Search results for raising children
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Posted
Sep 24 2007, 07:21 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
An article on The Dollar Stretcher personal-finance site caught my eye recently: "Teach Your Children Better Money Skills." My favorite part was the section called "Teach Your Children A Sensible Consumer Life."
A key part of this is teaching kids the difference between "need" and "want." That’s tough to do when kids are surrounded by relentless marketing. (Yet another good reason to limit television. But that’s another column.)
It’s also tough because many adults don’t know the difference between need and want. (And that’s a whole bunch of other columns. Watch this space.)
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Posted
Sep 25 2007, 09:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It's pretty frightening to the frugal that U.S. retailers forecast $5 billion in Halloween spending this year. Clip the candy coupons now, and look around your home for innovative, low-cost costume ideas. One frugal mom is using her kids' team uniforms to dress them up as zombie soccer and volleyball players.
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Posted
Sep 27 2007, 09:33 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Your daughter is a "late-bloomer." She's 28 and still living at home. What's your obligation to her, particularly when supporting her is delaying your retirement? A young blogger examines the ethics involved in this situation.
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Posted
Oct 02 2007, 09:45 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
An admirer of America's cheapest family recounts the lessons he's learned from the Economides clan, a married couple and five children who live on $35,000 a year (and paid off their house in nine years) in Arizona. Teamwork, organization and an unwavering commitment to make frugality a lifestyle (these folks don't use credit cards) work, and even the smallest savings add up.
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Posted
Oct 03 2007, 11:00 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
I've got a dirty little secret: sometimes I wear a shirt twice before washing it.
Before you hold your nose and run screaming from the room, hear me out. I'm not talking about a shirt in which I've done a day's worth of hard manual labor in the hot sun. It's usually a shirt I've worn for half a day or less.
The other day, for example, I didn't dress to leave the house until close to lunchtime. Before that I was the stereotypical freelance writer sitting around in sweatpants and a T-shirt my daughter bought to celebrate entering the eighth grade. (My daughter is now 29. Freelancers really don't care what they look like.)
At 11:30 a.m. I put on a green silk shirt ($3.99, Value Village) and slacks and left for the university. My classes ended at 3:20 p.m. I was home by 3:45 p.m. The shirt went back on a hanger.
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Posted
Oct 09 2007, 05:35 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Nine-year-old Liz is so disinterested in money that her mom has taken to direct-depositing her allowance because Liz never needs it. Ask her what she wants for Christmas and this angelic child replies, "I'll like whatever you get me." Not so younger brother Sam, a nearly 5-year-old NASCAR fan with finely developed tastes in fashion and toys. Being Frugal asks a fundamental question about our attitude toward money: Is it nature or nurture? (Make sure you also read her funny and insightful post about a trip to the supermarket with Sam.)
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Posted
Oct 17 2007, 07:22 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Five Cent Nickel . On the heels of my confession that we take our own treats to the movie theater instead of buying them at the snack bar, I thought I’d throw out another one: I cut my own hair. I’ve been doing it for at least 10 years. I don't have special skills in this area. I simply give myself periodic "buzz cuts" with inexpensive clippers. My current weapon of choice is a Remington Precision haircut kit I picked up at Wal-Mart for less than $20 a couple years ago. I buy new clippers every three or four years, so it costs me a grand total of about $7 a year. In return for this minor investment, I save myself the expense of 12 to 15 haircuts per year. Splitting the difference, and assuming $12 a haircut, including tax and tip, that works out to $162 per year, or $155 after factoring in the cost of the clippers. Extrapolating over a decade, this turns into a nice little chunk of change. On top of this, we buzz our kids’ hair in the summer. With four
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Posted
Oct 19 2007, 09:43 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Simple Dollar . A reader wrote in with the following thoughts, which got my juices flowing: “It seems as if I am constantly being invited to baby showers, weddings, birthday parties, graduations and housewarmings, and that a gift is expected at every one of these occasions. While I enjoy giving gifts to my close friends and close relatives, it seems like the situation is getting out of control. Children get piles of junk at their birthdays, and I feel that just because I was given a wedding invitation, I am expected to send a gift even if I can’t attend the event. My husband and I were recently invited to a housewarming party that one of his co-workers is throwing for himself. On the invitation the co-worker actually solicited gift cards, saying he preferred them over actual gifts. In the past I have given herbs from my own garden, or a loaf of bread as housewarming presents -- nothing extravagant, nothing that cost more than a few dollars. My husband
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Posted
Oct 26 2007, 06:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar . Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Where I live, children trick-or-treat by the dozens, dressed up in all types of costumes. My family enjoys Halloween as a harvest celebration as well. The best part? Halloween offers all sorts of opportunities for frugality. The holiday can create several weekends of fun for the whole family on a modest budget. Here are our family’s plans for a frugal Halloween: Buying and carving pumpkins. This eats up a couple of hours, because we go out in the country, pick up several pumpkins of various sizes, and head home. Then we have fun carving the pumpkins. My son picks out a face design or two. I empty out the pumpkins' innards and carve the faces. The best touch: LED pumpkin lights that use almost no energy and give a wonderful glow to the jack-o'-lanterns. Cost: $15. Making homemade pumpkin pie. It’s easier than you’ve heard. Remove the pulp, then slice the pumpkin’s outer shell
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Posted
Oct 26 2007, 09:08 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Picture a 5-year-old kid whose oral health was so bad she needed five teeth filled, two crowned and six pulled. That must have happened in a country without floss and fluoridation, right?
Nope. This was Katelyn, a kid from suburban Chicago.
While her case is a bit extreme, it's also indicative of a growing trend here in America. An article in the Chicago Tribune noted that almost 28 percent of children between ages 2 and 5 develop at least one cavity. That's a 4% increase in 10 years, according to a survey conducted for the National Center for Health Statistics.
Four percent doesn't sound like much, yet it was the first statistically significant increase in 40 years. The likely culprit? Modern family life.
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