Living On A Dime test Site

Kids

Back to School Spending

by 16 Comments

Back to school is a time when many moms witness their money sprout wings and take flight, finding their homes at retail stores across America. I know that consumer spending is good for the economy, but I don’t take it upon myself to keep the entire US economy propped up, so when my first-grade son announced that he wanted a backpack with rollers, I saw this as a wonderful financial teaching moment. His school is small, and he doesn’t walk to or from school. He didn’t need rollers.
 
Why I REFUSE To Buy My Kids School Clothes! Back To School Supplies Spending

Back To School, Or Back To The Poor House?

 

I told my son that I would give him $8 toward a backpack. I told him that if he wanted a fancier one, he could put up some of his allowance money for the difference. That’s the rule at our house. Mom and Dad buy the basics the kids buy the extras. It was amazing how my son’s perception of the need for rollers changed when his allowance was on the line. Yes, he has concluded, a regular backpack will do the trick this year.

Thousands of parents are buying back-to-school supplies. From crayons and notebooks to calculators and lunch boxes, the list of what to buy can be as long as the list of your kids’ excuses.

I know that you are anxious to get your kids back into school, but there is no need to take out a second mortgage just to get some quite. Instead, use some of these money-saving tips and you can happily send your kids to school and keep some of the cash for mom’s back-to school celebration!

* Wait for the list to come out and stick to it, otherwise you might buy things you don’t need. Remember, the Bank of Mom doesn’t pay for frills. Any extras the kids want will have to be funded from their own cash reserves. I do understand that it is nice for kids to have “hip” back-to-school supplies. I look at yard sales and thrift stores for brand-name finds. For instance, I recently found a gently used Barbie backpack and a Barbie lunch box and no one would know that I paid $1.00 each instead of the $32 that Becky Johnson’s mom paid. Who says stay at home mom’s don’t make any money?

* Don’t buy back to school clothes. Children don’t need an entirely new wardrobe every fall. Some moms act as if aliens clothes-napped their kids’ clothes the night before school and the fashion police will come arrest them if they don’t buy the latest designer clothes right away. The kids wore clothes all year long, didn’t they? If they need something like a new pair of shoes or new jeans then buy what they need, but don’t just buy a new wardrobe because it’s “the thing to do.”

* Use back to school sales to your advantage. If you know your kids go through a package of socks, underwear or jeans every six months then stock up while they are on sale. The same is true of crayons, paper, notebooks, backpacks and lunch boxes. My son went through two backpacks and two lunch boxes last year, so this year we will buy two while they are on sale instead of waiting until the middle of the year when they are full price. We will also be checking garage sales between now and then to find any good deals on those items. Don’t be tempted to buy things that you wouldn’t normally use, though, just because they’re on sale.

* Go through last year’s school supplies to see which things are still usable. If my student has a working calculator, the Bank of Mom will not extend credit for a new one.

* Limit activities to one at a time. Activity fees can add up fast. One at a time is the rule at our house. If you can’t afford the activity, it doesn’t hurt for the kids to use their own money to pay for it. The best way to teach them money management is to let them manage their own money when they have nothing to lose, instead of after they have maxed out the credit cards that someone persuaded then to sign up for in college.

Tawra

Resurrection Eggs (for Easter)

by 9 Comments

Resurrection Eggs for Easter

How To Make Resurrection Eggs

  • 1 dozen plastic Easter eggs
  • 1 egg carton
  • construction paper

Decorate the top of the carton with construction paper and any other decoration that seems fitting for your Resurrection Eggs.

Fill each egg with the item listed in parenthesis below, along with a piece of paper containing the listed verse. For example, the first egg will have a piece of bread along with verse #1 that you see accompanying the bread below. Be sure to put them in order in the carton so you remember which number is which.

Once you have made the Resurrection Eggs, you can decide the method you want to use to open them. You might open one of the Resurrection Eggs per day during the twelve days before Easter or if you’re having a big family get-together, you may choose to open them then. It is also fun for the kids to do this the day you decorate Easter eggs with them.

 

Sample messages to include in your Resurrection Eggs:

  1. (Bread) Matthew 26:26

    While they were eating Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples. “Take and eat it,” He said, “This is My body.”

  2. (Coins) Matthew 26: 14-15

    Then one of the twelve disciples, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?” They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him.

  3. (Purple cloth, representing a purple robe) Mark 15:17

    They put a purple robe on Jesus…

  4. (Thorns, like on a rose stem) Matthew 27:29

    Then they made a crown out of thorny branches and placed it on His head, and put a stick on His right hand; then they knelt before Him and made fun of Him. “Long live the King, of the Jews!” they said.

  5. (Scourge-a small piece of rope or thick string) Mark 15:15

    Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed Him over to be crucified.

  6. (A small cross) John 19: 17-18a

    He went out, carrying His cross, and came to “The Place of the Skull,” as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called “Galgotha.”) There they crucified Him.

  1. (Nails) John 20:25b

    Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in His hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

  2. (Sign saying “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”) Luke 23:38

    Above Him were written these words: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

  3. (Small piece of sponge) Matthew 27:48

    One of them ran up at once, took a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, put it on the end of a stick, and tried to make Him drink it.

  4. (Something representing a spear (i.e. a toothpick)) John 19:34

    One of the soldiers plunged his spear into Jesus’ side, and at once blood and water poured out.

  5. (Rock) Matthew 27:59-60

    Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, and placed it in his own new tomb, which he had just recently dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.

  6. (Empty) Matthew 28:6

    He is not here He has risen just as He said.

However you use them, have fun with these Resurrection Eggs and remember that Easter is a time for great celebration of what Jesus did for us!

 

Growing Crystals Recipe – Fun Kids Science Experiment

by 13 Comments

This growing crystals recipe makes a fun science experiment for kids! Growing crystals is an easy craft for kids and they just love watching the crystals grow a little more and making new and interesting patterns each day! Adding the food coloring makes it more colorful and also helps them see more clearly how the crystals are forming! [Read more…] about Growing Crystals Recipe – Fun Kids Science Experiment

Easy Finger Paints Recipe – How To Make Finger Paint

by 13 Comments

Kids love finger painting! Our six year old could finger paint every day and never get tired of it! Here is a quick and easy homemade finger paint recipe to make homemade finger paint with ingredients you already have at home! It’s a great indoor activity for kids! [Read more…] about Easy Finger Paints Recipe – How To Make Finger Paint