(Games) The Financial Considerations of Staying at Home

March 30th, 2010 admin Posted in education |

By Marlin Rollins

From the moment I learned I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. That feeling only strengthened when my beautiful son was born. I took one look at him and wondered how I could ever give up the opportunity to spend each and every day with him, watching him grow and learn, and exploring the world for the first time through his eyes. But there was a problem. We were a two-income family. How could we possibly afford to eliminate one of those incomes? Well, there are a lot of answers to that question and I’d like to share the ones I found with you.

The first thing I looked at when determining “what we can afford” is how much money we made. I was wrong. What I really needed to examine was our expenses. So, the first step I took in my quest to stay home was to list the expenses I would incur in order to work, versus staying home. This is what I came up with: professional clothing (your kids don’t mind that you wear sweats!); transportation costs: fuel, tolls, public transit, parking, etc.; those “must-have” coffee and/or donut stops each morning; lunches with coworkers; gifts for coworkers (holidays and special occasions); CHILDCARE - it’s in bold print for a reason. If you haven’t priced this one out yet, do it now. This will easily be your greatest expense. And, it only goes up with each child.

Go ahead and add up all these expenses. Don’t be too depressed, because there’s good news: these expenses represent your “instant rebate” for staying home. You’ve essentially just eliminated the need for a good portion (if not all) of your income. Need more savings? Keep reading!

How many times per week are you dining out at restaurants, getting take out, ordering in, etc? By staying at home, you have the time to go to the grocery store and prepare a wholesome and much more economical meal for your family.

Eliminate (or at least cut back) on your little luxuries. Manicures, pedicures, massages, hair highlights, 300 television channels, 2000 cell phone minutes. You get the picture.

Clip coupons. I actually started buying the Sunday paper each week just for the coupons! You may have never seen the need to do this while you were working, but if you take the time, it will save you money. There are also plenty of online sites that provide coupons.

Examine your bills carefully. When we had 2 fulltime incomes, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I rarely looked at any bill in detail. If there was an amount due, I paid it. I never looked at it, never questioned it. Now I go over every health insurance summary, utility statement, etc. with a magnifying glass. And, I can honestly say in the past 2 years I have caught almost $1000 in billing errors. That’s $1000 more for my family.

Make this a team effort. If staying home only appeals to you and not your partner, your chances of success are greatly diminished. Making adjustments to the family budget will affect the lifestyle of all those involved. This transition will be much smoother with the support of your significant other.

And last, but certainly not least, follow your heart! If you feel called to stay home with your children, then do it! All it takes is the determination to succeed and the willingness to reduce expenses. Best of luck to you!

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Spring Break

By TR Scott

Spring break - well, the theory is you’ve worked hard in school and need a break…but even if thats only half true, enjoy your time and be safe

Check out our Spring Break specials whether you are college students or a family looking for that special vacation spot. We offer cheap fares on all Spring Break destinations whether you are traveling abroad or to a nearby state. Be sure to make your travel arrangements months in advance. Remember that traveling during Spring Break is a very busy time of year because most schools take their vacations around the same time. The longer you wait to book your vacation the possibility of getting your desired hotel and flight times will be limited. Getting a passport takes time as well, so if you are planning to travel to another country be sure to do this well in advance. Flying Sunday through Wednesday are the less crowded days to travel. Making your reservations so that you can travel during these times will allow a less chaotic experience getting to and from your destination.

The best way to come across great locations to visit are from family and friends. They can tell you which restaurants they would recommend and what there is to do. They will also be able to tell you what to watch out for while you are there. Once you have decided where to go for your trip you should do some research on your own. You will want to familiarize yourself with all that is available to do. If you would like to take day trips while you are there you might need to rent a car. We offer inexpensive rates for car rentals at Quickreservation. If you will be traveling to another country you need to take caution and find out if it’s alright to drink the water and what foods you should avoid. Do your research to help your vacation run as smooth as possible.

If you know that you will be calling home while you’re away you should contact your cell phone provider. Many people have come home from trips to find out that they were charged double or triple for their long distance calls. If it is not included in your calling plan you might want to purchase phone cards before you leave to save you money.

Whenever you travel you should always spread your money around. Never carry it together. When you head out for the day bring along just what you think you will need. Separate that money into different pockets. Leave your credit cards, travelers checks and other cash in the hotel safe.

Students want to have a partying Spring Break experience that they will never forget. In order for this to happen they need to be safe. Too many times you hear of students getting hurt or coming up missing. Keep in mind the following to assure a fun and memorable experience.

Never EVER go anywhere alone. The more people you have with you the safer you will be. Be sure that you have one person in your group at all times that is sober. This person can make sure that no one will leave an establishment with a stranger. When drinking and your judgement becomes impaired you are apt to do things you normally wouldn’t do. Take turns being the designated “friend watcher” and be prepared to take some flack.

Never leave your drink unattended. Predators hang out in areas where they know that alcohol is involved and impairment will help them get their victim. Predators don’t have a tattoo on their forehead to let you know they are out to get you. They come in all shapes and sizes so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Condom, condom, condom! In case you didn’t catch that - Condom! One time without a condom can ruin your life. Sexually transmitted diseases are an easy thing to get that no one wants. Don’t remember your Spring Break as a time you caught a disease.. remember it as the time you partied hardy with your friends!

TR Scott
http://www.quickreservation.com

Why Your Teen Should Learn to Use a Computer

By Marlin Rollins

The teens want computer skills in order to become competitive in their upcoming careers and to give them ease in their day-to-day activities. Computers become indispensable tools to the teenagers. Parents must understand that the teens want different computer skills such as word processing programs to make various types of invitations, make reports, format documents, write resumes, accomplish their assignments and write research papers. The teens also want to be updated with new information as well as to make new friends from around the globe. Even at their young age, they have to gain insights and abilities on the complexities of life especially in finding a lucrative job. In this way, they are much prepared when they finished their studies and start to pursue their own career.

The teens want attractive and eye bulging reports which are created using special software. These teens know that an ability to properly present their propositions would spell a difference between winning and losing. In classes involving mathematical problems, the teenagers must learn spreadsheets, data entry and other skills.

The teens want to use the internet. Hundreds of tools are available to teenagers to allow them unlimited use of their creativity. Through the internet, the teens learn to surf to their favorite websites, make the required reports at a shorter period, learn and explore new trends and developments with ease. Among the favorites of teens are chat rooms, games, blog and other interactive sites. Free downloads are also available such as music, software, skills training and others. Through the internet, the teenagers are freed from spending so much money in purchasing their favorite music and movies, as well as in gaining knowledge in tradecraft and other profitable skills.

The parents must broaden their understanding on why their teens must be skilled in properly navigating the internet to browse the sites that they need. Lack of the necessary skills and know how would make the teenagers land on sites that are not suited to them. By chance, they might be able to view scenes which are not good.

The good news is that thousands of jobs could be accessed through the internet. These jobs include data entry, web and logo design, computer programming and so on. Landing on high paying jobs require the needed knowledge and skills in computers and computer applications. Of course, this knowledge could be acquired through formal education, but to the freelancers, learning through the internet is profitable and worthwhile.

Having learned some computer literacy skills could make the teenagers become useful citizens by applying what they know for personal, career growth and community building.

The teens want these computer literacy skills to prepare them for a bright future, but most important they also need the encouragement and motivation coming from people they trust.

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