This week's Marriage and Families...

This week, we discussed raising children and different parenting styles. Four of them were discussed, three at great length. One of them was the authoritarian style, which discouraged free exchange of thoughts and ideas and basically taught children "be seen and not heard" or "do as I say". One of the positives (in fact, the ONLY positive) associated with this style of discipline is that children are taught early on to respect parental authority. The negatives are many, including low self-esteem, depression, irritability, moodiness, and unfriendliness.

The permissive parenting style does not impose any restrictions on a child or children, and they are encouraged to do as they please. The positive aspect of this type of parenting is that children are given confidence and self-esteem and not hemmed in by rules. The negative aspects are that children who are raised with this style of parenting are often immature, rebellious, and irresponsible in their adolescent--and quite possibly, their adult--years.

The authoritarian style of parenting is demanding and restrictive, but to the proper degree. Verbal give-and-take is encouraged, with parents focusing on the rights of the children as well as of themselves to parent. This produces focused, respectful, achievement-oriented children in the long run.

The fourth style of parenting is uninvolved parenting. This type of parenting shows little or no interest in what a child is doing or has done, be it good or bad. Uninvolved parents can be seen as neglectful in the eyes of society.

Taking this course really helps where I work, where I do see all different types of parenting styles; and I think about how I want my own children to be raised. Education is very important in this regard; also, if one wants to become a social worker, he or she would have to know the signs to look for in a family if there is evidence of discord, stress, or abuse.

I have to get moving....

I still haven't registered for the coming quarter; I know, you might say, "What's wrong with you?" But again, this has been a particularly tough time for me. It's not an excuse; it's just that some things have taken place that have sort of thrown me for a loop. I won't let that happen to me again, though, no matter how bad things may get. I intend to rectify this come Monday.

So we're discussing marketing research this week, and the different ways that firms market to customers and prospective customers based on their spending habits and patterns. Truthfully, although it can help in determining a customer's interests and helps a company to determine what may best suit a customer's needs, it is also somewhat invasive and impersonal. A computer is allowed to gather information about you based on what you spend, and one of the main ways they can do so is through the use of the store cards that many stores offer these days. Credit card purchases are also tracked, so as to allow a company to send you coupons for use on products that you normally buy or similar products.

This keeping of a daily spending log for Finance is a really helpful tool (I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating). I have cut back on unnecessary spending in so many ways because of it, and I might have a dollar or two to retire with, after all.

Disappointment...

I am disappointed with myself this quarter (and no, not because of my grades or anything). I'm disappointed because despite joining two online clubs in an effort to be more than just a student in academics only, I haven't really participated in them the way that I feel that I should. So, I'm just taking this time out to apologize to any faculty and students who might be reading. I've had some personal setbacks this term that I won't really get into in this blog, but mark my words: I WILL DO BETTER. I will start making more use of the Student Services, Financial Aid, and Career Services sections on Blackboard, as well (and Carol, I haven't forgotten you, either; I just need to get you an updated pic).

Well, back to the class front, we're doing some research online with regard to stocks for Finance. While we're all pretty hopeful that the market will eventually turn itself around, you can't blame us if we sound less than hopeful. From what I've heard economic analyst say, they haven't seen the economy this bad since the Great Depression--and they fear that it'll be worse than that. I wonder what the Finance Club's take is on the economic crisis facing us. I'll definitely be checking in these next couple of weeks.

In sociology (Marriage and Families), we're learning about child rearing and differences in parenting and discipline styles. This chapter was a challenge to me, considering that the way I was raised is what some people look down on. But for the most part, I saw myself in the light of a child who was loved and well taken care of, particularly inspiring considering my mom was a single mother of THREE. But she went to school, worked part-time, and kept us clothed and fed, and kept a roof over our heads, contrary to some of the findings in the book concerning African Americans and parenting.

Sociology test....

I just turned in this week's sociology GHA, and it was a discussion on singlehood and why people choose to be single and what some of the common myths are about singlehood. One of the reasons mentioned that people are remaining single for a longer period of time is to focus on school and their careers. And I thought about that with regard to my situation; I know that right now I'm in no position to get married and care for anyone else other than me (although I do have a niece who I'm responsible for). While being single, I can complete my education and get myself set before I can focus on a husband and family.

Think about it; I'm learning valuable life lessons right now in class that can help me if I should ever choose to get married (which I'd like to, but I'll be fine if I don't, because I'll know how to take care of me). With regard to finance, I'm learning how to make wise choices that will make me savvy with my money; with regard to marketing, I'm learning how to present my "product"--myself--to prospect employers; and with regard to sociology, I'm learning how to be a better person and a productive citizen.

Rate of return on investments.

This is one of the things we discussed in Finance this week. We talked about why it is important to diversify investments, and how risk was related to the rate of return on investments. The one thing that was mentioned was that diversification was important because while it didn't guarantee a return on investments made, your money spread out in different investments would have a greater chance of a higer return than all of one's eggs put into the proverbial basket. For instance, the employees who invested all of their funds in Enron stocks lost their entire investments. If they had diversified portfolios, they might not have lost their entire investments. We also talked about how the rate of return was related to risk; it stands to reason that the higher the return expected on an investment, the higher the risk was for that investment. For instance, with a stock vs. a CD, a CD guaranteed a return on investment, but at a lower rate, whereas a stock yielded a higher rate of return, but the risk was higher because there is no guarantee that the stockholder or investor would get a return on their investments. The chapter implored investors to consider the pros and cons of different investments and to make the wisest choices for themselves.

In sociology this week, we discussed the concept of cohabitation. Some of the suggested advantages of cohabitation were as follows: ease of terminating a relationship if it didn't work out, getting to really know a person when you live with them, and separate family lives (visiting with one's own family members separate from their partners). One of the disadvantages included not being able to collect on a partner's insurance for oneself and any kids created during the time of cohabitation in the event that one's partner dies or otherwise defects from the relationship. Another disadvantage is that more women find themselves caring for more of the domestic responsibilities than married women, as the partner is not that committed to the relationship.

In marketing, we learned about one-on-one marketing and how companies can utilize this particular marketing strategy to build their customer base by paying attention to customer purchase patterns and targeting that customer or those customers with specific merchandise and/or mailings.

Identity theft is REAL....

Another thing we learned about this past week in Finance is the use of credit cards and how we can guard against identity theft. Many times, we can become victims of identity theft through our own carelessness. One thing that was mentioned was the carrying around of one's social security card in a wallet or purse; in the event that such is lost or stolen and your Social Security number is in your purse, a thief could use that number to gain access to valuable information, including financial records, statements, and the like. Once such information is obtained, fraudulent bank and/or credit card accounts can be used in your name. One can even become a victim of medical identity theft, where a thief may glean information and obtain medical services in another person's name through fraudulent means. Meanwhile, the victim is left holding the bag--literally and figuratively, having to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to clear his or her good name and restore his or her credit standing (which can never be fully repaired once it is breached).

Some of the things suggested in the chapter included: shredding all financial statements, shredding pre-approved credit applications as opposed to just tossing them into the garbage, shredding receipts with the credit card numbers on them, not carrying around one's social security card unless he or she needs it for a specific purpose that day, using only secure websites when making purchases online with a credit card, and not including your social security number on check stubs on workplace IDs. These are just some of the things that can be done on our part to help avoid identity theft.

Race, religion, and romance....

This sociology class is not what I expected; it actually delves into so much more of what's going on in our society. This week, we're discussing the dating process, and the discussion board question dealt with criteria that we have for choosing a partner/mate. A few of us touched on the race and religion aspects, saying that while we would choose someone similar in faith to us, we wouldn't necessarily choose someone who was the same race/ethnicity as us. Another very inportant question that was asked with regard to the mating and selection process was: How much influence do your family and friends have over your choices? While we would like to say "none"--and particularly, as adult women--the truth is, to some degree, we still hold to some of what our loved ones say. At the same time, however, many of us have recognized that ultimately, we have to follow our hearts and our own minds in this regard in order to truly be happy.

In Finance this week, we learned about insurance and the different types of insurance. We also learned what the function of insurance is: to protect your assets and guard against liabilities of any sort. It also helps to preserve your level of wealth in the event of an unforeseen occurence. We also talked about HMOs and PPOs and what questions we should ask before considering either an HMO or a PPO (I have the former, unfortunately).

Credit cards and creditworthiness....

In my finance class this past week, we talked about how creditors determine your creditworthiness. Some of the things they check include your FICO score, your personal cash flow statements, and your payment history (how much have you borrowed in the past and how timely have your payments been?). These factors are important to a company; if your credit history is less than satisfactory, you could be considered a great credit risk and the company takes the risk of the debt not being satisfied. They also consider things like income and assets, which they can use as collateral to satisfy a debt/loan obligation.

Not to be left out, credit factors can also affect your search for a job. Many employers are now doing credit checks on prospective employees, and they tend to look more favorably on applicants whose debt load is low than on an applicant who has less cash flow and more debt.

The chapter also talked about how we can use credit cards wisely and thus avoid the trap of falling into debt (or deeper into debt); one of the hardest--but best--things we can do for ourselves is to not use a credit card UNLESS we are absolutely sure that we can pay the balance the next time the bill cycle comes around.