Archive for June, 2009
What to do with the kids now?
Monday, June 29th, 2009
Now that the kids are out of school, and the weather is finally turning warm, trying to come up with new ways to entertain them becomes a challenge! And on top of it, since the “spending money” has shrunk for most of us, it becomes really tricky!
What do you do once you’ve hit all of the playgrounds and all of the parks? Try http://www.free-attractions.com! It is a site that gives you the heads up on free events taking place across the U.S.! So if you are bored this weekend or are going on vacation and need some cheap activities to keep the kids busy, give it a try.
Even if there are no events going on in your area, you may discover another park or museum in your area that might be fun!
Sorry this post is so short–finally it stopped raining so Nicolas and I are going to go play outside before the next thunderstorm rolls in!
Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.
Tags: kid-tivities, saving money, travel
Posted in Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time | No Comments »
“Summer Brains” Out; Saving Money In
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Today I thought I would talk about some fun ways to get kids to use their heads in the summer by helping the family save money without wasting time!
Throughout my book I have “Kid-tivities” that help get kids involved and making it easy and fun at the same time.
I thought I would share a couple with you:
The “Getting Rid of Debt” Game: If you are one of the many American families with problem debt, don’t try to hide the situation from your children, because they are smart enough to realize that something is wrong. Instead, sit down with them and explain that in the past you have spent more than you made but you are trying to fix it, and if the whole family works together to make it better, everyone will be happy. Then brainstorm with your children what you can do as a family to bring in extra money and pay down that debt. Whether it is through a yard sale or two (or seven!), or having them help you sell items on eBay or whatever, include them in the process and make it a game, rather than a drag!
Playing “House Detective”: This is a game that can work on those rainy days (like the Northeast has been having for the past 2 months!) when your kids are bored and stuck in the house. If your circuit breaker box has never been labeled, you have your kids run around the house every time you shut off a breaker so you know which room(s) corresponds to what fuse. Then you can show your kids how to shut down the breaker box in the event of an emergency. You can also play house detective to find the source of leaky pipes, since kids are particularly good at crawling in places (such as under sinks) that are hard for us adults to reach!
Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.
Tags: debt, home improvement, kidtivities, saving money
Posted in Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time | No Comments »
Date Night on the Cheap
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Hi all, Sorry for the delayed posting. I was in a car accident last week (fortunately everyone was okay) and so my schedule was a bit perturbed. Back on track now!
If you married and are like us, you enjoy having a date night maybe once in a while, or maybe more regularly. It is a time when you and your spouse can be adults together and have some time away from everything, at least for a couple of hours. But in this economy, it’s often hard to do. We start to think, dinner at a decent restaurant in our area = $100 and then babysitting = $30 and boom, it is $130 for a couple of hours for dinner around the corner!
Instead, if your kids are younger, perhaps what we do will work for you as well:
Instead of going out and getting a sitter, we simply put our son to bed at his regular bed time and then we “eat out at home” afterwards. We get dressed up, we open a good bottle of wine, and make a easy, but tasty dinner that we wouldn’t usually do unless it was a special occasion and we were having guests.
We buy filet mignon, for example, and do a simple side dish or two and have simple but tasty desserts that we normally wouldn’t purchase. (Sometimes, when we reallydon’t want to cook, we get take out from one of the better restaurants in town, so at least we are saving the upcharge on the wine and the tip!)
We set the table with our “good” silverware, use the “good” glasses, and relax in our own dining room or out on the deck. By making a simple dinner, there is minimal clean-up. And by staying home, there’s not the worry of driving after a glass or two of wine. No worrying about checking the clock, rushing out the door, getting home in time for the sitter…because we are already there. And all at a great savings, which is even more relaxing!
Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.
Tags: date night, dining out, saving money
Posted in Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time | No Comments »
Life Insurance Savings
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Saving money comes in all shapes and sizes; this week, I thought I’d touch upon saving money in the life insurance arena.
Now I hate those TV ads as much as the next mom–all of the fine print and the lines like, “Life insurance for just $10 per month!” The question is, for who? A 70-year old with heart problems? A 21-year old firefighter? I mean, really. Life insurance is such a personalized thing that you can’t make these statements reasonably.
However, term insurance can be pretty inexpensive, compared to the benefits you receive. And whether you shop it through a website or use an agent, you are going to pay the same amount. So if you can find an agent that you trust, I would definitely do it that way. Agents can find out how different life insurance companies treat different health situations, and save you a lot of money in the process.
Here’s a recent example as to why:
A client of mine had been told that due to certain family history, she had no chance of getting a term policy on her own. So she went through her employer, where the cost increases each year. I didn’t believe that she was un-insurable, so I asked around. As a result, she has a new policy, costing her less than the employer’s policy, at a fixed rate. And they gave her the healthiest rating possible! This is going to result in a $6600 savings over the life of the policy!
So if someone tells you “no”, you can’t get a better policy, seek a second opinion from an experienced insurance agent. It could literally save you thousands of dollars.
Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.
Tags: big stuff, life insurance, saving money
Posted in Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time | No Comments »
