Off-Season Savings

Reset your season and save. Shopping against the season for goods and services is one of the best ways to save on practically everything. Why? Because when other people aren’t spending money on certain items or services, companies need to up the incentives to generate interest. One big example of seasonal savings is on travel. You’ll pay a lot less for travel in the off-peak seasons. For example, you can pay up to 80 percent higher for accommodations at Disney World during the Easter or Spring season as you will during the value or off-peak season. This makes sense since … Continue reading

Do You Allow Your Kids to Watch TV News?

After reporting and anchoring local TV news for more than decade, I never considered tuning out the events of the day after giving birth. I’ve watched the evening news religiously since I was in high school and never dreamed there would come a day when I would be forced to wean myself from my 6 o’clock fix. However, that day has come. A few weeks ago, I was in the kitchen making dinner with the TV news on in the background when my 7-year-old came waltzing in. Typically, she’ll sit on a stool at the counter and try to snag … Continue reading

Why Black Friday Shopping and Kids Don’t Mix

What kind of parent takes his/her children shopping on Black Friday morning? I posed that question last year in a blog and got a variety of answers. Personally, I wouldn’t dream of dragging my child out of bed at 3, 4, 5 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving, so that she could sit in a cart while I tried to score deals on Christmas gifts. But that’s just me. Apparently, some parents don’t share the same philosophy. Take for example the Georgia couple that ditched their kids last week, so they could snag Black Friday deals. According to police, instead … Continue reading

5 Savings Questions Ask Your Store Manger

The next time that you go out to shop, you can use that time to “earn” extra coupons and discounts. It is all a matter of simply asking your store manager certain questions. Jot down the answers and then take advantage of the bounty of coupons that you will get. 1. Do you have a loyalty program? Loyalty programs allow shoppers to earn points or even cash back on their purchases. Most stores have some sort of loyalty program, although many don’t advertise this. Even thrift stores, such as GoodWill often have loyalty programs. You can also earn free products … Continue reading

Kids Virtual Field Trips

Whether you home school, summer school, preschool or just like to have educational fun with your kids, you should be very interested in this blog post. Virtual field trips for kids (and in some cases by kids) are a great way to introduce children to places that are not feasible to physically visit. You can also encourage kids to chronicle their own real-life field trips and share them with others, whether through their own website, a YouTube video or through a website such as MeetMeAtTheCorner.org. Let’s start with MeetMeAtTheCorner.org. It is focused on the New York City area, but it … Continue reading

Got Kids? Saving Money on the Road

Who says the only lodgings that embrace families are the ones where “Kids Eat Free” signs hang above the entryway? With the cost of gas soaring, house prices falling and the word “recession” appearing on newspaper headlines from coast-to-coast hoteliers are getting creative to lure families with children to their properties. The following cost-saving travel packages are not only easy on your wallet, but they are also packed with kid-friendly activities that will truly make your vacation on a shoestring a memorable one. DENVER The 196-room JW Marriott Denver at Cherry Creek is currently offering their Kids in the City … Continue reading

Digital Cameras for KIDS

If you have budding photographers in your family then you are likely familiar with the colorful, chubby digital cameras made just for kids. They are all the rage in my daughter’s playgroup and those kids are all under 4 years old. But the cameras are not only popular with our friends; I’ve seen the Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Digital Cameras (pink for girls and blue for boys) being toted around by random children at various public venues from the zoo to the state fair, the aquarium to the children’s museum. Despite the fact that my daughter’s pals have digital cameras and she … Continue reading

Snowflake Your Way to Savings

Using the snowflake method, you can save enough money for vacations, private school for the kids, groceries, holiday gifts, or your emergency fund. You can snowflake to build up your stockpile or be a stay at home parent. You can even snowflake to buy an iPod. Many people use the snowflake method, whether they work outside of the home or not. it is easy to do, and you can earn as much or as little as your time allows. What is the snowflake method? You basically find ways of making small amounts of money (the snowflakes) in short bursts of … Continue reading

Good Old-Fashioned Savings

Finances are one of those stressful topics that come up again and again for the average single parent. We struggle to make enough money and make what we do have stretch as far as it can. There are questions about insurance, education, and credit and all sorts of other financial concerns that pop up again and again. Even for those of us on the tightest budgets, there is something to be said for good, old-fashioned savings… I think that it doesn’t matter how little we make, we can still put some away in savings. I am not talking about living … Continue reading

Extreme (Grocery Bill) Makeover: What Happened When We Put Our Kids in Charge

In case this is the first blog you’re reading about this I’ll just give a brief synopsis: Kids eat lots of food. Kids grow–want more food. Parents trying to control budget. Think of brilliant idea. Parents give kids money to buy their own food. Twins don’t count. Four year old only buys snacks. Dinners, fruits and vegetables are free. Does mom lose hair or are kids happily budgeting? And the question everyone is dying to know is did it save any money? We presented our idea to the kids. They were all for it. To them, it’s free money that … Continue reading