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Although money may not always be in abundance for activities for the entire family, this does not mean your family needs to miss out on some well-needed time together. Enjoying each other company is an important aspect of everyones life. There are many different educational, economical and fun ways your family can have fun together.
We have come up with some ideas as to how you can still engage in some family-oriented activities for fun family activities, making memories together during these times where money is not always readily available for spending.
1. Rent a movie. Instead of taking the whole family to the movie theatre, rent a movie instead. You will not only save money on admission tickets to the movie, but you are free to choose different, healthier snacks to make as a family instead of buying concession stand junk food to munch on during the movie.
2. Make pizza. Instead of ordering in pizza for your family, make an afternoon of teaching your children how to make their own. Not only are you able to choose healthier products such as whole wheat flour for your crust, your children can have some fun experimenting with different toppings on their own personal sized pizzas. Keep in mind that you can make dessert pizzas as well. Instead of regular toppings, cover the dough with apple rings and cinnamon sugar made with low-calorie sweetener. Once itís cooked, simply drizzle a bit of your favorite icing for a yummy homemade treat.
3. Donate unnecessary items. Generosity is a virtue you may want to instill in your children at a young age. Plan a weekend to have everyone in the family go through their toys, books and clothing to see if there may be some items which can be donated to a community outreach program. Different charities are always looking for new or gently used items. This project will not only help get your house organized, but will be a fantastic lesson in giving for your children.
4. Learn a handicraft together. One particular idea that comes to mind is knitting. Hospitals and seniors residences are always in search of knitted or crocheted blankets or hats for newborn babies. Once you learn how to make these items, make a permanent date on your calendar to drop off a new batch of these high-demand articles on a regular basis.
5. Check your community calendar. Many cities and towns publish a seasonal calendar with different upcoming events or activities. Browse through what is being offered, and choose one or two (or more) which your family would enjoy participating in. Many of these events will turn into holiday rituals or seasonal traditions your children will grow up looking forward too.
6. If you are looking for an activity for the winter months, why not spend the day on a good old-fashioned toboggan hill? While you can still purchase toboggans made of wood in the style of yesteryear, there are many less expensive options. You can get each member of your family a magic carpet which is a simple piece of thicker plastic with holes to hold on to. Find a local hill and enjoy the outdoors. Following this activity with a nice cup of hot chocolate is sure to be a great day.
7. Skating. There are many local skating arenas or outdoor areas you can enjoy as a family. Grab those dusty skates from the attic, and go to sporting goods swap stores for skates for your children. These can normally be purchased used for around $5 a pair. Get them sharpened, strap them on and learn to skate again as you teach your children the basics of falling with grace perhaps?
Spending quality time with your family certainly does not have to cost a lot of money. With these few hints added to a list of your own, you are sure to find enough activities to keep everyone happy during those family moments where some of the best memories are made.
We are all looking to find ways to increase savings during this economic recession. Reducing the cost of your home insurance policy can help in this regard. Here are six ways you can lower the costs.
1. Stay with the same insurer. You can take advantage of discounts offered by your insurer if you purchase all insurance policies with one carrier. For example, having a homeowners and automobile insurance with the same company can yield up to 15% discount on your premium.
Moreover, the longer you remain with the same insurer, the better chance you have of obtaining additional discounts. For example, homeowners who have been with a company for five years or more may qualify for a special discount.
2. Increase the deductible. While you may currently have a $500 deductible, by raising it to $1000 you can save up to 25% on your premium.
3. Add security features. By installing smoke alarms, burglar alarms, and special locks, you can save as much as 20% on your premium. To find out if your insurance company offers these types of discounts, give them a call and determine how much you may be able to save in this regard.
4. Age-related discounts. Some insurance companies offer discounts to individuals who are 55 or older and retired. Check with your company and ask if they offer such discounts.
5. Annual review of your policy. This is another way you can cut costs on your policy. If you have expensive items in your home that are covered under a floater attached to your homeowner’s plan, these items will depreciate each year and may no longer have to be covered.
6. Good credit. One of the components used in determining how much you will pay for insurance is based on your credit rating. Therefore, to keep costs down it is a good idea to ensure that you check your credit report and FICO score annually and correct any errors you detect on the credit report. Do not skip any monthly payments on credit card bills or loans, and maintain a good credit history.
With gasoline prices steadily on the rise, many commuters are finding it more and more difficult to justify spending their hard earned money on the high cost of fuel rather than other necessities, including food and electricity. With that in mind, there are five simple steps that you can take to help stretch your dollar a little bit farther when it comes to your car’s fuel consumption.
Carpool. If you have children who are in school, consider sharing the driving responsibility with other mothers that live nearby. This is especially helpful if you can alternate days. Perhaps you would drive the children on Monday and Wednesday, while the other women fill in on the rest of the weekdays. This will save you money on gasoline and will also make the children’s ride to school a lot of fun because they will be riding with friends. The same is true of commuters on their way to work, who can share in the responsibility and costs of driving amongst one another.
Buy a smaller car. If you own an SUV or other large vehicle, your gas mileage per gallon will be less than if you were to own a smaller car. As a general rule, larger vehicles just normally use more gasoline. If you want to save money on the cost of fuel, buying a smaller car is a good start.
Purchase a hybrid car. These cars are fairly new on the market and are still quite expensive, but many find the benefits outweigh the high cost when they figure in their savings on fuel. Hybrid cars usually get better gas mileage per gallon and this results in big savings for the owner.
Turn off the ignition. If you are stuck in traffic that is moving about an inch per minute, then just put the car in park and turn the ignition off. While sitting in traffic, you are just using more and more gasoline and aren’t really getting anywhere. Rather than waste, try to save money by not leaving your car running in parking lots or your driveway. If you need to stop by the store and will just be gone for a minute, take the time to turn the ignition off. In addition to saving on gasoline, you will be ensuring that your car isn’t stolen by turning off the ignition and taking your keys inside the store with you. Many people would be surprised to know how many shoppers actually leave their car running while in the store.
Walk. If you live near a store, walk instead of driving. This will save not only in the price of your car’s gasoline, but also in the general everyday wear and tear that your car receives by being out on the road. No to mention, walking is good exercise and is generally safe for most people. So why not walk off some of those pesky winter pounds and save some money on gasoline in the process.
The aforementioned ways are five of the most popular to help you save some extra money where fuel is concerned. Some of the more obvious ways are to stock up when gasoline is decreasing in price. If you get $10 or $15 worth of gasoline every few days, you may get a good price one day and a terrible cost per gallon during the next trip. However, if you fill up your car’s gasoline tank while prices are still low, you will be sure to get the best deal possible. Not only that, but you may also end up saving some time at the gas pump when all of the other consumers are waiting in line to fill up before the prices go even higher.
In tough financial times, saving money is easier said than done. For many of us, once we’ve paid the bills and bought the essentials, there is just not much, if anything, left to save. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could save up at least a little money each month without even missing it? Actually, most of us can.
Some people make the effort to dig out exact change when they buy something. But the overwhelming majority of us just fork over the closest thing we have in paper money. When we get change back, we stuff it in our pockets and forget about it. Once we go home, it often ends up on the dresser. We may forget about it for weeks or months, or the kids might get it and spend it on candy or toys. Just imagine how all that change that we toss aside could add up over time.
Instead of leaving change lying about where it will get lost or pilfered, try putting it into a jar, piggy bank or some other container. Avoid spending it, and use only bills to pay for everything. If you faithfully put all your change in there, you will be surprised at how quickly it fills up. You might even find that you need a larger container if you want to save for any length of time!
Try saving your change in this manner for a year. If you have an extra dollar bill or two, feel free to throw that in as well. Just resist the urge to borrow from your fund, and let it keep growing. At the end of the year, you could have enough money to buy something nice or do your Christmas shopping. And if the entire family pitches in, you might even end up with enough money to take a vacation!
Saving change is also a good way to start an emergency fund. It will take some time, but saving up slowly is better than not having any money put away at all. Once you have built up some change, you could roll it up and put it into an interest-bearing savings account or a short-term investment vehicle to add a little more to it.
Other Ways to Save Change
If you do not usually spend cash, it is still possible to save up your change. Some consumers who keep most of their money in a checking account round their checks up to the next dollar when subtracting them in their registers. This leaves them showing less money than they actually have in their bank accounts. It takes some getting used to when balancing your checkbook, but once you get the hang of it, it is a great way to save change without actually handling it.
Some banks have also begun to offer programs that help account holders save change when using their debit cards. They round each purchase up to the nearest dollar, and transfer the difference into a savings account. Check with your bank to see if they offer such a program.
Even the most careful budgeter can waste change without even realizing it. By making a conscious effort to save your change, you can accumulate lots of extra money in a year’s time. And best of all, you will probably never miss a few cents here and there!
Coming up with the money to pay for college is no easy task. Saving up over the years starting when your child is young makes things easier. But when you have retirement savings and everyday expenses to think about, it may be difficult to find room in the budget to save as much as you’d like to.
Having help from friends and family can reduce the burden of saving for college. In the past, it was difficult for others to make contributions specifically for college expenses. They usually had to send cash or a check and hope that it would go toward college. But with the Freshman Fund, making such a contribution has become much simpler.
The Freshman Fund is a company that facilitates contributions into 529 college savings plans. Parents can create an account for a child and notify friends and family members. When they want to make a contribution, they can easily do so online. Funds are then put into a designated 529 account. If the parents have not yet opened such an account, funds are held in an interest-free account until they do so.
Those who wish to send a gift of college savings can do so even if the recipient doesn’t have a Freshman Fund account. Gift certificates may be sent to anyone with an email address. The recipient can redeem the certificate into any 529 plan. This is a wonderful way to encourage those you care about to start saving for college, and it ensures that the money will not be spent on something else.
College Money for Birthdays and Holidays
More and more parents are opting to discourage traditional gift giving for holidays and birthdays. It seems that most of the gifts end up collecting dust, wasting space and eventually cluttering up landfills. Encouraging friends and family to give money for college is much more practical, especially considering that their gifts will draw interest until your child pursues higher education.
Freshman Fund users can send email notifications to others to let them know how they can make a contribution. They could also add links to the account to birthday party invitations. These are great ways to encourage contributions as an alternative to the usual kinds of gifts.
A 529 plan can help you save the money your kids will need for a college education. And now, it’s easier than it has ever been for people outside the immediate family to pitch in. When combined with family contributions, Freshman Fund contributions can really add up. By the time your child is old enough to go to college, he could feasibly have enough money to pay for tuition, fees and other allowable expenses with little or no outside help.Coming up with the money to pay for college is no easy task. Saving up over the years starting when your child is young makes things easier. But when you have retirement savings and everyday expenses to think about, it may be difficult to find room in the budget to save as much as you’d like to.
Having help from friends and family can reduce the burden of saving for college. In the past, it was difficult for others to make contributions specifically for college expenses. They usually had to send cash or a check and hope that it would go toward college. But with the Freshman Fund, making such a contribution has become much simpler.
The Freshman Fund is a company that facilitates contributions into 529 college savings plans. Parents can create an account for a child and notify friends and family members. When they want to make a contribution, they can easily do so online. Funds are then put into a designated 529 account. If the parents have not yet opened such an account, funds are held in an interest-free account until they do so.
Those who wish to send a gift of college savings can do so even if the recipient doesn’t have a Freshman Fund account. Gift certificates may be sent to anyone with an email address. The recipient can redeem the certificate into any 529 plan. This is a wonderful way to encourage those you care about to start saving for college, and it ensures that the money will not be spent on something else.
College Money for Birthdays and Holidays
More and more parents are opting to discourage traditional gift giving for holidays and birthdays. It seems that most of the gifts end up collecting dust, wasting space and eventually cluttering up landfills. Encouraging friends and family to give money for college is much more practical, especially considering that their gifts will draw interest until your child pursues higher education.
Freshman Fund users can send email notifications to others to let them know how they can make a contribution. They could also add links to the account to birthday party invitations. These are great ways to encourage contributions as an alternative to the usual kinds of gifts.
A 529 plan can help you save the money your kids will need for a college education. And now, it’s easier than it has ever been for people outside the immediate family to pitch in. When combined with family contributions, Freshman Fund contributions can really add up. By the time your child is old enough to go to college, he could feasibly have enough money to pay for tuition, fees and other allowable expenses with little or no outside help.
Some people pride themselves on having a good handle on their finances. They pay their bills in full and on time each and every month. They manage their credit cards expertly, and even though they could get all the credit they want with ease, they refrain from opening new accounts that they don’t need. But if they do not have an emergency fund, they could still find themselves struggling at any time.
No matter what your income level, having an emergency fund is of the utmost importance. You just never know what could happen. Here are some potential scenarios to consider.
* You could lose your job. There is virtually no such thing as job security any more. Layoffs happen daily, and often with little or no warning. If you don’t have a financial cushion, job loss could render you unable to afford basic necessities.
* You could incur large medical bills. Accidents and unexpected illnesses happen to the best of us. If you have to have emergency surgery or spend some time in the hospital, you may end up owing a hefty sum and lose income from being out of work. Without an emergency fund, that double whammy could be financially devastating.
* The car could break down. Car repairs are rarely cheap. If you do not have any money put back, you could end up without transportation for a while.
* A major appliance could tear up. Having appliances repaired is often costly, and replacing them can cost a small fortune. But ovens and refrigerators are not things we can easily do without.
* Home repairs may become necessary. Some may be covered by homeowners insurance, but many are not.
* A family member could become ill. If it’s your child, you may need to take time off work to care for him. If it’s your spouse, he or she could lose income. Having an emergency fund can make such situations less stressful.
Some argue that they do not need an emergency fund because they have credit cards. It’s true that credit cards can be useful when something unexpected comes up, but you will have to pay interest on any amount you charge unless you pay the balance in full right away. If you’re on a tight budget, the last thing you need to do is rack up more debt.
So how much should you keep in your emergency fund? Most experts recommend a goal of three to six months’ pay. That sounds like a lot, but job loss or disability could keep you out of work that long or longer. It will take some time to build up such reserves, but it can be done with consistent saving each month.
When the unexpected happens, having an emergency fund can prevent it from sending your investing into chaos. By including a set amount of savings in your monthly budget, you can have a financial cushion to fall back on if needed.
It’s never too early to start thinking about your children’s college education. The sooner you start saving, the greater the chance your child will have enough money to get through college with no worries. But when considering college savings, many parents are unsure just what they should do with the money.
You could stuff it in a sock drawer, but it would have no chance of drawing interest there. A savings account might be slightly better, but any interest earned would be taxed. A 529 plan is a much better option.
529 plans are similar to 401K plans, but they’re for higher education instead of college. Parents, grandparents or anyone else can put money into one for a specified beneficiary. Any interest earned is tax-deferred, and if the money is left in the account until the child goes to college and used for college expenses, there is no tax liability.
There are two basic types of 529 plans. The College Savings Plan is the most similar to a 401K. Investors are allowed to choose from a variety of investment options for the plan, and their money earns interest according to the investments’ performance. The Prepaid Tuition Plan is different in that it allows contributors to purchase tuition credits at current prices to use in the future.
Most 529 plans are run by states. Every state offers at least one plan. Each plan is different, but most require either the plan owner or beneficiary to be a resident of the state issuing the plan. Some allow residents of any state to invest, but out-of-state residents may not be eligible for all available tax benefits. In most cases, the funds from state-run plans may be used at any college or university, even if it is not located in the same state.
There are also 529 plans offered by colleges and universities. All plans offered by educational institutions are prepaid tuition plans. Unlike state-run prepaid tuition plans, however, those run by schools are not guaranteed by the government.
The funds withdrawn from a 529 plan must be used toward eligible expenses. With prepaid tuition plans, these generally include only tuition and mandatory fees. Some plans, however, offer an option to purchase room and board credits or use extra tuition credits for these expenses. Money withdrawn from college savings plans may be used for tuition, fees, books, computers and room and board.
A 529 plan can help you save money for education without incurring a huge tax bill. These plans are easy to set up, and all of the investing is taken care of for you. All you need to do is make contributions and make sure that the beneficiary uses the funds properly when the time comes.
