Keeping your kids occupied for the summer can be a monumental task. And, keeping them occupied on a budget can seem to be impossible. How do you ensure that your children have a fun summer, without blowing your entire budget? Having a few tricks up your sleeve will keep you prepared when the kids seem to run out of things to do.
Water Gun Shootouts – Older kids love paintball, but who can afford expensive gear and rental fees at paintball facilities. Instead, you could organize water gun shootouts. Use your own backyard for the battle zone and arm each of the kids with cheap water guns from a dollar store. Keep plenty of towels at the back door to dry your combatants when the battle is over. Before you know it, every kid in the neighborhood will want to play at your house.
Backyard Camping – Camping out never gets old for youngsters, but a trip to a state park may not be in your family’s vacation budget this. Don’t worry; you can have all of the same excitement in your own backyard. Pitch a tent (you can borrow a neighbor’s if you don’t have your own) in the backyard and your kids will be in camping heaven. You can lead ” hiking expeditions” to the park in the daytime and hunker down around the “campfire” to tell ghost stories at night. Hot chocolate and s’mores pre-prepared in the kitchen will go a long way to making the imaginary campfire feel more realistic.
Summer Movie Programs – If movies are an important part of your family’s entertainment, your local movie theater may have the perfect way to keep your children happy for the summer. Look for summer movie programs that make it inexpensive to take your kids to an age-appropriate movie as often as you’d like. One theater chain offers an eight-week program that features two different movies each week. During the earlier part of the day (when the theater typically isn’t busy) the kids can enjoy one of the two movies. Membership to this program includes admission to eight movies for only $10. You can’t even rent eight movies for $10!
For more great content, remember to subscribe to my RSS feed. Subscribe
We’ve all made little blunders when it comes to writing checks from our checking account. Sometimes, you get the amount wrong. Or maybe you accidentally wrote the check to the wrong person. And, unfortunately, sometimes you simply lose a check and need to replace it. Whatever the reason, you now find yourself faced with the task of voiding a check.
Ok, that sounds way more serious than it has to be. For the most part, voiding a check can be as simple as noting the voided check’s number in your check register as no longer valid and destroying the check. If you simply made a mistake while writing the check out, you don’t have to worry that it has fallen into the wrong hands. You’ve had custody of the check all along. Just pass it through your shredder and be done with it.
Some people prefer to keep their voided checks. Although it’s not necessary, that inclination can certainly be understood. If you decide you’d rather keep the voided check, you will need to take extra care to mark the check as voided. You can write the word “VOID” in all of the appropriate places such as the signature line, amount box, the entire face of the check, and the back. You must be careful if you choose to keep your voided checks to make sure they are kept in a secure location.
Checks that have been misplaced, however, have to be handled in an entirely different manner. In this instance your check is floating around in the world somewhere, and you’re not sure when, or if, it will turn up. You’ll have to involve someone else to properly void this check. Your safest bet is to have your bank issue a “Stop Payment Order” on this check. For a fee, your bank will ensure that they check isn’t paid if it is presented by anyone. Bear in mind, though, that a stop payment order is only effective for six months. If you’re still uncertain about the whereabouts of your check at the end of that time, you’ll need to ask the bank to issue a new order.
For more great content, remember to subscribe to my RSS feed. Subscribe
Everyone knows that kids grow like crazy. So it seems insane to spend a fortune on clothing that your kids can only wear for a short time. How many times have you seen your little ones outgrow something that they’ve only gotten to wear a handful of times? Although you certainly want your children to be dressed in clean, stylish clothes, there are ways to clothe your children without breaking the bank.
Garage sales are a parent’s best friend when it comes to finding clothes for your kids. If you are diligent about checking the clothes for stains or tears before selecting them, you can buy a pile of clothes for next to nothing. And, if you do miss a defect or two, you haven’t invested a great deal of money.
Don’t be shy about exchanging “hand-me-downs” among friends and family. Part of growing up is learning to share; what better example can there be than for siblings, cousins, or friends to learn to share the things they can’t use anymore with someone who can.
Resell shops for children’s clothing are becoming increasingly popular for a very good reason. In these shops you can sell your child’s “gently used” clothing. Many shops offer to pay you for these clothes with cash or store credit. In addition, you can sometimes receive a discount on purchases in the store, giving you an even larger value for your clothing money.
eBay is another source of low-priced children’s clothing. Look for bulk lots of clothing for children in the same age group as your children. Although you may get a few duds in the lot, you may also find some real gems for a relatively small price. And, you and your kids will love going through all of the clothes when they arrive at your home.
Check out outlet stores for a good value in new clothing. Many department stores have outlets where you can find extremely discounted clothing that didn’t sell in the stores. These are great for special occasion clothes and big-ticket items like coats or suits.
For more great content, remember to subscribe to my RSS feed. Subscribe
