Cora and I hope you all are busy with last week's projects, because after you fill out the paperwork for the passports, the social security cards, and the bank accounts, you'll experience some downtime until these documents arrive. In the meantime, you might experience some gotta-have-it-right-now responses from children who expect things to arrive within a week or less. In answer to those "Are we there yet?" questions, we have some new goal-setting projects to fill in the gaps.

The goal behind goal-setting is to teach children patience, determination, and self-discipline. Additionally, goal-setting teaches our children how to hope and, alternately, how to handle disappointments. In the long run, our children also learn to understand long-term investments, because they begin to comprehend the difference between speculation and the realization of a dream. The first involves gambling, and the latter incorporates - you guessed it - goal-setting.

The only supplies you need for each project below is paper and pencils with erasers. Pencils and erasers are better than pens, because mistakes look better when they've disappeared. If your children want to draw their answers rather than write them, that's ok, too. You might have a budding artist on your hands, and you don't want to squelch that talent. On the other hand, if your child wants to draw rather than write because their writing skills are poor, these projects are great for them to bone up on those writing skills this summer.

The following list of questions need answers, and there are no "right" or "wrong" responses. Some answers might be unrealistic or highly improbable, but let them slide for now. Keep the answers in a safe place and pull them out again this time next year. At that point, your children can justify or change their previous goals. Who knows? This practice might become a family tradition, where siblings and parents compare what they've accomplished or discarded over the previous twelve months.

1. What are 100 things I want to do in my lifetime? This first project is easy and fun, because it loosens up the "I've got a dream" brain cells, and lubricates any rusty gears in the imagination. You might learn something about your children, also. Like, who knew that Susie wanted to ride an elephant, or that Tommy wanted to jump out of a plane (with a parachute, we hope!). You might find some children care about money (I want to be rich), and some children could care less about riches (I want to join the Peace Corps). Remind the Peace Corps child that it still takes money to prepare for retirement, and a diversified investment portfolio and an IRA are necessities for this task. Perhaps the kid who wants to be rich might become his or her sibling's financial manager?

2. From this list, what do I want to accomplish this summer? Younger children might get carried away with this question, because their concept of time and what they can accomplish within a certain timeframe may seem foreign. Teens might get carried away, because the concept of money is still foreign to those teenagers who don't work. However, if they have a chance to choose their goals, then they will also learn what it takes to accomplish them. Some goals might require your participation, and this is where you draw the line. Believe it or not, if your time is restricted by work or if you operate on a slim budget, these barriers might be beneficial. Your children may become more accomplished at achieving their goals without your help. One goal this summer could include choosing three specific companies for a real or imagined portfolio. You will open the "real" portfolio, and you can learn how to manage this goal go to BUYandHOLD's Family Financial Tips. The "imaginary" equities belong in their Watch Portfolios. To learn more about how to handle this BUYandHOLD tool, go back a few weeks and read "Too Late to Spring Clean the Watch List?"

3. From this list, what do I want to accomplish by this time next year? A year is much longer than a three-month summer vacation, so encourage your children to post these goals somewhere where they see them every day. Here, you might supply - or enlist - a little more support for a goal that requires more money or time. You'll know if your child really wants to play the piano, because all they want to do is listen to piano music and they head to the music department when you want to buy their tennis shoes. If their desire is strong, you may discover you found time and money to hunt down an affordable teacher and a used keyboard. Your child may also continue to watch their real or imagined portfolios at BUYandHOLD, but the deal is to watch, not sell, until the first year anniversary. At that time, your children can evaluate their equity positions and make decisions to sell or hold with your help.

Of course, you can add more questions, like "What do I want to accomplish in three, five, and ten years?" but some children are too young for these games. Teens, however, need practice with answers to these questions, because they may face them on job and college applications. Serve up the three questions above first to help them get a grip on possibilities. Also, I've learned to be available to help Cora refine or expand her goals, and to back off when she finds her own path. Although she's faced a few disappointments (not enough money or time to accomplish a dream), she's also learned how to wait patiently and to divert her energies into other activities. Along the way, she's learned that sometimes all a far-fetched dream (or a slow-moving equity) needs is just a little time to come to fruition.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin