How to use summertime for family bonding

MANILA, Philippines - It’s summertime! A lot of students heaved a big sigh of relief after taking their final exams. With the stress from waking up early, doing homework, and following rigid schedules taken out, parents and kids now look forward to enjoying the summer. This is also the time when family members can bond in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Family members are now choosing what activities to do together. Arts and crafts may be enjoyed together if you’re all into it. Other activities include swimming, basketball, tennis, taekwondo, cooking, dancing, singing, theater and many more.

Travelling together is one of the top family bonding activities during summer. This may be a trip to your hometown, or your favorite local spots like Baguio, Boracay, Batangas, Tagaytay. If you have enough budget, you go out of the country. Holy Week is Hong Kong week for a lot of Filipinos. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of Filipinos visiting other nearby Asian countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia.  If you have more time and money to spare, you go farther like US, Europe, etc.

These trips allow you to bond with your family members. Spending entire days and weeks together in one room enables you to learn more about each other. You will be surprised that your family members’ interests have already evolved.

Great bonding moments allow you to form stronger family ties.  It is very important to know what each family member desires. This is the only way you can support each other’s dreams. Engaging in meaningful conversation is key. Most of the time parents would ask about their children’s studies and this topic is not always pleasant especially for those whose kids go to very competitive schools.  But you still have to discuss it because you should know what’s happening in each other’s life.

Another topic that’s usually taboo among family members is money. Somehow, we are not very comfortable talking about it for various reasons. Some parents may have grown up not discussing it with their own parents. It may be an emotionally charged topic. Some parents may not want to burden their children with money matters so they just pretend that money is not a problem even if it is. Others just don’t think their children are ready to discuss it.
 

But the truth is money is an inevitable topic. Everybody needs money and everybody needs it everyday in all stages of life. So why not be the one to teach it to your children? Talk about money as a family.  Financial Literacy is not just a regular skill that can be taught outside of the home. It is a value system. So come and learn how to talk about money as a family. Book your family’s journey to Financial Happiness. Attend FQ: A WORKSHOP ON FAMILY FINANCE on April 27, 2013 Saturday at the Seameo Innotech, Commonwealth Ave. (near UP Ayala Technohub), 1:00 – 5:30 pm. This could turn out to be one of your most memorable summer bonding moments as you finally open up this personal and essential topic.

This is not your typical Personal Finance talk because you’re going to be with your entire family. You will hear and learn from both the parents and the children of the Fausto Family as they share their experiences on how they discuss money in a happy atmosphere.  You will learn the following skills:

 

• set your goals as a family
• raise your children to have high FQ (Financial Intelligence Quotient)
• include money talk in your romantic couple time without the stress
• align your core values with what you do with money
• make saving a habit
• invest according to your personality
• stay within your budget
• other family finance matters

Marvin, the father, has an extensive experience in the finance industry spanning 30 years. He was the founding president of the Fund Managers’ Association of the Philippines and president of the Trust Association of the Philippines in 2009 - 2010. He is currently the Chief Investment Officer of the country’s largest bank.

Rose, the mother, was an investment banker before she decided to be full time homemaker. A couple of years ago she wrote a book on parenting entitled Raising Pinoy Boys and the favorite chapter among readers turned out to be Chapter 6 Money Matters. Today she writes a column for PhilStar.com entitled Raising Children with High FQ and is a speaker on parenting and financial literacy.

Martin, oldest son, is now a young professional who’s a brand assistant at a manufacturing company. Enrique, second son, is a college sophomore taking up Management Engineering, and Anton, youngest son, is a high school junior, both at the Ateneo de Manila University.

All three sons have been savers and investors since they were very young. They have also been speakers in Financial Literacy workshops for the youth.

To reserve your slot, send email to maryrose_fausto@yahoo.com or text 0917-5395770. Tickets are at P500/head, inclusive of snack.

So before you book that summer vacation, book your family’s journey to Financial Happiness now and form a stronger bond with your family!