM HOW TO MAKE THEIR BALANCE SHEET (Statement of Asset, Liabilities, Net Worth).
Some extra notes:
• Work on a healthy self esteem in our children. Then the peer pressure to have the latest or nicest things will not matter that much.
• Show them that money is a tool for helping others.
• Do not overgive to your children.
What I love about attending seminars that have anything to do with teaching our kids is that it forces me to assess my character and habits first. I cannot give what I do not have; I cannot teach what I do not know; I cannot impart what I am not. I thank God for giving me tools that sharpen me and my character, helping me to be more effective in training my children.
Thank you and congratulations to Rose and her boys on a successful seminar!
Here’s another mother-daughter dialogue over lunch:
Alyanna:”Mom, why are you so quiet all of a sudden? Are thinking of how to fix our house?”
Me: “Hmm…not really, but yeah I’m also wondering about that, I guess…”
Alyanna: “But mom, you don’t have to! Our house is perfect!”
Me: “Oh, thank you! But when you say perfect, what do you mean? What makes you say that it’s perfect?”
Alyanna: “Well, because you’re special. So even when you’re just thinking about fixing, it’s already special. It’s already perfect to me. Does that make sense or you still don’t get it?” (She was so cute when she said this, so…feeling grown-up!!)
Me: “Hmm…Can you explain that some more please?”
Alyanna: “I said, diba you’re special to me? So that means whatever you think about, it’s special also. How you fix the house, it’s special to me na….so it’s perfect for me!”
This couldn’t have been a more timely reminder for me. As homemakers, we (or is it just me??) easily get caught up with trying to make the house look nice and neat, with the intention of providing our family with the best experience of “home”. I need to get all the countertops organized! I need to arrange this so it would fit perfectly and go with that! I need to fix this and work on that!
What Alyanna said struck me: our home is perfect, our home is special…because mom is special. She didn’t require for her room to have all the best stuff, nor her closet be filled with the nicest clothes, nor her shelves be lined with the most expensive toys. She didn’t mind the current mess that’s sitting in our hallway waiting to be moved before she could say that our house is perfect.
THIS….is “perfect”?!???
Our kids’ definition of perfection is different from how grown-ups would usually define it. Their perception of a perfect home is not based on how their house looks like, but about the people that make up their home— their family. In short, they would rather have me playing with them and sharing memories with them than me spending the entire time fixing our house or finding nice things to put in our house. They would rather have me and be with me.
Mom is special, and that’s what makes the home special!
And it doesn’t matter to them either that mom often make mistakes (in my case, a lot of them! hehe). To them, mom is perfect on the basis of her place in their hearts— because she is special. And as long as they are with mom (and dad of course), home is special….and perfect.
We started day two with a delightful breakfast treat at the Enchanted Garden. It is located at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which is very appropriate as it matches the whole Victorian-inspired theme of the hotel. I’ve been wanting to try dining here, since first of all, it’s a buffet (who doesn’t like buffet???) and also, I wanted the kids to experience dining with some of their favorite Disney characters.
Did someone say “buffet”???
So you eat here too, Mickey?
At first, Mika was scared and refused to go near the characters. I don’t know, I think it was the thought of the characters she usually just sees on TV coming to life and being so close to her that intimidated her. But after a while, she couldn’t stop running to them and hugging them! I was extremely happy for her! She overcame her fear!
Goofing around with Goofy
I’m loving your smile, Alyanna!
Mika can’t get enough of him!
I tell you, this restaurant could not just boast about their concept of having the chance to meet and greet the Disney stars, but their good food, too! (Again, you would have to watch out for my food-dedicated post for this!)
After filling our tanks with enough energy supply for the morning (well, honestly I think what we ate was enough to provide us with energy for the whole day), we headed off to Disneyland park once again.
Even though it was our second day at the park, I still marveled at the sights and the atmosphere of the place. Upon entering Main Street, USA, you quickly forget about everything else and feel that you are entering a whole different world. Main Street, USA is where you can find all sorts of stores for different souvenir items that you might want to bring home. From photographs and jewelry for the grown-ups, to the candies and toys for the kids—Main Street, USA is where you go to look for all Disney items you desire to keep.
Main Street, U.S.A. at night
Ever since we stepped foot in Hong Kong, the kids have been excited to ride the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters so off to Tomorrowland we headed. My girls have some competitive blood in them, and so the idea of earning points and checking to see how they measure as space rangers was exciting for them.
Tomorrowland has other rides that kids and kids-at-heart can enjoy such as the Space Mountain, Orbitron, UFO Zone, and Autopia.
Next stop: Fantasyland! Here we find more rides that kids would enjoy. Mad Hatter Tea Cups, Cinderella Carousel, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and my girls’ favorite—The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
We tried all the rides until it was time for lunch (yay!) . We headed back to Tomorrowland to eat at the Starliner Diner, which served American food. We wanted something that was quick to eat, since we had to catch the next schedule for the Stitch Encounter. The Stitch Encounter caters to different languages, so you would first have to check the schedule for your preferred language.
I can’t really tell if they are hungry…. :p
After the Stitch Encounter, we were actually considering going back to the rides and skipping the parade since we were already here the previous day, but as we were walking along the Sleeping Beauty Castle, one of the cast members spotted the girls and gave them Very Important Princess (VIP) passes to the parade! Of course, we couldn’t pass up the chance for the girls to get the to join the parade again— and dance with the princesses this time!
Thank you for the VIP passes, Yin!
Snow White is saying hello to mini- Snow White
The Princess Dance
After the parade, it was time for us to catch the Festival of the Lion King (in Adventureland). I am amazed at the excellence of their production! I have always been a Lion King fan, so I especially enjoyed this show.
When we were done with the show, the girls requested to have a repeat of some of the rides, after which we used the rest of our time at the park to have our photographs taken with other princesses.
Took this shot while waiting for our turn to have our pictures taken. It really looks like a real castle!
Cinderella, meet Cinderella. Prince Charming, you’d have to wait 30 years before you can meet Alyanna! Hehe :p
Snow White, say hello to Snow White.
I loved our pace today, so relaxed—appropriate for the very cool weather.
So “at-home” in their backyard
As it was getting dark, we decided it was time to go back to Disneyland Hotel. We were going to have dinner at Walt’s Café. What a perfect way to cap off a relaxing day—with a relaxing and sumptuous dinner! I had one of the best coffee (if not the best) I’ve had in a long time. Thank you, Walt.
Day two, done. Tomorrow, we head back home. Oh how I wish I could stay here forever…
We took the first flight to Hong Kong so we had to wake up really early to be at the airport on time. I was a bit worried that the kids would have a hard time waking up and getting dressed but I was wrong. They were their most energetic selves at three in the morning!
Up and about so early in the morning!
Aside from the crew being so approachable and accommodating, I’ve always appreciated their energy. And I especially enjoy the games each time I fly via their airlines! They seem to have the gift of innovating and coming up with awesome ideas to make our flying experience memorable. Who ever said that you can’t fly and have fun at the same time??
The first thing on our itinerary upon arrival in HongKong was…wouldn’t you know it… LUNCH! Our first real meal for the day was well worth just having coffee bun and eggs for breakfast! We were brought to Crystal Lotus in Hong KongDisneyland Hotel, and oh I have to say—you definitely have to try eating there if you get the chance! I will dedicate a whole different post for all the food we ate. Suffice it to say for now, that Crystal Lotus made me one very, very, very happy mommy.
Ready for lunch at Crystal Lotus Restaurant
Enjoying the kiddie plates and utensils!
After lunch, we headed off to Disneyland Park. We were just in time for the Flights of Fantasy Parade—a must-see when you’re in Hong Kong Disneyland! We had a wonderful view of all the beloved characters in all their colorful costumes and floats, singing the song that’s still stuck in my head until now—“Come along and sing the song and join the jamboree! M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!”
Yay! Perfect spot to watch the parade!
With our very friendly tour guide Janice
I am most happy about the fact that Alyanna overcame her shyness and actually joined in when one of the dancers approached to get her to join them in the parade. I saw that proud look on her face. I was pretty proud of her too. If you know my daughters, getting them to do anything in front of a crowd is a major feat!
