Tis the season to start looking for places to save some money. With all of the holidays coming up, traveling expenses, families getting together and gifts to give out, it all starts adding up fast, sometimes too fast. This year get the jump on all the holidays. Whether you’re looking for the best deals on turkeys and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, awesome gifts to meet everyone’s Christmas lists or maybe it’s just time to update the cabinets in your kitchen and shutters on your windows. Right now is a great time to start searching for those discount coupon codes online, in the local newspapers for coupons to clip and if your one of those Black Friday shoppers check out the Black Friday Ads to find the best prices and deals.
Here are some of the many places and ways to look for coupons and deals. My absolute favorite way to hunt down coupons is online. This way I can snuggle up in my pajamas, drink my coffee and compare coupon offers to find even more ways to save. For example finding a code for 20% off a single item and then adding a Free Shipping code on top of it, all from my couch! There are a ton of great coupon websites out there. I also like to grab the paper on Sundays and thumb through the pamphlets in there. They normally have fantastic ads for sales at ToyRUs, Wal-mart, K-mart etc. Not to mention the Redplum and SavingSource inserts which help you save money on your groceries and household items.
For all of you Costco and Sam’s Club members, don’t forget to go to their Customer Service Counter each month and pick up a Coupon Booklet to find out what sales they are running, and pick up those yummy free food samples while you do your shopping! If you are a military family, you can pick up a free coupon booklet as you are walking into the commissary and there is even a nifty box that you can look through already clipped coupons that people either didn’t use or didn’t need that you can dig through to help you save even more. Not to mention all the coupons they have hanging off the shelves.
Nowadays with all this fancy technology we have, you can find coupons on Facebook coupon swapping sites, Ebay.com and even find a local coupon swapping group on craigslist for you to join or make your own group. If you’re new to the world of couponing I suggest finding a Free Coupon Class to take to help you learn about coupon stacking, doubling, how to use expired coupons and even how to store and organize your coupons. This is the perfect time to start learning how to coupon so that you and your family can save on holiday gifts, groceries or household items and take out some of the unnecessary stress of the holiday season. Have a happy, safe and a little less expensive holiday season this year.
The newest buzzword surrounding moms in the business world is “mompreneurs”. Mompreneurs are women who are mothers and entrepreneurs all in one. They are using their business knowhow to start small businesses or startups and are still able to juggle motherhood. How are they able to do it and how does one become a mompreneur?
Many mothers have a lot of understanding of what other mothers need and want, so many mompreneurs start businesses with a mommy-based clientele. Mompreneurs will start businesses that help parents find reliable sitters or start a chain of daycares. They will think to start a mobile spa business to visit stay-at-home moms during naptimes to give them manicures and haircuts without having to arrange a sitter or skip naps. Or maybe they will start a couple of consignment businesses within the same area for children’s clothing and baby equipment.
Whatever a mompreneur decides to start as their business, there are going to be several required elements of business before it can open its doors. After preparing a business plan and thinking of a name, a soon-to-be mompreneur needs to register their business name (i.e., Doing Business As or DBA), and decide the legal structure of the business (LLC, corporation, nonprofit, etc.). Seeking legal advice during this piece of the business process is a smart decision to be sure all state and national business laws are being followed.
Once the legalities of owning a business are taken care of, there may be a need for financial backers or a business loan to purchase the necessities of a business. Finding and buying the location for the business is one of the most important parts of opening a business. It can be done fairly inexpensively, but buying business supplies such as desks, clothing racks, signage, a point of sales machine, and decorations (paint, flooring, etc.) are very exciting decisions for a new company. Once the business is physically ready, deciding on hiring, date of grand opening, advertising, and pricing will be key decisions for a mompreneur.
Once decisions, purchases, and legalities are out of the way, the mommy business is ready to open its doors! Congratulations on being one of the few mompreneurs who can balance being a mommy and owning a business. We wish you all the success in the world!
As mom’s we often think that our credit might not carry that much weight. But the truth of the matter is, that it really does. Even though you might be a stay at home mom or a soon to be stay at home mom, it is extremely important that you continue to stay on top of your credit score.
Did you know that you can even get free credit reports from various sources online? Many of these services are very user friendly and do not make it a painstaking process, and it is super simple to understand.
Before you get your Free Credit Report Score, be sure you are doing the right things to maximize your Credit Report. Often times, as stay at home moms we let things go to the way side, but your credit report is extremely important to understand, and make sure you are taking the right steps to keeping it as clean as possible.
Here are a few pitfalls that you want to avoid as a stay at home mom:
Having your credit report under your maiden name
Be sure that when you get married (or divorced) that you notify all three credit reporting agencies, and provide proof showing the name change. This could inhibit you from having a credit record in your new name, which in turn makes it slightly challenging to get a credit card or loan. A few of the credit agencies will automatically make the change for you when they are notified by your creditors, but don’t assume that this will always happen. Be proactive, not reactive!
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When you start a home based business and you are the only employee, things can be simple. When you look to expand, hire employees and build your business, this can get a bit confusing. Good business owners know the importance of organization but they might not realize that streamlining duties like payroll services can save them time and give them confidence in their management skills. Since the employee payroll process can often create the most distressing problems, it is important that you find the right program for your needs.
Finding the Right Program
You will want to find a payroll program that is not too expensive but gives you all the tools to manage all of your employees. Payroll services like Intuit QuickBooks Payroll can give you both confidence and peace of mind. The program is so easy to use that you will feel like a pro. This program offers a one stop shop to completing all of your payroll needs in just a few easy steps. You can enter your employees hours, print checks or even use free direct deposit in just a few easy clicks of the keyboard.
This service should be a top choice because you can access everything for creating a streamlined payroll system from paying employees to paying federal and state payroll taxes.Another aspect to consider is having a program that will allow you to remotely pay employees. If you are out of town on pay day, all you need to do is hit the computer for a few minutes, log hours and send payment to your employees almost instantly! You can also pay yourself using this program so that you insure that you receive a salary too.
Payroll Taxes
Figuring out what payroll taxes you owe can be stressful and making errors can also be costly. Federal and State requirements are confusing and finding the answers you need can be frustrating. The great thing with Intuit Quickbooks is that the program figures out everything for you!
It not only calculates what you owe but also reminds you when to pay it! One of the biggest benefits is it also allows you to e-pay with just a couple clicks of the keyboard. This will insure that you are paying the taxes you owe, when you owe it. Small businesses cannot afford to get behind on payroll taxes. The ease at which this program operates is also a bonus because it is so easy to use and is not a strain on your already busy schedule. The program tracks, organizes and updates everything you need to be a success.
Nothing is more confusing than having to use multiple resources to manage your payroll. This program lets you organize what you need to be successful. Having a one stop, easy to use program will make you feel more confident and allow you to focus on other things in your business. Running your own home business and balancing family life can be hard but knowing that you have the resources to meet payroll needs is one of the best things you could ever wish for besides a successful business!
In the modern world it is believed women can have it all – the gorgeous husband, the beautiful children, the big house and the high powered job. But this belief doesn’t stop many new mothers feeling guilty about returning to work and leaving their child with family or a babysitter. Not only is there a nagging guilt that their child will miss them and miss bonding with them but also the fear they will miss their child’s important miles stones, their first steps, their first words, the instances parents want to be there for.
It might lessen the guilt somewhat to discover in a recent study in Australia of 4,500 preschoolers it was found children whose mums work part time were healthier than those whose mums work from home or work full time. The children spent less time in front of the TV and ate less junk food. The two year study also found part time mums went to greater lengths to spend time with their children and the time they did spend with them was of a higher quality and more interactive which as any mum will know means their child is more able to interact with others and be seen as society as a ‘well rounded individual’.
This study was playfully named ‘Do working mothers raise couch potatoes?’ and also reported some negative impacts for working mums. It found if a mum worked more than 34 hours a week there was a struggle to find time to engage in family activities as well as keep the house hold running with cooking, cleaning and washing, though this is a fact many single people who work full time can attest to.
However, having a little extra income is always welcome and gaining it through a job that offers flexible hours is even better. And if you are a mum who requires a little extra time on your hands yet still wishes to advance in their skills, then part time work is inevitably the answer! A part time job won’t take over your life, or prevent you from spending precious time with your kids, whereas a high-flying 9 til 5 career will take up a good part of it.
There are a great number of pros and cons to working mum’s and everyone has their own opinions, however this study and a number like it have shown there is unlikely to be any harm psychologically or physically to a child of a working mum and this should go some way to lessen the guilt they feel about having to leave their children be it for a few hours a week or longer.
