Every time you turn around, you probably have a bored child in your face.  “Mom, can I have some money to go to the mall, go see a movie, etc.”  Start looking around for fun and free things to do. 

• Check out the bike trails or the local public library. 
• Go for a nature walk along a nearby creek. 
• See what movies are available for free in your cabinets or that come with your cable or satellite service. 
• Go swimming in your backyard or your friends backyard.

If you look in the right places, you will find plenty of fun and free things to do in your local area.

As you can see, if you get creative, there are a number of ways you can keep your head above water during the summer months.  Go have fun!  Just be conscious about how you are spending your money.  Taking these little steps will go a long way in making a big difference. 

I am off to Dallas for a few days to attend the eWomenNetwork International Business Conference.  So, have a great week!

Sports seem to thrive in the summer months.  Between baseball, swimming, soccer, cheerleading and football, you can get worn out physically and financially. 

• Try limiting each child to one sport at a time.  This will not only help keep their sanity, but yours as well. 
• See about getting your uniforms second hand or passing them down from one child to the next. 
• You do not, necessarily, need to buy new shoes for each sport.  We bought football cleats for my oldest son last year for football…funny, they worked perfectly fine for baseball the following spring (as long as they still fit okay).  Obviously that is not always going to be the case, but keep it in mind if the budget is tight. 
• To save on gas, find out if other children in the neighborhood are on the same teams and set up a carpool. 

This may seem like very basic advice, but sometimes people are so set in their ways, they don’t seem to realize the little things they can do that will make a big difference.

I can remember growing up in the Bay Area and having a season pass to Great America.  I spent several summers on the light rail system getting to and from Great America.  I swear they had to regret ever selling me a season pass.  It seemed like I was there once a week! 

Unfortunately, nowadays, things are not quite as affordable.  If you are looking to take the family to one of your nearby amusement parks, here are some tips to help with the budget.  MORE

This could potentially save your child’s life, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing they are safe around water.  Here in the Sacramento Valley it averages in the mid-90’s during July and August.  There are lakes, rivers and swimming pools everywhere. 

I have found many parents do not know which direction to go when it comes to swim lessons.  Make sure you research your options.  I have done both the city swim lessons and the private.  Private works better for my children, but I have run into the problem of the swim instructors being a little flakey.  If you know a good private swim instructor, share that information with your friends, it is very valuable information.

Private lessons work better for some children, but they tend to be pricey.  I have found they average $1 per minute.  For a 30 minute session with one child, it is $30.  Check out what your city or town has to offer.  Here in Roseville, you can get nine 30 minute group sessions for around $50.

Set Your Thermostat – If you live where it gets hot during the summer (like here in the Sacramento Valley) you have noticed your electric bills skyrocketing during those hot summer months. 

When I ask my clients how cool they keep their house during the summer, they usually say the lower 70’s.  You would be amazed at how comfortable your house can be at 78 degrees. 

It can save you an enormous amount on your monthly utility bills.  Try increasing it by one degree at a time, that way you can find what is comfortable for you. 

Sometimes we get set in old patterns and it takes a little nudge to try something different to get us moving in the right direction.

Summertime is a fantastic time of year to plan your travel.  The kids are out of school, the weather is nice and you have probably been itching to get out of Dodge.  I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is that they tend to plan their vacations on one of the three big weekends during the summer, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends. 

I know it is a lot of fun to be out on the lake with lots of like minded people.  But, seriously, it could be costing you a bundle!

Plan Travel Around the Holiday Weekends – Have you ever noticed how gas prices seem to increase during the summer, especially around those holiday weekends?  I am sure you are aware of the fact that is not a coincidence.  Instead of taking that road trip you were planning on Memorial Day Weekend, go in mid-July when it is not a peak weekend.  You might find better deals all around if it is a low point in the season.

The money factor is only one part though.  When I was younger, I loved going camping on those big weekends.  I always used to feel the more the merrier.  Well, now I am older.  All those people just really stress me out!  Not only is traffic a complete nightmare on the road, but if you are camping or boating the nightmare does not end on the roads.  I remember waiting for more than an hour just to get a shower at a camp site.  Not to mention how dangerous the lakes were with all those crazy boaters on the water at once. 

It will be much cheaper and less stressful if you find a nice weekend around the holidays instead.  There will be fewer people and it should cost much less. 

Happy travels!

Summertime childcare…This is a tough one.  There are several things you need to take into account when looking into summertime childcare.  Things like:

• Your families budget
• Your personal preferences
• Child care availability
• Hours available
• Parents intuition

Yes, I do have your intuition on there.  You talk to any mom (and maybe dad’s too, but I can only really speak from a mom’s perspective), they will tell you they know almost immediately if they are comfortable leaving their child somewhere. 

I have had more than one mom tell me they left a child care facility without leaving their child there because it just did not feel right.  So do not underestimate the power of a parent’s intuition. 

Taking all these factors into account, it is important to take my fourth step into account.

Start Researching Summer Child Care Options Early – As the mother of school aged children, I know the summer can be a difficult time.  You have to make the decision of where your children will spend their summer. 

Some people are lucky enough to work from home and can have their children home with them.  If you fall into this bracket, you should probably take into account that you might not be quite as productive with the children home. 

Also, don’t forget those meetings outside the office, those hourly daycare centers are fabulous for that situation; just don’t forget to factor that into your budget. 

Other people do not have the option of working from home, so then what?  There are city run facilities that have great field trips and activities, but they tend to be expensive.  You can also look into some in-home daycare options or look into a nanny. 

Each option is a very personal decision for each family, not only financially, but only you know what is right for your children.  If you start researching early, you will not feel forced to make decisions under pressure.

Do you ever find summer rolls around and your cash is gone?  Whether you have children or not, you will find that summer is just more expensive…period.  From little things like gasoline going up to bigger things like wanting to take a family vacation or the cost of putting your children in summer camp, it just costs more. 

Tip number three in my series is to: 

Establish a Separate Savings Account for Your Summer  – Rather than trying to scrounge up the money at the last minute, go to your bank and create a savings account just for your summer season.  You can earmark this money for anything summer related.  With online banking now, you can even change the name of the account to “Summer Savings”.  This will take some of the heat off you when many of your expenses have increased.  Take a percentage of your income every pay period and put it into that account.  You have to be consistent about it though.  If you establish the account and don’t put anything in there, it really isn’t going to do you any good, is it?  It doesn’t have to break the bank, start with just 1% of your take home pay.  You will be amazed at how your money grows throughout the year.

 Little steps like this can make an enormous difference and it is really not that hard to do.  Just think of all you will be able to do during the summer knowing you have it covered.

In this economy, I have found that the littlest things can make a big difference. They are:

Did you know that money is the number one cause for divorce!? I read that the other day and was shocked, but oddly not surprised. Some people say that money is the root of all evil and I counter with “only if you let it be”. In these times of financial crisis, it is important to pull together when it comes to money. Here are some practical steps to help you do that.

Set up a time to discuss finances with your spouse. The last time you want to discuss finances is when you are in a heated argument. A neutral time and place work best.

Have all of your paperwork at hand. You want to pull together bank statements, credit card statements, even your credit reports. This way you have all the pertinent information in front of you to have an intelligent conversation.

Prepare to put a plan together. Just discussing your situation with your spouse will not move you forward. Come to the table with solutions at hand. Be specific about how much you need to save, etc.
Compromise. Marriage is all about compromise. Don’t go into this with the intention of attacking the other person. Discuss areas you can both work on.

Set up “progress” meetings. You will want to set up follow up meetings to check your progress. They can be weekly or monthly. It is very encouraging to see yourselves taking steps and making progress in the right direction…together.

Don’t just make this meeting about money, make it personal. Bring your hopes, dreams and goals to the table to share with your spouse. This way, you can learn about and with each other. Talk about how money was handled in your home as a child. This can be important insight on both sides.

My husband and I did this a few months ago and it was an eye opening experience for both of us. Because of what I do for a living, I was always the one that paid the bills and handled all the money. This created stress on both sides, I was overwhelmed and he felt like he was in the dark. Now, we have a weekly meeting to pay the bills together. He is taking an active role in our financial lives and I don’t feel like I am carrying the burden on my shoulders alone. It has worked out great!

In that same initial meeting we set up some strict guidelines about how we wanted to handle money going forward. For example, no more credit card use…period. Or, we would like to save 10% of our income every month. People laugh at me when I tell them this, but we both signed and dated it. To us, it is an official legal document. Should we ever start to argue about money, we can pull out that piece of paper and refer back to it. What a nice foundation to have to refer back to when circumstances present themselves.