The wealth gap continues to increase as many people stop investing due to fear. If you are worried your children aren’t going to become investors, it’s best to start teaching kids to invest right away.
A Frugal Life: How to Drastically Cut Expenses and Improve Your Finances
COVID-19 pandemic is laying waste to the global economy.
Living paycheck-by-paycheck represents a grim reality for many. Others face even bigger woes, such as unemployment and overwhelming debt. These worrisome trends have launched a frugal way of living into the mainstream.
What is the Average Cost of In-Home Care for Senior Citizens?
Do you have an elderly loved one who’s no longer able to completely provide for themselves? Do you hate the idea of banishing that person to an old folks’ home or retirement home?
If so, then you need to consider in-home care options. In-home care can be far superior to care in an old folks’ home for several reasons. The cost of in-home care, however, can also be significant.
8 Household Uses For Polyvinyl Alcohol Solution
Did you know that Polyvinyl alcohol or PVA is a great product to have in your house?
It’s a synthetic, water-soluble, odorless, and colorless polymer that has many uses in our households. This article goes over some of the most common practical uses for polyvinyl alcohol solution.
Let’s take a look!
5 Awesome Deal Tracker Websites That Can Save You Money
When shopping around on the internet, we always look for the best deals because we want to save money.
Online shopping continues to dominate our lives but we want to make sure it does not bankrupt us!
So where do we go to find the best deals and coupons?
How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home
Working from home can be difficult for some people. It’s easy to get distracted and make a phone call or do the laundry instead of working. However, if you have a situation like we have now where kids are home from school every day all day, working can seem impossible. Luckily, you can learn how to work from home when the kids are home. Doing so might not be your favorite way to work, but for now, you can get done what you need to get done.
How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home
There are several strategies you can use to try to get work done when the kids are home.
Work Early in the Morning or Late at Night
I work from home part-time, and my favorite time to get work done is early in the morning. My kids generally wake up by 6:30 a.m., so I get up at 4 a.m. and work for two hours (after allotting myself 30 minutes to wake up!). Night owls may prefer to do the reverse and work late at night. The nice part of working early for me is that there are very few distractions, so I get a lot done during that time.
Hire Your Teen
If you have a teenager at home, you may ask if the teen would be willing to watch the younger kids while you work. If you could pay the teen, that would be extra incentive, but if not, just find a way to reward your teen for helping such as treating them to a movie or letting them use the car for a special event.
Give Your Kids Your Time First
You may feel like you need to get to your work right away, but that isn’t always the best decision. Often, if you give your kids your time before you begin to work, they’re happy to let you work uninterrupted afterwards. That’s because you’ve filled them up emotionally, and then they can play on their own. If you don’t spend the time doing this, they may pester you because they want your attention.
Utilize Down Time
While you’re probably spending part of your day making sure your kids are doing their school work, there are also times of the day when they are otherwise occupied. This might be when they’re playing outdoors, on a Zoom meeting for school or tutoring, or watching TV. Use that time to do your work. I save lighter work that doesn’t require as much concentration for these times. Then it doesn’t matter as much if I get interrupted.
Trade Off With Your Spouse
If you have another adult at home, trade off watching the kids. My husband is also working from home right now, so he works his traditional 8 to 5 hours during the weekdays. I let him work and don’t interrupt him or let the kids interrupt him. Then, on the weekends, he gives me time to work and complete anything I couldn’t finish in the early mornings.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to work from home when the kids are home is definitely a learning process. However, it can be done. As you adapt to this new situation, you will likely find working from home gets easier.
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.
How to Unlock a Magnetic Cabinet Lock Like a Pro
Did you install a magnetic cabinet lock, hoping to protect your stuff from children? But then, did you lose the magnet key?
It happens! These types of cabinet locks are great for preventing easy access to dangerous items such as cleaning supplies or medications. Unlocking it without a key, however, can be tricky.
Self-Isolation Into Family Bonding: 5 Awesome Activities for Bored Boys
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare – stuck at home with nothing to entertain the kids.
The good news is, there’s so much more to do with young boys beyond screen time and computers. Encourage them to create, think, and play, all by using common materials already around your home.
3 Things to Consider Before Adding Saltwater Invertebrates to Your Reef Tank
If you’ve ever gazed at a fish tank, you probably already know how relaxed it can make you feel.
But this isn’t just a feeling. Aquariums are scientifically proven to boost your mood, reduce your heart rate, and lower your blood pressure.
Free Apps That Help Kids Manage Their Pocket Money
When we give our kids an allowance, we are giving them their first experience with money. An allowance allows them to make money mistakes (and hopefully learn from them). But it also gives them the chance to save for their goals and buy something for themselves only after having the discipline to save. However, kids don’t learn to be smart savers instantly, though a lucky few seem to right from the start! We, as parents, have to teach them. Another fun way to enhance this learning is by using free apps that help kids manage their pocket money.
Free Aps That Help Kids Manage Their Pocket Money
PiggyBot
This app allows parents and kids to track the children’s allowance virtually. Rather than hand your kids $10 for allowance, parents deposit the allowance virtually into PiggyBot.
The app lets parents deposit the money into three different accounts—spend, share, and save. Children can come into the app and set goals for what they want to buy with their money. When they reach their savings goal, the child can ask mom or dad for the money to buy the item. The parent simply deducts the money from the app to match the fact that money has been dispersed.
This is a simple app, which is available for free and works on an iPad, iPod Touch, or an iPhone.
bankaroo
bankaroo was created by a high schooler for kids to learn to manage their money. While many families use it at home, it’s also used in some school districts to teach kids money management skills.
bankaroo is free and can be used online. It can also be used as an app for iOS, Android, and Kindle phones and tablets. For $4.99 a month, you can upgrade to bankaroo GOLD, which will allow you to add interest to savings as well as transfer money electronically between family members.
I don’t have much cash on hand since we’re not going out right now due to the virus. Instead, I’ve been keeping track of what I owe my kids through bankaroo. It’s easy for me to manage, and my kids are enjoying the app. They can see their money grow there, even if they don’t have the cash on hand as they’re used to.
Allowance and Chore Bot
This app is free if you just need to enter information for one child. If you have more than one child, you’ll need to buy the $2.99 version, which supports multiple children.
As a chore app, you can give your child daily or weekly chores to complete and mark in the app.
As an allowance app, you can choose two versions. Either you pay your child weekly with the money not linked to chores, or you pay based on the chores that are completed.
Children can easily look at the app and see how much money they have accrued, what they’ve spent and on what. They can also compute how much they’ll make in the future based on their current allowance.
This app is good for all ages and is available on Android and iOS.
Star Banks Adventure
Star Banks Adventure app is the product of T. Rowe Price and is available for free. This app is best for ages 9+ and is designed for the iPhone and iPad.
This app presents kids with a game where they have to draw lines through matching shapes and colors. When they do that, they’re rewarded with virtual money to buy the things that they need. Through the app, they learn about money management and the banking industry.
ChoreMonster
Do you have trouble getting your kids to do their chores without procrastinating and complaining? If so, the ChoreMonster app may change that. Designed for kids ages 4 to 12, the ChoreMonster app is available on the Web, Android, iOS, and Kindle.
Parents can use the app to assign their children chores, give a weight to the chore such as earning 10 points, and then specifying what children can “buy” with their points. Rewards can be 30 extra minutes watching a TV show or getting an ice cream cone.
While this app does not specifically teach children about money, it does teach them the correlation between working hard for things that they want.
App for Less than $6
While most free apps should do just fine with teaching your kids about money and helping them manage their allowance, if you have $6 to spend, there are some apps that are popular and educational.
Savings Spree
This app is $5.99 and for iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. Perfect for kids ages 7 and up, kids will likely enjoy this app so much they won’t realize they’re also learning.
Savings Spree is designed like a game show, and kids must answer questions. They learn about using money wisely and long-term savings goals.
App for Less than $6 a Month
Most of the apps mentioned above are for kids 12 and under. What if you want to teach your teen about real-life money management? Suddenly the stakes get much higher. Of course, if you just give him cash, he can’t spend more than he has, but what if you want to teach him how to manage in our high-tech financial world?
FamZoo Family Finance
This is not one of our free apps that help kids manage their pocket money. In fact, this app is $5.99 a month unless you pay for 24 months in advance. In that case, the app is $2.50 a month.
Despite the price, this app is worth mentioning because it’s for kids 13+, and it’s not an app that teaches virtual lessons. Rather, the parents put money in the child’s account in FamZoo Family Finance, and the child is issued a card that links to the app. Parents can see their child’s spending and offer advice. The app also tracks chores and odd jobs and teaches teens about preventing credit card debt.
Final Thoughts
If you’d like to teach your child in a fun way, there are plenty of free apps that help kids manage their pocket money. There are also a few that aren’t free but you may find worth the price. No matter what apps you chose, teaching kids about finances with apps is fun and will hopefully set them up for a more financially savvy future.
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.