Ok, so I’m about to alienate all readers who don’t have kids right now – but hang tight for a second!
If you stick with me here, I think you’ll find some valuable lessons in personal financial planning.
We can all use some guidance when it comes to personal finances and getting a handle on our money.
It just so happens that my daughter’s favorite cartoon character, Dora the Explorer, can be a pretty good personal financial planning guide.
So let’s turn to Dora and find out her 5 things we need to know about personal financial planning!
Personal Financial Planning Tip #1: You Need a Specific Target
For those familiar with the show you’ll know that Dora’s always on an adventure.
She always needs to get somewhere to help someone or make it to a birthday party etc.
Dora always has a specific goal she is trying to reach.
We need the same thing when it comes to personal financial planning.
If you don’t know what you’re aiming for – whether it’s retirement, opening a Roth IRA, debt-freedom, a new house, college savings or something else – then you’ll never reach your goals!
Question: Do you have specific and targeted goals?
Personal Financial Planning Tip #2 - You Need a Plan
In order to get where she needs to go, Dora enlists the help of Map! Yeah, a not-so-clever of a name, but hey the target audience of the show is young kids – give ‘em a break!
Anyways, Map comes on to the scene and shows Dora how to get from point A to point B. He tells her where she needs to go and what to watch out for.
A personal financial plan or a tool like this Credit Card Payoff Calculator will lay out exactly what you need to do and when so that you can get to where you want to go!
Question: Do you have a personal financial plan?
Personal Financial Planning Tip #3 – You Need to Be Prepared
Inevitably in the show, Dora runs across some sort of challenge and she needs to use some tools or items to help.
But guess what, Dora is prepared! She always wears her trusty Backpack!
Backpack comes in, sings his little song and then opens up to reveal all kinds of tools at Dora’s disposal to help her stay on track!
We need to be prepared for the “What Ifs” in life.
We need to have emergency funds, we should really have the proper amount of insurance, and of course, we should really spend some time thinking about things you shouldn’t be caught dead without!
Question: Are you prepared for life’s “What Ifs”?
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Personal Financial Planning Tip #4 – You Need Friends to Help You in Your Journey
Dora’s got lots of friends! And they are all willing to help her out.
This is extremely important, especially when you are on a long and difficult journey like climbing out of credit card debt!
Any time we’re trying to reach our goals, we’ll be tempted to lose focus or just plain quit!
This is where accountability and friendship come in to play. Enlist the help of someone who won’t be afraid to challenge you and keep you accountable to your goals.
If you don’t share your goals with anyone, you are less likely to reach them. Get by with a little help from your friends!
Question: Do you have people who can help you in the journey?
Personal Financial Planning Tip #5 – Identify and Get Rid of the Swipers!
If you’ve never seen the show, Swiper the Fox always makes an appearance!
He loves to knock Dora and her friends off track, take something that doesn’t belong to Him or just plain mess up the adventure.
Dora and her friends get rid of Swiper by yelling, “Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping!” and eventually if they say it soon enough he leaves!
I guarantee you that you WILL have Swipers that come to knock you off track!
It might be in the form of a new outfit calling your name, a new car that is begging you to buy it or it might just be your credit cards that missed being swiped!
Swiper might even be you!!!
Be ready to say, “Swiper, no swiping” to yourself!!
Question: Do you get rid of the temptations that throw you off track?
My son is a teen, so I’m not familar with Dora, but those are definitely good tips
Thanks Jackie, Yeah, I can’t imagine a teenage boy being much into Dora!
My 2 1/2 year old daughter LOVES it though!
Having two kids, albeit teens now, I get this!
You should come up with an adult version, and put it on YouTube!
Kevin – great idea! I’ll get workin’ on that! Can I cast you in the role of Swiper the Fox?
Very clever
#3 I replaced with a spreadsheet, I have everything financially related in it
Thanks Money – nice job with the spreadsheet!
Jason,
I am familiar with Dora via my grandchildren, so I can appreciate the tips. Candidly, I was glad when they outgrew Dora (they are now 8 and 10), but I am not sure Jonas brothers are that much better.
Which of these tips are most relevant for me? Maybe getting friends involved for accountability purposes. Hosting FPU at our church keeps us pretty accountable and real, but Janice (my wife) and I keep those communication lines open pretty well and stay accountable to each other.
One tip my wife have is to save and pay cash. We have had enough credit cards.
One thing that Dora is praised for is teaching young kids spanish, and that’s another tool that we can learn from her. You need to learn the language you are working with, be it how to read a balance sheet, or how to speak the speak of finance. Without understanding the language, you will never understand what’s going on around you.
Really great post here!
Joe – yeah, I’m not sure Jonas Bros. are any better – at least Dora teaches Spanish as well!
That’s a great example to us all to talk openly with your wife and remain accountable to each other – great job!!
Ken, paying cash is a sure-fire way to not rack up any credit card debt!! Great job!!
Thanks Jesse – good point about learning the language – hopefully this post will teach some of that “financial planning language” so we can continue to move forward!!
@Joe Plemon Not me. I wish my girls wouldn’t have outgrown Dora (which they almost have). She was my younger one’s obsession for 2-3 years. If more adults would pay attention, they could learn a lot…not just about finances.
Gran post, Jason! Me encanta Dora la Exploradora! Al igual que David, yo también quiero que ella era todavía bastante joven como para su reloj. Por qué tienen que crecer tan rápido?
(Por favor, disculpe mi mal español!)
Mejor,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
Len, I’m thankful for the Bing translator!
I can already see my daughter growing up so fast it’s scary – I’m trying to soak up every moment I can with her!!
Gracias por tu comentario!
David – I am amazed at how much our daughter has learned from watching that show – she’s counting to 10 in Spanish now! Of all the shows that are out there, I really don’t mind this one
Enjoyed the personal financial planning post. This blog was worth bookmarking but this is going on Delicious now!
Who would’ve thought that a television show aimed at little children would be so helpful?
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It is refreshing to know that even though there are a whole bunch of television shows out there promoting pure folly, there is at least one show out there that isn’t.
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What other shows out there are promoting positive messages?
User0220 – Dora is one of the few shows that we’ll let our kids watch consistently. It’s surprising at how bad some cartoons are these days.
Warren Buffet has a cartoon on the web that is marketed towards children. It is called “The Secret Millionaire’s Club” and it is said to teach children basic financial lessons, such as knowing when things are too good to be true or how not to let your credit cards run your life.
my son is in love with Dora and we spend more time watching her than we do Diego. I love the analogies here, I always thought of Swiper as the devil trying to steal what Jesus had already purchased!