A Promised Land: Barack Obama takes the reader on a fascinating journey

In “A Promised Land“, Barack Obama takes the reader on a fascinating journey, from his earliest political aspirations to his crucial victory in the Iowa primaries, which demonstrated the power of civic engagement, to the decisive evening of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th President of the United States, becoming the first African-American to rise to the supreme office.

A fascinating and deeply intimate account of the history .

Beyond the media scum, what to remember from A Promised Land (Fayard, 890 pages, 32 euros), the memoirs of Barack Obama? The length already: more than 800 pages, and that represents only the first volume (only Clinton made longer in less time: 1000 pages for My Life, in 2004) . The 44 th president took three years and eight months to write his book, more than all his predecessors, except for Nixon, it is true, remained mired for years in legal suites Watergate.

Nearly 900,000 copies were sold on day one (slightly better than Michelle’s book, Devenir, which appeared in November, “but I’m not bragging about it,” slipped the former president). Dozens of interviews, a literary tsunami as a media plan. Obama even posted his playlist “in honor of the release” of the book on social networks , as if the reader needed to know what the President of the United States listens to when he decides to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. or regulate methane emissions. Three weeks ago, Donald Trump occupied all the space.

These days, we only see Obama. A whiff of nostalgia has gripped the Democratic country, like “a hot bath,” columnist Kathleen Parker wrote in the Washington Post . A return to pre-Trump civilization, almost to reason. A prelude to the after.

The humiliation of Donald Trump

The story begins with his meeting with Michelle in 1989 in Chicago, and the start of his political career. He stops at a fateful moment of his presidency, in spring 2011. On the night of 1 st  May, troops of elite Navy Seals shoot down Osama bin Laden in his hiding in Abbottabad in Pakistan; the day before, April 30, the president sacrificed to the tradition of the White House press correspondents’ dinner.

In his intervention – a parody monologue as is the custom – he humiliated Donald Trump, one of the guests (seated at the Washington Post table , who had not yet been bought by Jeff Bezos). The real estate mogul – and arsonist, already, of conspiracy – questioned for weeks the authenticity of the birth certificate of the first African-American president of the United States. That night, Obama let off steam. He is ironic about the “deep experience” of the host of “Celebrity Apprentice” and his ability to referee cooking contests, “the kind of decisions that keep me awake at night”.The room explodes with laughter but Trump has a bad face, and it is on this day, if we believe the Washington legend, that he swears revenge.

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How To Make Money Fast and Become Rich As A Kid

A study Pocket money in Europe
The relationship between children and money should be one of the biggest worries of parents today.

This is what many parents and grandparents say to themselves when they think about what they know about life today, and when they read all the advice on this site. Especially since for many children and young people the notion of the value of money, and of the effort that must be made to earn it, is completely non-existent.

It is a scandal that the school does not really have financial education programs to harmonize the relationship between children and money.

It is therefore our responsibility to help young people to immediately start to become financially independent: we must teach them to earn more, to save more, to spend less, and – most importantly – to live rich and give more.

Here are the 10 lessons to succeed in making the relationship between children and money profitable

1. Teach them how to become a shareholder

The Best Time to Teach Your Children How to Use Money for Investing is  Now .

It’s relatively straightforward.

Explain to them that every product or service they love is always made by a company.

And that there are only three ways to have a relationship with this company: you are either one of its collaborators, or one of its consumers, or one of its owners.

So teach your children to own a home. This is really easy. Do they love going to McDonald’s? They would like to receive for an iPad for their Christmas? Do they drink Coke all day long? Show them that they are making these businesses richer every day.

Teach them how they can become owners of McDonald’s, Apple or Coca-Cola by buying their shares, and so they can also profit from this wealth: that they save part of their pocket money and their gifts in cash for this purpose.

This will make your children millionaires.

2. Teach them to pay themselves first and automatically

You know it.

But your kids don’t know it. Children and money do not yet have a relationship between them. That will change quickly. But it has to be in the right direction.

You have to teach them that every time they earn or receive a euro, for example in pocket money, they must first pay themselves.

Simplify the process to the extreme: explain that they have to save 25% of all their income. If they have won or received € 10, they must therefore save two and a half, and only spend the remaining 7.5. Insist that they do this their whole life, they will never have money worries.

Never.

We couldn’t go to university without having shown that we understood that.

Unfortunately this is not part of the school curricula.

So it’s up to you to teach it to your child.

It is a gift of love that you give him.

3. Teach them the miracle of compound interest.

It is difficult for a child to understand why to save, and certainly why this saving can make him a millionaire without doing anything.

But he catches stars in his eyes when we explain to him how compound interest works!

The trick is to literally and arithmetically explain to him how it works.

Take a piece of paper, and start calculating together: € 10 of savings invested at 10% gives € 11 after one year; € 11 will in turn give € 12.20, etc.

4. Teach them how to buy their home

You can’t get rich by renting your apartment. Or his house.

Put it in their heads!

It is particularly distressing to note that some advise the contrary, against all logic. Don’t they know how to calculate? Are they even less gifted than their children?

5. Teach them about the danger of debt.

Teach them that debt is just the reverse of the compound interest miracle.

It takes some effort to find a 10% placement. But creating debt that you will pay off at prohibitive rates is far too easy, and is suicidal behavior. The only exception is buying a car (and again).

On the other hand, taking out a mortgage loan to buy your home is not going into debt, but saving!

6. Teach them how to manage their budget to save more.

They will be extremely motivated to see their fortunes accumulate by saving what they haven’t spent on all those unnecessary things.

7. Teach them that if they can’t pay cash for something, they shouldn’t buy it.

Our children look around, and they often have bad examples, among their friends, or by watching the stars on television.

They want to have the same objects, the same accessories, the same lifestyle as these people.

But very often, these models are people who will never live rich, or who will be bankrupt in 10 years.

You need to teach your children that wealth is not just about having a lot of money.

Money is important of course, but the real goal must be to conquer your freedom to live your life as you like it.

That’s why you have to save, rather than spending your money on products you can’t really afford.

This savings should allow financial security, which in turn offers freedom. Having money in the bank should allow you to do what you want when you want.

8. Teach them how to give to live rich

From an early age a child should learn the importance of giving .

Just as they have to pay for themselves first, they should just as well give first.

Teach them that in this way they participate in building a better world, and that sharing is one of the secrets of happiness.

9. Teach them your mistakes

Don’t be afraid to teach your children your lessons in life, and show them where you yourself went wrong.

What would you do differently if you could start over?

You have to share your life experience.

It is also your love for them that you share as well.

10. Teach them to have big dreams.

The world needs more dreamers.

Adults are too realistic.

We need children who truly believe in their dreams.

As a parent, be a dream maker, not a dream thief. Your encouragement can shape not only the destiny of your child, but maybe the world.

You don’t know who you are talking to when you talk to a child. You may be talking to the new Steve Jobs, the successor to Paul McCartney or the future prime minister of your country.

Encourage the dream!

These 10 lessons, applied consistently, should ensure a healthy relationship between children and money, and better prepare them to live rich lives when they grow up.

“A European study tells us what we give as pocket money to our children. It should be a way to teach them the value of money. “


Pocket money in Europe

The study was carried out in 13 European countries on a total sample of more than 12,000 families.

What first struck me was that the differences between European countries exist, but are all in all relatively small.

France has exactly an average position in all the countries analyzed.

On average, we give 20 € per week to over 15s.

A study Pocket money in Europe

Respondents point out that the main reasons for giving children pocket money are learning responsibility, teaching the value of money and getting used to a responsible relationship between children and money. .

They are right: it is by confronting young people from an early age with money, and above all with its management, that we can best hope to support them in using it wisely.

The notion of the value of money and the effort it takes to earn it is completely non-existent.

What to do with your pocket money?

We must immediately help young people to end up rich .

We have seen it: we need to teach them to earn more, to save more, to spend less, and – most importantly – to live rich and give more.

So try from the start to teach your children to invest their pocket money first in their savings account (93% of French people have one), then by buying (funds) shares.

A large majority of those surveyed who regularly give pocket money believe their children have a better understanding of the value of money.

They also observe an improvement in the basic ability to budget and manage money.

In this sense, the main objective of establishing a better relationship between children and money is thus met.

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