Snow days are an almost inevitable part of any winter. At some point during the season, you’ll see a winter wonderland outside, and hear the declaration on the radio — it’s a snow day. This may not always seem like a bad thing, but if you’re a parent of teenagers, finding ways to occupy your older children might present a challenge. This is especially true during a snow day, when boredom sets in even faster than normal. Fortunately, there are many fun and creative ways to entertain your teens during the long snow days.
If your teens haven’t touched board games in a while, it’s time to bring them out. Look through your closets and cupboards for classics such as Monopoly, Clue, or maybe even Myst. There are also some modern board games that are particularly suited to curious teenagers, such as Dragonology or perhaps even the DVD-board game Atmosfear. When you’re shopping between snow days, keep your eyes open for new and exciting board games to fill long snow days and evenings that you may face.
While you're out shopping, purchase those model kits that sometimes go on sale. They make a wonderful activity on a cold winter day. Purchase a variety to entertain all your teenagers. Look for model cars, trains, and airplanes, but also keep your eye out for model buildings. The budding architect in your family will really enjoy the opportunity to construct a scale model.
Try to get your teens to write a story. This may seem difficult, but if you have budding authors in your household, it may be worth the effort to get them to all sit down and commit thoughts to paper. Let each teenager write whatever they like, whether it’s a short story, flash fiction, or maybe even the very beginnings of a novel. If you have a teen who has difficulty finding ideas, help them out by giving them some basic plot points, but let them do the real writing.
If the weather permits, get your teenagers outside. Try to encourage them to do something fun. They’re certainly not too old to build a snow fort or throw a few snowballs back and forth. You might even be able to convince them to build a snowman, or even make a few snow angels in the front yard. Teenagers do enjoy the chance to let loose and have a good time, but they do sometimes need a little encouragement.
If the roads aren’t closed, consider heading out with your teens. Skating and sledding are wonderful ways to pass the time, even for older children. Depending on your teenagers and their own interests, you might want to head to the local park and either try skiing or snow shoeing. If you don’t have the equipment, look for places that will rent it to you for the day.
Start a scrapbook. Teens and older children often enjoy the opportunity to exercise their creative abilities, so pull out the paper, photos, and scrapbooks and get started. Maybe even take a few moments to capture the snow day itself on camera. If you don’t have all the supplies and can’t run to the craft store, just focus on organizing the photos you want to use. Make a promise to each other to put the scrapbook together as soon as possible.
If you really can't think of anything to do, engage your teenagers in a game of charades. Your teenagers might groan a bit at first, but give it a chance anyway. Within just a few moments you might find your children laughing and enjoying themselves, despite their best intentions.
Get your teens together and plan the ultimate snow day dinner. Act mainly as supervisor and have them do the majority of the preparation. Let them guide the dinner, all the way from menu selection to presentation of the meal. Girls as well as boys can participate in this activity. Consider making this an all-day event and baking breads and muffins, perhaps enough to last the entire week. This is a great bonding activity, and if you choose to make a cake, your teenagers can have a lot of fun decorating it.
Make some music. If you or your teenagers play any instruments, take turns playing for each other. You could even all play together. If no one plays an instrument, everyone can choose their favorite songs from their iPod, a CD, or from the radio. Take turns dancing to each song, getting as creative and as silly as you like. Teens might enjoy the opportunity to express themselves through dance without friends around to watch.
Make it a movie day. Have your teens select their favorite movies and play them, one by one. Between movies, ask your teens to analyze different aspects of each movie. Perhaps ask them about plot, theme, or character development. If they’re in high school, they may have been discussing these things in one of their classes, so they may have some detailed insights into each movie.
A snow day doesn’t have to mean boredom. There are so many ways to entertain your teenagers when they’re stuck at home. Try to get them engaged in the normal activities around the house, and then add something that’s not quite so normal. Have fun, get creative, and make some memories before your teens grow up.
It is easier to overspend today that it has ever been, especially when you have children. With the advent of credit cards, lines of credit, car loans, home equity loans, and all those “buy now, pay later” offers, there are just so many ways to go into debt. It may seem that the solution is to stop overspending, but unless you examine the causes of overspending and understand how to solve these common problems, that is unlikely to happen.
Credit Cards and Monthly Payments
Credit cards are one of the leading causes of overspending, simply because anyone can get a credit card. Even if you have poor credit or declared bankruptcy recently, you might still find yourself eligible for thousands of dollars worth of credit cards. And they’re so easy to use. Hand them over to the store clerk and worry about paying for them later. Before you know it, you’ve charged hundreds or thousands of dollars to your credit card, and you have no way to pay it all back.
If you always pay your credit card bills in full, every month, then credit cards might work for you. However, if you’re like most people, you carry a balance. And that balance continues to grow each month as you continue to use your card. The interest alone might be enough to sink your personal finances. The only way to deal with this problem is to get rid of them. Cut up every credit card, come up with a plan to pay off the bills, and never use a card again.
Of course, then you’re still left facing those monthly payments. Examine your monthly payments carefully. Is your minimum payment higher than the interest being charged? In many cases, it won’t be. If you minimum payment is lower than the interest charges every month, that credit card can never be paid off. It will only continue to grow. Pay more than the minimum, and never use the card again. This way, you won’t be able to overspend using a credit card, and your debt will cease to grow.
Peer Pressure and Keeping Up With Friends
Going out with friends can really be hard on your wallet. Movies, dinners, and clubs are certainly not cheap. And yet you don’t want to beg off and be left out. However, you may simply not be able to afford to go out all the time, and if your friends have more money than you do (or are simply willing to spend more than you are), this can lead to some socially awkward situations.
This is one of the hardest causes to isolate and correct. It’s hard not to go out with your friends, to spend the money they’re spending. However, if you really want to curb your overspending, you may have to. Try suggesting that your friends come over for a night of movies and board games, or video games, or whatever it is that you and your friends like to do. Have everyone bring a snack and you’ll be surprised at how much money you’ll save.
Of course, sometimes it’s not about what your friends want to do. Sometimes you simply want to keep up, whether it’s with your friends, a family member, or even a coworker. Purchasing items simply because you need to ‘keep up’ will get you nowhere except further in debt. If you truly intend to curb your overspending, you’ll have to learn how to be satisfied with what you have.
Sales and Impulse Buys
Everyone loves a good deal. However, a deal is only a deal if you were going to buy it anyway. It’s so easy to justify a purchase simply because it was on sale. But remember, if you never intended to by it, then you overspent.
This same rule applies to impulse buying. Products are packaged as to encourage a buy, but if you have to be encouraged to buy it, then you really didn’t need it in the first place. Before purchasing something that wasn’t on your ‘need it’ list, go home and think about it for a week. If you still decide to buy it, at least it wasn’t an impulse buy.
Emotional Causes of Overspending
Sometimes overspending has nothing to do with access to credit or peer pressure. Sometimes overspending is the result of allowing your emotions to decide when it comes to purchasing. If you buy things because it makes you feel good or to fill an emotional void in your life, then you have fallen victim to this very powerful cause of overspending.
This is an extremely difficult habit to break. If you truly believe that buying that handbag will make you feel better, help you fit in, or cure your own boredom, then you probably won’t stop. You’ll spend until you are so far in debt that you simply cannot get out.
It’s important to realize that while overspending may feel good in the moment, eventually it will catch up with you. When that credit card bill arrives, you won’t feel very good about how much you owe. Avoid the emotional impact of not being able to pay all your bills and reevaluate the reasons why you overspend.
Giving Your Children Everything
Most parents want what’s best for their children. And often this translates into buying whatever they want whenever they want it. The intention may be good, but it’s important to realize that if you can’t afford to buy it for yourself, you probably can’t afford to buy it for your children either. Overspending on your children sets a bad example, so do everyone a favor and curb the impulse to spend.
There are so many reasons to overspend. You might be greedy, or maybe you really don’t realize you can’t afford it. Whatever the reason, and however much society seems to encourage overspending, it’s important to realize that overspending will eventually lead only to one place — overwhelming debt.
For most people, winter is the most expensive time of the year. Between needing to turn on the furnace and the inevitable need to purchase medicines to combat the common cold, it can seem as if there’s no way to control soaring winter expenses. However, there are a few tips that might be able to help you keep your costs down this winter.
One of the greatest costs in the winter is home heating. To keep these costs down was skyrocketing, address some key areas of your home. You’ll need to make sure your home is properly insulated and airtight. Leaks around doors and windows can cost you a fortune over the winter, so seal these leaks or consider replacing older windows and doors. Add weather stripping to doors and put a heavy plastic over your windows.
Adjust your thermostat to conserve heat. It is said that for every degree you turn down your thermostat, you’ll save 3% on your heating bill. This could be a significant amount, so put on a sweater and turn down the heat. While you’re at it, turn down your hot water heater as well.
There are some even simpler ways to reduce heat loss around the home. Turn off exhaust fans immediately after use. Replace or clean the filters on you furnace or heating vents. Consider covering your hot water heater with an insulated blanket to keep it warm and reduce the energy needed to heat your water. There are dozens of other small fixes that can be done around the home. Take a look around and get creative.
Shop for warm winter clothing out of season to save a few dollars. Purchase items such as warm sweaters, thermal underwear, fleece blankets, cozy socks, and slippers. You can wear or use these items in your own home, allowing you to stay warm without having to resort to turning up the thermostat or breaking out the space heaters. If you do need some extra heat and you have a fireplace, light the fire and let it supply some of your heat.
Use food to keep warm as well. You have to eat, so gear your meals toward staying warm. Try casseroles, soups, stews, and broths. They’re cheap and easy to make, so you’ll save money on the preparation as well.
Also, eat two or three oranges every day. This doesn’t necessarily sound like a way to save money, but upon reflection, it may very well save you hundreds of dollars over the winter season. One of the greatest household costs from the onset of winter until spring thaw is medications, both over-the-counter and prescription, to treat various colds and flus. Vitamin C will help to prevent illness, but you’ll need to take other measures as well. Remember to wash your hands frequently and change your bed linens after you’ve been ill. Also, if the temperature in your home is so high that you’re sweating, turn down the thermostat. Going out into the cold while you’re drenched in sweat is a pretty good way to become ill, so dry off before going outside.
There are many other ways in which you can lower the costs of the winter season. Try them all to see what works for your family, and don’t be afraid to get a little creative. Your wallet will thank you for it later.
In today’s world of “see it now, want it now,” it’s not always easy to teach children to save money. The influence of the media and peer pressure usually encourages children to spend any money they receive immediately. In order to get children interested in saving, you’ll have to be a vigilant parent and make a point of demonstrating the many benefits of saving. There are several methods you can use to achieve this.
Before you begin showing your children how to save money, they’ll have to understand something about how money is earned in the first place. Speaking in language appropriate to the age of your children, explain that money is a reward for time invested and energy expended. Make sure they understand that you get money in return for working. It doesn’t just appear. To reinforce the basics of money, play a money game with your children, such as Monopoly.
Offer an allowance on the condition that a portion of that allowance is saved. Perhaps purchase a piggy bank for each child and encourage them to contribute 10% of their allowance to their savings. More is good, but set a minimum amount. Have them place their money in the piggy bank themselves. If you do it for them, it’s not them saving, it’s you.
If you want to encourage your children to save, try matching their savings. If they’re younger children with only pennies and the occasional quarter, match 100% of what they save. For older children who save more, consider cutting back to 50%, or even go as low as 25%. As they see their savings grow faster than expected, children are more likely to want to save. When they’ve saved enough, take them to open a savings account.
Have your children set goals. It’s not easy to save for a mysterious ‘nothing,’ so have your children make a list of what they’re saving for. Once a list of goals has been decided upon, have them tell you what is at the top of the list. Find a picture of this thing and put it in a prominent place, such as on the fridge or above the desk where your children do homework. This will remind them of what they’re working towards and hopefully curb their urge to spend.
Younger children may have difficulty waiting with no reward. If this is the case in your home, come up with a reward system for your children. Often, this can be as simple as stickers placed on a sheet. For every quarter (or dollar) they save, add a sticker. Once a certain number of stickers have been collected, offer a small reward, such as a special dinner or an inexpensive toy. This will give younger children a sense that saving does indeed have benefits.
Give your older children control over one aspect of their own budget. Clothing is usually a benign enough category, though it will depend on your children. Let them handle the purchasing of their own school clothing, but give them a strict budget. If they’re only allowed $100 for clothing, force them to stick to that budget. If they buy a $100 pair of jeans, that’s all they get. You can’t give in when they whine about not having enough, or the lesson will be lost on them. It’s not advisable to use this technique on a truly necessary portion of the budget, such as food. You don’t want to starve your children just to make a point.
Model the behavior you’d like to see in your children. If you want them to save for a goal, show them that you’re saving for a goal. Get your own piggy bank and put your change in there while your children are watching. Explain what particular goals you’re saving for and your children will be more likely to save for their own.
Remember that with all that saving, there should be a little spending. If you have a child who just saves and saves, but never spends, you’ll want to help that child find balance. Praise your child for saving, but remind him or her of the goals on the list. If there’s enough money for the first goal, take your child out to purchase the item. Saving is good, but every child needs to opportunity to spend that money eventually. Help your child to spend, if necessary.
Teaching children to save money is not an easy task. Mistakes will be made. When your children spend instead of save, don’t get angry. Encourage them to continue saving and keep modeling the behavior you wish to see in them. Eventually, your children will learn how to save.
