Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Kids

How to Make the Most of Your Liberal Arts Degree

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When I graduated from high school, I knew there were two things that I loved—reading and writing. 

I told everyone I knew that I wanted to be a writer, and the majority of them asked, “But what will you really do?”

My eighteen-year-old self felt misunderstood, but now that I have children of my own, I understand the question much better.   I majored in English, and my husband majored in anthropology; no offense to other poor souls in these majors, but fresh out of school, there is not much that you can do with degrees in these areas.
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The New American Family: Flexibility and Unconventional Lifestyles to Make Ends Meet

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The following was written by my wife, Mrs. Craig.  She was kind enough to share her take on our current lifestyle.  We changed things up in our household  a couple of years ago…I’ll let my wife tell the story.

The last time I wrote a story for this site was almost 3 years ago.   Much has happened since then!  I wrote a narrative about my decision to take a leave of absence from my job, as a school counselor, to stay home and raise my 1 and half year old son and 8 yr old daughter.

[Glen: here’s the article – A Mother’s Struggle Between Work And Kids]

Many events have taken place since I shared that story with you.  It was an account of a working mother who became a stay-at-home mom.  The story changed as you will see below.

Life as a Stay-at-Home Mom

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Cheap, Inexpensive, and Frugal Halloween Costume Buying Tips

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Who dressed YOU?

Halloween is great fun! I remember how exciting it was going around town in my Halloween costume, getting candy from all of the neighbors.  I still get to enjoy that now through my kids!

Do you remember those old Halloween costumes? You know the ones that came in a box and it was made up of a thin plastic mask with eye holes that hurt and it was held onto your head with an elastic piece that usually didn’t last the night and the body of the costume was a plastic sack-like piece you climbed into which also didn’t make it through the night?  Those were great!  I remember one year I was Chewbacca and another I was Yoda ( I remember terrorizing my younger sister with those masks too; I was such a stinker!).  I’m sure I was Superman and Batman as well.
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Work from Home? Why You Should Consider Child Care

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When I first started working from home, my son (who is now in elementary school) was three. One of the most common questions I fielded was this: How do you get work done with a child at home?  The answer: I send him to the sitter.

People are often shocked to learn that my son went to the sitter, and later to preschool, when I am a work from home parent.  After all, isn’t one of the reasons some of us work from home is to avoid sending the kids to the sitter?  This is only partially true.  I like working from home because it provides me with flexibility, and, of course, because I can spend more time with my son.  But that doesn’t mean that I keep my son home all the time.  Indeed, having my son in child care has helped me be more productive, as well as provide the opportunity for more quality time with my son.

Here’s why you might consider child care when you work from home: [Read more…] about Work from Home? Why You Should Consider Child Care

Kids & Money – The Financial Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

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For those of us with kids, we hope to pass down certain traits—good looks, agility, perfect vision, smarts, business savvy. But what of our money management skills?  Financial finesse rarely makes it onto our list of personal strengths, yet it’s a crucial life skill everyone needs to acquire.  A Charles Schwab 2010 Families and Money survey found that “not saving early enough for retirement (43%), not saving money for emergencies (42%) and carrying credit card debt from month to month (30%) [were] cited as the top three financial mistakes [parents] fear their kids will repeat.”  Don’t let your kids make your same mistakes or fall into that ever-growing percentage of 18-24 year-olds who file for bankruptcy.

Here are 4 simple things to do differently (or start doing) as a parent, to ensure your kids gain financial awareness from an early age and build responsible habits.

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