But They Sure Are Worth It
Studies are showing that when children learn how to meditate, they learn how to handle their emotions better and are capable of self-soothing when situations arise. No matter how old your children are, it’s never too late or too early to teach them a few practices. Teaching them also ensures that you are also taking some time out to do a bit of meditative practice. Here are some of the best tips I can give you on teaching your children this invaluable skill.
A vast majority of us feel like we don’t have enough time. We wake up exhausted, run around all day, go to sleep exhausted, and barely sleep because we are thinking about the next day. We may pride ourselves on getting a lot done but we also berate ourselves about not getting enough done. Stop. Slow down. Let’s review your time management. Time management is not about cramming everything into one day, it’s about making the most of our time. Here are a few tricks I like to use to make sure that my time works for me.
In the United States, half of its population is actively engaged in investment in the stock market. 20% of the left out population in the investment opportunity don’t invest because they are unaware of how the stock market works. 16% of the remaining population consider investing in stocks as risky or find the brokers untrustworthy.
From an economist’s perspective, buying stocks can be a wealth generation strategy for individual investors. It’s important to gain knowledge about the stock market as it comes with its own risks and rewards. For Americans with extra cash in their pockets, it’s one of the most popular investment vehicles in the nation.
To better understand how investing in stocks is approached, here is information to help us understand how the market works.
A stock, also known as a share, is the certificate used by companies to show ownership. It’s a slice of the company owned by the shareholder equal to the number of shares as a portion of the company’s outstanding shares. Most companies have shares that are equivalent to millions or billions.
A Stock market is a regulated environment that facilitates the buying and selling of individual stocks. It’s essential to have stock markets in existence as they provide the platform for the exchange of the stocks.
Another importance of stock markets is to ensure that the trading of shares is operated in a secure, regulated and transparent manner. Stock markets are different and as such prudent investors prefer to trade only in trusted stock exchanges.
Most of the successful corporate giants are likely to have started off as a small enterprise. Technology powerhouses start off as small entities but rise by investing in stocks. Achieving such success requires massive amounts of capital and most companies consider the stock investment as their option.
In order to implement the business idea, the entrepreneur requires a specific amount of capital. The capital aids in hiring employees, buying equipment and putting in place a sales distribution network.
Companies can raise such capital through by selling shares. Debt financing would seem like a simple and viable opportunity, for start-up companies. It can be a problem as long-term debts need pledging of assets by the company.
In the case of a start-up business, it may not have enough assets to achieve this. These companies will opt for equity financing to meet the capital requirements rather than obtaining a long-term loan.
Once a company has established itself in the market, larger amounts of capital may be required. The capital is used to run an increase in the funds for operations. Selling of the shares to the public is done through running initial public offering.
This also facilitates the change of a company of a private company to a traded company. This process offers early investors to cash out part of their stake in a bid to reap rewards. Upon being listed in the stock exchange, the stock prices fluctuate as investors and traders assess and reassess their value.
Stock exchanges are platforms where owners of shares interact and are able to transact with potential buyers. Companies listed on the stock exchange do not necessarily indulge in the stock trade on a daily. The buying of a share from the stock market is simply buying a share from another shareholder.
Selling a share also involves a shareholder and a potential shareholder and not the company itself. Professionalization and regulation have ensured buyers and sellers of shares can trust the process to ensured it is a success.
There are many ways of setting share prices but the most common way is through auctioning of stocks. The sellers offer a given stock price and potential buyers bid their way up until the stock is sold to the highest bidder by the seller. The stock market is made up of millions of investors and traders.
Their trading activities are responsible for fluctuations in the stock prices. The stock exchange acts as an intermediary who links the buyers and the sellers in the stock market. To get access to the stocks, one would need a stockbroker that links the buyer to the seller.
The most common way of acquiring a stockbroker is through the creation of an account with an established retailer.
Most stock markets use the skills of professional traders to maintain continuous bids and offers. Since buyers and sellers might not meet at the convenience of the other. A two-sided market consists of the bid and the offer, and the spread in the difference that occurs in the bid and offers.
If there is a good number of buyers and sellers at higher and lower prices the market is said to have good depth. The matching of buyers and sellers was done manually but has taken a more computerized approach over the years. Electronic systems can match buyers and sellers faster and far more efficiently than humans can.
Every entrepreneur stands to benefit from a stock exchange listing. The process means ready liquidity for from shares held by the shareholders. A listing also ensures a business earns more money used to provide shares to its shareholders.
Listed companies have greater visibility in the market and demand from investors. Their shares can increase the share price as the stock exchange provides stock market news at the end of the day.
Information on stocks and the stock market is relevant to the potential investors. It helps them are to re-evaluate their investment options. Research has shown that in most occasions investment returns that were stock generated are dominant.
Once you have learned how the market works, consider taking up stock investments. Rather than having your money in the bank, take a risk and invest in the stock markets.
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Bounce houses can liven up any child’s party, but they can also cause it to go south fast if someone gets hurt.
As bounce houses have gotten more popular, injuries have also gotten more common. According to one estimate, there were more than 20,000 such injuries in 2016. In 2003, that number was just over 5,000.
Any parent who overlooks bounce house safety is risking their child’s health. Read on for four items that should be on your bounce house safety checklist.
The most dramatic bounce house accidents occur when the wind carries a bounce house away with people inside it.
In 2019, five Washington State teens got hurt after wind lifted a bounce house 15 or 20 feet in the air, then carried it almost 250 feet down a football field.
Experts say it’s up to adults to pay attention to wind speeds in their area. If your phone has a weather app, you should be able to check wind speeds that way.
Also pay attention to sudden gusts of wind. One big gust is all it takes to turn jumping castles into flying castles.
Wind speeds of 20 mph or higher make bounce houses unsafe. If anything about the wind feels unpredictable or otherwise dangerous, it’s best to shut things down.
If you rent a bounce house, you should make sure that the person who delivers it also helps set it up. Be wary of any company that drops it off in your backyard and then leaves.
A rental company operator should use stakes or weights to secure the bounce house. Stakes should also be metal, not plastic.
Talk to rental companies about their safety measures before you sign a contract. If you have any doubts, go somewhere else.
Your three-year-old may love the idea of jumping inside a bouncy princess castle. But children under age 5 or 6 have a higher risk of getting hurt in such structures.
That means bounce houses are a better idea for an 8th birthday party than a 5th birthday party. Younger kids have less body control, which makes them more vulnerable to getting hurt.
It’s also a bad idea to let smalls play with bigger kids. If your 6-year-old wants to play but there are 12-year-olds inside the house already, tell your child they’ll have to wait a bit.
In the United States, there’s no national board that regulates bounce houses. It’s generally left up to states, and some states are a lot more strict than others.
What if you’re outside of the U.S? In that case, you can expect even more variance. A company like Australian Inflatables will have slightly different bounce house rules than a company in Canada.
If you can check safety records in your area, do so. If you can’t, ask each company about its history.
Bounce houses also have a how-to guide printed on the side. If you read that text, you’ll find information like the overall weight limit for the bounce house.
As a parent, one of the best things you can do is supervise the children’s bounce house at all times. If there are kids anywhere near it, there should be at least one adult keeping an eye on things.
Being a parent is stressful, but we’ve got plenty of tips to help you navigate the madness. Bookmark our site to ensure you get the latest updates.
Did you know that almost seven in ten U.S. students in the Class of 2018 have a student loan? Or that after graduation, they still owed an average of $29,800 on private and federal student loans?
As helpful as these loans are, they’re a huge ($1.5 trillion huge) burden. In fact, they’re such a big problem that over 3 million Americans have carried them into their 60s!
This doesn’t mean that your child should (or would) follow suit. However, you do need to prepare for your kid’s college education early. Save what you can now, and you can minimize the burden of student loans later.
Ready to learn the best ways to start saving for your child’s higher education? Then let’s get this list started!
We’ll start off with this one, because the earlier you get to save anything you can, the bigger it’ll grow. Having a budget that you can stick to also grows your own savings. And by knowing your expenses, you can figure out where you can cut back.
One such area where you have saving potential is medication. Consider this: in 2017, out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs in the U.S. averaged $137. Experts say this will go up to $190 come 2026.
Any reduction on those out-of-pocket costs can instead go straight to your kid’s college fund. One way to lower drug costs is to grab offers on prescriptions, like this Trulicity coupon. The initial savings may seem small, but they’ll all add up in the long run.
Utility bills, transportation, and entertainment are other things you can save money on. For example, you can invest now on energy-efficient home upgrades and save more in the many years to come. You may also want to drop your $100 cable bill and switch to streaming instead.
The bottom line is, trim any cost that you can and put the money in your child’s college savings plans. Saving $500 a year on household expenses alone can mean $5,000 (plus interest) after 10 years.
Although it’s an individual retirement account, you can use a Roth IRA to help cover college costs. Best of all, it grows your money tax-free. The funds you put in it may go towards various investment options, like stocks and bonds.
One of the best things about a Roth IRA is that you can withdraw eligible college costs free of penalties.
Note that penalty-free withdrawals are only for contributions and not gains. Otherwise, you’ll face an IRS penalty.
If you can save at least $2,000 a year (after tax), go for an ESA instead of a regular savings account. This is one of the best college savings plans since the requirements are easier to meet. To top it all off, your money grows tax-free!
Another benefit of an ESA is that withdrawals for education expenses are tax-free. You also have several investment options to choose from. This gives you more flexibility when it comes to growing your money (and how fast you can grow it).
If you can save even more than $2,000 a year or don’t qualify for an ESA, a 529 plan may be a good alternative. It’s an investment account that you can withdraw against for various college costs. Aside from tuition, it can also cover room and board.
What’s more, you can use the money from withdrawals at almost all U.S. colleges and universities. In fact, there are also over 400 non-U.S. schools eligible for a 529 plan. This plan can cover tuition fees of up to $10,000 per school year and per beneficiary.
Some 529 Plans also allow you to change the named beneficiary. You may have to do this if your child named on the plan doesn’t want to pursue college. This flexibility lets you transfer the plan to your other kid who does want to go to college.
Another option on how to save for college is to set up an educational trust for your child. You name your child as the beneficiary and another person as the trustee. The trustee will ensure the funds will really go towards your child’s education.
Let’s say you want to cover part of your children’s college costs by giving them $5,000 a year. They may receive this in a lump sum, but they also have to prove they used it for school at the end of the year. Invoices, receipts, or bills are usually used to account for how they used the funds.
You can also have the trustee take responsibility for paying these school expenses. In this case, your kids will show their school bills to the trustee. The trustee then pays for these expenses using funds from your trust.
Not only is this one of the best ways to save for college — it’s also a great way to save for yourself! It’s a passive income-generator, so you can still work and make money on the side.
What’s more, renters make up over one-third of the U.S. population. If you choose your tenants right, then you could be looking at a long-term relationship.
The longer they stay as your tenants, the more money you can allot to your child’s college education. Of course, you can also use your passive income for yourself or for the entire family.
Another great way to save money, not only for college but for the entire family, is to take up house hacking. If you don’t have the funds now to buy rental properties, you can start with the one you already have.
House hacking is basically having others pay all or some of your housing costs. For instance, if you have a multi-family property, you can clear out the other units for tenancy. Another example is to rent out the other rooms of your existing home.
Since you have fewer housing expenses to think of, you can focus on growing your child’s college fund. Again, every penny that can go towards saving for college matters.
As you can see, there are many ways to pay for your child’s college education that doesn’t involve a student loan.
Even if your child would still need some financial aid, it would be much smaller. So, as early as now, start saving up to help your child avoid the burden of student debts!
Want more hacks to keep your budget on track?
Then feel free to check out the posts under our site’s Money and Finances section! While you’re at it, bookmark our site, too, and check in from time to time as we bring you the latest news in parenting.
How many times have we read an article on self-care and thought, “yea, but I just don’t have the time!”. Guess what? You can probably find a whole minute or two to try something to help you. I know that not all of us can find time for yoga that doesn’t involve cutting into our sleep. However, there are tiny things that no one talks about that can be done. Here are a few of my tips on things you can do now, while you figure out how to get some extra you-time.
Having children is certainly a big change in any parent’s life. Clearly, new parents will have to undertake a lot more responsibilities. On thing that most parents don’t always consider is whether they can be held liable for their children’s negligent actions that harm other people.
From a parent’s perspective, he or she may believe that a child could be too young to be responsible for these kinds of mistakes. On the other hand, people that are injured from an unintentional or intentional child’s act will want to be compensated for any injuries that they may incur. The ultimate question becomes whether you, as a parent, can be held liable for your child’s actions that can harm other people.
Tort Law
Tort law is a field of law that includes intentional and unintentional acts that harm a person. Torts include intentional torts such as assault, battery, trespass, etc., as well as unintentional torts such as negligence. Negligence occurs when a person breaches a duty that he or she owes to another person and that person is injured (AKA damaged) by that breach.
Children have not had the time, growth, and brain development to understand what is right or wrong and whether their actions can risk harming someone else. While adults have a duty to behave as a reasonably prudent person to foreseeable victims, a child is held to a less burdensome standard of care. A child’s standard of care is that of a child of similar age, education, intelligence, and experience. If children fall below that standard and cause harm or damage to someone, intentional or not, they may be held liable.
Courts have typically held that children under seven cannot be negligent. From ages seven to fourteen, there is a rebuttable presumption that they cannot be negligent. As for children between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, there is a rebuttable presumption that the child can be negligent.
Children commonly don’t have jobs or assets to pay for their lapse in judgment when they are liable, however. Parents can understandably worry whether they can be financially responsible for the harm that their children create and have to pay out of their own pockets. Usually, a parent will be financially responsible for the acts of their children that harm others, but some states have limited damage amounts. Regardless, being a parent means you obtain parental liability for your child’s actions.
Negligent Supervision
Although children can personally be negligent, parents can also be held liable for negligent supervision of a child. As a parent, you have legal responsibility for your child, so you have an additional duty to supervise him or her to make sure they don’t harm another person. Therefore, even when your child is negligent, you could also be liable for negligently supervising your child. This of course, varies from the state you live in but this additional responsibility can often be asserted in personal injury cases.
To avoid being required to pay for your children’s mistakes, you should always supervise them as well as you can. Children can be difficult to predict, but you have a duty to try to prevent foreseeable harms and dangers to other people. Failing to supervise them properly could lead to being held liable for negligent supervision in addition to having to pay for your child’s tort(s).
Roughly 50 to 70 million adults in the United States struggle with a sleeping disorder.
It is not surprising if this number causes you concern because it is likely that you or someone you know, has an issue sleeping each night.
Busy days, sleepless nights, sweet little eyes watching your every move, sweet little brain absorbing everything around them. These are the hallmark aspects of a brand new baby.
Are you expecting? Congratulations! Whether you’re growing it inside you or adopting, becoming a new parent or adding another to your brood is a big lifestyle shift.
Your life and your finances are about to change drastically. Are you worried about spending and saving appropriately and effectively? Read on to learn the six best budget tips for your upcoming bundle of joy.
Ever heard of the 50/30/20 rule? If you’re totally new to budgeting, maybe you haven’t. This isn’t necessarily just a “new baby” budgeting rule, it’s a general life budgeting rule.
With this rule, you split your income as follows: 50% to financial needs like groceries and mortgage or rent, 30% to financial wants like a new kitchen table or eating out, and 20% to savings (and payment on bad debt like credit card debt).
This rule doesn’t change once you add a baby to your family! The baby’s needs and wants fit into the same categories. For example, diapers and formula are financial needs. That adorable little summer dress and hat ensemble is a financial want.
Don’t think that everything has to change once you have your baby. Basic budgeting rules still apply.
If you’re expecting a baby, you’ve definitely been looking at nursery pictures on Pinterest. It’s okay, everyone does it.
But be wary not to get sucked into the “beautiful nursery” lie! Just because a room is decorated beautifully (and then named “the nursery”) doesn’t mean it’s effective and practical as a nursery.
One important way you can save money while expecting is to not go overboard with the nursery. Read other parents’ experiences with what you truly do and don’t need, you might be surprised!
If you do need it, don’t be afraid to budget for it. If you don’t need it, you can gladly budget that money for something else. Your experience with the nursery doesn’t have to be all trial and error if you’re willing to heed other people’s experience.
Don’t hesitate to seek out tips and ideas for your nursery design. It can be smart, effective, practical, and beautiful. Be inspired by other people’s ideas and experience.
If it’s been just you or just you and your partner, you’ve most likely been making some unconscious exceptions in your finances. Maybe you have three cars but only need two, but you haven’t bothered getting rid of the third because you’ve been able to afford it.
Now is the time to consolidate those three cars into two. Just because you could squeak by affording it before, doesn’t mean you can now. That expense can make a huge difference once you have the baby.
Been holding out for that raise? Now is the time to finally ask for it! You’re going to need it more than ever.
Thought about refinancing but never gotten around to it? Now is definitely the time to pull that trigger. Refinancing your mortgage and insurance can greatly impact your finances month-to-month.
Babies grow quickly, so their needs change quickly. That means your expenses also rapidly change. Anticipate that fact and don’t invest too much in any one stage.
If you spend too much on newborn clothes, you won’t have enough money just three short months later when the baby needs bigger clothes. Buy secondhand, inherit clothes from older babies of friends and family, and don’t be afraid to let your baby repeat outfits.
They don’t need a celebrity baby’s wardrobe, babies look cute in just a white onesie! Take advantage of that!
This rule applies to everything baby-related, not just clothes. If you’re only planning on having one child, try a crib that converts into a toddler bed (if you’ll have more kids then you can save money by reusing a normal crib).
There are plenty of things you can buy for the baby now, before he or she is even here. This will alleviate some financial strain after the baby comes, when you’re also paying hospital bills.
Keep an eye out for sales and buy things slowly, as you can! A pack or two of wipes here, bottles there, especially all sizes of diapers. Some things you won’t know you need until after the baby comes, but many things you know now (like wipes, bottles, and diapers).
You have nine months to prepare, so take advantage of it! Your budget for post-baby will be freed up because you have some supplies you’ve collected over previous months.
Figure out your 50/30/20, including your baby-related finances. Fully commit to it with yourself or with your partner. Then practice it for a month or two before the baby comes.
This experiment will show you where your budget is weak and where it’s strong. You’ll learn what you need to change and improve, all before you actually have the baby, so there’s nothing to lose!
The practice time also gives you a few weeks to get used to your new budget. This will help you feel more acclimated and less stressed when you have your baby: lots of things may be brand new, but at least you’ve been living this budget for a little while.
In order for your new budget (and practicing it beforehand) to be successful, you and your partner have to be fully on board. This practice time will also show you in what ways you two still need to get on the same page.
So you’re about to welcome a new baby. What a wonderful time in your life! Don’t let the fear of change or the unknown take away from your newfound happiness.
These six tips will help you keep your finances in order, even with your adorable new addition. A baby doesn’t have to break the bank, all it takes is preparation and discipline. Check out our other articles about babies and parenting!
Keeping healthy is so important to our well-being and our wallets. With some of us working non-stop from morning until night and the ease of convenience foods, we can find that our healthy habits take a backseat to all our other engagements. Unfortunately, we need to learn to put our health first and we live in a society that expects us to give our all, all the time. If you are like me, it just helps to be reminded throughout the day to make sure I am doing something towards my health. I want to share with you my favorite health apps that shoot me a reminder to take care of me. Hopefully, you will find one in this list that can be helpful for you as well.
There are going to be moments where you are somewhere, and the toddler is in a particularly horrible mood. You will think “I just want to hand them my phone so they will be quiet” and you know it will work. Then you are inundated with those “I am a bad parent” feelings and you don’t know what to do. While we all know that too much screen time can be bad for kids, we also know that sometimes it’s about your sanity. Fortunately, there are ways to combat those feelings by ensuring you provide an educational app so that Cranky Toddler is learning rather than being sucked into some mindlessness. Here are some top picks on free kids apps (without hidden in-app purchases) that are good for your kids.
Clothing swaps are becoming a big trend right now and it really is one great way to modify your closet and save money. If you are unclear of how one works, a group gathers together and brings clothes and accessories they are looking to get rid of. They literally swap clothes and anything that is not claimed can either go home with the original owners or be donated to a local thrift store (this is the most popular option). While some circles focus on clothing swaps for children, we are seeing more people do it for adult clothing as well. Here are some ways you can start a clothing swap and part ways with clothes you just aren’t wearing.
