Tag: parenting

Let’s face it: trying to raise a kid (or kids!) can be a terrifying proposition in this day and age. One of the main reasons why it gets so scary is the cost that is involved. Kids aren’t cheap.

According to one study, the cost of raising a child for 17 years will run you almost $250,000. All of this can put a strain on your finances, particularly if you are a single mom trying to handle it alone.

If you are in this situation, it’s probably time to sit down and do an examination of your finances so that you can declare your own financial independence.

4. Assess where you stand—The first thing you need to do is to learn how to do a budget. First, look at your past three months (or even the past year’s) spending and sort things into three levels. The first should be for absolute essential purchases and bills, such as mortgage/rent, utilities, car payment, and the like. The second should be for things that are essential (or pretty close) but that you may have some “wiggle room” with, such as phone bill and groceries. The third should be your absolute nonessential bills. This would include that daily Frappuccino from Starbucks, your shoe and purse collection, and your subscriptions to things like Netflix and Spotify.
5. Say goodbye to the last section—That third pile of nonessential bills are going to have to go bye-bye (at least until you get more stability in your finances). Sure, these are items that you are going to miss, but they are not something that will destroy your life if you get rid of them. If you are spending $5 a day every workday at Starbucks, then cutting that out will save you over $1250 a year. Just cutting out these types of expenses for a couple of years may hurt at first, but it will allow you to pay off your debts and be more stable with your finances.
6. Adjust the middle section—Start looking carefully at those bills that you can adjust each month. When it comes to groceries, remember that there is nothing wrong with being a coupon and sales shopper. Also, consider getting a membership to a wholesale club like Costco and buy everything in bulk so you can save money in the long-run. Also, look at things like your Internet and phone bills and see if you can cut those back to the absolute minimum. Remember, every penny counts.
7. Pick up a second job—This may sound hard to do if you have children, especially ones who need constant care or those who have to be shuttled around by mom’s taxi service. But there are several jobs that you can do from home, including everything from medical coding to blogging. Now’s the time to explore some of these part-time options that can give you a secondary income that will help you get out of debt faster. Once you can get rid of those pesky credit card bills, you can cut back and still maintain your independence.

Financial independence isn’t something that is going to happen overnight. But with some time and careful planning (and a good bit of sacrifice), you can get things on track so that you can stop living paycheck-to-paycheck.

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With the New Year, a lot of people are making resolutions that are meant to change their lives for the better. For some, this means exercising more and eating right. For others, it could mean spending time meditating each day or doing something meaningful such as reading more or volunteering.

But one thing that I’ve been hearing a lot from people is the need to find balance in their lives. It just seems like one thing or another is tugging at them so much that they feel like other parts are suffering as a result.

So how does one achieve balance in his or her life? Let’s look at how to do just that:

1. Realize that you need balance—If you have decided that you need more balance in your life, then congratulations! You have taken the first step by acknowledging that this is something you need to work on: you’ve admitted there’s a problem! Now, you can work toward fixing it.
2. Journaling—Once you’ve acknowledged a problem exists, one way to get your ideas down is with journaling. The free-writing of ideas without self-censorship helps you identify where your problems lie. Journaling uncovers ideas on how to correct these problems by helping you set goals for yourself.
3. Set goals—This last part is very important. You should list out all the things that occupy your daily activities and then reflect on which ones mean the most to you and which ones should be left by the wayside. This reprioritizing of your activities and concerns will help you to shift the out of balance elements into more focus.
4. Make a plan—If you really want to achieve balance, it’s important to get organized. Part of this is to set individual goals — a personal to-do list. Take care of the things that absolutely must be done. But then make sure that you are putting in time each day, each week, and each month for the things that matter — your family, your friends, and, ultimately, yourself.
5. Anticipate problem areas—When you are working on your goals and to-do list, be sure to anticipate problem areas that will creep in to distract you from your goals. These can include everything from time-killers like TV and social media that draw you into a vortex of wasted hours, to other problems like doubts and personal fears. All of these should be anticipated and you should also think about how you can deal with each one so that they don’t sidetrack you.
6. Reflecting—When you set up your to-do list, make sure that you set aside some time regularly, at least once a week, to reflect on your goals and your progress toward achieving them. You should also give yourself time to just sit and think – it doesn’t have to be about anything deep or important. Many of us have forgotten about the power of personal reflection and relaxing thought.

Finding balance in our modern world can be a tall order. But if you take the time to plan and anticipate where you will have issues, then you can achieve that perfect balance in the New Year.

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