It is up to us as parents to provide financial prowess in teaching kids how to handle money. Here are some tips on how to accomplish this difficult process.

Kids learn by example.  If you are in debt, odds are they will be too.  You need to teach fiscal responsibility at an early stage.  The earlier you discuss money with your kids, the better prepared they will become.  Open up a savings account with your kids; allow them to deposit and make withdrawals. Give them the option to use the account in whichever way they decide. By allowing them this freedom to choose, you are also giving them the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.  Always be there in case they need your advice in this regard.

Give them an allowance. If they run out of money before the following week; do not replenish it.  This will teach them about choices; the good and the bad.  This is especially true if they are saving to buy something special. If they use their money unwisely, and cannot buy that which they were saving for, a valuable lesson will be learned.

Do not spoil your kids by giving them everything they want.  Give them just enough money via a weekly allowance and no more.  If they choose to buy something you think is not appropriate, discuss it with them.  Teach them about the importance of saving money and what they can look forward to as they get older.  Give them examples of your own experience as a child, particularly if you had a problem handling money.

Finally, teach them the pitfalls of borrowing. If they ask for money to buy a certain item; inform them they will have to pay it back with interest.  Tell them exactly how much they will have to pay back and figure out together how long it would take.  Undoubtedly, they may change their mind; but if not, stick to the terms you set.  Teaching your kids how to handle money begins with you. Whether you were a saver or a spender, it is incumbent upon you to pass on to your child all the tools he or she needs to make worthwhile decisions; now and in the future. 

I love getting my “tackle it” list onto by blog. There is something about writing it all down that really inspires to to get it all done.

Here is what I need to tackle today and during the entire week:

1. Continue on my mission to add at least 1 article a day to my Real Life Solutions site.

2 . Keep working to get a sponsor for the Parenting My Teen Podcast and I am also on the lookout for a great guest (this was on my list last week too).

3. Hit the Grocery store during lunch time - I find that Tuesdays are really great days for shopping - the stores are just about empty.

4.  Hire out the writing of articles to generate traffic to Real Life Guidance.

5. Start planning something **HUGE** for our 10year wedding anniversary (mid-August) - I am thinking about a weekend get-a-way.

So, do you care to share what you have already tackled and/or still need to tackle today?

Delegating household chores between all the occupants of the house seems only fair. There are jobs around the house even the smallest child can do.

Stop by http://schmoozins.com/kids-chores/457 to learn more

It’s getting “hot like fire” (as Isaac says) and the one thing that I don’t like to do when it is steamy hot outside is slave over a stove preparing meals.

 Well leave it to my pal Carrie Lauth to come up with a fabulous post about Summer Cooking Tips.  As you know I love great idea’s that are both practical and fun and Carrie hit the nail on the head with her tips.   Be sure to visit her site to see just what I mean.

BTW while I was reading her post my 8yo son was looking over my shoulder as always  and when he saw a picture of one of Carries awesome idea’s he said “Ohhhhh, Mommy you have to make Me and Isreal some of those”.  LOL Thanks Carrie

Meal planning and bulk cooking are both wonderful techniques you can utilize and modify to fit your families needs. The idea behind this is simple. The principle is that you cook and or prepare your meals ahead of time and then preserve them by either freezing or fridgerating them. Also, meal planning you can cook one large meal and get 2-3 other meals out of it! The key here is to make every meal you cook count! When you are going to prepare a family favorite, double, triple, even quadruple the recipe if it will keep in the freezer. Sound wonderful doesn’t it? Why not give yourself a much-needed break — cook ahead today so you can relax tomorrow!

The first step in meal planning is always the most challenging. To make it less challenging I suggest that you grab the following supplies: Pen, paper, your personal recipe collection or your favorite cookbook and a comfortable chair. Start by writing down a list of your favorite meals and plan on preparing a grocery list that will coincide with your list. Now, since we are talking bulk cooking here – if you normally would serve up one pot of spaghetti – plan to serve 2 (that would mean that you will have to double the recipe – so be sure to alter your shopping list accordingly) – It will take the same amount of time to cook – just a little extra planning is needed.
Next you can use a blank calendar and simply write the meals down on the day you will serve them. I personally post my meal plan up on my refrigerator for the entire house to see. This also helps to prompt me for the next day of meals that will be served.

The most important tool in meal planning and bulk cooking is your freezer. If you have a small freezer, don’t fret; you can fit many meals in that small freezer space – it will just call for a little more creativity on your part. With the use of freezer bags, that you can stack flat and the use of some freezer proof containers you will be surprised at how many meals your freezer can hold.

Here are a few essential and widely used meal planning techniques and tips:

Multi-recipes ~ Using this strategy requires you to cook many main course meals in one day. For instance, on a Sunday morning you could prepare a roast in your Crock pot, some spaghetti on top of the stove, a baked Chicken in the oven and perhaps a nice salad. You also could quarter and boil some potatoes, cook some rice and some veggies (either fresh or canned). What you now have is 5 different meals that you can use throughout the entire week. You can eat one of the meals that very evening and you could Freeze or refrigerate the rest. This technique works very well for some people and it provides a wide variety of dishes that you can use. I personally use this technique from time to time. I usually do my multi-recipe cooking on a Sunday and it can take up to 5 hrs to complete but what you are left with is 2 weeks worth of food that you can enjoy. And notice that the meals that I use in my Multi-recipe list are easy to prepare.

One Cook Wonder ~ With this strategy you would cook one main course recipe that can be used for different meals. For Instance, let’s say you just baked a large turkey. You could slice some of the turkey off and serve the breast with gravy, dice some of the turkey and prepare a turkey gumbo and use the rest for either a soup or turkey salad. Mind you, you do not have to prepare all of those meals on one day. After the Turkey has been cooked and cooled, you can freeze and refrigerate the turkey that you cut off the carcass and prepare your other Turkey related meals at a different time.

Quick and Easy meals ~ Be sure to incorporate those quick and easy meals into your planning process. If your family loves Sloppy Joes – cook up the sloppy joe meat in bulk and freeze it – then all you need to do is defrost the meat, grab some buns and viola. What about Hamburger Helper? Why not cook 2-3 boxes of it, separate it into 3 separate large containers and freeze them. That idea alone allows you to prepare 3 meals in just 30-minutes.

Designate a meal for a particular night ~ Every Friday night in my house is either Pizza or burger night. The idea here is to choose any night of the week and just designate a meal to go with that night. I always make sure that I have plenty of Frozen Pizza’s with a variety of toppings on hand in my freezer. The same goes for those

Turkey burger patties (my family doesn’t eat much ground beef). The idea behind this process is that you now have one night’s meal already planned. You can also stock up on that meal when the products are on sale. If you see Frozen pizza’s being sold in bulk, grab them up!Love your leftovers ~ This is one of my favorite parts of meal planning as it allows you to use your imagination. At least every other week or so be sure to go through your refrigerator and take inventory of what you have in there. When you combine 2-3 leftovers, you may find that you have a meal right there. You can use left over pasta from spaghetti to prepare a pasta salad, leftover spaghetti sauce and just a few pieces of chicken can be a wonderful dish to top with cheese and place in the oven. Again, with a little imagination – you can make your leftovers work for you!Use the sales paper ~ everyone loves a good sale and I use the sales paper to help me in my meal planning. When I see our Family favorites on sale – instead of buying one, I will purchase 3-4 of the same items and simply come home and prepare the meals or freeze the food that I purchased. My family and I love Chicken. When I spot whole chickens on sale I’ve been known to purchase up to 5-6 at a time. Keep in mind that I have a family of 6 and in my family of six; there are 3 teenagers (and you know how much they can consume). By shopping like this, I actually save hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year in food alone!

Helpful supplies

Labels/freezer bags/Freezer-proof containers: Be sure that you have all of your freezing and refrigerating needs on hand. When storing food in freezer safe containers be sure to place a label on the container with the name of the meal and the date the meal was prepared.

Crockpot: This handy appliance is my best friend in the kitchen. When using a crockpot you literally prepare the meal, place it in the crockpot, Set it & Forget it. It is a hands free cooking experience. I cook whole chickens in my crock pot and then slice the chicken up to freeze and use for sandwiches, enchilada’s, chicken salads, chicken soup, chicken stew.. as you can see – the possibilities are endless.

As you can see, meal planning is a money, sanity and time saver – what else could a busy mom ask for?

Now, let’s get Cookin’!  Stop on by of Real Life Solutions, a Family Resource site that is filled with free information.

You won’t find any junk here!!

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Sign-Up Today and also receive a free ‘You Deserve a Break’ Report.  In this short and informative report.  I share many ways that you can give yourself the down time and the pampering that you deserve.
http://reallifesolutions.net/newsletter.html

Making the Homeschooling Choice
It may seem like a scary leap to homeschool your children, but if you are spending time with your children at all then you are likely homeschooling them already.  Every day is an opportunity to teach your children – about life, about manners, about finances or about whatever may come up in conversation.

Homeschooling is really more about education at home than anything else.  You and your child have the opportunity to direct the educational focus towards events or activities that are of most interest.  You can also focus on subjects that need the most attention (instead of concentrating on preparing for a national test).

The reasons that families choose to homeschool their children are almost as diverse as the children that are being homeschooled.  If you are considering the homeschool alternative then there are few things you should consider before you take the plunge.

1.  Time - Although homeschool can consist of self-directed programs, it is still important that you have the time to invest in assisting the learning process, checking the work and the progress and also researching and reviewing future curriculum choices. 

2.  Money – It is possible to homeschool for no money at all.  You can use the internet and the public library to create a curriculum for your child (but this will require a larger dedication of time than using a pre-formed curriculum).  You will still be paying out of pocket for extra-curricular activities and the government does not give any tax relief to families that choose to homeschool.

3.  Space – It is best to have a dedicated space for doing your school time and especially for storing the curriculum and even the completed work.  It is even better if you can also have a space for crafts, science experiments or other projects so that they can be left out for continuous work without concern of them being disturbed or disrupted.

4.  Resources – Every community will be different when it comes to support groups, field trips and group activities that are available.  Do some research to see what kinds of resources are available in your area.  It might also help to find out the number of homeschool families (or individuals) in your area.  If there are no current activities then you might be able to start some up once you begin homeschooling.

5.  Temperament – Not everyone is cut out to homeschool.  If you have the patience to work with your children in the garden, in the workshop or in the kitchen then you will likely have the patience to work with them with a curriculum.

6.  Flexibility – While it is not a requirement to be flexible, it is likely to make your homeschool experience much more enjoyable for you and for the children.  Accept that things will not always go as planned and adjust your class plans accordingly.

Your homeschooling experience will be all about what you are willing to put into it.  If you are prepared to invest in homeschooling, then it is likely the best choice for you and for your child.

Balancing the Children’s Schedule and Your Work at Home Schedule
One of the top reasons many women become work at home moms is to be available for the children.  Most choose to start when the children are young and need constant supervision.  Many continue the experience as the children get older because of the flexibility it offers. 

It can be a struggle being a work at home mom.  You are constantly juggling the needs of the children with the needs of the business.  Finding a balance between the two is the key to being a successful (and peaceful) work at home mom.  Here are some tips on how to achieve this:

1. Make a schedule of times when you KNOW you won’t be disturbed (early in the morning, late at night or during naps).  There are several hours in each day that you can devote to work that are completely undisturbed by the rest of the household.

2. Keep a calendar of all the children’s activities close at hand (include everything from doctor’s appointments to carpools).  It will help you know how to juggle your schedule if you always have the important events written out for easy access.

3. Use that same calendar to keep track of due dates or projects that you need to complete.  It will help you stay on track if you know what you have to do and when you have to do it.  You can use a paper calendar or even one of the many automated calendar programs (that will sound an alarm when things are suppose to happen).

4. ALWAYS aim to complete your projects at least three days ahead of schedule.  Procrastination can be one of the major pitfalls of the work at home mom.  Keep it at bay by staying ahead of schedule. 

5. Expect the unexpected.  One of the main reasons that people choose to work at home is so that they can be flexible.  You want to be able to walk away from work if the children have an unexpected awards program or they are just sick.  Plan to have unexpected down time – keep ahead of your workload, set aside a day that can be a time for catching up, plan on getting up an hour early (or staying up an hour later) the day after the unexpected changes occur.

6. Put the children first.  Whether it’s a splinter in the finger or a question about homework, help the children to understand that they are more important than any project or work schedule.  Remember that they are the main reason that you are a work at home mom.

The best way to balance your children’s schedules and your work load is to stay organized.  Keep lists and schedules easily accessible and keep them up to date.  Before long you will find that the juggling act is really much easier than it looks.

Visit Balancing Work & Family for additional help.
 

For moms who work from home, balancing the home and business sides of their lives can feel downright impossible, especially when the reason they began working from home was so they could spend more time with family. However, many home businesses actually fail because moms don’t manage to balance business and home life. How can you juggle your family’s needs, your business needs and occasionally find some time for your needs without being a super hero?

The first thing any mom should do to achieve balance is to get the family involved. If your children and husband support you, you will find that they interrupt less often and are more likely to pitch in to get household chores done. You’re probably thinking that will happen the day the moon turns to blue cheese, right? However, if you mention that you need to get a major project done and will be able to buy a pizza and rent a video when you are paid, you may be surprised at how quickly everyone pitches in to help out.

If you have young children, they may not be able to understand the concept of waiting for a reward. To get your younger children involved, try explaining what you are doing in very simple terms and having them help you. Set up a small desk or table for your toddlers and add crayons and paper so they can help you with your work by drawing some pictures or writing a letter. Children that are a bit older can put stamps on envelopes and seal them, paperclip papers together or do other simple organizational tasks.

Of course, no matter how supportive your family and friends are, they are not going to be happy if you work 15 hours a day. Make sure that you ask for uninterrupted time to do your job or run your business, but also make sure that you schedule time for your family and friends. While you are making up that schedule, don’t forget your significant other. If you sit at your computer all evening after the children are tucked away for the night, you may end up with some serious relationship issues!

Once your family and friends are involved and you’ve scheduled time for them in your life, it is time to consider a few ways to make the most of your valuable work time. While you may be tempted to work non-stop during the time you have dedicated to your business, you should actually try to take some breaks. Taking a half-hour walk or having lunch away from your desk can really help you recharge your mind and keeps your body from growing stiff and tired. When you sit back down, you can do so with a clearer view of your goals and fresh energy and focus.

Also, don’t be afraid to make a “to do” list for your business. Write the four or five items you absolutely must do on your list and promise yourself that you will get them done before you visit your favorite forums or check your email. This can really help you get more work accomplished in less time.

So, although you may not have super powers, you can still have a home life, a business life and some time for yourself. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath, ask your family for some help and try out a few of these great ideas for balancing your life.

Aritcle by Aurelia Williams -

I am dedicated to helping moms maximize their time. Visit my report at Finding More Family Time,  you’ll discover EXACTLY how to find more time for your family AND get everything else done too!

I know many moms out there are looking for ways to earn a little income at home (either full time or part time).  Well, Real Life Solutions has a page dedicated to Work At Home Ideas.  Be sure to check it out, you may see something that you like.

Take care and let me know if you see anything that sparks an interest in you