Your Dad Made More Than You Do
Here’s an interesting look at some statistics that show why it is harder than ever to be a single-income family.
Relying on Census Bureau figures, the study’s authors found that after adjusting for inflation, men in their 30s in 2004 had a median income of about $35,000 per year, for a 12 percent drop compared with $40,000 per year for men in the same age group in 1974.
Disneyworld for Next to Nothing… Maybe
Ideas for vacationing on the cheap at Disneyworld. Everything from travel to hotels to meals, this article really gives you a good place to start planning that trip.
The most important part of budget travel to Disney World is advance planning. Research and book your transportation, accommodations, meal plans, character dining, and theme park tickets as far in advance as possible for maximum savings — and to make your visit more pleasant!
Vacationing on the Cheap
Summer vacation is coming. Are you starting to wonder how you can afford to get away for a vacation on a single income? With high gas prices and exorbitant prices on airfare, it can be daunting for a single income family to think about getting away. It can be daunting even for a two-income family!
A vacation does not have to take you far, far away. Consider a vacation near your home. This could be cheaper than buying gas on a long road trip or purchasing airline tickets. Does the next town over have some interesting sights you’ve never checked out? If you want to do a shorter road trip, think of the road trip itself as a vacation. Google Maps now has an ‘avoid highways’ box that you can check when asking for directions. This might add some time to your trip, but allow you to see some sights that you would miss from the freeway. Seeing a cow or two would make the extra time worth it for the kids.
With the price of hotels, consider staying home all together and doing day trips. If your kids are school age, this might be a good time to learn about some local history together. You could try out a new park, pond, lake or beach nearby if your kids are younger.
Camping is another option if you don’t want to pay the steep price of hotels. Most campgrounds do have nightly fees though. These fees are usually much less expensive than a night in a hotel. If you have never camped before, check out REI, GORP.com, LoveTheOutdoors.com, KOA.com, or GoCampingAmerica.com for tips on camping gear, where to go, what to do and what to pack when camping with kids. You might want to start with a camp out in your own back yard.
But maybe you’re not ready for spending the night without a bed and running water. In that case, local motels are often cheaper than big chains. Go on the internet or call ahead to the city hall or chamber of commerce of your vacation destination to ask about local hotels, prices and booking. On the other side of the hotel coin, some larger chains do run ‘kids stay free’ or ‘breakfast included’ specials. If you are a member of AAA, take advantage of those special rates and discounts as well. College alumni associations also runs discounts and coupons for hotels and amusement parks. Maybe you already belong to a group that provides travel discounts too!
For another option, consider a house swap. If you don’t want to have a stranger in your home, you could exchange with a relative or out-of-town friend. Or maybe it is time to pick up the phone and call Aunt Edna in Vermont and see if she’d like to have your family there for a week-long visit. If visiting relative seems more like a chore to you than a vacation, don’t make that call!
If your vacation takes you on the road to a campground or hotel, pack as much of your own food as you can. Eating at restaurants can be very expensive and not terribly healthy. Pack your ice chest and try to eat out only once a day. Stop at local grocery stores to restock your ice chest. Let your kids pick out one ‘treat’ per day.
When all else fails and it is just not in the budget to travel for your vacation this year, brainstorm with your spouse or kids for a ‘pretend vacation.’ You could ‘go to China.’ Check books on China and Chinese culture out of the library. Eat your meals with chopsticks. Research how long it would take to fly there and pack a ‘travel bag.’ Then sit on the couch for 12 hours - wait, you might want to try this with a closer destination. Your ‘pretend vacation’ could be no more than unplugging the phone, tv and computer for a couple of days. Take some time to play together as a family. Read books, watch for shooting stars, play a game, let the laundry and housework go. Enjoy your vacation time!
Clothing on the Cheap, But Not Cheap Clothing
We have been blessed with a wealth of hand-me-downs and haven’t had to spend much money on children’s clothing. Clothing your children can be a big chunk in your budget. One of the main problems being that kids grow out of their clothes faster than you can say “time to go shopping.” But, there are ways to keep the cost of clothing to a minimum. Courant.com has a great article with ideas to get you started.
Should Take Your Child to a Movie?
If you have ever taken your children to a movie only to discover that the PG rating was was too much for your child, then Kids in Mind.com is the place for you. According to their website:
We enable adults to determine whether a movie is appropriate for them or their children, according to their own criteria. Unlike the MPAA we do not assign an inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE & PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10. We also explain in detail why a film rates high or low in a specific category, and we include instances of SUBSTANCE USE, a list of DISCUSSION TOPICS that may elicit questions from kids and MESSAGES the film conveys.
It is a great place to see what is really going to be shown on the screen so you can prepare yourself or just skip it all together.
Putting the Skinned Knees Back Into Playtime
The New York Times has a wonderful article about parents getting their kids interested in those old time games such as marbles and hopscotch. It gives the kids something else to do beside video games and television. They can get outside and get some exercise.
I’m not sure we can go back to the ‘Be home when the street lights come on’ world that I remember, but this article does bring up some good points. The article also mentions the wonderful book, “The Dangerous Book for Boys”
Internet Moms Making Money From Home
Read about how some Stay At Home Moms are supplementing their income with internet businesses or are working from home. For some couples, becoming a single income family isn’t a financially viable option. Working from home via the internet has become an option for those who would still like to have one parent at home with the kids. Now if only they came over and visited Single Income Parenting more, they would be able to save tons of money!
The Toddler and You
CNN is carrying a great article from parenting.com about dealing with frustrating toddler behaviors. They suggest five tricks to outsmart your toddler when it comes to the “I-wants”, being picky about food, and throwing fits when things don’t go their way. Now if only I had five ways to outsmart my spouse.
Is Your Family Ready for a Natural Disaster?
After reading about Momergency Kits over at ParentHacks.com, I thought I should detail what the modern parent can do to prepare for real emergencies. Although googly eyes can be very important in certain situations, being prepared for all kinds of emergencies is another step towards sleeping easily at night.
Being prepared for a disaster is nothing to sneeze at. We’ve seen so much media coverage of major disasters in the past few years. It is time to think about being prepared for the possibility of losing water or electricity for several days. I am a worrier. Having a 5-day disaster supply kit eases my mind a bit. At least in the “being prepared for a disaster” area.
There are many emergency preparedness websites out there. The Red Cross has an emergency supply list and there are dozens of 72-hour kit websites. My favorite, though, is from the East Bay Municipal Utility District. With this guide, you can assemble a 3-7 day disaster supply kit over a period of 6 months without going bankrupt.
The guide is broken down into 24 weeks; you collect all of your supplies and them rotate them over a six-month period. Each week there is a short shopping list for the grocery store, hardware store or first-aid supplies. You purchase and gather your supplies little by little and at the end of 6 months, you should have a comprehensive collection of food, tools, water and other emergency supplies.
Storing these supplies does take up room. Consider your storage area before beginning the buying process. Our supplies take up a 32-gallon garbage can (with wheels) and a cupboard that is about 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall by 18 inches deep. The water is, in my opinion, the most important supply to have on hand and it definitely takes up the most room. We also don’t keep many of the suggested tools and clothing in our specific emergency supply area. I keep a text document with the supplies that notes where certain tools and clothing can be found in the garage and the house.
Some of these supplies can be stored indefinitely (toilet paper, deodorant, toothbrush, etc.), while others should be used and replaced every 6-12 months. At the bottom of the above plan, there is a handy chart noting the typical shelf-life of your supplies. I have another handy word document that lists when I need to replace food items in my supply cupboard. I also label each box or can with the month and year that it was purchased.
Along with your ’shopping list,’ there is a short ‘to do’ list for each week. This has suggestions
such as “Have a fire drill at home” and “Make photocopies of important papers and store safely.” There are also reminders such as checking and changing smoke alarm batteries.
In our emergency supply bin (e.s.b. as I like to call it), we have also placed copies of the kids’ immunization records and birth certificates and a list of phone numbers, out-of-state contacts, pet information, and some financial numbers (phone number of credit card companies, bank phone number, etc.) These documents are handy and could easily be tossed in the car if the emergency was such that we needed to leave the house and property immediately. The e.s.b. is on wheels and could (probably in a burst of adrenaline) be lifted into the trunk of the car.
I rest a little easier at night, knowing that our family has taken steps toward emergency preparedness.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Website
The Consumer Product Safety Commission website is a good site to check out once a month or so. Or whenever you are cleaning out your bookmarks. I came across it again the other day and made a mental note to check it out more often. It contains recall and safety information that may affect your family. For example: “Mervyns Recalls Children’s Capri Pants Due to Choking Hazard.” Apparently, the button may fall off and cause a child to choke, should they put it in their mouth. It is not actually the pants that are a choking hazard. Although, I suppose it might be hazardous to put a pair of capri pants in your mouth.
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