The Mom Crowd

Do you find yourself at a juncture in your life where you are not sure if you should choose to be a full time mommy or should choose a full time career? For some women their financial circumstances make it such that working full time is not an option but is instead a necessity. For other women however a choice can be made. You may not be able to be a full time mommy for all of the years that your son or daughter is growing up but at some point you may be able to make the decision to work from home in order to be a full time mother or to be able to leave your career behind all together (or just until your little ones are older or flying on their own).

Being a stay-at-home mother on a full time basis is hard work, just like going to a job every day is but it can be incredibly rewarding. You can be home with your children all of the time and can experience all of the ups and downs of motherhood. You are there for meals, naps and to help with schoolwork.

If you are presently contemplating making the transition from being a working mother to being a stay-at-home mother (SAHM) then there are some things for you to think about before you put your plan- and your new life choice- into action.

Your Money Situation

Take a cold hard look at your financial picture before you give notice at your job. Talk it over with your spouse and write everything out on paper so it is easy to see in black and white. Determine how much money you are spending when you go to work, i.e. on childcare expenses, transportation, clothing for your job and meals when you are at work.

By evaluating your finances and how much you spend when you go to work you will be able to figure out if quitting your job to stay home is worth it from a financial perspective. You might be pleased to discover that you would definitively be saving money if you gave up your full time career to be a full time at-home mommy.

Your Personal Feelings

How do you really feel about making the transition from working mom to stay-at-home mom? While there may be pros and cons on each side of the coin which side do you lean more heavily towards in terms of the pros? Ask yourself how you really feel about being a full time mom. Don’t be swayed, pressured or downright bullied by what other so-called well-meaning people in your life have to say. Their opinions are not yours. You need to do what is best for your family unit and you do not want to feel guilty about the decision you ultimately make.

You want to derive joy and personal satisfaction from knowing that you listened to your heart and did what was best for everyone involved. Being a stay-at-home mom suits many women but not all. The same can be said for being a full time working mom.

The Feelings of Your Spouse

How does your spouse feel about you staying home with the kids? Life will be different once you make the leap into full time domesticity and the two of you must be prepared for that. Your money picture will be altered and chores and errands will have to be viewed in a different light. Your spouse must realize that you work hard at home all day with the kids and he is not off the hook for chores when he comes home at night. You need to come to an understanding about chores such as cooking, cleaning and taking out the garbage that works for the both of you.

Remember too that you are taking on a new job- that of a full time stay-at-home mother while your husband will be the sole breadwinner in the family. Your roles will change and that is why it is essential that you make a plan beforehand. It can be wonderful though and a very happy time for you, your spouse and your children. There will be some stress as you adjust to the transition in your lifestyle but the kinks will be ironed out before too long.

Your son or daughter really wants to get a pet. He keeps begging for a puppy or a kitten but you are not sure whether the time is right or not. What should you do?

Pets make absolutely wonderful pets for children and can help to teach them about love and what it means to care for others. They can enrich the lives of those who open up their homes to them. They can also provide many joyous childhood memories for your little ones.

When is the Time Right?

It is not always easy to know when your child is ready for his first pet. The “right time” can be subjective and may not be the exact same for everyone. If you already had a pet when your child was born then having an animal around the house is something that your little one would consider a natural and normal part of family life from the beginning. However if you have a petless household then change will be in the wind when you decide to open your home to an adorable creature.

There are no diehard rules regarding when a child is ready to get his first pet but it is important for the parents to first ascertain how mature their child is before the discussion about having a pet comes up. Experts generally say that children should be at least six to seven years old before parents get them a pet of their own. For some children however this is far too young and is a subject that should be discussed at a future date when the child is old enough to handle having a pet. A family pet that everyone takes care of and is well incorporated into the thread of family life is all together different.

Be Cautious and Careful

Parents must be careful and very cautious when it comes to introducing pets to their children. It is important to protect pets from younger children who have not yet learned how to treat animals. Parents need to teach their little tikes the proper way to behave around pets that are brought into the home. Children do not automatically know this as it is learned behavior.

Children who are two years of age or younger really do not need a pet because they will not comprehend how to act appropriately around an animal. They are too young to understand. When it comes to pets that are already in the home it is important to bring the pet and your infant or toddler together slowly and gradually. You want to set the groundwork for a healthy relationship between the two of them.

Children tend to get excited and exuberant around pets and therefore it is important that your pet be able to handle the ways in which your youngster will react to it. For instance children love to grab at a dog’s fur or his ears or tail and you must feel confident that the dog will not bite or scratch the child as a result of this. This is why it is important for you to exercise the utmost caution.

Best Pet Choices for Children

According to experts at the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) gerbils, goldfish and guinea pigs are some of the best choices for pets for young kids. These pets are easy to take care of and can make it possible to teach children how to behave responsibly with animals.

Guinea pigs are friendly pets that squeal when they are happy, are easy to love and rarely bite. They can cope well with the rambunctious ways of most children. Very much the same can be said for gerbils. Goldfish require a minimal amount of daily care and can provide hours of entertainment and fun for your kids.

Once children get into middle school and have developed a higher degree of responsibility then you may wish to think about bringing a larger pet into the home, such as a cat, dog or rabbit. According to the website PetMD.com the most kid friendly dog breeds include golden retriever, labrador retriever, poodle, Irish setter, and vizsla.

Going to a restaurant on a family budget can be a challenge but it is doable, as long as it is an occasional treat and is not something you make a habit of doing because you are too tired to cook. It is nice to let someone else do the cooking once in a while after all! When you are watching your money and doing everything possible to stick to a budget it can all go out the window if you do not plan ahead before you go to the restaurant.

It has been estimated that for the average American family of four eating out at a restaurant costs in the range of $40 to $50. That amount is on the low end not the high end. When you consider that if you eat out at restaurants once a week you are spending close to $2,000 a year it makes you want to rethink your eating out habits. That is definitely an incentive to want to prepare more family meals at home and to sit around your own table and eat together!

Here are some suggestions to make eating out less expensive and less of a strain on your resources:

There are coupons, deals and specials to be had if you look for them. Go online to check for coupons at the websites of restaurants in your area. Or in some cases the specials will come to you! When you get ads and flyers in the mail for restaurants keep them in one place so they are easy to find when you decide that your family needs a restaurant night out together. Compare the specials from one establishment to another and go to the place that has the most cost effective deal to offer. Keep in mind too that you don’t want to have to spend a lot of gas money to drive to the restaurant. Choose an eatery that is as close to your home as possible!

There are restaurants that offer such deals as buy one entrée and get a second one free, or kids eat free specials or free beverage or dessert with the purchase of a meal. Look for family discounts in the newspaper as well as in magazines. Some restaurants advertise deals over the radio or on television. You might even might to call ahead to inquire about deals before you arrive.

Be realistic about how much food your children can eat. Do not order a whole meal for your young child. If the kid’s meals are not to your child’s liking then split a meal with your child or split a meal between your children. Wasted food means money wasted on a meal so make sure that you do not order more than is necessary.

There are plenty of family restaurants where the servers will understand that customers wish to share meals so whatever you do do not feel strange about asking for an extra plate so your children can share. If you do still end up with leftovers then ask for a container so you can take them home with you.

When you tell your children that you are going to a restaurant, treat it as a special outing. It should be about dining together and interacting as a family. Teach your children that it is something you do on occasion as opposed to something you do simply because it is convenient. You want the meal that you have out to be the family entertainment and you need your children to understand that. You also need them to realize that this is not something you will be doing every week. It is probably best to make eating out a last minute surprise as opposed to something they look forward to for hours or days beforehand.

As women we love our cosmetics and we spend a fair amount of money on them every year.  However when we need to shave costs in our lives and save money we must look for effective ways to do that in every area we can think of- that includes our beloved cosmetics! Here we look at some ways to save as much money as possible when we purchase makeup.

• Do you wear makeup on a regular basis and is it a part of your daily routine or do you wear it occasionally, such as when you have a date, a job interview or a special event to attend? Consider when you wear makeup and how much it matters to you and then gear your shopping habits in that direction. Ladies who wear makeup every day will spend more money on cosmetics than those that wear it infrequently. Those in the former group will need to work harder to spend less on such a purchase.
• Buying cosmetics is often about trial and error. You go to the store, select a product that you hope- fingers crossed- will be suitable for your face but you take your chances. Perhaps it will become your latest favorite product but maybe it will fall flat and you will have wasted $20 or $15 or $10. But you didn’t need that money anyway, right? Wrong! Of course you did! Every cent counts which is why you should search for stores that allow you to try cosmetic products before you buy them. In this way your money will not be wasted.
• If there are no such stores in your community then you will be glad to know that some retailers offer their customers refunds or exchanges if they are not happy with the products they have purchased. Find out what the policy of a store is before you buy any type of cosmetic.
• Figure out which cosmetic products mean the most to you and from there decide which ones are worth spending more money on and which ones are not as important. If you love mascara because it makes your eyes look bigger then put more of your cosmetic dollars towards this item and less towards say your foundation, blush or powder.
• Applying makeup properly is often more important than buying expensive brands. For that reason purchase quality cosmetic brushes, applicators and sponges and learn the proper means of caring for them. By so doing they will last longer and you will not have to replace them as often. It will also make for a more professional look for you! When you buy good brushes then buying cheaper cosmetics will not be a huge issue.
• If one of your compacts gets broken such as your blush or eye shadow case then do not throw it out but instead save your broken cosmetic by scraping what is left of it into a small container or jar that has a good lid. Your money will not be wasted when you do this nor will the product. You can continue to use it until it is all gone.

When your birthday or Christmas is on the way put a bug in the ears’ of your loved ones and friends and tell them that you would love a gift card for makeup purchases or money that you can use to buy some new cosmetics. Receiving money or gift cards for holidays can help a lot when you need some new products.

What are Coupon Codes ? Coupon codes can be defined as being “a method of offering selected customers a bonus in the form of a discounted sales price as an incentive to buy a product or a service.” When a new product comes out it is not uncommon for an Internet marketer to offer a rebate to his subscribers to drum up interest in the product. He can do this by mailing an offer to his subscribers with a special link to the sales page. He would also need to send his subscribers a code that they would then type into the coupon code section on the order page.

Internet Shopping Promotions

In this way, coupon codes can be thought of as Internet shopping promotions. A coupon code is also sometimes referred to as a promotional code. Another common type of shopping promotion that you may see online is known as a link only promotion. Some online merchants choose to offer one kind of promotion to their customers while others will choose the other type of promotion.

If you are one of the lucky ones and you get sent a “linked” coupon you may wonder how you can go about redeeming it. In some instances a linked coupon will have an actual coupon code that can be used to activate the promotion that is going on at the time. In other cases a merchant will send out a special link instead. What will happen in the latter instance is that you will click on the link to the online store and when you check out the discount it will automatically take effect.

In order to redeem a coupon code it is worth knowing that not all merchants go about this in the exact same manner. There will be times when the coupon will need to be entered while you are in the shopping cart phase of the website. There will be other times when the coupon must be entered on the order review page before you reach the checkout. The very first time you are interested in buying something from a website you should browse around the site for the coupon submit area.

If you look and look around on a website and do not see any space where you can type in the code then you should look for the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) section. Peruse it carefully to see if you can find the information that you need. If there is a Customer Service page then check there if you cannot find what you need on the FAQ’s page. If you still cannot find any answers then you should place a call to the merchant to inquire about the use of coupon codes.

Most merchants will feature a page on their site that will show relevant information about purchases such as how much the customer is being charged, shipping fees for the item(s), and how much money is being discounted thanks to the discount code. You should be able to view all of this information on an order page before you click enter and are given the approval for the charges. If you type in the coupon code but the discount does not show up on the order review page then you should not proceed with the order you are placing.

If your coupon is not working then the expiry date may have been omitted by the merchant because the promotion brought more responses to it than were expected and so it was discontinued. If you are trying to use a coupon that does not appear to be working and you have entered it a number of times without any luck then look for another coupon code that you can use at the same website or look for other coupon sites over the web.