Photo Via Pixbay

Teaching your children about financial responsibility at a young age can help instill values and knowledge that will last them a lifetime, and it’s a great way to prepare them for the real world. Even if your children are old enough to have learned about how money works, school will likely not teach them about how to save, how to spend wisely, or why a budget is so important. These are skills you can develop in your children with some hands-on teaching.

Think about what you want to teach your children, and make the lessons fun. For instance, you might encourage your children to set up a lemonade stand with a friend, or buy a piggy bank with a built-in money counter that will help them keep track of their savings.

Here are a few of the best tips on how to teach your child to be financially responsible.

Be consistent

Teaching young people about the importance of being responsible with money is difficult if you aren’t consistent with things such as giving allowance for chores. Some parents don’t believe in paying children to help out around the house, while others feel it’s a great way to help them learn about earning and saving. If you do decide to let your children earn an allowance, stick with it for a while to help them learn the right way to handle their finances.

Work from home

If your schedule will allow it, consider getting a part-time job from home so you can share everything about your job with your children. A great example is working for a dog-walking company, which would allow you to make some extra cash while you teach your children about the importance of being responsible, how to budget both money and time for the week, and what to do with the money you earn. Just be careful not to let your children take over the dog-walking duties; this is about what you can teach them.

Use gifts as teachable moments

Many kids receive cash for birthdays and holidays, so it’s a good idea to show them how to take a portion of it to put away in savings. It might even be the right time to open up a bank account just for your children so you can help them start saving. For older kids, you can strike a deal to match dollar for dollar what they put in up to a certain amount, as long as they keep their grades up and agree to some rules about withdrawals.

Teach your child to shop smart

Teach your children how to shop without overspending by talking about what they want to buy, creating a budget, and comparison shopping online before going to the store to make sure you get the best deal. By showing your kids how to be smart about their spending, they’ll learn that impulse buying can be hard on a budget.

Talk about “needs” and “wants”

It’s important for your kids to learn the difference between what they need and what they want, so include a lesson on the basic human needs and why they are so important. Emphasize that clothing, shelter, food and water, sleep, and family are the most important things in a person’s life, while toys and video games are merely for entertainment.

Talking to young people about money can be a big responsibility, and it’s often difficult for parents to know where to begin. Start off slow and easy and use as many real-life situations as you can to show your children how to be savvy financial planners so they’ll retain these lessons for a lifetime.

Please follow and share:

Holiday Party Planning Made Easy: Tips for Doing it Right

Are you worried about planning that perfect holiday get together? Relax!

We’ve got the steps for you to follow to make it easy and fun. Here’s how:

Image Source: DIYDarlin.com

Additional Holiday Party Prepping Resources:

1. Cleaning tips for a party-ready house
2. Party planning checklist
3. How to prep your home for festive entertaining
4. 10 stress-free holiday party decorating tips
5. 10 holiday party mistakes to avoid

Now that you know how to get started, you can enjoy the process. Make those lists, light some candles, and start thinking about your menu. You’ve got this!

Please follow and share:

Autumn Adventure:

October – November   (2017 will be Oct 21 – Nov 25)

Saturdays: 10:00 am – sunset

Sundays: Noon – sunset

Weekdays: Reserved for school field trips and private groups of 25 or more

READY, SET, COME PLAY! Bring the whole family out to Grace Heritage Ranch in the autumn to enjoy all the fun fall activities. Started in 2016, we add more fun and games each year. Climb a hay bale pyramid, hit the target at the Apple Slingshot, challenge someone to a sack race, take a hay ride, hang out in the pumpkin patch, and more! And, don’t forget to stroll the ¼ mile walking path to feed and visit with our animals along the way. Let your Adventure Begin!!!

• Come meet Harley, Henry, and Heidi – our Vietnamese potbellied pigs!
• Adorable long-haired French Angora rabbits will be here!
• Pet and feed the Jerusalem donkeys – Mercy, Faith, Hope, Love, and Joy.  Maybe Justice and Liberty will be around too!!
• They love the Apple Slingshot!
• Feed some of our rare San Clemente Island goats!
• Meet our two and four-horned Middle Eastern Jacob sheep!!
• Our Australian chickens, American turkeys, and Indian peafowl are always looking for treats!
• Get a glimpse of our beautiful Peruvian alpacas!
• Did someone say fajitas?  Feed our American Milking Devon cattle!
• Don’t forget to take a photo with our snake Kaa, a 6-foot South American Red Tail boa!
• And don’t leave out Boris the Texas tarantula, Bamboot the Asian scorpion, or our Madagascar Hissing cockroaches!

*feed is available for purchase to feed the animals

A little friendly competition never hurt anybody!

• Smack your way to victory at Tetherball
• Chuck bags for points in Corn Hole Toss
• Ascend the Hay Bales to be king of the Pyramids
• Roll a pumpkin, clobber the pins in Pumpkin Bowling
• Gain new ground in a Tug-of-War
• Sharpen your aim and maybe win a prize at the Apple* Slingshots
• Take a break while the kids swing, slide, and climb at the playground
• Bust a bouncy “bronc”at the Hippity-Hop Corral
• Challenge a friend to a meeting of the minds at the giant Tic-Tac-Toe Boards
• Ready for the Rodeo? Rope a few hay bale “steer”
• Strike the ball at the Ping-Pong Tables.  Best 3 out of 5 wins the match
• Volleyball anyone?
• Release your inner artist on our huge outdoor Chalkboards
• Jump in the Sack Race and head for the finish line

*apples for slingshot available for purchaseFor more info call :

956-230-6903

or visit : http://graceheritageranch.com

Please follow and share:

Though it’s officially fall, many folks across the U.S. are still experiencing very warm temperatures. If your child’s birthday is coming up, a pool party is still in the cards and will be a fun and exciting way o celebrate for both the child and their friends. And if you don’t live in a warmer part of the country, not to worry. You can still have a great fall birthday pool party at one of your town’s local indoor pools. The best part is that pool parties can be thrown with a minimal budget with some careful planning.

Decorations, food, and beverages can all be bought on the cheap, but what about entertainment? Sure, the kids will probably entertain themselves for a while, but if you want your party to be a hit, activities are a must. Here are a few fun pool games to entertain your guests.

Diving for Coins

Diving for Pennies is a pool game that literally costs mere pennies. However, if you wanted to make the game a little more complex, you could throw different kinds of coins for the kids to find. Whichever child comes up with the biggest sum of money wins. Prizes for winning these games can be very simple. Head to your local dollar store and pick up small, inexpensive toys or candy for the winners of each game.

Finding the Invisible Bottle

Another fun, competitive, and cheap game to play with your guests is Find the Bottle. Take a large, clear plastic bottle, such as a leftover two-liter soda bottle, and fill it with water. Try to use a cap that blends into the pool floor well. Have all the swimmers line up on the edge of the pool with their backs turned to the water. Toss the bottle in and allow them the turn around and jump in. The water makes the bottle nearly invisible and tricky to find. Whoever finds the bottle first, wins.

Sharks and Minnows

This game is a version of tag. The person who is “it” is the shark. They are supposed to chase the minnows and tag them, turning that person into the shark. Minnows can jump out of the pool for up to five seconds at a time in order to avoid the shark. To give this game a winner, you can change the rules and have the minnows sit out until the last minnow standing wins.

Pool Noodle Crafts

Pool noodles are inexpensive toys that kids love. While they can certainly be thrown into the pool for kids to use as they please, pool noodles can also make great crafts. Cutting a noodle into sections then slicing each in half gives you the base to a sail boat. Add straws and foam sheets for sails, and your guests have made their own pool toys – and they had fun while doing it. Tape some noodles into circles and invest in some ping pong balls. Floating ring toss is suddenly yours to enjoy. There are innumerable possibilities.

Hosting a fun and memorable pool party for kids does not have to break the bank. Many pool games do not even require you to purchase anything at all and those that do can be bought for cheap. Utilize a nearby dollar store for prizes, fish your spare change out of your wallet, and head to a superstore for some pool noodles. For just a few dollars, you already have the essentials for a wonderful pool party. Time to send out those invites and gear up to play the role of the host with the most.

Image via Pixabay by platinumportfolio

Please follow and share: