8 Tips To Making Holiday Shopping Less Stressful

The holidays can be a stressful time. Dinners to cook, decorations to hang, guests to host, gifts to wrap, school parties to make treats for, events to attend, gifts to buy, coordinating with family…uh I’m sure I’m missing some things but you get the idea. Here’s some tips to decrease some of the holiday stress:

1. Does your gift shopping list include all your nieces and nephews, great uncle Bob, grandma, your bother Joe’s new girlfriend (because she’ll be at the party and it ‘s just not right if she doesn’t get a gift too) on top of buying for your own kids and spouse. Consider doing a family name draw. Everyone buys for one person rather than everyone buying for 17 people. You can set a price limit too. Everyone still gets a gift but it’s a lot less stressful and affordable.

2. Set a budget and stick to it. You know what budget works best for you. Set a limit for each person and stick to it.

3. Take advantage of gift wrap services when available. Some stores will offer free gift wrap or gift wrap for a nominal fee. It will look great and save you time. Our local Boscov’s department stores offers free gift wrap all year round when you buy a gift in their store. Ran out of gift wrap? Don’t sweat it, check out this post I did last year for Parade Magazine’s website on last minute gift wrap ideas.

4. Ask your significant other, family members, or even your kids (if they’re old enough) to email you their wish lists/gift ideas. That way if you forget a written list while you’re out you can pull them up on your phone.

5. If you’re not quite sure what to get your recipient there are lots of lists specific to hobbies, careers, and more online. Just search your phone for things like “gift ideas for the new driver” and you’ll have a stream of ideas at your finger tips.

6. Shopping online is an easy way to avoid long lines, avoid searching for parking spaces, and forego dealing with rude people but delayed shipping can cause stress. If you’re worried that you or your recipient won’t receive the gift on time. Opt for quicker shipping when possible.

7. Oh no, you’re getting ready to head out the door to the family party and you realized you forgot to get somebody a gift! You can buy an egift card online, print it out and put it in an envelope. If all else fails, cash is always the rights size.

Top 10 Tips for Saving Towards Your Child’s Education

Among the most rewarding things in life is parenting. And as a parent, you always want to provide the best for your child. It is a fun thing to indulge your kids with expensive things. However, it is important to save for their education too. With knowledge comes freedom in life. But, it also may bring about massive students loans that may take a lifetime to pay. This is why Elizabeth English of Archer presents you with this tried and tested advice on how to fund your child’s education.

1. What is your plan for your child’s education?

Saving enables your kids to have a good start in life. This is why it is necessary to teach them money manners when they are still young. Saving is a good habit to inculcate in your children. It is, therefore, good to start them out with a savings account when they are still young.

2. Figure out your child’s needs at every stage

Nursery and Daycare education can be very expensive since they lay the foundation for your child’s education. So, carry out a thorough research on the best schools at affordable prices that can cater to your child’s needs.

3. Consult your HR department

Many companies offer education allowances for their personnel’s children. You need to claim these if they are available.

4. Plan for your child’s adulthood

Ask yourself whether your kids will go to university, and if they hope to get a degree. These programs need funds. If not, they may require students loans.

5. Consider overseas studies

American universities are the most expensive in the world. You may end up paying up to $50,000 per year at a reputable university. By the time your child enters higher studies, you may have entered the final stages of your career, or you may be considering retirement. At this time, you may not want to enter into more expenses.

6. Keep track of the residency requirements

Some states require you to have up to three years proof of residency before enrolling in a university. If you don’t fulfill the requirements, you may be subject to foreign students tuition rates that are often higher than the resident rates.

7. Start early

You need to plan beforehand and start saving early for your child’s education to achieve the desired amount of money for further education without worries. When you start saving early, it makes the task of funding their studies easier. Just tread one step at a time.

8. Be realistic

If you are not financially savvy, you may have to seek the help of a financial planner to discuss the reasonable amount to save for your child’s education.

9. Seek for a tax break

Inquire if you qualify for tax exemption for tuition fees for your child. If you do, you need to take advantage of these.

10. Teach your youngsters to manage their finances

If your child is a first-timer in the university, he or she needs to learn about budgeting. The money habits of the young people are often influenced by the financial habits of their parents.

Education is a fundamental requirement for the life of your child. This is why you need to figure out your goal for your child’s education and then create a concrete plan for financing your child’s education. You also need to teach your child good financial habits to help them in managing their finances when they are grown.

Safe Sleep From the Start – Safe Sleep Practices With HALO

I did not receive compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Through HALO’s Safer Way To Seep In-Hospital program hospitals and NICUs across the country replaced nursing blankets with SleepSack Swaddles increasing parent education on safe infant sleep practices from day one. HALO SleepSack Swaddles are now used in over 1400 hospitals across the country.

HALO had also introduced the Bassinest Swivel Sleeper making it safer to have baby close to you at night without bed sharing. I remember as a new parent, with ALL 4 of my kids. I was always so nervous the first few nights they actually slept for a couple hours without waking. I’d get up and check on them just to make sure they were ok. I remember all the safety rules for safe infant sleeping and was a bit obsessive about it. I wanted to do everything I could to make my baby safe.

Here the safe sleep practices from HALO:

ALWAYS

Place baby to sleep on his or her back at naptime and at night time.
Use a crib that meets current safety standards with a firm mattress that fits snugly and is covered with only a tight-fitting crib sheet.
Remove all soft bedding and toys from your baby’s sleep area (this includes loose blankets, bumpers, pillows and positioners). The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests using a wearable blanket instead of loose blankets to keep your baby warm.
Offer a pacifier when putting baby to sleep. If breastfeeding, introduce pacifier after one month or after breastfeeding has been established.
Breastfeed, if possible, but when finished, put your baby back to sleep in his or her separate safe sleep area alongside your bed.
Room share, but don’t bed share. Bed sharing can put a child at risk of suffocation.

NEVER

Never put your baby to sleep on any soft surface (adult beds, sofas, chairs, water beds, quilts, sheep skins etc.)
Never dress your baby too warmly for sleep; keep room temperature 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Never allow anyone to smoke around your baby or take your baby into a room or car where someone has recently smoked.

From July 20-July 26 HALO is promoting their “Safe Sleep from the Start” campaign on Facebook where they are giving away a HALO Bassinest and a SleepSack Swaddle to one lucky winner. Upload a picture of your baby in a SleepSack Swaddle or SleepSack and use hashtag #Halofromthestart for full rules visit the HALO facebook page.

GIVEAWAY

1 Luv Saving Money reader will win

a HALO SleepSack Swaddle (newborn or small) OR

HALO SleepSack (small, medium, or large)

Open to US and Canada

HALO Safe Sleep from the Start

5 Baby Items I Wasted My Money On

I remember having a nice sized baby shower for my first child. I was so excited. As I read every parenting magazine I could get my hands on, talked to other moms, saw neat gadgets other people had I formulated my list of baby needs and wants in my head. When it came time to create a baby shower registry, I went crazy. Some things off the bat I realized were a waste of money. Other things I thought were great for a couple months then realized I’d never use it again. With each child new things came out and I tried them. By baby number 4 I pretty much knew what worked for my kids and my house and what didn’t.

These are, of course, my opinion. I have friends and family that when I’d say I really didn’t like something they talked about how it was great and vice versa. Keep in mind some things may work better for you depending on your home size, baby, etc.

1. The wipe warmer – In my opinion the biggest waste of baby registry space I had on my list. As a new mom, of course I wanted my baby to be comfortable. I mean, would I want to be wiped with a cold wipe unexpectedly? I got one for my baby shower. I put the wipes in and added a little water like it said to. Plugged it in. Nice and warm. Then you have to remember to put a little water in it each day. You know what happens when you forget? Your overwhelmed, new mommy, sleep deprived brain will forget. Your wipes will dry out and won’t be good for anything. I threw out more wipes then I care to admit. Know what happens if you put too much water in it? You end up with slopping wet wipes that didn’t seem to work as well.

2. The plastic bag dispenser for dirty diapers– Ok there’s this cool looking little clip that clips right onto your diaper back. It’s a plastic bag dispenser so that when you change baby’s diaper on the go you can put the dirty diaper in a bag and dispose of it. I thought it was great at first. Then I’d run out of bags and forget to refill it. You had to pay like $3-$4 for the refills and I thought to myself “I’m paying for plastic bags” So instead I’d just tuck a few plastic grocery bags into my diaper bag and use those. FREE, reuses, and it became a habit to stick a couple in the diaper bag when I was packing extra diapers.

3. The pacifier medicine dispenser – I saw them with kids #2 but never bought one. With kids #3 I decided eh, I don’t have to buy much this time, I’ll give it a try. Most of my kids loved their pacifiers. I thought this would be great to get medicine in them when it really counted. Um no. I think I tried it 2 times and gave up. The first time, my son rejected it. He was more interested in checking out the liquid in the pacifier. The next time he sucked on it for a minute then pulled it out and threw it. Much easy just to drop the medicine in with the dosing dropper in my opinion.

4. Special baby food storage containers – I didn’t try making my own baby food until child #3. I just had to have these specific baby food containers because they had to be the best for baby food right? Yea there’s nothing wrong with them but do you know what else works just as well? Those small condiment tupperware containers. You can even get glass ones if you don’t want to use plastic. Then you can reuse them in the future for food storage or packing lunches. Sure the special baby food ones are cute with giraffes and smiley faces on them but try sending one of those with your teenager in his lunch for his veggie dip.

5. Plastic adhesive stove guard – Once my babies were mobile, they explored as babies do. My one son in particular was very interested in what i was doing on the stove. One of my fears would be that I’d turn my back for a second and he’d have a hold of a handle of a hot pot on the stove and pull it down. So I got this stove guard that seemed like it would be a good idea. Baby proofing things is always a good idea. The stove especially. This particular guard however didn’t work worth a spit after about a month or so. It adhered to the stove with double sided adhesive tape. The base to adhere it was only about an inch or so wide and stuck right to the stove surface. The larger plastic portion angle forward. As I said, it worked for about a month then I realized each time I used the front burners it would warm the adhesive and it would come loose. I’d stick it back down when I was done cooking and it would be ok until the next time I used the stove. Also if oil or grease splattered and got under the guard it also loosedned the adhesive. Eventually it lost it’s stickiness all together and wasn’t good for anything. Sure I could have bought more adhesive but what’s the point. There are other ones that seem like the would be better.

Nighttime Is The Right Time to Downsize Your Bag

Nighttime Is the Right Time to Downsize Your Bag

Most women headed out for a night on the town wouldn’t dream of hauling around the giant hobo bag they use during the day. After all,
you don’t need a handbag that can fit an extra bottle of water when you are out for the evening.
The basic rule of thumb is that you just need a few key ingredients
when packing the perfect evening bag. Here are some tips on how to ditch your behemoth day bag.

Choosing the Best Bag

The appeal of a big handbag for daily use can’t be denied. We all need a place to stow our “necessities,” plus some extras.
But lugging around a giant purse not only can be a drag on your evening, it can also totally ruin the ensemble you spent days trying to perfect.
A small, structured purse with short handles is probably the largest you’d want to go.
The smallest might be a clutch. Another popular option is a crossbody, which is a small purse with long strap that you wear across your chest.
These may be suitable for a night of clubbing, but they are too casual for an evening at the opera.

Just the Essentials, Ma’am

Now that you have your evening bag, it’s time to make some selections for what you will be bringing with you. It may be just a tiny fraction of what
you are used to carrying, but don’t worry, you’ll be able to go back to the huge bag in the morning. Of course, the essential things to pack are your
identification, a credit or debit card, and maybe some personal business cards, if you are going to an event where networking will take place.
Cash is essential, and a mini phone charger is a great addition. In order to maintain the integrity of your makeup, you might include
blotting papers and a lip color. Don’t forget a small atomizer of perfume and some breath mints.

All in the Placement

You may wonder what to do with your purse when you are out. If your evening includes dining out, you can leave your clutch in your lap under your
napkin on in your chair behind you. It shouldn’t go on the table. For petit purses with short straps,
hanging it on your chair underneath your coat is acceptable.

Swapping out your day bag for a smaller evening bag is a simple process if you keep in mind a few essential guidelines.
With a perfectly packed purse, you are free to enjoy whatever the night brings your way.