Mom’s Money

Mother’s Day Spending Is Down, and We don’t Really Care

I was watching TV last night and heard some business analyst talk about how the increased prices in food and gas are forcing people to spend less on Mom this Mother’s Day. How sad, the female anchor replied. I was just thinking “Who Cares?”. As a Mom, Mother’s Day was never about the monetary value of of any present I’ve received, but about how it showed their love and appreciation for what I do throughout the year.

My favorite mother’s day presents are the homemade cards, a special picture drawn by a 4 year old and of course the macaroni jewelery box that sits on my dresser and the little flower garden in a baby food jar that’s right here at my desk. The kids spent a lot of time on all of these presents and were excited and proud to present them to me on Mother’s Day… that’s what it’s about… (that and of course lots of hugs and kisses), not some expensive piece of jewelery, $60 worth of flowers that will be gone in a week, or a fancy dinner.

I think we have gotten to a point where we turn to expensive gifts to express our love, because we don’t have time anymore (or better think we don’t have time) to show our appreciation through little gestures throughout the year and don’t have time to work on a homemade gift that actually has some meaning. To drown that guilt, we turn to expensive but otherwise meaningless gifts. Maybe the fact that we don’t have as much cash to do that this year is a good thing…

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Quick Tips To Save On Your Phone Bill

Between your home phone and the cell phones, you can and up paying quite a bit each month just in phone bills. Here are a couple of tips to help you cut down on those bills.

1) Consider getting rid of your home phone
If you have home and cellphone, you may want to consider getting rid of your home  phone.  How many calls do you really make from it anymore? Even if you don’t have a mobile phone, consider switching to a voip (voice over the internet phone) that can be quite a bit less than your regular phone.

2) Don’t pay for long distance service. We have family overseas and ended up paying over $5 a month just for the option to call them. If you have to make a long distance call, use your cell phone if it has nationwide free calling, or use a long distance service like 10-10-2-20, or my own favorite Tel3.com - it’s like  a long distance phone card, but more convenient. You can reload it any time and they even accept paypal.

3) Check Your Cell Phone Plans regularly… Phone companies change their wireless plans regularly and you may be able to get more minutes and better long distance services, or more bells and whistles (like  text messaging or mobile internet) for the same amount you are paying now.

Don’t forget to also review your usage of those minutes regularly. It may make sense to switch to a lower plan if you don’t end up using all your minutes each month.

Just a few little changes like this can easily shave 20 or more dollars from your phone bills each month.

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Get A Free Barnes and Noble Kids Book

Now here’s a deal that’s too good to pass up if you have a school-aged child. You can get your child to read more this summer and get him or her a fee book as well, all courtesy of Barnes and Nobel Bookstore.

Here’s how it works according to the Barnes and Noble website:

1. Kids read any 8 books.
2. Kids use the Summer Reading Journal to tell us their favorite part of each book. A parent/guardian signs it when it’s complete.
3. Children bring their completed journal to a Barnes & Noble store between May 29th & September 2nd, 2008.
4. We’ll give them a coupon for a FREE book! They choose from a list of exceptional paperback titles.*

* Eligible books will be listed on the coupon. Choices must be made from eligible stock. No special orders. Limit of 1 form per school-age child (grades 1-6), please. Incomplete forms will be ineligible for free books.

Click here to learn more about this Summer Reading Program and how to claim a free book for your child.

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Got Credit Card Debt? Ask For A Lower Interest Rate

Here’s a quick tip for you that might end up saving you quite a bit if you have credit card debt. Call them up and ask for a lower interest rate.  If you have been making your payments on time and have relatively good credit, the bank may be willing to lower your interest rate. It definitely can’t hurt to ask and if they agree, it can save you quite a bit of cash in the long run.

And since the Feds have been lowering interest rates for quite a while now, you may be entitled to a lower rate anyway. So grab the phone and call your credit card company up. All you have to lose are a few minutes of your time.

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Frugal Bean Dishes

One of the ways I’m keeping my grocery budget fairly low is by skipping meat a few days a week. On of those days is almost always “Bean Day”. I rotate through quite a few bean dishes, including pinto beans and corn bread, black bean and rice burritos, bean soup and the likes.

My family likes the dishes, it fills us up on just a few dollars and it’s actually pretty healthy. It’s a great way to stretch your food dollars and get some extra fiber in your family’s diet at the same time.

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Frugal Fun With The Kids

Summer break is just a few weeks off, so I thought I’d share some of our favorite frugal family outings with you. We stay busy all summer and most of the weekends without breaking the bank and so can you.

A Day At The Park
One of our favorite activities is to pack a snack or lunch and head to a local park or playground for a few hours. I pack a good book and a blanket to hang out on. The kids get to play and are usually ready for some quiet time and early bedtime after playing hard all afternoon.

Check Out The Library
Call or stop by your local library. They have all kinds of summer programs for kids of all ages. Most of them are free and with a few you’re asked to pay a few dollars for special supplies. Don’t forget about all the cool books and videos for your kids at the library.

Go Camping
Instead of going on a fancy vacation, grab your tent, some sleeping bags and go camping for a few days. It’s a lot of fun, a great bonding experience for the whole family and doesn’t cost much.

Become An Urban Explorer
There is a lot more going on in your town than you  may realize… take a look at kid-friendly museums,  special events in the area or go visit your local fire house.  Keep your eyes open and you’ll find all kinds of free things to do in your town or area.

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Can I Afford To Stay Home With The Kids?

I knew I wanted to stay home with my daughter from the moment I found out I was pregnant. But wanting to and actually being able to stay home and still pay all the bills were two entirely different things. It ended up taking me almost 3 years … but I am now staying home with my little girl full-time.

Here are some of the questions we asked ourselves and some of the things we put in place that eventually allowed me to quit my job and become a stay at home mom.

1) We paid off all credit card debt and cars to get our overall bills down.

2) We knew we wanted to move and buy another house… to make sure we would qualify for a good loan with a low interest rate, we purchased the new home before I stopped working. Of course we made sure we could make the house payments without my job income.

3) We cut down on a lot of extras like a big satellite package, cell phones and eating out.

4) We sat down and did the math. We listed all our expenses, figuring in that I would no longer have to commute every day which would save us in gas, work outfits, makeup and lunches and of course without the cost of daycare. Then we looked at the money coming in without my salary. When that was enough to cover all costs and then some, it was time for a trial run.

5) For the next three months, I continued to work, but we lived without my income… it went straight into a high-yielding savings account that would become our safety net. With just one person working, you need a good emergency fund in case that person looses his or her job and you’re left with no income at all.

6) After the three months we sat down and were pretty frank with each other what we did and didn’t like about living with quite a bit less money to spend. In the end we both decided that the sacrifices were worth being able to raise our child instead of having her in daycare or with a sitter.

My job now is to run a household, raise our daughter and make our dollars stretch as far as possible. That means cooking a lot more from scratch than before, shopping smartly and coming up with fun things for our family to do that don’t cost much.

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Tips for Sticking to a Family Budget

Every family should have a budget, no matter what their financial status is. A budget tells you exactly how much your have coming in, and how much goes out on a monthly basis for the absolute necessities like housing, food, utilities, insurance, transportation and health care. But what about the future?

That’s another place where a budget comes in handy. When you’ve allotted a portion of the household’s weekly income to the necessities, what’s left over is your discretionary spending amount. These are the funds available to you for short-term expenses, or long-term investments, like your children’s education, and your own retirement funds.

When the children are growing and requiring more in the way of expenditures, there might not be a lot left over. But even 5% of your income can be a healthy start on an education fund. Extras like bonuses or perhaps half the amount of a raise, will make those future savings grow. Since they aren’t in the budget to start with, they won’t be missed, and you’ll still have a portion of the unexpected income to add to your regular budget.

Consider financial counseling at your banking institution, or from a professional. They are often the best sources for learning how to get the most out of the dollars you have to save, and the most out of the future benefits they are going to earn for you.

You have a family budget in place. Now the hard part begins - sticking to your family budget. With the demands of all the wants and needs of kids, it can be challenging to keep a close eye on your money matters. Here are some simple tips to save money and help you stick to your family budget:

Drop the satellite
On average, the least expensive satellite package can run anywhere from $35-$40 per month. Multiply that times twelve months and you end up with a whopping $420-$480 per year! Do away with this single bill and your family can save almost $500 every year. Now that’s an incentive!

Slow down the video rentals
Many families choose to rent movies for a family night instead of going to the movies. While rentals are a huge money saver, it can still get expensive if you go overboard. Limit your rentals to two every two weeks, for example.

Take videos back early
Another cost that adds up quickly is overdue rental fees. For the cost of a few past due days on one movie, you could purchase that movie and watch it forever if you wanted to. Write yourself a note so you won’t forget to return your movie rentals on time. Even better, try using an online video rental service like Netflix.com. You’ll pay the same each month, pay no late fees, and get new movies every time you return one.

Plan meals before shopping
Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. You will want to buy everything you see on the shelves. You may think it’s silly, but you will be amazed at the results if you try it.

Buy off-brand products
Most off-brand products taste much the same as their counterparts. There are a few, like mayonnaise for example, that taste slightly different. For the most part, if you are trying to stick to a budget, buying off-brand products can save you a lot of money. And don’t forget to clip and use coupons, too!

Bring your lunch to work
Once again, let’s do the figures. If you spend a minimum of $5.00 per day on lunch (that’s a cheap lunch!), at the end of the week, you’ve racked up $25.00. With gas prices on the rise every day, that extra $25.00 could come in handy if you drive to work, too. Instead of eating out, fix your lunch to bring with you.

Drink water
Sodas are easy to grab and run with, but water is much healthier for you. Instead of spending money on canned drinks, buy a family-size pack of bottled water. You’ll save money and drink healthier.

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How To Live Within Your Means

Many families find themselves struggling to live within their means, either because they have too much debt, or because their spending habits/patterns are uncontrolled and they simply don’t know how to change. Here are some quick tips on reining in that spending, and keeping yourself debt-free.

Don’t use credit cards.
If you have credit card debt and are carrying large payments at high interest that are crippling your budget, talk to a community credit debt counselor. There are many groups that offer this service for free. They’ll help you to understand how the debt can be cut down faster, and whether a consolidation loan is a good idea. Credit cards are a temptation to spend money you don’t have. If you must have one card, leave it in the care of the person most responsible for your family’s financial health, and never use it except for emergencies that can be paid off within a short time.

Budget your money and expenses.
Even a simple budget in a notebook will work, or you can go to a spreadsheet on the computer. Gather all your bills, and calculate your monthly expenses, remembering to include a 1/12 portion of any annual expenses. Then take your gross income and figure out how much has to be set aside per week for absolute essentials. Whatever remains, is what you have for optional spending like savings, education or retirement funds, and entertainment.

Before you buy, ask yourself if you really need it.
That could be anything from a new stereo system, to a new car. Ask yourself if it’s worth going into debt for, or just how far it will stretch the family budget. Remember that you need room in your family finances for emergencies, and stretching your discretionary dollars to the limit, is never a good idea.

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Envelope Budgeting

I recently came across an interesting way to make sure you stick to your personal budget. If you have been making a budget, but then have trouble sticking to it, you may want to give envelope budgeting a try. Here’s the basic idea:

1) Make an envelope for every mayor type of expense you have including groceries, gas, lunch money, entertainment etc.

2) Put the alloted amount of money for each type of expense in the corresponding envelope. Then use it throughout the week or month to make your payments. When the money is gone, that’s it. Anything that’s leftover at the end of the week goes into savings or toward paying off debt.

3) Be sure to pay bills including mortgage or rent, car payments, utilities etc. by check or online as you usually would. Don’t forget to consider all these expenses when you figure out how much to allot for each of your envelopes.

The advantage of this system is that you don’t have to write down every single small expense… you just spend the money in your envelope until it’s gone. Give it a try and see if this system works for you and your family.

You could even use a mixed system of regular budget and then just make an envelope for each member of the family with their spending and lunch money.

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