When my family moved into our current house, our next door neighbor introduced herself as the “Self Proclaimed Mayor of Melville St”.

At that time she was already old - 80!

We've had some ups and downs - she didn’t always like our “style” and there were definitely tense times between us. I could tell you some stories…but I’ll choose discretion on this one!

Now she’s 98 years old. Impressive right? And all those tensions are gone. We started bringing her flowers, biscuits and tacos regularly and that just melted her heart. Now she adores all 6 of us and our kids' partners too.

She also taught us some great lessons. The income strategy that I teach in my Academy program is based on something she told me that she did with the money she earned when she was still living at home.

That’s why I call it “Marg’s Method” in her honor.

Kids love learning “Marg’s Method”. It gives them a solid strategy for what to do with the money that they earn. It gives them a framework and purpose for managing their money.

It’s just not enough to tell our kids - “Don’t spend your money” or “That’s too expensive” or “We can’t afford it.” Those statements don’t mean anything real to our kids and often lead to a negative money mindset.

Instead let’s change that money talk to “Spend your money with a purpose,” or “Does that item have value that equals its cost”, or “How can we afford it?” These are statements that our kids can work with. They can keep a positive and purposeful money mindset and be proactive with their money.

Step 5 in my Academy program is what I call PRG. Pay Yourself First, Retirement and Gifting.

When we moved into our house and my kids met Marg, she had already retired. Did they really know what that meant? Probably not.

But I sure wish I had started sooner to both save for my retirement AND to teach my kids the importance of saving for their retirement.

I know some of you think that kids don’t need to start saving for retirement.

I will just agree to disagree.

With the cost of living today, the cost of buying a home and the power of compound interest, I think today is the day to teach our kids about retirement and to get them started on a strategy that includes putting some money away for that reason.

PRG is all about learning to live on less than we earn—on purpose.

It’s a simple strategy that teaches kids to take care of their present and their future by setting aside money for:

Paying yourself first (making sure there is money for YOU)

Saving for retirement (having an exit strategy even before entering the workforce)

Giving to others (because generosity makes life richer)

By building these habits early, kids learn to create a financial foundation that supports them long-term, while also understanding the joy and importance of giving.

I wish I had known this when my daughters were younger but at least I knew for my sons. They learned from the start how to use Marg’s Method and how to live on part of their income, so that they had money for themselves now, for their futures and for others.

​Step 5 really is one of my favorite steps. To see kids shift their money mindset and put more value on money and on how to take care of themselves financially long term, while still having fun, playing some games and being excited to come to every class - well what can I say? That’s what Live Skills Money: Academy and every single one of my programs, courses and workbooks is all about.