By Stephanie Foster
Kids are expensive, there's no doubt. Food, clothing, entertainment, education... it all adds up.
If you take some time to talk with them, they can also help you save money. That's helpful at any point.
In my experience, children are very sweet about things when you talk to them about why you want to save money. My daughter at age 5 offered to start a lemonade stand when we explained about money being tight. She just really wanted to help.
The first thing you want to give your children is a reason to help you save money. You may choose to share with them a portion of what is saved. You could set a savings goal for a family vacation. You just need to figure out what will motivate them and you.
Have a family meeting to start discussing options. You want to get everyone on board with the general concepts. You probably won't come up with every possible idea for saving money right away, but you can get the thought processes moving.
One of the great things about talking things out with kids is that sometimes they are very willing to make sacrifices. They can really surprise you, even at a young age.
Some things they should help you with will be obvious. If keeping extra lights turned off is an issue, come up with a reward system for that. It doesn't have to be significant, perhaps just a mark on a chart that will eventually lead to something.
You may be able to compete with each other a bit too. You can each pick a habit that's wasting a bit of money, and see who does the best at beating it. You should be sure the competition stays lighthearted, and keep encouraging your children so that there's a good chance that they could win. Your purpose here, after all, is two fold. You want to save money but you also want your children to get a good lesson.
Another good area to explore with your children is snacking. Could they go from a more expensive snack to a cheaper and possibly healthier one? It can be done. Things like fruit snacks really aren't that cheap.
This should lead to your kids helping you shop for bargains in the grocery store. Have them help you with the ads, figuring out which stores to visit and what to buy. Maybe even have them help with some menu planning.
Another big expense for many families comes from video games. You may want to consider renting video games rather than buying them, or talking with other families in your area about trades. Your children will probably know which of their friends have the same system and might be open for trades. Setting up workable rules can be a challenge but also a good lesson. But if things are tight enough, new games may simply have to be given up on.
Your family can probably come up with a lot more ideas to save some money. You can figure out what kind of rewards for saving money makes sense for your family, and really get everyone motivated. It's really wonderful to be able to get some control over some of the expenses associated with raising a family.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
Stephanie Foster runs www.homewiththekids.com as a resource for stay at home moms. Get more tips on spending less money at her site.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
To Home School Or Not To Home School?
By Jim Brown
The decision to home school your child or not is definitely not an easy one to make. There are a lot of considerations to think about and deliberate with your spouse before you plunge into a solid and sound conclusion.
Home schooling needs your commitment to spend time to teach your children. The course will take a full chunk of your day. This involves planning the lessons, setting up your sessions and the materials needed, working one on one with your child as he or she progresses through the projects and experiments and checking their work after.
In home schooling, you will be multi-tasking as the science/math/gym or music teacher, as the guidance councilor, as the principal and even as the maintenance personnel. Time management skills are a strong factor in making home schooling work.
Parents should be able to allocate time for learning and ample time to take care of the basic household chores as well. This could mean sacrificing personal time and space to accommodate your child's learning development. Home schooling is definitely not for those moms who would want a separate career for themselves. The former is a full time job in itself.
Financially, home school may be more practical for some families. For one, the parent will be able to save on lunch money, bus fares and other school expenses usually involving extra-curricular activities. However, the parents should also consider that you will be buying your own books and materials needed for your child's home education. It is also a given that at least one is a stay at home parent.
Pressure may be placed on the spouse who works single handedly to supplement the household needs and expenses. Nevertheless, if one is resourceful and really good at time management, one can probably handle home schooling and carrying out freelance home based jobs that are prevalent nowadays.
One may think that home schooling may deprive children of social activities and interaction with other kids as compared to when they go to a regular private or public school. Although children may spend more time at home, this does not mean that they can have no social life. They always have the chance to go out and play with their friends and neighbors at some point during the day.
Some also have the opinion that children bond and have greater emotional development if they stay and learn at home with their parents especially during the formative years of a child. Children who are home schooled are said to be more mature as they influenced more by the traits and experiences of their parents who are with them 24/7. You may also be saving your child from being swayed by peer pressure or cliques that are popular among schools nowadays.
As mentioned earlier, the choice to go for home schooling should be agreed upon by both parents. A one-sided decision may not work well and cause disagreements from time to time in your household. It would be difficult working for a course of action when you do not have the support and encouragement of your spouse.
If you choose to, you may also ask your child whether he wants to be home schooled or not. His answer may not make so much of a difference as you have the parental authority to choose what is best for him but it may be great to know what he thinks. Remember, it will be easier for him to learn if he is willing and acceptable to the process.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
James Brown writes about ClickN READ Phonics key code, eCampus.com discounts and Monster Learning coupon code
The decision to home school your child or not is definitely not an easy one to make. There are a lot of considerations to think about and deliberate with your spouse before you plunge into a solid and sound conclusion.
Home schooling needs your commitment to spend time to teach your children. The course will take a full chunk of your day. This involves planning the lessons, setting up your sessions and the materials needed, working one on one with your child as he or she progresses through the projects and experiments and checking their work after.
In home schooling, you will be multi-tasking as the science/math/gym or music teacher, as the guidance councilor, as the principal and even as the maintenance personnel. Time management skills are a strong factor in making home schooling work.
Parents should be able to allocate time for learning and ample time to take care of the basic household chores as well. This could mean sacrificing personal time and space to accommodate your child's learning development. Home schooling is definitely not for those moms who would want a separate career for themselves. The former is a full time job in itself.
Financially, home school may be more practical for some families. For one, the parent will be able to save on lunch money, bus fares and other school expenses usually involving extra-curricular activities. However, the parents should also consider that you will be buying your own books and materials needed for your child's home education. It is also a given that at least one is a stay at home parent.
Pressure may be placed on the spouse who works single handedly to supplement the household needs and expenses. Nevertheless, if one is resourceful and really good at time management, one can probably handle home schooling and carrying out freelance home based jobs that are prevalent nowadays.
One may think that home schooling may deprive children of social activities and interaction with other kids as compared to when they go to a regular private or public school. Although children may spend more time at home, this does not mean that they can have no social life. They always have the chance to go out and play with their friends and neighbors at some point during the day.
Some also have the opinion that children bond and have greater emotional development if they stay and learn at home with their parents especially during the formative years of a child. Children who are home schooled are said to be more mature as they influenced more by the traits and experiences of their parents who are with them 24/7. You may also be saving your child from being swayed by peer pressure or cliques that are popular among schools nowadays.
As mentioned earlier, the choice to go for home schooling should be agreed upon by both parents. A one-sided decision may not work well and cause disagreements from time to time in your household. It would be difficult working for a course of action when you do not have the support and encouragement of your spouse.
If you choose to, you may also ask your child whether he wants to be home schooled or not. His answer may not make so much of a difference as you have the parental authority to choose what is best for him but it may be great to know what he thinks. Remember, it will be easier for him to learn if he is willing and acceptable to the process.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
James Brown writes about ClickN READ Phonics key code, eCampus.com discounts and Monster Learning coupon code
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