In the past six months, my dad has had an emergency quadruple bypass and an 11.5 hour operation to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm (look it up on Google – you’ll be shocked that he survived). Needless to say, he’s also been out of work for just about all of that time. However, they’ve managed to survive financially. Could you?
Archives for January 2014
The True Cost of Owning a Car
The American dream is a house with a white picket fence as well as two cars in the driveway. In the American culture, two cars are often necessary because of the distance between your home and work or other events. If you have children, you certainly need a car to take kids to school, drop them off and pick them up from extracurricular activities, and for the many errands that you must run.
But is a new car always necessary?
If you’re on a tight budget, and most families are, especially when one parent stays home, you might want to consider the thriftier alternative–buying a used vehicle.
I love to read Infographics, and I was surprised to read how much the true cost of owning a car can be. Did you know that one hour after driving your new car off the lot, it loses 10% of its market value. Ouch! On a $25,000 car, that’s $2,500 for one hour! Within a year, it loses 28% of its market value.
If you instead buy used, not only do you pay less out of pocket, but you let the first owner take the hit to the market value rate. Why should you be the one to take out a large loan, pay interest, and be tethered to the payment for 5 years? Why not buy a car a couple of years old, and get a much more modest loan from a company and only pay for 3 years?
There are other advantages to buying used, too. Likely, your insurance rate will be cheaper because the car isn’t brand new. This is especially important if you have younger drivers in the household. Plus, with the money you save on the cost of buying the car, you might even be able to invest in extra accessories or modifications, like getting automotive PPF wrap in Raleigh, that can give you the aesthetic and driving experience you’ve always wanted from a car.
If you worry that you’ll face many repairs if you buy a used car, rest assured that you can now buy certified pre-owned vehicles. For the vehicle to receive this distinction, the first owner must keep detailed records and follow a strict schedule of maintenance. You’ll likely face no more repairs than you would had you bought the vehicle new.
In an ideal world, we’d be able to get by with only one car per family. However, in the United States, two vehicles are often a necessity. There are steps you can take, though, such as buying a vehicle used, that will save you thousands of dollars on the cost of vehicle ownership.
Do you buy used vehicles or only new ones?
The Cost of Caring For a Child with Autism
It really scares me how common autism and autism-spectrum disorders are becoming. I have two friends that have children with autism, and everyday is a struggle for them. It hurts my heart because their kids are so cute and amazing, they just can’t communicate and interact with other kids their age, and their parents have trouble getting through to them as well.
It’s estimated that about 1 in 88 children will be diagnosed with some type of autism disorder. That’s a huge increase from past generations. The costs of caring for a child with autism are something that many families haven’t considered.
Healthcare Costs
The fact is that autism increases healthcare costs for children because parents seek diagnoses and cures for their children. Furthermore, the healthcare for children with autism is more difficult because children with autism have trouble communicating what is wrong.
If you have a child with autism, you’re going to seek healthcare that specializes in autism care. For example, You may require the services of a disability support worker who meets NDIS compliance for additional support, which can be an essential resource in your child receiving the best care possible. However, navigating these systems can sometimes present challenges, as many of these places are universities or programs that are difficult to be a part of. You may want to join a speech-language pathology program at the local university, but it could be difficult to get a spot for your child since funds and resources are limited.
Therapy Options
The best thing that parents of autistic children can do is enroll them in therapy programs to help them understand the world and communicate with others better. While it’s not a solution, it can help with dedication and focus.
For example, Boomerang Health offers a great speech-language pathology program that can help children communicate better, and also understand things better. That way, your child has a better chance of being to keep up with their peers in school and not feel like an outcast. No child wants to be different, even if they don’t fully understand.
The Emotional Toll
Finally, you can’t talk about the costs of caring for an autistic child if you don’t talk about the emotional toll it takes. It’s a lot of work, and it’s tough. I see it in my friends faces every day, and I know that’s its a challenge. For me, I can simply tell my child what to do and they usually understand, but that’s not the cast for parents of children with autism. It takes a lot of work to get through to them on even the basic things they need to communicate – and that’s hard.
Plus, no matter how common autism becomes, there’s still a stigma attached. It sucks, but it is true. The best we can do is be accepting of others, and help when needed.
Do you know a child with autism?
Creating a 2014 Family Budget
I’m a big advocate for having children participate in the family finances. Unfortunately children don’t get enough personal finance taught in school so it will be our responsibility as parents to prepare them the best we can.
I grew up in a very frugal house. My mom wasted nothing and was always on the hunt for a good deal but this doesn’t mean I had any true understanding of money. Sure I knew how to grocery shop on a dime and could sniff out a sale miles away but she never taught us how to budget, even though I knew she was doing it regularly.
Money itself was never really talked about. We had basic cable because she wasn’t willing to buy the full cable package we so badly wanted (this was pre-28464 channel options for cable) because it was simply too expensive and a waste of money. I wanted to know what ”too expensive” was and why it was a waste of money when her kids wanted, and would use, it. Because I didn’t totally understand, in my nine-year-old mind, I just though my mom was being a big meenie.
I plan on involving our children in the family’s budget. I want them to see where our money goes towards running a household and why we may not be able to afford something or what we may need to change in order to make room for a new category. If kids decide they want a cell phone and mom and dad aren’t willing to pay more than X amount of dollars per month (ie they will not be having a $75 smartphone plan under moms dime), I want them to understand why we simply can’t do it. If we decided to cancel cable as a family decision we, as a family would also decide how and where to reallocate the money. If the kids want to partake in extracurricular activities, they need to know how these decisions affect the family.
Obviously mom and dad get the final word (since it’s our money!) but I think its important to allow children young and old to have a say and gain and understanding of how the family is run.
With older children, as soon as they get a job of any kind, it will be important to sit down with them and map out how they will use their money, before the manage to go to a mall and blow it all at the food court. Decide together how much will be saved, what it will be saved for (maybe long-term for post secondary, maybe saving for something like a laptop) and teach the value of a dollar. I’m not suggesting they don’t eat their money at the food court as long as they understand they only have ”x” amount of spending dollars to last ”x” amount of time, they can do what they want with it! Instilling the understanding will be the hardest part.
Involve young children with the purchase of things for them. Tell them you have $100 to buy school supplies and bring them with you so they can see what exactly $100 does or does not buy. To a child $100 is a lot of money, allowing them to see how far (or not-so-far) that money actually goes is a great lesson to teach.
Instilling money lessons in our children is invaluable. They’re never too young and it’s never too late to start.
Do you budget as a family?
Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.
Revisit Your Insurance in the New Year
The New Year is a great time to revisit all aspects of your personal finances. However, after budgets and investments, a lot of people forget to re-evaluate their insurance needs.
Not only could your needs have changed, but by shopping around for insurance, you could get a better rate and possibly save some money. Here’s some simple things that you should look for in the New Year.
Home Insurance
Have you moved lately? Have you bought new stuff for the house,mor maybe remodeled? If any of these situations apply, it’s important to remember that your home insurance needs could have changed. You may need to look at increasing the value of coverage, or even adding more personal property.
The worse thing that you can do is be under-insured, and that can happen easily if you don’t make sure that your policy keeps pace with the improvements you make to your home. Just imagine installing a brand new wood deck, having a BBQ accident, and not having enough insurance coverage to have it replaced. That’s not a good thing, and you’ll regret it later.
Auto Insurance
Auto insurance is one of those insurance types where it pays to shop around. The sad thing is that your insurance company typically locks you in at a set amount, regardless of changes that happen in the industry. I recommend calling around to several different companies, or getting quotes online, so that you can really see if you’re still getting the best rate possible.
Plus, if you’ve moved at all, simple changes like your zip code can make a difference in the rate you’ll pay to insure your car.
Personal Property Insurance
Did you get a pretty, shiny diamond for Christmas? Well, if you did, you’re extremely lucky, but you should also consider getting a personal property policy to cover your jewelry. Typically, most home insurance policies don’t cover jewelry, and so you have to purchase an additional policy that just covers the jewelry. They aren’t expensive, but they can help you with the piece of mind that will make you comfortable wearing your new ring or necklace as much as possible.
What other insurance moves do you think people need to make in the New Year?
Strategies to Make Your Home Search Quicker and Easier
If you’re in the housing market, you may be daunted by the task of finding the perfect house and carrying out all the steps you need to in order to qualify for a mortgage. However, the process doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. There are several things you can do to make your house search quicker and easier.
Ask Family and Friends
One of the best things you can do is ask your family and friends what realtor they recommend and what bank they used for obtaining their mortgage. If more than one person refers you to the same housing expert, consider investigating further.
Use the Internet
The Internet has made it easier than ever to search for a house. Real estate agents like Dan Plowman as well as other places, have moved their listings online. From the comfort of your home, you can take virtual tours and get specs on the property as well as determine how much the annual property tax will be.
In addition, you can check the crime rate in the area where your potential home is located. You can see with one click if there have been any crimes committed and what type of crimes they were.
Finally, you can also see what comparable homes in the area sold for as well as the pricing history of the home you are considering.
Know What You Want
Before you even begin your home search, think of what qualities you want in your home. How many bedrooms do you need? How many bathrooms would you like? How big do you want the kitchen to be? What architectural style appeals to you? Do you need a large yard? How close do you want the neighbors to be?
Knowing these variables beforehand can make the job search easier. If you must have 3 bedrooms, you don’t need to waste your time checking out a 2 bedroom home, for instance.
Be Flexible
Having said that, make sure you’re also flexible. If you think you must have a home with a large yard but you find your dream home and it only has a medium sized yard, be willing to compromise. You’ll likely never find an absolutely perfect home that has every quality you’d like. There are some qualities that you likely can’t compromise on, but for others, be willing to be flexible. You’ll make the house search go much faster.
Searching for a home can be fun and frustrating. However, if you use some of these strategies, hopefully the search will be more fun, and you’ll find your perfect home sooner. After all, that means you’ll sooner be moved in and settled.
What other advice would you recommend for people embarking on their home search?
5 Easy Ways to Lower Your Expenses
If you’ve resolved that 2014 will be your year financially, take heart that there are many things, small and large, that you can do to improve your finances. You don’t have to go extreme to make a real impact on your finances. In fact, with careful planning, you can live the same lifestyle you are used to at a fraction of the cost.
Here are some smart choices you can make to conserve your funds:
1. Use coupon and rebate sites. If you buy things on the internet (and who doesn’t nowadays), make sure to take advantage of the many sites out there that offer coupons or discount codes. Try to never make a purchase without using an online code or getting free shipping.
Also take advantage of rebate sites like Great Canadian Rebates. Typically, with these sites, you go to the rebate site first, then are redirected to the online store and earn a rebate. This can add up surprisingly quickly if shop online frequently.
2. Find cheaper ways to get the services you need. If you have a land line still, consider switching to a service like Ooma Telo. You’ll pay less than $5 a month for home service, including long distance calls. If you still have cable television, can you cut the cord and pay for Netflix streaming instead? At only $8 a month for Netflix, you’ll save over cable.
3. Save on groceries. Feeding your family a healthy diet is important, but there are ways you can do that on a budget. If you don’t already, consider shopping at a discount grocery store like Aldi or Food4Less. Another option is to calculate how much your regular repertoire of meals costs. Try to make the meals with the lowest cost per serving more often than the other ones that are pricier.
4. Embrace minimalism, to a point. Many of our financial struggles come from our culture of excess. Even if you’re a shoe connoisseur, how many shoes do you really need? Do you need more than five? Sure, you may want more than five, but focus on what you need. Asking yourself before each purchase if you NEED something is a good way to cut down on excess consumption and save money.
5. Consider buying used. This concept may take a while to get used to if you haven’t bought used, but with diligence, you can find what you need used and save 80 or 90% off the price of buying new, especially for tools and household goods. This principle also applies to cars. Considering the loss of value in a new car when you drive it off the lot, buying used makes sense. Let someone else take the financial hit.
Utilize some or all of these strategies, and you’ll find your bottom line improving faster than you thought possible.
What strategies do you use to keep your expenses down?
Gender Identity and Children’s Toys – My Rant
I have a very sweet almost 19 month old little girl. She is a little girl in almost every way: angelic face (though don’t let that fool you), sweet voice, even wears a pink sparkly tutu sometimes. She truly is a little girl through and through. Also, she adores Thomas the Tank Engine more than anything in the world. She sees a train and yells ”Tommy!” in a crazy excited voice as if she may never see him again.
On the contrast, I have a good friend who has a little girl who hates pink. Hates sparkles. Hates everything ”girly”. She’s four. She wears jeans, a cool leather jacket and dressed up as Spiderman this past Halloween. Seemingly totally on her own, she identifies herself as a ”tomboy” and looks up to her older male cousins.
Why must we as a society have any issue with either of these situations?
My husband, daughter and I were recently at the store buying our kiddo a small Thomas train (imagine her gripping it with all her might as we approach the cash), we had to pull her hands apart to get the toy free and pass it to the older lady working the cash.
”Oh that’s sweet, you must be buying this toy for a little brother maybe? (looking at us parents for some assurance), it seems as though you care very much about the toy” says the cashier.
”No” I replied, ”It’s for her, she adores Thomas (insert my snarkiness)”
”Oh, it’s just that usually only little boys play with trains…”
We paid and left (me uttering comments under my breath).
Why, must we as a society place gender roles on things like toys?! In this case we’re talking about a train. A really cute little train with more train friends and a cute show both her father and I approve of.
I cannot even begin to tell you the comments my friend got for ”allowing” her daughter to wear a Spiderman costume at Halloween. Comments as crazy as she’s ruining her little girl to stuff about later regret in life when she comes home a lesbian.
Again, what in the world is wrong with people?! Why can’t a cute little four-year-old act like a superhero and dress up like Spiderman? I’d much rather raise an ass-kicking daughter than a pathetic little princess awaiting some prince charming to rescue her, that’s for sure.
Being a parent has opened my eyes to many more worldly issues I, as a non-parent, was totally ignorant to. I grew up playing with toys. Toys bought from the toy section of the store. Not the girl section or boy section, just the toy section. It was recently brought to my attention that even birthday cards for little kids (<2-year-old) was divided by boy cards and girl cards, how about we just have a ”birthday card” section. I don’t want my daughter ever feeling weird for picking a ”boy card” for her girl friend. This is an issues, I as a parent shouldn’t have to worry about.
We are placing unnecessary stigma in children’s heads and it needs to stop. Plain and simple.
Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.
How Young is Too Young? TV Edition
A friend of a friend recently mentioned that she and her husband were excited about the purchase of a wall mount they got on sale so they could finally mount the TV in their son’s bedroom. While I normally wouldn’t have any real issue with this, though I do think bedrooms should be for sleeping and not TV, their son is only 14 months old. I don’t care what argument you have ready for me, 14 months is way too young to have a television in your room.
Apparently I’m the minority in this group of people (note: these are not my real close friends). When I asked a few of my other friends (and friends of friends) what they thought, they didn’t seem to be as outraged as I was. They actually liked the idea of either one, having the TV on a channel appropriate for children or two, for slightly older children, teaching them how to use the remote and programming their TV for children appropriate channels, or using a service like Rogers Anyplace TV.
What?!
I cannot imagine ever putting a television in my young child’s room and especially leaving it on since they’re too young to even use a remote!
Maybe I’m alone on this. TV was never a hug part of my upbringing. I only had access to five channels growing up (on the one TV in the house) until highschool when my sister and I got jobs and started giving my mom a few dollars per month towards the cable bill since we deemed it necessary to have all cable channels (we needed access to MuchMusic and MTV!) Maybe I don’t ”get” it. My husband loves TV but I could easily live without it. When our little-one is around, other than the very odd episode of DVR’d/DVD/Netflix version of Thomas the Tank Engine or Elmo, or a special event like the upcoming Olympics, she doesn’t watch TV.
Though it drives me insane to read the same ten books over and over (from a collection of close to 100), given her age, I would much rather do this all day then have her stare mindlessly at a TV.
I don’t hate the television, though I say I could live without it, I still enjoy the odd lazy day watching TV. I also respect that there are some very good programs on TV, I can honestly say they I’ve watched and learned some very interesting things thanks to the little black box in my living room but I didn’t start watching TV until I was old enough to remember. 14 months is just too young. Experts don’t recommend even introducing the TV until the age of two.
I also respect that it’s 2014 and the world is changing. There are children’s shows that are interactive and try to teach your child things. Children learn much better when they actually interact and get feedback, not from talking to a screen. Though I think it’s fun to supplement educational tools with TV or iDevices please don’t rely on these to teach your children necessary skills. Talk to them. Read to them. Play with them and watch them grow.
Also, as a safety precaution I don’t recommend mounting the TV above the child’s crib. Yeah, they did that too.
Am I being too harsh? Do you think it’s OK to have a TV in the room of a very young child?
Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.