Archive for the ‘Budgeting’ Category

Can the High Costs of Child Care Keep Women From “Having it All”?

Aug 27th, 12 / 0 Comments
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By Double Duty Mama

A supervisor at one of my past jobs is rumored to have announced “no more uteruses” in the workplace upon learning that another of his employees was pregnant. To him, and probably to a lot of employers, an expecting mother causes all kinds of alarms to go off:

WARNING: She’s going to miss work for doctors’ appointments!

WARNING: She’s going to take off time to have and bond with the baby!

WARNING: She’s going to want to leave work at a reasonable hour to spend time with her family!

The guilt and pressure working mothers (and many fathers) feel when it comes to balancing a job and a home life can be overwhelming. But, when you add to that the financial pain of the high costs of quality child care, many women are finding that they have to make some tough choices between their career and finding an affordable, safe, nurturing and educational environment to place their child every day.

Women’s issues have taken center stage in this election year, fueled by remarks from women on all sides of the spectrum. This summer, in a controversial Atlantic article, a female high-ranking State Department official wrote why she thinks women still can’t have it all. When Yahoo! hired a CEO who was six months pregnant, the blogosphere exploded in debate about what women can and can’t have. And tempers are raging over remarks made by wife of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney about the role of women in the home.

Like most working moms out there, I am not a high-ranking federal official, a powerful business leader or a high-profile political wife. I am just a working shlub earning a modest salary trying to get to my kids’ doctors’ appointments and school performances, and be home in time for dinner most nights. I don’t have a choice between being a stay-at-home mom and working outside the house — at least, not if we want to make ends meet.

I do consider myself among the lucky, though, in that we’ve been able to afford pretty decent child care and preschools. My younger son attended a public preschool through our local school district, which was affordable, by comparison to private centers. I know many of his friends received government subsidies to off-set even that low-end tuition.

But, according to a recent report, Parents and the High Cost of Child Care, many families are forced to choose between quality and affordability, as reported in today’s Monday Morning Report. The average cost of infant care in California last year was $11,800, according to the report by Child Care Aware of America.

With budget cuts and slashes to public subsidies, Child Care Aware of America is calling on lawmakers for reforms. Find out more about financial help for child care from the state Department of Social Services’ CalWORKs Child Care Program, the federal Community Services Block Grant or the Child Care Resource Center of Los Angeles.

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Budgeting, Parenting, Preschool, Uncategorized

Eat Healthy, Grow Strong: Kids Eat Free in Los Angeles!

Apr 9th, 12 / 0 Comments
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By Ready. Set. Grow!

Eating healthy and sticking to a budget can be difficult. But families shouldn’t have to feel they are stuck at home for every meal when there are many, many Los Angeles restaurants that offer FREE kids meals. Going out for a meal should be a fun, relaxing and healthy time for families — and feeding kids for free can help make that happen.

Be aware, though, that many of the “kids” meals may not be the healthiest. Healthy food choices begin with you. While occasional treats of French fries and macaroni and cheese are okay, be sure to try healthier options if they are available: grilled chicken and other meats; salad, veggies or fruit as an alternative to chips or fries and pasta with red sauce instead of macaroni and cheese.

Some of the restaurants included in these websites are IHOP, Marie Callender’s, Subway, Denny’s, El Torito, Coco’s, Ruby’s and Islands. Watch the fine print for restrictions on days and times, ages and how many adult meals, if any, need to be purchased to get the kids’ meals free.

  • The Los Angeles version of kidseatfor.com has the restaurants displayed in a weekly calendar.
  • The website lawithkids.com has some listings not found on other sites for non-chain restaurants.

Bon Appetit!

*  *  *

Through April, our Eat Healthy, Grow Strong campaign will feature blog entries about nutritious eating, along with recipes, tips and resources for you to help your family Eat Healthy, Grow Strong! Be sure to visit www.ReadySetGrowLA.org/EatHealthy for even more ways to make good eating a part of your life, including upcoming events and a Nutrition Quiz to win great prizes.

 

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Budgeting, Health and Nutrition, Uncategorized

New State Budget Proposal May Force Parents to Pay for Another Year of Preschool or Child Care

Jan 11th, 12 / 0 Comments
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By Ready. Set. Grow!

If you have a young child born between September and December, then the governor’s new budget proposal could cost you another year of child care and preschool charges.

California State Capital in Sacramento

Image via Wikipedia

This is the time of year where the California governor reveals his proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins in July. Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown did just that with a budget that, as expected, caused a lot of alarm to parents, caregivers and others who provide services to young children. (You can read a summary of the proposal and what it means for children 5 and younger here, and keep checking back for more updates in First 5 LA’s free Monday Morning Report by becoming a subscriber.)

But important to many California parents is a proposal to cut Transitional Kindergarten — which was established only a year ago as part of a new law that changes the cut-off date for children entering school from December to August, ensuring that children are 5 before starting kindergarten.

First 5 LA and many others, including Preschool California, supported the law, especially with the Transitional Kindergarten component that essentially gave an additional year of school to children born in September to December at no cost to parents.

Preschool California said the proposal would cause 120,000 kids to be kicked out of school over the next three years, according to a story on EdSource.

In the coming months, various legislative committees will hold hearings on the budget proposals before the lawmakers submit a bill to Brown for his vote in June. If you want your voice heard, this is a good time to call, write or email you elected state representatives. Simply go to the California State Legislature website and enter your zip code to find out who represents your district and how to get in touch with him or her.

Additional Reading:

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Budgeting, Preschool

Something Old, Something New

Dec 19th, 11 / 0 Comments
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By Downtown Dad

We’re thinking of getting our 16-month-old son a cardboard box for Christmas. Maybe we’ll throw in some of those Styrofoam peanuts for kicks.

Because, we wonder, if our toddler gets the same amount of enjoyment from a pile of ripped-up wrapping paper as he does from a train set, why bother spending the money?

Sadly, my wife had a different vision of Christmas morning. It included a softly-glowing, organically-grown Christmas tree, steaming mugs of warm eggnog, big red bows tied around our cats’ necks and our little guy, laughing merrily as he watches his Lionel train speed ‘round and ‘round the track.

The reality is a wee bit different.

We’re driving up to my mother-in-law’s for Christmas, so we won’t be around to enjoy a tree, organic or otherwise. Eggnog makes you fat. The cats would rip our eyes out if we tried to tie anything around their necks. And the biggest hurdle? Louie doesn’t really seem to care. Given a choice between a toy and a pot lid, he goes for the lid every time.

And, like everyone, this year will be difficult when it comes to money for the little extras. But if we forgo gifts for our son, will he look back on the pictures from this Christmas and say to his gracefully-aging, yet still fabulous parents…“Where the heck are all my toys?”

So we’ve come up with a compromise. We’re going to get him things we would have to buy anyway — namely, clothes — plus one bigger gift that he can’t possibly ignore. After much deliberation, we settled on the Radio Flyer Little Red Roadster, a ride-on toy in an eye-catching, candy apple red that we hope will make his eyes light up come Christmas morning.

And we bought the Roadster used on eBay for a third of what it costs retail. It might have scratches or a dent, but I doubt the little guy will notice.

Additionally, we’re going to stuff a stocking with a bunch of things we pick up from thrift stores and garage sales. Those gifts are not only affordable, but Louie really seems to enjoy pulling things out of containers and putting them back in.

For example, one of his favorite activities is emptying the entire contents of our recycling bag … every day … onto the floor. Merry Christmas, indeed.

Suggestions for further reading:

Parents’ tips: Doing Christmas on a budget

Christmas on the Cheap: Budget-friendly ideas for a festive, frugal holiday

Santa finds kids giving shorter lists in recession

 

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Budgeting, Parenting

NPR Beginnings: Child Care Costs

Aug 9th, 11 / 0 Comments
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By Double Duty Mama

When my first son was born a little more than seven years ago, I worked at a newspaper. If you know anything about newspapers, then you know they’re in trouble and don’t pay their employees very well. I loved my job, though, and knew I would not be happy as a stay-at-home mom. There was never a question in my mind that I’d go back to work outside the home and my son would go to some kind of child care setting.

As I’ve written about here before, choosing someone to watch your child is a difficult decision. However, on top of safety, health, nutrition and developmentally-appropriate activities as things to consider when choosing child care, there is one that no one likes to talk about, but everything thinks about a lot: cost.

This month, National Public Radio is running an amazingly informative and insightful series called Beginnings: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Beyond. It explores everything from global health to business and economy to culture and tradition as it pertains to pregnancy, birth, babies and children.

Yesterday, NPR aired a discussion about child care among six parents and one grandparent who live in Washington D.C. They all agreed that child care providers don’t get paid enough for their very important and difficult jobs — yet they were all paying too much. One father estimated he paid $10,000 a year to send his daughter to preschool and a lawyer turned stay-at-home mother said it was more cost-effective to quit her job than send her two young girls to day care.

The second part of the discussion is scheduled to air this afternoon. But, like all the stories in the series, they can all be streamed or downloaded from the NPR website. I highly recommend them.

 

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Budgeting, Parenting, Preschool

My Kid Costs HOW MUCH?

Jun 10th, 11 / 2 Comments
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By Double Duty Mama

I found out recently that my family was the largest contributor to our school’s grocery store rewards program last year. My oldest son told us this morning that he sometimes buys a $3 lunch in the school cafeteria because he’s hungry after eating all the food I’ve packed for him (this was discovered after looking at his account when I got a notice that we owed money). My kids eat A LOT. Which is fine … except that all this food costs A LOT!

Between food, clothes and child care – the necessities – these kids are expensive. Add in toys, activities and entertainment and it’s a wonder regular folk with regular jobs aren’t regularly filing for bankruptcy.

Yesterday, the United States Department of Agriculture was kind enough to put a price tag on 18 years of parenting. Middle-income families with a baby born in 2010 can expect to spend nearly $227,000 on their kid over the next 17 years. Low-income families are likely to spend about $163,440 on that child through high school.

Besides becoming the subject of an episode of Extreme Couponing, what are parents to do? I asked Google, and quickly came up with a few easy tips to save money while raising children. Here are a few of my favorites:

  • Save Money Magazine suggests not taking your kids food shopping with you (so you don’t have to give into their whining) and making them earn their treats.
  • eHow says shopping at discount stores, like the 99-Cent Store or the Dollar Tree, can help pinch pennies on food, toys and toiletries.
  • MSN Money says use a program that allows you to use pretax dollars for child care, if your company offers one. And don’t forget to claim your child- or dependent-care credit on your tax forms.
  • Blogger Mommy of a Monster & Twins, who also cited the USDA report, reminds people to never turn away hand-me-downs and shop for used items.

Do you have any great money-saving tips? Share them below in the comments!

 

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Budgeting, Parenting

Make a New Year’s Resolution to Create Cheaper Memories for Your Kids

Dec 29th, 10 / 3 Comments
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by Double Duty Mama

Growing up in Southern California, I was, of course, a big fan of Disneyland. As I got older and had kids, I looked forward to the day when I’d show them the Magic Kingdom for the first time.

I’m still looking forward to that day.

This may make me the odd-mom out, but I still haven’t taken my kids to the Happiest Place on Earth. Because I know enough about my kids to realize that they would take what should be one of the best childhood rights-of-passage there is and turn it into a miserable, frustrating and stressful experience. Visit the Whiniest Place on Earth for $288 for a family of four, not counting food and parking? No, thank you.

I have a lot of friends who’ve made regular treks to the Mouse House beginning before their kids could walk. “Oh, they love the Carousel!” they’d say. “Um,” I’d reply, “you know you could ride the carousel at the Santa Monica Pier for a few bucks, right?”

Here are the things I learned about outings with young children: They don’t last very long, the kids want to buy and eat everything they see and they don’t do well waiting in long lines.

We’ve always been big advocates of finding cheap thrills that entertain the kids, give them a sense of a special outing and don’t break the bank for a few hours of fun. In these times, everyone is feeling the financial pinch. If you’re looking for ways to save money in the New Year (resolutions, anyone?), there are some frills we lavish on our kids that could easily be cut-out or replaced with cheaper alternatives.

This week’s Slate has a great blog from one mom who figured out how to save about $3,000 a year by waiting to spend the big bucks creating childhood memories until her kids are actually old enough to remember them. You can see the full entry here, but here are a few of my favorites from the list:

  • Toning down birthday parties. Before a kid is 4 or 5, they likely won’t remember their birthdays, let alone the 150 guests you invited to join them at Chuck E. Cheese and the goody bags filled with cheap junk because you felt pressure to send every kid away with a present.
  • Rethink the elaborate vacation. There are alternatives to Disneyworld and European vacations with your toddler. Plan great trips for when your kids can appreciate them, and keep your sights smaller and cheaper. Maybe stay closer to home, drive instead of fly, camp and choose children-friendly museums, parks and zoos as destinations.
  • Swap clothing and never turn away hand-me-downs. There are some online sites that could lead you to resources for used clothes. If you need to buy something for your child, check e-Bay or shop the discount stores like Target or Wal-Mart. Seriously, what 4-year-old needs a pair of $70 Juicy Couture denim jeans?

If you have more ideas on where families can cut back, please share them below in the comments section. Hope you have a great and fun New Year!

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Budgeting, Parenting

Christmas on a Budget

Dec 20th, 10 / 0 Comments
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by Auntie Em

I have a niece I nicknamed “Little Money.”   Instead of carrying around a blanket or stuffed animal, she always has her piggy bank with her.   At first I thought it was cute, but after a few visits, I started thinking it was getting expensive to regularly give her money to put inside.

Was my relative using this as a dirty trick to nickel and dime us to build a college fund for her 4-year-old daughter?

A Danish Christmas tree illuminated with burni...

Image via Wikipedia

Auntie Em decided to strike back against this piggy bank routine. When Little Money came for Thanksgiving this year, I asked her if she was going to open up Mr. Piggy to buy Christmas presents for me and my husband.  No, I didn’t dismiss Santa Claus.  Instead, I explained that he didn’t bring us old folks gifts and it was very sad for both of us.

Then it happened.  I must have hit a sweet spot because she immediately opened her bank, and come to find out that she had more money in it than I had in my own wallet. Her mother was equally surprised, and made a joke about using Little Money’s stash for her own Christmas shopping.

But no mother or aunt wants to break a toddler’s bank for the holidays.  Nor do we want to max out our own credit cards.  The holidays should never be about Christmas lists and spending money, but more about spending time together. Here are some tips to help curb your holiday spending without looking like a cheapskate:

Don’t wait to the last minute. Nothing drives overspending like panic. Waiting until the last minute causes you to overspend because you are in a hurry to get your hands on anything, and price comparing is no longer an option so you wind up spending more than you planned because the item you wanted to purchase was no longer available in the size, color you needed.

Family grab bag. A grab bag is when everyone brings a generic gift and you exchange gifts either by picking them out of a bag or assigning a number to a gift, then picking numbers from a hat.

Keep the credit cards at home.  Set a budget, bring cash and spend wisely. Credit cards lead to a nasty case of “the might-as-wells,” as in: “I might as well spend more than my budget because I’m too lazy to be a frugal shopper.”  Using cash makes you very aware of your spending.

Piggy bank

Image by RambergMediaImages via Flickr

Give inexpensive gifts to babysitters or teachers. You can find attractive small scented jar candles on clearance and put three of them in a small basket, which can be purchased at the thrift store with some tissue paper, ribbon and a nice note.

Save money by buying used. It is possible to get almost anything used, second hand or almost new by visiting thrift stores or yard sales.

Make memories, not more junk. Most kids get more than enough for Christmas from grandparents, aunts and uncles. If you can only afford one gift for your child, make it a memory! Wrap a note in a box with instructions for a treasure hunt. Send your child all over the house with clues, and then have the real gift sitting under the tree when they return. Simple, but a great memory for them!

Go outside for holiday activities. Have a kids’ afternoon that will wear little bodies out and provide fun memories. Try a trip to the beach or a nearby hike.  Another great and frugal way to entertain the family through the holidays is to take a drive around town, or another town nearby, to see their Christmas lights.  It could become a family tradition.

Holiday Gocco Gift tags - Nature - set of 5

Image by Sarah Parrott via Flickr

Make homemade Christmas tree decorations. Another way of saving money is to make homemade tree decorations. This has the added bonus of keeping the kids occupied and making them feel involved. Try making colorful paper chains as an alternative to tinsel, or designing decorations on cardboard. Pierce a hole through the cardboard and tie some ribbon through it to make a unique hanging tree decoration.

Homemade Christmas stockings. Similarly to having children make their own decorations, they can also make their own Christmas stockings, with a little help from an adult. Take two pieces of seasonally colored felt and draw an identical shaped sock on each. Cut the shapes out and sew together the outside edges. Try decorating the top of the sock with some cotton wool for a classic Christmas look.

Homemade Christmas cards. Keeping with the homemade theme, homemade Christmas cards are an excellent way to save money. Sticking a print-out of a family picture on the front and writing a personalized message inside makes homemade Christmas cards unique and memorable.

Check out a Christmas book from the library.  Read the book together as a family over the holidays.

Make personalized calendars. Buy calendar blanks or use a template from an online program.  Then you can add pictures of your family, important dates such as birthdays and anniversaries of the family and maybe a special note or quote every once in a while. For parents, make them extra special and add little surprises, like a couple dollars taped to a summer date for an ice-cream treat or a coupon for a video and popcorn night.

Start a family history.  Each Christmas decide on a different topic.  For example, your family could write about their favorite Christmas the first year.  Then have each family member write or have the toddlers draw a picture about it. Collect the stories and pictures and put them all together in a notebook or inexpensive binder for a Christmas gift that will carry a lasting value.

Now you can have wonderful holiday season without having to break into your child’s piggy bank.

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Budgeting, Parenting