Archives for April 2015

Mother’s Day Gifts by Age and Budget

April 29, 2015 | Leave a Comment

I have always loved Mother’s day. As a child growing up I found Mother’s day crafts in school we’re always the most fun (in hindsight probably not a coincidence since most of my teachers we’re female, and moms themselves- always prepping cool gifts they’d want to receive themselves!). As an adult, and now a mother myself, it’s a special day.

I admit that it takes a lot to be a mom. It is the hardest thing I will likely ever encounter in my life. From pregnancy to raising a successful child, it is hard. I think Mother’s day and Father’s day are two of the most important days of the year. Though gifts aren’t necessary, much like a birthday it’s nice to feel appreciated and most people enjoy tangible objects.

What a child is able to accomplish in terms of gifts will vary depending mostly on age and as well, budget. The best gift I ever received (and likely will never be topped) was a homemade video my husband made for me on my birthday- it’s not always about how much money one spends. Time, effort and thought far outweigh any monetary denomination.

Gift from…Babies

Budget Idea: Have the babies’ footprint or handprint placed on something. Moms love baby feet and hands more than can ever be explained. Make an impression in dough or casting kit or use ink to take imprint and place on an object (picture, ornament, flower pot….anything!)

More Expensive Idea: Have a piece of custom jewelry made with mom and baby birthstones. You can do this with rings, necklaces or even keychains. There is no shortage of birthstone ideas. They can be purchased at local jewelers as well as online at craft sites like Etsy.

Gift from…Young Children

Budget Idea: Plants. This is a general idea that can be broaden however you want. A simple vase with flowers is nice, custom paint a flower pot and have a child plant some seeds or bulbs. For less than $10 you could come up with a fun craft with that young kids would enjoy helping with

More Expensive Idea: A family dinner out. Now that my daughter is a little bit older, and able to sit down without wanting to run around everywhere, I enjoy taking her places (without worry of toddler containment!). A nice dinner out would be much appreciated by mom for sure!

Gift from…Older Child-Adult Children

Budget Idea: Time with mom. Probably the cheapest idea of them all but honestly the most important. Especially as kids get older, busy, and more involved in their own independence, mom would LOVE a day with you- distraction free.

More Expensive Idea: Take mom on a date out. A mom/child date is a super nice idea. Totally up to you what you plan but whatever it is, she will love it. Huge bonus points if you’re earning your own money and budget a date for her!

Mother’s appreciate the thought put into Mother’s day. They know how hard they work and honestly deserve at least one day of recognition! Show mom you care and make her feel special.

What plans do you have for Mother’s Day?

10 Inexpensive – but Priceless – Gifts for Mom for Mothers Day

April 25, 2015 | Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day is just a couple of weeks away!

Some Moms love flowers. Some Moms love jewels. Some Moms love candy. Some Moms would just love some piece and quiet — at least for one day. I’ve got great news for all of you, who are trying to come up with a Mother’s Day gift. You honestly don’t have to spend a lot of money, to let the special woman in your life know that she is loved and appreciated.

Nope! You really don’t. That’s the great thing about Moms they love anything their kids (and hopefully their husbands) give them, even weeds from outside.

My boys gave me weeds they thought were flowers. These sat in a cup, in my kitchen for over a week. When I finally threw them away the boys asked me where they went. After I explained that they were all wilted and I had to throw them out — they promptly set off to get me some more. Aww!

Since I am a Mom, I have a Mom, I’m friends with lots of Moms and I worked in the retail industry for many years — I guess I would be considered and expert on the subject, of what makes a great Mother’s Day gift. This is why I have decided to share what I know, with anyone who might be having a hard time coming up with the perfect gift.

Below you will find a list of some really fantastic – if I do say so myself – ideas. I am very confident that there is something for everyone here and that there will be at least one item on this list to fit your budget.

1. Kids’ Hand Prints

Moms love anything that are handmade by their children and it’s especially sweet when it contains the child’s hand prints. This can be as easy as using some paint and construction paper to make a beautiful card. The hand prints can be used to make a wreath or flowers.

2. Give Mom a Day Off

We love being with our kids but sometimes it’s just nice to take a day – or even a few hours – and spend it anyway we would like. So a nice thing to do might be get her a gift card to one of her favorite places. It doesn’t have to be expensive just something you know she would enjoy. Or you can assemble a homemade gift certificate that she can redeem -to spend some time – doing whatever she wants.

It may sound silly. You may think “She can take time and do whatever she wants anytime. She doesn’t have to have a gift certificate for that.” For some Moms, they may feel guilty taking time for themselves, or they just don’t do it. If this sounds like someone you know, then this is perfect. If you get a little bouquet of flowers to go with it — that’s even better!

3. Have Her Car Detailed

The car is mom’s mobile command center – she’s driving the kids around all day long, and chances are they aren’t the cleanest bunch. Things spill. The car gets dirty. And mom just doesn’t have time to clean it up all the time. Even when she does have the time, it’s not likely at the top of her list.

There are a lot of ways to get the car detailed – you can do it yourself, take it to a car wash, or even take it to the car dealer. We recommend the car dealership because they detail cars everyday, they usually do it very well, and the prices are very reasonable.

4. Make Mom Feel Special All Day

Let her sleep in, make her breakfast, leave the house or get the kiddos outside for a bit so she can get ready for the day, in peace. Try your best to make the whole day revolve around her. Do whatever it takes to keep things as stress free as possible. The rule for the day is that Mom isn’t to do any household chores. She’ll probably try, but keep it to a minimum. My husband did this for me last year and I really appreciated it!

Remember Catherine’s rant last year about What Mom’s Really Want For Mother’s Day? Yes, remember that.

5. Pamper Mom

There are so many thing you can get for Mom that are pampering. A great smelling bath set, lotions, candles, super comfy slippers, a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure, etc. — just think about what she enjoys, and you are sure to come up with the perfect gift.

You can even combo this with #4 and give her a full day of pampering.

6. Have Kids Write a Story

Maybe it’s because I’m a writer, but I think a wonderful gift would be to help your kids make up a story all about Mom or Grandma. You can have them cut pictures out of magazines to illustrate the story, or they can draw their own. Depending on the ages of the children — this could get very interesting and fun. It will be a treasured keepsake and something she can bring out a read year after year.

7. Think Spring!

There is a very good reason Mother’s Day is in May and I think it is because – in most places – spring has sprung. All the flowers are in bloom and it is just a beautiful time of year. You can always run down to the local farmers market and pick up a beautiful bouquet of flowers — but they also have gorgeous hanging baskets and other flowers, plants, trees, bushes, etc. that can be planted and enjoy for many months — or for many years to come.

8. Photo Gifts

All Moms and Grandmas love photo gifts! There are so many things you can put together and it can really fit into any price range — photo mugs, photo books, mouse pads, office supplies, clothing, etc. I am featuring Snapfish for two reasons — 1. They run awesome deals! 2. They offer a 110% quality guarantee. They aren’t giving me anything to say this, I am just a really satisfied customer! Check them out. I’ve also used Walgreens and Costco with great success!

9. Jewelry

This may sound expensive but it doesn’t have to be. Sterling Silver charms are quite reasonable and can be placed on a bracelet or a simple silver chain. Craft stores also have beads – and other jewelry making supplies – so the kids can make something special that Mom or Grandma will love — and wear with pride.

10. Shower her with Love!

This should be the easiest, least expensive and most meaningful gift of all!!

“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.”– Agatha Christie

Do you have suggestions? What was your favorite Mother’s Day gift, you ever received? What was your favorite Mother’s Day gift that you have given?

PhoneSheriff Review

April 22, 2015 | Leave a Comment

Are you looking for a way to monitor your children’s cellphone and tablet activity without constantly hovering over their shoulders?

While technology has made things like learning and entertainment cheaper and easier it’s also posed a problem for parents. With a phone or tablet kids now have access to almost anything they can dream up.

For a worried parent of an older child or teen this is where PhoneSheriff can be a huge sigh of relief.

What is PhoneSheriff?

PhoneSheriff is a parental control app that allows you to monitor and restrict access to certain programs on your child’s mobile device in real time.

When someone has PhoneSheriff downloaded to their phone and accesses the internet PhoneSheriff will automatically start downloading all logs from the device. This includes call logs, text messages, pictures, internet activity, and GPS location. You can also control usage on your child’s phone and block phone numbers by applying filters.

As the parent you can log into your PhoneSheriff account online and view these logs in real time.

How do I Get It?

PhoneSheriff is a paid app that currently costs $89 per year. It works on Blackberry, Android, and IPhone devices. (Including tablets!)

Once your make the purchase you’ll be able to setup your PhoneSheriff account and will be instructed on how to install the app on your specific device. For me (Android) this was just changing a couple settings on my phone and then downloading the app from my phone’s browser.

It’s also important to note that you MUST tell your child they’re being monitored. From my perspective as a parent I think this is something you should do whether required or not to keep the trust of your child.

The Benefits of PhoneSheriff for a Parent

If you’re wondering what benefits you as a parent would get with the PhoneSheriff app here are just a few:

Avoid Overusing – You can use filters to keep your child from going over his or her monthly usage and to only allow calls at a certain time per day.

Tracking Via GPS: These days teenagers are tied to their phones. You don’t have to wonder where your child is anymore with the GPS tracking feature.

Blocking Phone Numbers – With PhoneSheriff you can block certain phone numbers from being able to call or text your child’s device.

Blocking Inappropriate Information – With access to the internet kids can now view anything they can dream up. You can block inappropriate websites and apps with parental controls.

I think this app could be a gold mine for parents of teenagers. Especially if you have a child who has been abusing her phone privileges or going over her data limit each month. The ability to limit phone usage could save you hundreds of dollars each year. And the GPS location feature? Priceless.

While my kids are too young for this to have much benefit right now I can definitely see the need for an app like PhoneSheriff when they get a little older.

What do you think? Would you install an app like PhoneSheriff on your child’s phone?

Sounds Like You Discuss Family Finances With Your Kids?

April 22, 2015 | Leave a Comment

I had a conversation with a woman I know recently about money and kids. She made a comment about hiding her income tax papers from her kids so they wouldn’t come across any details of her and her husband’s income. ‘’I don’t want them seeing our gross income and suddenly thinking we’re rich and they can have anything they want’’- she explained. She and her husband make decent income and she is doing her best to hide this fact from her kids. She is of the opinion that children shouldn’t be involved at all with their money.

She and I differ. I think kids should very much be in the know when it comes to family finances. They need to know and understand how money works and where else can they learn (multiple times), with the security that is home? Though I have learned quite a bit about personal finances, it was all self-taught, as an adult. In the situation of this couple, she has a learning opportunity with her kids to educate them. She can, and should, teach them how far money really goes.

I read something once that said the easiest way to teach kids about taxes is to eat 30% of their icecream. She can start with this point. Show her kids the number on paper and then show how much is taken away in taxes. Now there isn’t as much money, is there? Kids think $100 is a lot of money when in reality you’re only taking $70 home for every $100 earned and of that $70 it gets split between food, housing, savings, and family activities it really doesn’t go as far as a child may think and they need to see this, not be sheltered from all finances.

Saving is so important. Both Long term and short term savings goals are not only vital to financial success but help prevent debt- one of the most important financial lessons you can teach your kids. Even though it may be your retirement goals, kids need to see how much work it is to reach this goal. Maybe you’re saving for their post secondary, show them. Let them know how much of your money you put aside every year for their future goals.

Financial education is not something we can assume they will learn outside of the home. Unfortunately they don’t learn enough about it in school, despite it being one of the most important skills a child will ever learn. Kids will appreciate the trust you give them in discussing the family finances. There are many ways you can go about actually having the conversations and you can release as many or as few details as you want. I’m of the opinion that it’s a family unit and though there may only be one or two income earners the money if for the family, the more transparency they better.

Do you share financial details with your children? If so, how much detail?

5 Ways to Keep Family Costs Down

April 15, 2015 | Leave a Comment

A family, as a unit, is expensive. There are a lot of expenses when multiple people are involved and the costs add up- quickly. If you’re not careful these costs can bust a family’s budget but with a little planning you can find a decent balance. There are a few areas that are more obvious when it comes to the question ‘’where is all the money going?’’ but since being aware of it is half the battle you can try to avoid the creeping costs all together.

Meal Plan

Food is a massive portion of a family’s budget and meal planning is the easiest way to avoid going over in the food category. If you’re looking to keep costs down, meal planning is a must. Involve everyone in the family to make sure everyone has a say. You can also involve the older kids in the cooking of the meals they help plan.

Prioritize Extracurriculars

Most people have interests, hobbies and extracurricular activities. If everyone did everything they wanted all the time it would likely be much too expensive. Sit down as a family and prioritize what is most important to everyone and come up with a financial plan to keep both family members, and budget- happy. It’s not fair if one kids plays hockey, soccer, piano lessons and takes art classes but you tell kid #2 you can only afford for them to play soccer because there isn’t enough money left in the budget. Things need to be fair for everyone!

Limit Vacations

Vacations, especially ones that involve airfare, are expensive. Rather than trying to plan a vacation every year take some time off and enjoy cheap fun around home. Save the larger trips for every few years (if even that frequent) and find cheaper ways to enjoy time off. When (and if) you do plan a larger trip shop around and capitalize on reward programs as much as possible to keep costs down.

Shop Used

Certain things can definitely be purchased used, especially children’s items like clothes and toys. You can save huge amounts money by shopping around and looking online and in second hand stores. The speed at which kids grow gives a large selection of gently used great quality clothes and toys to choose from.

Limit Eating Out

Eating out is expensive especially when multiple people are involved. There are ways to do it (like capitalizing on kids eat free nights) but the best way to save money is to do just that- save it and eat at home. Save eating out for special occasions only and everyone will enjoy it much more when it’s an anticipated treat.

Though having a family has more costs than being single or a couple there are ways to avoid letting the family costs consume all your money. It takes a little planning and awareness but it is possible to keep family costs down!

How do you keep family costs down?

4 Ways to Get Organized for Tax Season

April 9, 2015 | Leave a Comment

This post is part of the TaxACT #BeatTheDeadline blog tour which shares tips on how to make tax time a smooth and easy process before the April 15 deadline. TaxACT provides the tools and guidance to help you confidently file taxes easy and fast. Do your own taxes today at TaxACT. You got this.

The tax deadline is quickly approaching and we all know that gathering up tax documents is half of the process when it comes to filing an income tax return.

Whether you’ve already filed your taxes or are still putting it off I want to show you a few different ways you can get (and stay) organized for tax season. Trust me, it will make filing so much easier.

Use an Expanding Folder or File Folder System

I’ve used an expanding folder for keeping my bills organized for years. It’s also an amazing way to keep your tax documents organized.

With expanding folders you can generally put tabs at the top of each section. This makes a great and super easy way to keep ahold of all of your tax documents.

You can make one section for income, another for expenses, and a third for investment documents, just to name a few. Since these sections expand so well they’re also perfect to hold the prior year’s tax returns.

If you’re not into the expanding folder another option is to just use regular file folders. You can keep all of your tax information in one folder or break it down by type.

Use an Income Tax Binder

Aside from the expanding folders I also have a thing for binders. Binders are an easily customizable way to stay completely organized.

To get started purchase a binder and tabs and then create sections for your individual tax situation. When documents come in just grab a hole punch and place them in the binder.

Go (Mostly) Digital

If you hate the idea of hanging onto a bunch of physical copies of your documents then consider going digital. You can scan your items into your computer and organize them in a folder on your desktop. This works especially well if you have a ton of receipts you’re keeping track of.

Just be sure to backup all of your data. You don’t want to lose everything you have in the event of a computer crash.

Use a Spreadsheet

In addition to using expanding folders and binders I also like to keep track of my income and expenses on a spreadsheet.

I record any applicable expenses all year long as well as all 1099 income. At the end of the year I know exactly who I should receive 1099’s from and how much they should be.

You can also create a spreadsheet to keep track of what tax documents you’ll be receiving and then check them off as they come. By doing this you won’t accidentally file your taxes before you have everything you need to report.

Get Organized, It Makes Taxes Easier!

Once you’re organized filing your taxes is easy.

If you still haven’t filed your taxes this year don’t worry, you still have time. Use the next couple of days to come up with an organizational system that works best for you and then get to filing.

If you can keep your system up all year long you’ll see how much time and stress you can save when tax season rolls around again.

Beating the tax deadline doesn’t have to be stressful. With TaxACT, everything you need to confidently prepare and e-file your taxes is right at your fingertips. You got this. File your simple or complex federal return FREE today with TaxACT Free Edition.

Keeping Family Documents Safe

April 8, 2015 | Leave a Comment

Sometime between Christmas and summer I get an urge to clean and organize everything in our home. I think this comes from a combination of the influx of new gifts at Christmas (in with new, out with old), the fact that we spend more time inside in the winter so I’m surrounded by ‘’stuff’’ and the fact that come summer, I don’t want to do any of this so I want it done beforehand!

Things have changed for us a bit over the past few years. Since adding a child to our family suddenly there are a lot more important ‘’things’’ in our home. Things I want protected in the off chance something were to happen to us or our property.

Paper Documents

Passports, birth certificates, proof of insurance, you name it, if it’s very important we keep it in a fireproof safe. I thought about getting a safety deposit box but it seemed like more effort. I was lucky enough to receive a large safe from my in-laws for Christmas, which we use to all important original documents.

If it’s something you can have duplicates of (think insurance papers, not passports) scan them and keep a secondary copy on a computer or ideally in a cloud like Dropbox which you could access anywhere in the world.

Pictures

One of the things I am most thankful for in this technology age is digital pictures. I need to get better at backing them up but it’s a lot less stressful than only having that one single original picture like our parents. I have a memory card that I upload all my important pictures to which again, goes in the safety deposit box. I also like to print some pictures giving me an added copy.

Kid and Family Stuff

Though we couldn’t possibly keep every little craft or picture she makes us, there are some things she has made that I can’t imagine ever losing. I have decided I can’t let it get out of control though, I bought a small airtight plastic container to save these things in and once it’s full we need to stop or cut back. Though this wouldn’t be any good if we were in a fire or something alike, it’s safe from everyday ‘house elements’ and I also take pictures of my favorite, special crafts which again gets backed up.

Computer Stuff/Digital Life

External hard drives can be a lifesaver. You’d think I would have learned my lesson when my computer crashed in university, losing everything, but it took losing my computer full of non backed-up photos of my child to really learn the lesson. I now back everything up on an external hard drive- which again can go in the safe, or a cloud- which I have access to anywhere in the world.

Life is suddenly more precious when an entire family is involved. If a fire hit our house I couldn’t care less about our clothes, dishes or appliances but if I lost my first Mother’s Day card I’d be devastated. Kids put everything into perspective, keep your family safe and make sure your important things are protected!

How do you keep your family documents safe?

Non-Sugar Easter Egg Ideas

April 1, 2015 | Leave a Comment

I love Easter. Whatever reason you celebrate the season, it’s a fun time. It’s often less busy than Christmas and I look forward to the slower pace. To me it’s pure innocence. Kids have fun with the Easter bunny, churches are beautifully decorated, flowers make their appearance and usually, spring is here.

It’s a time for family which I always look forward to. We get a long weekend to be with each other and have a feast with our extended family to celebrate. Having kids put a whole new element of fun into it. Though I’ve always enjoyed the holiday, having fun with my daughter and watching her explore everything has been super enjoyable.

Since my husband and I started playing the role of the Easter bunny (something we’ve already failed at since our almost three-year-old found our stash), I’ve become more aware of sugar and treats. Don’t get me wrong, I love candy and chocolate, and I certainly allow my daughter to have some too, but when we as her parents do an Easter basket for her, and I know other friends and family will also have treats for her, I try to control what I can on our end. No three-year-old needs as much candy as I know is coming to her in the upcoming week.

We bought her very little candy and chocolate full-well expecting the rest of the family (grandparents and aunts mostly) to act out on their need to buy treats for her 😉 Instead we opted to focus on some non-sugary treats to put inside the eggs for her Easter egg hunt and I thought I would share my list of ideas:

Tattoos. I don’t know about all kids but my daughter thinks they are the coolest thing ever.
Stickers. The local dollar store has small baggies of loose stickers making them easy to put in her eggs.
Jewelry. Again dollar store to the rescue for cheap plastic play jewelry.
Hair stuff for girls.
Playdough. You could fill the egg with playdough and keep the original container to place back in.
Money. Who wouldn’t love few extra dollars? My grandparents put money in some of our eggs at Easter with the expectation we’d put some extra on the collection plate later that day at church.
Toys. We found some extra-large eggs this year, something like a hotwheels car would be able to fit easily.
A Prayer. If you follow a religious aspect of Easter placing a sweet Easter prayer inside is a nice way of passing it along.
Gift certificate (or alike). Depending on how much you spend it might be an idea.

Again, I’m not a candy hater. In fact I look forward to Easter candy more than any other treat in the rest of the year, but kids tend to get so much sugar it is nice to have other options. The less candy she gets, the less I eat so there’s an added bonus too 😉

What sort of Easter treats will you put in your kids eggs?

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