Continue reading The New Home Economics - Moms Who Swap, Sell and Save Online

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Years after I quit believing in Santa Claus and cellulite creams, I still clung to belief that living a "balanced" life was possible. In my mind I envisioned a slender, married mother of three who had mastered the time-management system that smoothes every bump, makes every appointment and absorbs surprises like a ShamWow!

Over-commit? Not this mom. She preheats the oven. She starts preparing in August for the holiday pageant in December. Her kids never look disheveled. Their beds are made and their rooms are tidied before breakfast. Their books stay shelved according to the Dewey Decimal System, and her kitchen is spread before her like a NASA control center. Oh, how I longed to be like her.

Then, one day, in the face of overwhelming evidence, I accepted the fact that the mom I dreamed of becoming was a myth. As I let go of my dream, I held on to a few time management principles that had emerged as truth. I've been pondering those principles this week while our family is on vacation in the mountains of Colorado. I realize that little of those truths has changed over the years, though some applications have shifted with the size and age of our family. They continue to point me due north, and I share them here for those searching for a way -- a realistic way -- to manage the minutes of your days.

Continue reading Time Management Myths

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For years I dreaded sunset on the Fourth of July. You see, after a day of fun and good food with family and friends, when our three boys pulled out their arsenal of fireworks they'd purchased at a roadside stand (are all boys pyromaniacs?) my stress level spiked to the red zone.

Bill said I was over-reacting. He reminded me that fireworks must meet consumer safety standards and promised to make sure the boys followed safety precautions. This never relieved my angst. So I did what I always do when a fun activity is also a potentially harmful activity: I take precautionary measures -- and I pray (a lot). Whether your day includes a cookout, camping, a parade or a day at the lake, here are some good things to know and do to avoid the Emergency Room this weekend.

Continue reading Avoid the Emergency Room - Put Safety First on the Fourth

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Continue reading Road Trip Sanity, Part II

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Every summer when our boys were young, we loaded them in the car before dawn and took off for our annual family vacation in Colorado. And every summer on departure day I was in a bad mood. Why? Well, for weeks I'd been planning the trip -- researching accommodations, making reservations, gathering and packing the kids' clothing and gear, arranging for the mail to be stopped, dogs to be fed, and plants to be watered, planning en-route snacks and menus, and creating games and activities to occupy the kids during the trip. And what did Bill do? He worked until the last minute, threw his clothes and fishing gear in the car and jumped behind the wheel, ready for a relaxing vacation.

Believe me, I was not a happy camper, which tainted Bill's attitude and spoiled more than a few vacations. And I regret those years. You see, as I began to look at my role in our family from the perspective of a manager, I realized that a good manager -- of a business or a family -- understands the importance of educating team members. I had expected Bill to read my mind, to instinctively know all that preparing for a trip entails and what he could do to help -- and that's just not fair.

Instead of continuing to finger-point and stew over unmet expectations, we carved out time to discuss how we could work more as a team. Together we created planning sheets and checklists, and divvied vacation prep tasks. That year marked the end of our unpleasant vacation routine. In hopes of helping you avoid vacation altercations, I share the guidelines that can make your vacations a lot more fun.

Continue reading Peaceful Family Roadtrips - Tips for a Fight-Free Vacation

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Continue reading Hope for Craft-Challenged Moms

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Continue reading Is Your Child Safe? Take This Quiz to Find Out

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Continue reading Summer Survival Strategies

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Continue reading Cut Costs, Not Fun at Theme Parks

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Continue reading Exchange Your Clutter for Cash

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Continue reading Leverage Mother's Day for a Valuable Gift (That Costs Nothing)

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Continue reading Great Gifts that Won't Bust Your Budget

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Early in our marriage my husband and I realized we were economic opposites. I was reared in an upper-middle class world where in the summers all parents enrolled their four-year-olds in private swimming lessons, children got braces when their adult teeth came in, and teens got a driver's license and a new car on the same day.

In the frugal world of Bill's childhood, kids got necessities and few extras. He learned to swim at the public pool, didn't see a dentist until he was twelve, and got his first used car his junior year of college. Different definitions of "For richer or poorer" kindled emotions and fueled insecurity. We saw firsthand how money has the power to destroy a relationship that is infinitely more valuable, so we did what Rob Becker urges men and women to do in the close of "Defending the Caveman": visit each other's world without judgment. Issue by issue, we loosened our death grips on our inherited definitions of what's "normal" and negotiated our way to common ground -- from "what my parents always did" to "what we do" -- and financial tenants that would define our lifestyle.

Over the years, some directions have shifted with the size and age of our family, but we all know due north. Here are some like values Bill and I discovered that became the underpinnings of our Family Fiscal Policy you can use to craft your own.

Continue reading Married to Your Economic Opposite?

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Every family I know is trying to whittle dollars from monthly expenses. But attempts to be thrifty can sometimes backfire, as many moms -- including this one -- will testify.

In more than a few recent e-mails, moms have confessed to diving headfirst into clipping coupons and chasing bargains all over town -- wasting fuel and time. Using coupons is a great way to cut costs, but not without a plan.

One mom reported that she tried to trim expenses by shrinking her dry-cleaning bill, but when she hand washed an expensive angora sweater, her sweater shrunk instead. She also washed the top to an outfit (the tag said hand wash or dry clean), but she sent the matching pants to the cleaners. Now the pieces don't match, and the outfit is ruined.

Another mom pled guilty to buying an exercise device she saw on television as an instant solution to the twenty pounds she's been trying to lose since the birth of her daughter six months ago. This way she wouldn't have to buy new spring-and-summer clothes -- or so she rationalized. But since she wasn't already committed to an exercise routine, the pricey piece of equipment has become an overpriced place to throw the new clothes she ended up buying anyway.

I, too, have made numerous expensive mistakes. In hopes of saving you some cash and anguish, I share a few lessons I've learned recently and during previous economic downturns.

Continue reading Expensive Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

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As the economy continues to drag, a lot of moms are creating their own family bailout plans by launching home-based businesses. If you're looking to join the ranks of the "momtrepreneurs" - moms who work from home while taking care of family -- first you need to consider what kind of business is best for you.

Don't overlook the obvious -- if you once worked as an accountant, launching a part-time bookkeeping service makes sense -- as well as the not-so-obvious. For example, take former kindergarten teacher Ellen Delap. After creating effective ways to organize time, space, supplies and equipment in her classroom, she transferred those strategies and her love for teaching to a home-based organizing business.

Beyond career history, often the best entrepreneurial endeavors are spawned from a hobby you love or a solution you created to meet a need in your own life -- which is a need other people may have as well.

Former journalist Susan Elliot loves to cook, so she created a summer cooking camp for kids which includes cooking lessons, and fun crafts and activities. The camp was a huge hit so she self-published a book that shows other moms how to start their own home-based summer camp based on their affinities -- cheerleading, jewelry making, sewing, painting, or other interests.

Continue reading Moms Making Money from Home

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When it comes to birthday parties, moms are finding that a little creativity goes a long way toward cutting costs and making great memories for their children.

Take Anne Beller, a Dallas mother of four, for example. She actually turned a profit on her son's birthday party (don't worry - she didn't sell admission tickets). Instead of paying $200 to rent a giant, inflatable moonwalk for bouncing, Anne bought one on eBay. After the party, she neatly re-packaged it, put it back up for sale on eBay as "only used once," and sold it for more than she paid for it. The difference covered the cost of decorations, party favors and food, and she even had a little left over.

Autumn Thomson of Tallahassee threw a pajama party for her three-year-old daughter at Krispy Kreme. She bought small pillows at a dollar store for a pillow fight, and bought all the guests donuts and milk - plus coffee for parents. They hosted about 25 kids and 30-or-so parents, and spent less than $75 total. And Wendy Thomas from Nashua, New Hampshire says her nine-year-old's birthday party cost a grand total of $3.19. Not bad.

Regardless of the type of party, if you plan in advance, get input from your child and keep the guest list to a manageable size, you can throw a successful party and maintain your sanity in the process. Plus, you can add free treats to the day by signing up your child at Free Birthday Treats.

These tips will help you make your child's day special and also save you cash. Just remember: Your goal is happy children, not impressed adults.

Continue reading Great Birthday Parties for Next to Nothing

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When it comes to getting things to grow, my thumb's not the greenest one out there. Many plants have died under my oversight. But one summer it happened: I got the hang of gardening, and the zucchini multiplied like rabbits. Relishing my victory, I zealously baked zucchini, stuffed zucchini, steamed zucchini, stir-fried zucchini, and made zucchini bread and muffins. Finally, my family begged me to find another hobby.

In the spirit of moderation, I propose five good reasons why planting a garden this year is a good idea.

1. Gardening is an excellent family project. It provides natural opportunities to spend time together working toward a common goal.

2. You save money by growing your food instead of buying it.

3. Gardening presents all kinds of creative learning opportunities for your children as they pore over seed catalogs, read seed packets, create plant markers, pay for nursery plants, and learn about the growth process. (Who knows, you may have a future botanist the the family.)

4. You can track your progress with the new White House garden.

5. April is National Garden Month, and the National Garden Association has 101 ways to celebrate. No doubt you can find one or two ideas that will take root in your own family.

Here are strategies for your own gardening victory.

Continue reading Your Own Victory Garden

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Some people don't believe in multitasking. Maybe they've read that doing more than one thing at a time is too taxing on our brains. Or maybe they're reacting because they wore themselves out trying to do two things at once -- and trying to give both equal mental focus. Certainly things like calling out spelling words, wallpapering a room, figuring out your income tax and a lot of other tasks call for undivided attention. But there are plenty of tasks that don't deserve our full attention -- and that's where multitasking makes sense.

Doubling up on tasks is smart and efficient when you fold two tasks of varied importance together. For example, teaching a preschooler to identify colors is important. Picking up toys is less important. Why not accomplish both at once by suggesting that you and your child work together and pick up all the red toys, then the blue toys and the yellow toys? Or take watching TV -- an activity that seldom merits full focus. Why not request that your kids tackle a more important task -- fold clothes, sort socks, brush the dog or reunite a basket of toys with missing parts -- during TV time? Even three-year-olds can fold washcloths and hand towels. They won't fold them just right, but that's okay. They're learning life skills about housework, time management, and collaboration -- way more important than a picture-perfect linen closet.

Multitasking can also include the work of two or more people working as a team. You can show your child how to strip the bed and take linens to the washer while you're changing the sheets. Or work together getting your backyard ready for spring: Young kids can wash off patio furniture while you tackle flowerbeds. Here are more two-timing tasks to consider:

Continue reading Multitasking is Not All Bad

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Continue reading Money Management for Kids

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My grocery-shopping strategy is pretty simple: plan menus, stick to a list and shop on Tuesday mornings. Fewer people shop on Tuesdays (shorter lines) and the food is usually fresher. Shelves get restocked with fresh goods on Mondays after weekend plundering.

Like you, I'm constantly looking for ways to cut food costs. But I've never been much of a coupon clipper -- until two weeks ago. That's when I met Ashley Nuzzo, the Frugal Coupon Mom. Ashley, a new mom, wanted to stay home, so she and her husband decided to scale back to one income. She treats saving money like a job -- using Web sites, reading blogs, printing online coupons and scouring the newspaper for discounts. Last month U.S. News & World Report reported on her savings of -- brace yourself -- about $1,500 a month!

While you may not be up for a program like Ashley's, here some simple ways to whittle away at your grocery bill:

Continue reading Grocery Shopping Savvy - Little Ways to Save Big

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