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Car Seat Recommendations: How To Find The Right One For Your Child

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car seat recommendations

Children of the 70s and 80s rode in the front seat of the car with their parents and sometimes in the back of a truck unrestrained. Nowadays, we know it’s safer to make sure our children are properly restrained. From the time a child is born until the child is between eight and ten, parents need to have a car seat.

Everyone agrees that children should be safe when riding in a vehicle but car seats can be pricey with some costing close to $1,000. Lucky parents may receive a car seat at a baby shower. But if you are not one of the lucky ones, you can find a great car seat that protects your children and still pay the rest of your bills. Here are some of our recommendations for finding the best car seat for your child.

Know the Requirements

All states require children to be properly restrained in a car seat from the time they are born until they are four. Past four, the laws vary, but some states require children to be in a proper car seat until they are 8-years-old, weigh 80 pounds, or are four feet, nine inches tall. You can find out your state’s requirements here.

What’s the Best Kind of Seat?

That depends on the age of your child and your budget. All car seats sold by retailers are required to meet federal safety standards. Infants must ride facing the back on the car. You can purchase a seat that accommodates your child until he or she is 20 pounds or so, or you can purchase a seat that converts to a toddler seat as your child grows. You may pay more upfront for a convertible seat, but in the long run, you’ll likely save some money. Many retailers sell car seat-stroller combinations.

Your child will eventually outgrow his or her infant seat and can graduate to a booster seat. These seats are less expensive with some priced at less than $25 at discount retailers.

Where to Find Deals and Where Not to Find Deals

Discount retailers often sell child safety seats at great prices. You can also try online coupon sites like Groupon for savings. But you may want to avoid garage sales and online yard sale sites unless you find one new in the box. Car seats do expire, on average in six years. The cheap car seat may not meet the safety requirements. Also, a damaged car seat could be unsafe.

Parents who are really strapped for cash can reach out to their community. Many organizations offer free car seats to low-income families.

A Final Word About Car Seats

Even the most expensive car seat is worthless if you don’t install it properly. The good news is, most communities offer help with installation. Some law enforcement agencies will install your car seat for free and inspect it to make sure it is safe. The hospital where you give birth may also offer free car seat installations. You can contact your local police department or other emergency management agency for more information.

Have you purchased a car seat recently? Share your experience with us in the comments below!

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How to Have a Fun Frugal Halloween

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frugal halloween ideas

Your kids are probably getting excited at the thought of all the trick or treating candy, but they are probably planning their costume, too. Costumes can get expensive with some as high as $100. That’s a lot of money for some families to spend on something your child will likely wear just once and then outgrow. But don’t worry. There are a number of great frugal Halloween ideas that will keep your kids happy without spending the money you are saving for Christmas.

Get Creative With a Homemade Costume

Many mid-size to larger cities have specialty Halloween stores that sell costumes that can be quite pricey. Save your money and get creative. Many costume ideas cost less, but will take some artistic skill. One of my favorites is the Lego costume made from cardboard. In fact, you can make a lot of costumes using cardboard boxes.

Trim the box edge, wrap it in old Christmas paper and add a bow and you have a Christmas gift. Look around your house for old crafting materials. Pinterest has a wealth of ideas. And in staying with the box theme, they have an adorable UPS costume!

Homemade costumes have an added bonus – your kids will have a one-of-a-kind outfit and stand out among the Spidermans, Batmans, and Incredibles.

A side note: Going to the Halloween store and buying a Halloween costume on clearance is probably not a good idea. Kids grow so fast it may not fit next year and you are stuck with a 2018 trendy costume they can’t wear.

Halloween Decorating on a Dime — What About a Halloween Tree?

halloween tree

Fall and Halloween decorating rival Christmas. You can craft some cute decorations (again I refer you to Pinterest) but what about a Halloween tree? This is something I actually did a few years ago. I purchased some orange paint and pumpkin form for less than $10 at Michaels and painted them. I also took some clear Christmas balls and filled them with orange glitter.

For the tree topper, I took some white material I had left over. I draped it over a foam ball, clinched it at the neck with a ribbon and added some eyes. Voila! I had a ghost tree topper. You can add some clear lights to give it some pizzazz!

But It’s All About the Candy

The saying “you have to spend money to make money” also applies to Halloween. Your kids will be coming home with a ton of candy on Oct. 31, but you need to be prepared with treats of your own to hand out or send to school for Halloween parties.

Busy parents don’t have time to scour all of the sale ads so I use Flipp. It has all of the ads in one place and I can use their search engine to look for what I want. You can also check your coupon and discount sites for other deals.

Whether you trick-or-treat, trunk-or-treat, or just have a fun party, you don’t have to take out a loan to celebrate Halloween. What are some of your ideas for a spooky good time?

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Child Savings – More Than Money in the Bank

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How early is too early to start saving?

Warren Buffett’s multi-billion empire arguably started at age 6, when he bought packs of gum at his grandfather’s grocery store and spent his evenings selling them door-to-door in his neighborhood. The successful gum enterprise soon led to selling six-packs of Coca-Cola, which led to delivering the Washington Post and later to magazine subscriptions. Throughout his childhood, Buffett challenged himself to earn more and save more. By the time he was 11, he had saved $114 (or about $2,000 in 2018 dollars) and invested in his first stock. The rest, as they say, is history.

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How To Care for Your Elderly Parents

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how to care for your elderly parents

As you know, Kids Ain’t Cheap normally talks about young children and finance. However, as children grow up, they sometimes find themselves in the parenting/guardian position. In somewhat of a role reversal, older parents often end up needing assistance from their children. So, we felt this was an important topic to talk about.

Once your parents reach Social Security retirement age, Medicare becomes a significant part of their lives. The program provides them with a certain level of medical insurance, ensuring  more manageable expenses. This is especially important once parents are no longer working. You, as the adult child, may have to play a major role in this process. Here’s how to care for your elderly parents via Medicare coverage.

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School Is In Session! Protect Yourself From Scams

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Beware of Back-to-School Credit Card Fraud

back to school tips, beware of scams, credit card scams

With the school season starting again, education is job number one for students and parents alike. A proper education includes an education in personal finance, and one of the best ways to start is to learn how to protect yourself against scams.

You can and should learn fast, too, because scams can become more common during the back-to-school buying season. Here are some practical suggestions on how to avoid credit and debit card fraudsters:

    • Only patronize known retailers.
    • Avoid jackpot online deals that offer items like $3,000 laptops for $400. These are often scams.
    • “Good PC hygiene” cannot be overstated for every handheld device, laptop, and phone. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs are key to staying safer online.
    • Avoid pooling or sharing credit card information in a dorm setting. There is no reason for students to share credit or share their logins and access to their online accounts with each other.
    • Watch out for “card cracking,” or “card popping,” which targets younger people in particular via their frequent port of call – a social media site. It may be a post announcing a contest, but soon you’re being asked for your banking information. That’s it – run away, it’s a scam.
    • Make sure to monitor each of your credit card accounts for unfamiliar transactions, and report any suspicious account activity to your card issuer directly.

 

  • Check with your financial institution: Many credit card companies now offer online fraud alerts that warn the card issuer of any unusual activity, and several card issuers also provide credit card controls that enable you to literally turn your payment cards on and off at will.

In all cases, the key thing is for the student to be paying attention and proactive – qualities known to be helpful in other areas of study!

This article was provided by our partners at MoneyTips.com.

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Taking Care of Your Children and Your Wallet

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When it comes to raising kids, it’s safe to see you’ll have your hands full. Kids are the living embodiment of the saying “a blessing and curse.” After all, while they might be the best thing that’s ever happened to you and a beautiful dream, they’re also a list of worries for their parents. There are countless things that can, and often will, go wrong, and it’s your job to prevent as much of these tragedies as possible and do damage control in case something slips through the cracks. This can often cost you a lot of money, and that, in and of itself, could be another problem to add to the list. That’s why we need to find ways to take care of them and save money all at once. Here are some tips to help you out.

First and foremost, let’s talk fitness. There’s a health epidemic these days, and it’s a tricky one to avoid. Essentially, we have it too good. We spend too much time sitting and inactive, and it creates several problems. That’s why we need to be more active. And, that’s why, as a parent, you need to get your kid into an active lifestyle early. For starters, consider yoga. Despite its reputation, yoga is a surprisingly hardy workout, but it’s also much easier than some other comparable, but more traditional, workout regimens. In other words, it’s perfect for kids. Take this Manduka coupon and save on the gear you’ll need to share the benefits of yoga with your child.

Next up, there’s diet. The modern American diet is all too rich in processed foods, and for good reason. After all, these items are cheap and convenient, the perfect storm for many of us, especially kids and their parents. However, they’re also chock full of fillers and preservatives that rob them of much of their nutritional value, so you’ll want to indulge in them sparingly, as an afternoon snack or for a special treat. Otherwise, try to stick to home cooked meals made with fresh ingredients. Again, you’ll want to get your kid into the habit of wanting and choosing the healthier alternative whenever possible.