Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

How to Save Money Selling Your Old Home & Building a New One

| Leave a Comment

Selling your home and building a new one is a significant decision and investment. The best thing about this move is you get money from your old house to finance your new house. When selling your old home, various improvements and repairs increase your home’s value, allowing you to attain the top dollar. Similarly, there’re many opportunities for reducing costs when building a new home to get you what you want without breaking the bank. Below are helpful tips for saving money when selling your old home and buying a new one.

Conduct Repairs

Before listing your home, it is best practice to perform necessary repairs. You are likely to sell your home for more money and faster when it is in good condition. Also, you won’t have to reduce your home’s price to cater for repairs or credit money back to the buyer.

Prioritize repairs such as fixing broken appliances, patching holes in walls and ceilings, repairing leaky faucets, replacing broken window glasses, and painting walls. You can reduce labor costs by performing some repairs yourself.

Finish Your Basement

If your home has a basement, transforming it into a livable space can add extra value to your home and fetch you good money during the sale. Finishing your basement increases buyer appeal, thus attracting more potential buyers and decreasing time in the market. Research shows that a finished basement has an ROI of 77.6%.

Consider using your finished basement as a selling point for your home – it can be used as a recreational space, home office, storage room, or even rented out to create rental income. Furnishing the basement can be as simple as deep cleaning it, painting walls, ceiling, and flooring, adding light fixtures, and introducing natural light.

Boost Curb Appeal

How a home looks from the street significantly impacts the number of potential buyers it attracts. A new front door, a fresh coat of paint on the exterior, washing the driveway and front walk, and cleaning gutters can greatly enhance the curbside appeal.

Landscaping plays a vital role in boosting a home’s value. A well-landscaped home increases value by between 5.5% and 12.7%. Therefore, be deliberate with your landscaping and mow the lawn, clean the patio, plant colorful flowers, and trim trees and bushes.

Shop Widely for Contractors

Building your dream home is exciting, and you can be tempted to settle for the first contractor you get. Do not make this mistake; vet different contractors based on their qualifications, services, and cost. Also, avoid choosing a contractor because of their fees. An expensive contractor does not guarantee quality work, while a cheap one may have mediocre services or hidden costs.

A good contractor should have the required training and experience to handle residential projects. Also, they should be accessible, available, and have a good reputation. Do not forget to ask questions about their specialty, subcontractors, and past clients. All this will save you money and avoid headaches and disappointments.

Prioritize Energy Efficiency

A good thing about building your family a new home is the ability to maximize energy efficiency. New homes have greater energy efficiency than older ones due to sustainable building materials, current energy code regulations, and better insulation. In fact, recent building codes increase the energy efficiency of newly built homes by 17%.

You can improve your home’s energy efficiency by investing in energy-efficient appliances like refrigerators, washers, ovens, and LED bulbs. Since heating and cooling account for a significant part of a home’s energy bill, it pays to invest in efficient HVAC systems. Home cooling, for instance, accounts for 27% of a household’s energy use in Alabama due to its hot and humid climate.

Selling your old home to build a new one can be exciting, overwhelming, and costly. Take time to find ways to increase your old home’s value, which fetches you a high price. Also, there’re countless ways to save money when building a dream home, including prioritizing energy efficiency and choosing the right contractor.

Vacation Before Your Kids No Longer Want to Hang with You

| Leave a Comment

Travel with your kids before they no longer want to hang with you

When I was a teenager, my mom and I traveled together, just the two of us, for one week every year. We both enjoyed these trips. However, teenagers don’t always enjoy traveling with their parents, even when their parents take them on a once-in-a-lifetime trip somewhere like Europe. Often, kids as young as 11 or 12 would rather be with their friends than their parents. Therefore, you may want to have an epic vacation before your kids no longer want to hang with you.

Many Families Struggle Financially in the Early Years

Unfortunately, many families struggle financially in the years when kids are young. Parents have to pay for diapers, formula, and daycare, none of which are cheap. In addition, parents may be younger and starting their careers, so their pay is low.

Once the kids are older, say ten and up, parents are on firmer financial footing and have more money to spend on vacations. Unfortunately, this may coincide with the time kids don’t want to do as much as their parents.

Prioritize Fun in the Younger Years

In his book, Die with Zero, Bill Perkins suggests that you spend most of your money upfront when you’re young enough to do the activities you want to do physically. This allows you to create a rich memory bank to sustain you in your older years when you’re not physically able to do as much.

Likewise, your children have a sweet spot between eight and 13 where they enjoy vacations and traveling with you before they get too involved in their own lives and friendships. That is when you want to prioritize travel with your children, even if it means scrimping in other areas of your life to find the money for travel.

My Experience Traveling with Kids

When our kids were young, we lived in the Midwest. We didn’t have money for travel, but my husband frequently had to attend work-related conferences. For the conferences a day’s drive away, the kids and I could tag along because my husband’s work paid for the hotel room. We’d pack food and try to visit as many free attractions as possible. The kids loved it. We went to Philadelphia, Ohio, North Carolina, Minneapolis, Quebec, and our favorite, Boston.

When the kids were 10, 5, and 4, we moved to Arizona. We couldn’t travel with my husband anymore because conferences were no longer within driving distance.

Now, we recently moved to New York. My husband has a conference in Philadelphia, so we were excited to resume our tradition with the younger two kids, now 13 and 12, and take them with us. To our surprise, the 13-year-old is indifferent to the trip and the 12-year-old is complaining about having to go. So now, our travel window seems to have closed. Of course, we’ll still travel with them, but we miss the excitement they used to have about traveling.

Final Thoughts

If you have younger kids, I recommend you prioritize taking a vacation before your kids no longer want to hang with you. Hopefully, they will always enjoy traveling with you, but if not, your memory bank and theirs will be filled with earlier, fun vacations.

Read More

Four Ways to Mark the End of Summer Vacation

Squeezing the Last Drops Out of Your Child’s Summer Vacation

5 Fun and Affordable Fall Family Vacations

How to Choose Toddler Car Seats for Travel

| Leave a Comment

Did you know that car accidents are the leading cause of child mortality?

When you’re traveling with toddlers, there’s only so much you can do. Being a good driver isn’t enough. You never know when another driver is inebriated or distracted.

You need car seats for travel. A good toddler seat protects your child in the event of a crash. It’s a comfy place for your little one to rest on a long journey.

But how do you choose the best travel car seats? Join us as we discuss just a few of the things you should keep in mind. [Read more…]

Why Our Child Decided to Take a Gap Year

| Leave a Comment

Why Our Child Decided to Take a Gap Year

Our 18-year-old son graduated from high school this year. As most seniors do, he applied to several colleges in our area last fall. He got into all of them and received substantial scholarships to two of the colleges. He planned to start college this upcoming fall. And then his life was upended, which is why our child decided to take a gap year.

What Is a Gap Year?

For those who don’t know, a gap year is when graduating high school students take a year off before they begin college. They use that time in various ways, such as working to raise money for college, volunteering in the field they want to pursue, or traveling.

Why Our Child Decided to Take a Gap Year

In May, my husband got a new job 2,200 miles from our current location. Our son had always wanted to go to college nearby to live with us and save money. However, because we were moving in July, he no longer wanted to go to the colleges where he had received scholarships. He had to start his college search over again.

Unfortunately, the college scholarships that were plentiful in October had all but dried up by July.

He found colleges to apply to in our new location that accepted applicants on a rolling basis. He did get a few scholarships, but not nearly as many as he would have gotten had he applied to those schools in the fall.

To make matters worse, he would have had to pay out-of-state tuition because we hadn’t lived in the new state for 12 months before he wanted to start college. So, after careful consideration, he decided to take a gap year.

How He Plans to Use His Gap Year

Why Our Child Decided to Take a Gap Year

Even though he never considered taking a gap year, he’s warmed up to the idea. He’s made a long list of activities he plans to do for his gap year.

Volunteering

Our son has always been interested in volunteering. During high school, he volunteered more than 100 hours. He hopes to volunteer at a local cat shelter and the public library during his gap year.

Working

In addition, he plans to work part-time and save money for college.

Applying to College

In the fall, he will reapply to the colleges he applied to in July. Since he’s applying at the typical time students do, he’s hoping he’ll be eligible for more significant scholarships.

Final Thoughts

My husband and I understand why a gap year is the better choice given that we’ve recently moved to our new location and colleges in the area would be pricey. We are slightly concerned that he may decide not to go to college after this. However, our son was always the youngest in his class because he has a summer birthday, so taking a gap year may be the perfect way to give him more time to mature and qualify for larger scholarships.

Read More

Should Your Child Go to College This Year?

Financial Benefits of Optimally Spacing Childbirth

3 Mistakes We Made in the College Process

3 Mistakes We Made in the College Process

| Leave a Comment

Mistakes We Made in the College Process

First children are always the guinea pigs of the family. Parents experiment with them and learn how parenthood works. They understand that once you have children, life doesn’t always go as planned. Our oldest, who recently turned 18, is also our guinea pig when it comes to college. We’ve learned that there are significant mistakes we made in the college process with him. Luckily, we’re learning from these experiences, so hopefully, we’ll be smarter with the college process with our younger two children.

Not Having a Backup Plan

My husband and I have always worked in education. I worked at a community college until I quit after our third child was born, and my husband has worked at two different universities.

We didn’t have money to save for college when our kids were young, but we weren’t concerned because we knew that our children could receive a tuition discount if they went to college where my husband worked. Between that discount and the scholarship our son received, he could have lived at home and gone to college for free.

However, life doesn’t always work out as we plan.

Moving After His Senior Year

My husband had been looking for a job for the past 18 months. He had interviewed and made it to the final rounds for four different jobs. However, none worked out. He applied for one more this past February, and we decided if he didn’t get that one, we’d quit looking until after our oldest finished college.

Luckily, for my husband’s career, he got the job. However, the job required a move across the country. While the job pays much more than his current position, it’s not at a university, so we no longer have a college tuition discount.

In addition, our son hadn’t applied to any of the nearby colleges in the new location because we didn’t know we’d be here. He missed out on the prime time for college admissions and scholarships. Now, he’s stuck applying only 6 to 8 weeks before college begins.

Not Specifying How Much We Would Contribute

Mistakes We Made in the College Process

Some parents tell their children what amount they have to contribute to their college education. Then, the children can use that amount as a basis to help them determine which colleges they will attend based on affordability. We never had that discussion because we didn’t think we had to; our child knew he could get a substantial tuition discount.

Now, we don’t know how much we can afford to pay because we’re moving to a new geographic area of the country and still aren’t sure how much typical monthly expenses will be. That makes determining affordability difficult.

Final Thoughts

The three mistakes we made during the college process have made the experience more difficult for our son than it needed to be. We had a unique set of circumstances that, hopefully, won’t happen to our younger children.

However, we’ve learned from our mistakes and will now be saving for their college tuition and setting a limit for them that we can pay.

Read More

Should Your Child Go to College This Year?

Storyworth: The Most Thoughtful Gift That Can Be Cherished for Years

Why Has Fast Food Become So Expensive

Tips for Entering the Workforce After Having Kids

| Leave a Comment

Starting a family is something that many adults do at some point in their lives. Due to the demanding nature of bringing up children, it’s sometimes necessary to take a break from work. If you did this and feel that you’re now ready to get back into the workforce, here are some tips that can help you out.

Network Widely

Networking is the number one thing that you need to do when you’re ready to rejoin the workforce. Talk to your friends and family and get the word out there that you’re looking for a job. Share the details of what you want as well as the skills you have with them as well. This way, it may be easier for you to find an opportunity that fits you well. On average, job seekers spend about 11 hours every week looking for the ideal job. This should motivate you to keep at it even if you feel like it’s taking a long time to find something. With persistence, something will turn up.

Write Down the Most Important Qualities of the Job You Want

Everyone has different needs as far as their ideal job goes, so list down the things that are important to you specifically. One thing may be a job that offers enough flexibility for you to have time to play an active role in your family. Another thing may be getting a job that’s close enough to your home so that you can multitask effectively and not need to delegate errands to someone else. When you know what you need in a job, it will be easier for you to look for something that you want and you will be likely to enjoy the position that you get. You will also be able to sift through different job offerings and make applications only for those that meet your needs.

Don’t Be Afraid to Start from Scratch

After spending some time out of the job market, there’s a good chance that things have changed a bit from the way you left them. This may make you a bit less likely to start working at a top position. This should not demotivate you, however, because you can simply take the time you spend at an entry-level position to remind yourself of what your tasks and duties are and practice. As time goes by, you may be able to get promoted to higher levels and you will get more experience to boot. Simply think of it as a kind of paid refresher program where you will be paid a bit less to fine-tune your skills.

Refresh Your Knowledge

Finally, depending on the length of time that you’ve been out of the workforce, you may need to refresh your skills so you know how to work once you get the position you seek. You could take it a step further and add to your knowledge by taking a course or furthering your education. This will make you more sought-after, especially because, as mentioned, you already have experience working.

You could also switch careers to a faster-growing field if it’s associated closely enough with your current experience. In the healthcare industry, for example, employment is expected to grow by 14% between 2018 and 2028. This is a lot faster than the average for other occupations, and it adds around 1.9 million new jobs to the market. This is a career that you could step into to enjoy a higher likelihood of getting hired, especially if you’re passionate about it.

These tips should help make it easier for you to rejoin the workforce after having kids. It will be an amazing way for you to ensure you can support them through everything and provide a great life for them.

How to Finance your Children’s Braces

| Leave a Comment

Before most people can have kids, they think long and hard about all aspects of childcare, including expenses. This includes tuition fees, clothes, shelter, food, etc. However, brace treatment is another expense that most parents have to account for. More than 3.5 million teens and children get braces every year. That means there is a good chance your child will wear them too. Unfortunately, dental care is not cheap. Kids’ braces can cost from $3,000 to $7,000. This can be very costly, especially for a low-income family. If your child needs braces, but you are having trouble raising the amount, you can explore several financing options, as highlighted below.

 

Medicaid Dental Benefits and EPSDT

By law, any children from low-income households qualify for full medical coverage. If your family is eligible, you will not have to pay for any orthodontic treatment costs. Keep in mind that dental and brace treatments for cosmetic purposes are not covered. But if the treatment is to correct a medical issue, then the case will be approved. In most states, orthodontic treatments are covered by Medicaid through a program called Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT). Check with the local department of Children and Family Services and confirm whether the program can cover brace treatment for your child.

Check Whether Your Orthodontist Has a Payment Plan in Place

Because these treatments can be costly, most orthodontists have payment plans in place to help patients. Talk to your orthodontist and find out what is offered. You may also want to research other orthodontists in your area. Payment options tend to differ, and you might find a payment plan that meets your needs. The earlier you start your child on treatment, the better the outcome. Between the ages of 6 and 12 is when you might start noticing your child has an abnormal bite. However, orthodontic treatment usually starts between the age of 8 and 14. At this age, the child has lost most baby teeth, and permanent teeth have started developing. This gives you plenty of time to research which orthodontists have good rates.

Personal Loan

You can finance your child’s treatment by applying for a personal loan from a bank, online lender, or credit union. Look for lenders that provide medical loans. You will get the best rates if you have a good credit score. And the good thing about loans is that you do not have to repay all the money at once. You can spread the payments over a specific period to lessen the burden.

Low-Income Programs and Financing

If you do not qualify for the Medicaid orthodontic programs, check the ‘Smiles Change Lives’ program. If your household income is less than 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL), you may qualify for treatment. The child needs to be between ages 7 and 21. If you qualify, your child will get full orthodontic treatment for only a small fee of $650. This can be a huge relief for parents as they can start their kid’s treatment as early as possible. Ideally, the best time to start orthodontic treatment is from age 7. This ensures that any chewing problems and overcrowded teeth are fixed early.

Orthodontic Insurance

Another way to cover your child’s orthodontic treatment is through insurance. Invest in a dental plan that includes brace treatment. This may increase your premiums, but you will be reducing the financial strain of covering the whole treatment cost on your own. When crooked teeth are not addressed in time, they can lead to other dental issues such as bad breath. According to the American Dental Association, people ought to brush twice a day to remove oral bacteria and prevent bad breath. But when you have crooked teeth, even if you brush twice a day, it can still be challenging to reach all corners of your mouth. Rectifying the issue early on prevents other oral issues and saves you money in the long run.

Financing your children’s braces ensures that you raise confident and happy kids. Do not let the situation escalate due to money issues. Explore which financing option works best for your family and use it to cover your child’s brace treatment.

How to Save Money During the Moving Process

| Leave a Comment

Moving comes with a lot of expenses and unforeseen costs, so it’s a welcome thought that you can save money during this process. Here’s how you can save money and enjoy moving to a home that you know your family will love.

Prepare Well in Advance

Proper preparation is important because it enables you to know what you need to do and how you will do it. From packing and keeping things in storage when necessary to negotiating with moving companies so they can give you a fairer price, there are many benefits to planning. Collect all the necessary things such as bubble wrap for sensitive items and markers or labels to ensure you know what is packed where. Don’t forget about the details of the house you’re planning to move into, because, with 40 million housing units belonging to HOA communities, you may need to make certain adjustments to fit well into your new place if it’s part of one.

Pack Essentials Nearby

Moving can leave you exhausted and wanting to simply settle down first before you start the process of unpacking and organizing your new home. For this reason, you need to ensure that you have some essentials nearby, from a few kitchen and living room items to beddings. This will allow you to get a short break and re-energize yourself before you need to start digging through boxes. If you can use your own items and avoid having to buy others for a quick fix, this will be money you’ve saved.

Take Advantage of Free Moving Boxes

Check in local stores and other places if there are any offers for free or cheap moving boxes. Some moving companies may even offer free boxes and cheap packaging solutions, and you can make use of these to save some money during your move. Whether you’re among the 85% of Americans that move to the same state or the 15% who move to a different state, you will be happy to make some savings by getting free or affordable packing, so take time to look for some.

Move in the Low Season

If you can help it, move during the low season, which is between October and April. Doing this will see you spending less money as moving companies usually charge a lower price as demand for their services is lower. Most people move during early fall, summer, and late spring, so these will be high moving seasons and truck rentals will cost a bit more. There’s money to be saved when you move in early spring, late fall, or winter if the weather is friendly enough to move in.

Leave Items You Don’t Need

There’s no point in paying to move or store items that you haven’t used in a while and that you’re not likely to use in the future. While packing, take time to sort through your items and either sell or donate those that you haven’t used in months and aren’t likely to use in a while. A fully loaded semi-truck can weigh up to 18,000 pounds, and this is a substantial weight that shouldn’t comprise items that won’t have any use in your new home. You will find it easier as well to organize your new home when you don’t have to make allowances for things that you have no use for.

Follow these tips to make savings while you move and enjoy settling into your new home with your family. You can use the money you saved in other ways, such as having a night out to celebrate your new place!

4 Outdoor Sports for the Whole Family

| Leave a Comment

As the summer months are quickly approaching, you and your family are likely looking for activities that you can do together while soaking up the sunshine. Playing sports as a family is a great way for parents and kids to bond while staying active and enjoying the outdoors, all at once. If you are a parent who finds that you aren’t in as good of shape as you used to be, playing some light sports with the kids is a great way to sneak a workout into your busy summer schedule. To replenish nutrients and improve your sports performance, check out IV nutrition therapy from https://inhstl.com/. Here are 4 outdoor sports that your whole family can try. [Read more…]