Kids & Families — Page 41

Raising Smart Spenders~Philly style!

May 1, 2012 by Lisa · Leave a Comment

For this week’s “Raising Smart Spenders” feature, I turned to some of the best moms in the Philadelphia area–the Philly Social Media Moms. These moms are just oozing with great tips, I was amazed at the smart and fun ideas they put out there for this. So sit back, take some notes, print the check list if you want, and get your kids on the path to being a financially responsible adult. It’s one of the best things we can do for them.

	Brown bag lunches for school days and field trips. We pack our lunch and snacks for our field trips. It saves me from paying for overpriced foods my kids won’t eat anyway, it’s healthier, and I am not stuck waiting in line with hungry kids. ~Jennifer from Jersey Family Fun.

We have profit sharing in our home. We share the household budget with all the kids and they help with controlling costs. For example, if we budget $200 for our electric bill, the kids focus on cutting off lights etc to make sure we hit budget. If we hit budget we contribute to our vacation fund. If we are under budget, we split the “profit.” If we miss budget, we pay the overage out of the allowance, eating out and vacation funds. ~Uneeka from PowerMommyNation.com.

I tell my kids to buy small when they just want to try something. When we’re in a warehouse store, they know not to ask for something new because if they don’t like it, they’re stuck with it. Instead, they say “I’d like to try those cookies next time we go grocery shopping.” The price per unit might be more at a supermarket than at BJ’s, but if the huge package goes uneaten then all that money is wasted, too. ~Cindy at Whatever Works.

I am giving my youngsters (2 and 5) their own cash, and am learning to let them spend it on whatever they want, without censoring them. I think this will demystify money, and let them see that they can make good choices and bad choices. No reason to make them wait to learn this. It’s only $5 at a time, but they are learning to carry it themselves and make choices about spending. I don’t buy them treats out of my money when we are out, so we don’t have the checkout line battles. ~Darla at HeartWorkOrg.com.

	My oldest son started out with an allowance, and now he gets an allowance plus the opportunity to earn extra money doing gardening work for me and working for the neighbors. We’ll be doing the same with the younger 4. ~Barb at A Life in Balance.

	Besides my 4-year-old’s piggy bank for his coin savings, we have a dollar box that we use to collect ‘A’ dollars, my son’s first initial. Whenever anyone in the family has an ‘A’ Dollar we put it in the box and talk about how we are saving the money to use as our spending money at Disney, when we eventually go. ~Diane at Knitting Zeal.

	Right now we use the Save, Give, Spend piggy banks for collecting coins and a tiny “allowance.” We periodically deposit the “save” amount, donate the “give” amount to a charity or church, and use the “spend” for something they want or for our garage sale outings. ~Carrie at Making Lemonade.

I have a list of tasks I need done with $ amounts assigned to each one. My kids can do them at will, and they invoice me. I transfer the $ from my checking account to their ING savings account. That money is theirs to spend, but I have found that seeing the interest accumulate coupled with the required two days wait to transfer money back really encourages them to keep on savings. ~Robin at SimpleGreenOrganicHappy.

Filed Under: Raising Smart Spenders Tagged With: kids and money

Help Mary’s Books reach 10,000 books~they are sooooo close!

April 30, 2012 by Lisa · Leave a Comment

Click for more information.

Edited 4/30/12: My sister-in-law is reporting that they are within a few hundred books of reaching 10,000 books, please help!

Some of you know my family’s story, but for those of you that don’t, here is a quick synopsis.

My brother and sister-in-law spent years trying to have a baby, and finally succeeded via IVF in 2008. After several tragedies (lost a baby in utero) and other extreme illnesses that were pregnancy related, they had twins in April of 2008. In October of 2008, they both got sick. One baby girl got better, and one didn’t. As it turns out, she had contracted a very rare strain of bacterial meningitis for which there is no vaccine. After spending 18 days in the PICU at the Children’s Hospital of Denver, her little 7-month-old body just couldn’t take any more and she passed away.

As a result of that tragedy and part of the healing process, my sister-in-law does a project every year called Mary’s Books. It initially was to replenish the stock of books at the PICU where they stayed, but the response has been so overwhelmingly positive that she now also donates books to the Ronald McDonald House and other charities. Here is their story:

The 2012 book drive for Mary’s Books is now underway, and I’d appreciate any support you can give. Here is the Mary’s Books Wish List, which Jen continuously updates based on what age groups are not receiving enough books. Books do not have to be purchased through Amazon, that is just presented as an option to make it easier. If you purchase through that link, another 5-7% of the Amazon proceeds will be put towards purchasing even more books for Mary’s Books. If you live in the Denver area and wish to just drop off some books, you can visit the Mary’s Books page and check for your nearest drop off location. Additionally, you can contact them through that site if you have any questions or wish to make some other type of donation.

Filed Under: Amazon, Kids & Families Tagged With: inspiration, mary's books

Affordable Vacationing

April 30, 2012 by Heather M · Leave a Comment

Growing up there were 7 of us kids. As you can imagine we didn’t all fit in one hotel room. What a fun vacation – one parent in one room and the other in the other. Sure they WOULD HAVE loved that.

I say ‘would have’ because we really couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel anyway. Instead, our family went camping. One summer we probably went camping at least 5 times. We became experts at pulling down a camping site in no time.

One thing I never became an expert at was enjoying the dark. I remember waking up and walking to the bathroom or trying to find something (like my glasses) in the dark. No fun! I wish we had had a light.

Today you can get a Rayovac SE3DLN Sportsman Xtreme 300-Lumen LED Lantern for only $17.99. Get ready for a new adventure this summer – camping or get one for those summer evening BBQs or poolside parties.

Filed Under: Amazon, Kids & Families Tagged With: camping, camping light

Today only~7th Generation Diapers under $8 per pack

April 30, 2012 by Lisa · Leave a Comment

If you’re brand loyal to 7th Generation Diapers, then you don’t want to miss today’s Kids Woot! Get 4 packs of diapers for $27, under $8 a pack. Sizes and quantities are limited, so hurry! This is a great price for these if you like them.

Woot!