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5 Ways to Raise Kids on the Cheap

Posted on December 8, 2014

Raising

children is an expensive yet necessary part of life. There are ways

that you can save money while raising children and you can still give a

child everything they need to live a healthy, happy life, as well as

some of the things they want. Being a parent usually totally drains your

finances, but using the following five tips can help to put more money

back in your wallet.

1. Avoid Name Brands

Name

brand foods, clothing, and toys will cost a lot more money over the

long run than those brands that are considered of lesser quality. If you

can be disciplined enough to find quality products that have

lesser-known labels on them, you will be able to work with a much lower

budget. Your money can be stretched a lot further without name brand

products.

2. Easy Savings at Home

When

you do laundry, wash clothing in cold water. Hang your clothing to dry

it instead. Without the use of hot water or hot air, your energy bills

will cost a lot less. You can also seal windows in the winter or wrap

insulation around pipes to keep more heat in. Heat costs a lot, and you

can save on energy bills if you can use less heat.

3. Smart Banking

When

you receive monetary payments, immediately put it all into an account

at a bank you trust. You’ll only go to the bank to take out money when

you need it, so you are less likely to spend more money than you need if

you have to go to the bank every time you need money. This can also

help you to accrue interest on the money you place in the bank. Money

you deposit now will be worth more after it’s been in the bank a while.

4. Refuse to Exceed your Budget

You

should set a weekly budget, and be staunch about not exceeding it.

There are times when emergencies happen and you need to actually spend

more money, but that’s why tip 3 is so important. Additionally, spending

less than your budget can help you have a greater cushion for another

week when you may need more.

5. Find Free Stuff

If

your baby needs a new crib, try to find one from a relative or friend.

This goes for clothing, toys, games, materials for repairs, and anything

else that life throws at us. There is some chance that something you

need is not being used by someone else, so it never hurts to see if they

wouldn’t mind parting with it. You can never get too much free baby

stuff.

Parenthood

can be a financially difficult time. If you follow this advice, you can

at least make your finances a bit more manageable, and you’ll find

yourself with plenty of money left over do have some fun. After all,

having children can be fun in addition to being costly. Enjoy being a

parent with a bit more money in your pocket.

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Don’t ever do these 5 things with your infant car seat

Posted on December 7, 2014

Infant car seats are safe ways to transport baby while in the car, however some parents get into the habit of using them for other purposes from our friends at NannyPro, here are five things you should NOT do with an infant car seat:

1. Using it as a routine sleep space. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using infant car seats for routine sleep. Due to their positioning, an infant’s airway can become narrowed in a car seat, which can result in breathing problems. This can result in death. If your baby falls asleep in his car seat, move him to a firm, flat service as soon as possible.

2. Putting it in a grocery shopping cart. Shopping carts aren’t designed for infant car seats to be latched onto. In fact, babies can die when parents use their grocery shopping cart as an infant car seat holder. Even when a baby is properly buckled into his infant car seat, it can topple off and fall to the ground when the infant car seat is placed in or on top of the area of the shopping cart that’s designed for small children to sit in. This can result in the injury or death of the baby strapped inside.

3. Adding a Bundle Me to it. Lots of parents use a Bundle Me to keep their infants warm while traveling in their infant car seats, but doing so without modifying it is not safe. The Bundle Me, as designed, can interfere with the harness straps in the infant car seat, preventing the straps from properly tightening and fittingly snugly against the infant’s body. For proper protection, the straps must be fitted snugly against the child with no more than one finger fitting between the child’s body and the harness under the child’s collar bone. A Bundle-Me allows for much more than that.

4. Using it after it’s been in an accident. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission encourages parents to automatically replace car seats after moderate and severe crashes and says they don’t need to be routinely replaced after minor crashes, different car seat manufacturers have different guidelines. Be sure to check with your car seat manufacturer if your car seat has been in a crash to determine their recommendations and to err on the side of caution.

5. Using it after it’s expired. Most parents are unaware that car seats actually expire. Car seats are made out of plastic, which can become brittle and lose strength over time. According to the Car Seat Lady, car seats typically expire 6 years after their date of manufacture. Plus, new seats with new and better technology come out that can increase the safety of infant passengers, so using an expired seat makes no sense.

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6 Toys to Avoid giving to your Kids this Christmas

Posted on December 5, 2014

About one quarter of a million children head to the nation’s hospital emergency rooms each year because of toy-related injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission repors.

A survey from AllAboutVision.com revealed that 41% of parents either “rarely” or “never” considered eye safety when choosing toys for their kids.

Dr. Gary Heiting, senior editor for the site assembled a list of 6 types of toys parents should consider not getting for their children this Christmas because of the dangers they pose to their kids’ eyes.

Guns that shoot any type of projectile, water balloon launchers, games that include toy fishing poles, toy wands and aerosol string are among the list of toys.

The injuries can be serious.

They can range from a minor scratch to the front surface of the eye (called a corneal abrasion) to very serious, sight-threatening injuries such as corneal ulcers, traumatic cataracts, bleeding inside the eye and retinal detachment.

Serious stuff. Be mindful and careful. Check out the site for more information on the complete list.

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Use this Holiday season to whip your kids’ behavior into shape!

Posted on December 4, 2014

‘Tis the season for whipping your children into shape!

The holiday and Christmas winter season has extreme value to parents who want to change some of their children’s bad habits and behaviors.

How?

In my home, my husband and I create a bulletin board with daily tasks that our three kids (ages 12, 9 and 6) need to do in the morning and evening like brush their teeth, do homework, pack their book bags in advance, remove all empty snack papers and juice boxes and backpbacks from the SUV after school, pick up after themselves, generally.

The kids are allowed up to 20 chances to mess up, with every 5 strikes (Xs) netting them one less Christmas gift.

We put this discipline plan into play last year and it totally worked on getting the kids to FINALLY do, regularly all the various things we’ve asked them to do each day to keep our day running smoothly and to keep the car and home junk-free.

I highly recommend it!

All you need is a chalkboard, a hand written chart or a whiteboard erected in the kitchen or family area where all can see and track their points.

This technique is even great for older kids who have since stopped believing in Santa Claus.

The key is to keep to the promise to withhold the gifts.

We do give children the opportunity to re-earn the points back by doing some extra chores or some other activity. And with that, you can get some housework done around the house too.

But in a nutshell, it’s a GREAT opportunity for parents that shouldn’t be passed up! ha!

Try it in your home this holiday season!

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20 Unique Family Holiday Christmas Card Portrait ideas

Posted on December 1, 2014

Beyond Digital

Each year, families send out Christmas, Hanukkah, Holidays and New Year’s Eve cards to family and friends and each year they struggle to come up with unique portrait pose ideas. Once upon a time, the pose with the family laying in a circle looking up (above) was considered different. Not anymore. I’ve seen that pose on at least one holiday card every year. So if you are like me and my husband are, and are scrounging around for a different photo card pose idea, you might want to check out these various cards we spotted on Pinterest and the net. Whether you’ve hired a professional photographer to help you out or are doing it on your own, you may strike gold with one of these below.

Good luck!

1-10

Maidae

Justin Hackworth

Eureka Photography

Ling Wang

Carty Photo Blog

Bonnie Velazco

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Small Business Saturday: Search your local small biz HERE

Posted on November 29, 2014

Today is Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to promoting small businesses, mom and pop stores and other small entrepreneurs.

Small business fuel the economy as there are more of them than larger businesses.

For example, in Maryland, independent grocers generate $2.27B in annual sales and are responsible for over 20,000 jobs and wages $872.75 million. That fuels $218M in state and local budget, and almost $200M in federal resources.

Given all the contentious dialogue going on these days around immigrants, it’s also a great time to highlight all the ways immigrants in America, including small business owners, also contribute to the economy. One out of every 10 American workers is employed by an immigrant-owned business, and these firms contribute over $775 billion to the American economy, each year.

Today, make sure you support a local small business.

Use this tool to find a participating small business near you HERE!

SUPPORT our Bellyitch Blerd Girl Shop

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Black Friday: 5 Websites that track The Deals

Posted on November 28, 2014

Resharing the Black Friday Deals post from earlier this week for those of you out and about or just want to skip the crowds and shop online:

Get out there and SAVE! Good Luck!

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Black Friday: 5 Ways to Save this Year

Posted on November 27, 2014

This year strategically plan your Black Friday adventure with Stephanie Nelson from the CouponMom.com who offers these suggestions:

1. Plan and Budget – Come up with a holiday gift list and plan. Decide who you need to buy for, what you can afford to spend overall, and divide that among all your gift recipients. Then shop the deals, coupons and savings strategies to stretch the budget. Check the store ads and websites for special “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” deals.

2. Compare Prices – When you are shopping for a specific item, compare prices online on the item before hitting the stores or shopping online. Prices can vary significantly, and an online retailer may offer free shipping and have no sales tax.

3. Be Coupon Savvy – Use coupons to drop the price even further:

· Sign up for the email newsletters of favorite retailers and shopping malls to be the first to get special coupons

· Follow a retailer’s social networking page (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to get access to special coupons or limited-time flash sales

· Go to an online coupon site like www.CouponMom.com to find coupon codes for discounts and free shipping

· Watch the newspaper ads and catalog mailings for in-store coupons.

4. Buy Gift Cards – Buy discounted or bonus gift cards to give as gifts or to use to shop for gifts .

· Take advantage of bonus gift card offers that many restaurants offer at this time of year to give as gifts (for example, buy $100 worth of gift cards and get a free $20 gift card)

· Redeem cash back rebate dollars from credit card programs for bonus gift card values. For example, use $20 of your credit card rebate dollars to get a $25 gift card to selected retailers.

· If you are using a gift card to shop for gifts, be sure to combine them with coupons if available.

5. Get Cash Back for Purchases – If you have a cash back credit card, shop through the credit card website’s shopping mall to get extra rebates on your purchases.

Good luck and happy shopping!

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Thanksgiving arts and craft project for the kids

Posted on November 25, 2014

Want festive, homemade Thanksgiving decorations? Need an activity to keep the kids occupied? Pine cone turkeys are the solution to both of these problems. Thanksgiving pine cone turkeys are cute and simple enough that even young children will be able to make them with minimal supervision. If you’re looking for an activity that will keep the little ones busy while you are preparing Thanksgiving dinner in the kitchen, this one is definitely worth trying.

Gather supplies– A day or two before Thanksgiving, gather up all of the necessary supplies and tools and put them in a box. That way they’ll be ready to set out for the kids to work with when the time comes. You’ll need:

    Various sizes of pine cones

    Feathers

    Brown pipe cleaners

    Glue

    Googly eyes

    Orange felt

    Safety scissors

    Paper (optional)

Create the tail- The children can create a colorful turkey tail for their pinecone by using different colored feathers. If they want, they can dip the quill end of the feathers into some glue before poking them into the wide end of the pine cone. The glue is optional because the feathers should stay in place if pushed all the way into the pine cone layers. Continue to fill in the tail with feathers to make it as full as desired.

Make the head- Take the brown pipe cleaner and bend one end over to create a hook, then pinch the hook closed so that it’s shaped like a head. Set the pipe cleaner aside. Cut a very small triangle out of the orange felt for a beak. For young children, you may wish to do this step ahead of time. Glue the googly eyes and beak onto the shaped brown pipe cleaner and allow it to dry for a few minutes.

Attaching the head– Once the head is dry wrap the opposite end of the pipe cleaner around the pine cone until the head and neck are sticking up from the front. If the pipe cleaner is too long, cut it with the scissors or break it off by bending it back and forth at the same spot.

Adding feet– If you’d like to add feet to your turkey, you can freehand cut some feet and legs from the orange felt. Glue the legs to the underside of the pine cone with the feet sticking out in front.

Place card holders– Have the kids make enough turkeys so that each place setting has one. Using cardstock, construction paper or any other paper you have on hand, write the names of everyone that will be attending your Thanksgiving dinner. Lean the place cards against each turkey or stick it between the middle layers of the pine cone. Now you have seasonal place card holders that can be used from year to year. Or you can send the turkey pine cones home with the kids as a little party favor.

Tips:

You can use store bought pine cones for this craft or bake gathered pine cones in the oven at 250 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes to make sure there are no bugs in the pine cones. Do this in advance so the pine cones have plenty of time to cool.
If you don’t have any pipe cleaners you can glue the felt beak and googly eyes directly to the front of the pine cone.
If you can’t find feathers or don’t want to use them then you can use feather shaped construction paper in various fall colors. Depending on how much space is between the layers on the pine cone you may or may not need to glue in the paper feathers.

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Holiday Guests are Coming: Your Housewares Checklist

Posted on November 24, 2014

As the holiday season fast approaches, many families will find themselves hosting relatives and friends inside their homes. Doing so may require them to do a inventory of their household items and stock up, where necessary, to make sure they aren’t handing out raggedy towels and setting up their guests to sleep on stained linen.

Home and Garden TV (HGTV) personality Carley Knobloch offered the 6 checklist items on The Fashion Spot.

Check out the full post here.

Here are some tips from our partners at Rue La La:

And the folks at Healthy Sole have something for you germaphobes who usually ask people to remove their shoes before coming into your light carpeted for freshly waxed floors. Their HealthySole device is an elegant “first to market” device that leaves up to 99% of infectious germs at the door – not on the soles of shoes. Step on this sleek, innovative mechanism (looks similar to a bathroom scale) that uses green UVC technology to disinfect shoes from bacteria and viruses in a little as 7 to 10 seconds. Interesting!

Good luck and Happy Shopping!

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