The Family Corner

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. With it come family, friends, fellowship and fun. Oh yeah – and quite often a strain on the budget! Just because it is a holiday doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Follow a few simple tips to save when planning your meal:

Meal Share. Instead of cooking the entire meal yourself, ask your guests to each bring a dish. You could ask one to bring a dessert and another to bring dinner rolls. They will more than likely be happy to oblige and you’ll not only save money, but time in preparing your dinner.

Shop the Sales. There will be lots of great sales in your area. Shop smart and wait for the sales. If you combine those items with your coupons, you will be surprised at how far you can stretch your dollar.

Don’t go overboard. Sure, it would be wonderful to have seven different salads with your meal. But that can quickly add up. Stick with fewer items and you’ll spend less time in the kitchen as well as less money at the checkout.

Skip the paper goods. Sure, it can be easy for clean up, but purchasing fancy paper plates, napkins and cups can quickly add up. If you form an “assembly line” of sorts after your meal, cleanup will be a breeze.

No matter what you plan for your meal, try to enjoy it. We all know the holidays can be stressful, but with careful meal planning you can ease the burden.

When kids are going back to school, its often necessary to update their wardrobes and whether your child wears a uniform or not, it can get expensive (and stressful). However, if you work with your child and apply a few money saving tips, you can save yourself money and maybe even some headaches.

Check out consignment sales.  This is the time of year when consignment sales are taking place across the country.  This is not only a great way to find new clothes for your child, but also, to sell clothes that you have and no longer need.  This allows you to make a little so you can spend a little.

Visit online swaps.  There are several clothing swap sites available online.  These are forums that you join where you request that boxes of clothes be mailed to you – for around $5 plus postage.  Once you receive the box of items you need, you turn around and list things you no longer need.  Someone will request the box from you and you’ll just package and ship it out to them. 

Shop with your child.  Let’s face it.  Kids know what they want to wear and what they don’t – or more importantly what their friends will and will not wear.  When you shop, make sure that you take your child with you. 

Set up a cost sharing plan.  As your children get older, they may make some money themselves.  To help teach responsibility, set up a cost sharing plan.  For instance, they may want a pair of tennis shoes that cost $99, but you are willing to spend only $65.  Let them know that they can have them if you split the cost and they cover the additional $34.  This helps them learn the importance of money and to determine what is worth spending money on – and what is not.

Shop off-season.  Right now you will find summer clothes on clearance at nearly all stores.  Plan ahead and purchase items in the size you believe your child will wear the following season.  When you combine these sales with in-store coupons, it is easy to pick up much needed items for as much as 80% off and more.

Do you have any strategies to save money on back-to-school clothes? Let me know!

It’s that time of year again.  Time to load up the family and hit the road for the annual family vacation.  If the idea of being in the car for hours on end listening to “are we there yet” over and over makes you less than thrilled, you aren’t alone.  However, there are some easy things you can do to help beat boredom, cut down on stops and even save some money!

Wrap “Mile Marker Gifts”:  As you travel down the road, set up mile marker surprises.  For instance, once you’ve gone 100 miles, you can say “ONE HUNDRED” and pull out small gifts for your kids.  These can be things such as travel games, coloring books and crayons or small toys – whatever you can find that fits within your budget.  You can save money on wrapping paper by using aluminum foil – which you can then toss into a recycling bin on your trip.

Pack Snacks and Water:  You can buy either pre-packaged items or make your own snack kits.  This way, when you hear the inevitable “I’m hungry!” you can toss back a snack kit and keep on driving.  (Keep in mind the “mess factor” before you decide to pack items).  We stick with granola bars, fruit snacks, boxed fruits, dried fruits, etc. Libby’s also has Fruit Cups you can find in select supermarkets.

You’ll also want to limit beverage intake to cut down on bathroom stops.  That’s simple by having water bottles for each child kept up front by mom and dad.  You can pass it back, and allow them to take a drink.   Then, they can pass it back up to you for safe keeping.    The number of bottles and snacks you pack will vary based on your travel time – but we always take twice as much as we think we’ll need.

Have each child pack a travel bag:  When you get the kids involved in packing things to do in the car, it can cut down on the complaints.  We give each one of our children a small backpack and help them find books, crayons, toys, etc.  Each one has their bag and can dig in and find something to do to help pass the hours.

Play the “Are We There Yet?” quarter game:  If you know your children will ask this question more times than you can count, you can help them not want to ask.  Go to your bank and get a roll of quarters ($10) or even put a few quarters into a baggie.  Give one to each child right before you leave.  Each time your child asks “Are we there yet?” he/she must  pay you a quarter.  Then, when you are back home from your vacation, you can allow them to spend the money they have left on whatever they want.  A pretty good investment for some quick sanity. (Note: You wouldn’t want to give quarters to very small children so you can substitute with Monopoly money instead.)

Pack lunches:   If you want to really save money, you can pack a picnic lunch for your trip.  You can stop at a rest area or park and enjoy an inexpensive meal while letting your children run off that penned up energy (and maybe wear themselves out so they’ll fall asleep in the vehicle). 

With a little pre-planning and creative thinking, you can make your roadtrip fun for everyone!

Summer vacation is upon us.  As amazing as a family getaway sounds, that may not always be in the cards.  Why not plan your own “stay-cation” this year instead?  Here are five family fun ideas to help you enjoy spending time with one another without blowing the budget.

Create your own water park.  Set up your kiddie pool, the slip ‘n slide, sprinklers and even water guns to create a one of a kind obstacle course.  Make sure that mom and dad get in the fun too – after all how often can the kids get by with shooting their parents with water pistols without getting in trouble?   Be sure to make some popsicles or sundaes because it isn't a water park without frozen treats!

Bring the ballpark home.  If baseball tickets are out of your budget, why not bring the baseball game to your home?  Don your favorite team's apparel; cook up all of the baseball park fixins' such as hot dogs, nachos and soft drinks and turn on the tube.  Root for your team from the comfort of your sofa and think about how great it will be to not fight traffic when the game is over.

Camp out in your own backyard.  Pitch a tent in the backyard.  Dig out the fire pit (or use a flashlight teepee) and share ghost stories.  Make s ’mores and then try to catch fireflies before turning in for the night.

Cool Whip Painting.  Take a container of cool whip and divide into four bowls.  Tint each one with some food color.  Pull out paintbrushes (bought specifically for this project) and let kids "paint" on paper plates.   Just make sure that you’re wearing old shirts and then plan on an immediate dip in the bathtub for cleanup.

Go on a treasure hunt.  Pick up a special treat for your child such as M&Ms or Smarties.  Set up a treasure hunt to provide clues to help your children track down the secret treasure.   If your children are younger, you can draw pictures and/or riddles to help them easily find the location of the next clue.

Just be creative when it comes to planning ways to have fun this summer.  Nothing says that you have to plan an elaborate trip.  As long as you do it as a family, you’re bound to make some great memories that can last a life time.