Easy Steps to Teach Your Kids About Finances
You may want to wait until they are at least 2 or 3 
, but teaching your kids financial skills will be one of the most important things you do. Here are 9 easy steps for teaching them about saving and investing.
Spending Too Much on the Grocery Budget?
We’ve been overspending on our grocery budget lately, so I was surfing around, looking for some inspiration. Get Rich Slowly has an article about (one person) eating on $15 per week. It has some good tips: eat up all your leftovers, eat in-season produce, and avoid junk food and pre-cooked food. I also found the Hillbilly Housewife’s $45 emergency menu for 4-6 people for one week.
I am determined to be better about planning my meals for the week and only grocery shopping 1-2 times per week. For me, that is the key. If I go every day (and without a list), I tend to spend more and buy impulse items that we really don’t need.
Riding the Bus
If you live in a town large enough for bus service, you may want to look into riding the bus around as an inexpensive form of entertainment. We took The Boy on our local town bus route and had a grand old time. We were the only ones on the bus for the entire trip. He is young enough still to be a free ride and the adult fare was less than $2.
We have a country bus service that we plan to try one of these days. That will be a much longer ride, but will still cost less than $2. Plan ahead and bring a diaper bag with a diaper change if needed, water and snacks. Check the schedule online, then confirm your route with the driver when you get on the bus.
Happy riding!
Garden Tips
If you are interested in starting your own little veggie garden plot, here are a few tips.
1. Find a spot that is suitable to your needs. For example: sunny, away from animals, etc.
2. Check the pH balance of your soil and compare it to the needs of your proposed veggies. Most seed packets have the necessary pH information. Add compost or potting soil to your growing area if needed.
3. Consider building a grow box lined with chicken wire. Especially if you live in gopher-prone areas.
4. Purchase seeds from a reliable source. Try to buy heirloom or non-genetically-modified seeds.
5. Set your seeds out in seedling trays. Grow veggies that are appropriate for your current climate/season.
6. Water your seed faithfully.
7. Transplant to your garden area when seedlings have at least two sets of leaves. Maybe more.
8. Continue to water and check for troublesome weeds daily if you can.
9. Harvest when ripe and enjoy!
Mend Your Own Jeans
I ripped my favorite pair of denim capris yesterday and it is definitely not in the budget to get a new pair right now. So, I pulled out my handy dandy textile adhesive and some denim fabric scraps. Voila, now my capris will last a few more months.
I use Aleene’s Super Fabric Textile Adhesive. It can be found at WalMart for about $3.00. This stuff is amazing. (It is also very toxic, so use it carefully.) Once the glue dries, you can machine wash the clothing and it should stay adhered. I’ve used the stuff to patch clothing, put a skirt together out of old jeans, adhere a button to a pillow and ‘decorate’ clothing with beads or other ‘flair.’