Baby supply coupons can go to Heartbeat of Monroe
This post is for my readers in Monroe County, Mich.:
There are several community coupon swap boxes in the Monroe, Mich., area. Most of them are hosted by the area libraries.
Today, I pinned down the details on a special coupon box. It’s a baby product coupon box hosted by Heartbeat of Monroe. This box focuses on [...]
Continue reading Baby supply coupons can go to Heartbeat of Monroe …
From Monroe on a Budget.
What about socialization?
This post is part of FAQ Fridays. If you have a question you would like answered, you can ask it on any FAQ Friday post, or in the FAQ page.
Question
What about socialization?
Answer
To newcomers, I plan on homeschooling my children. You can read why I am homeschooling here. This post will only address the socialization aspect of homeschooling. It will not address the budget, time management, curriculum or qualification questions you may have about homeschooling. You can ask them in the comment section and I will add them to the FAQ.
So, there are two basic camps about socialization and homeschooling.
Sports and Extracurricula Activites
Some homeschooling families want to model the public school’s version of socialization. Enrolling kids into sports programs and extracurricula activities at the local school is the logical answer. This is hanging out with kids their own age doing things that they are all interested in together.
Community
The other camp says that hanging out with kids the exact same age as you is not socialization, because in the real world and in the work force, you are interacting with people in a wide range of age levels and interests. These families lean toward community activites for socialization, where children will play with other children and learn to interact with adults.
Our Family
Our family generally belongs in the second camp. Festivals, parks, libraries, church: these are real life things that our children right now are mostly spectators of, but are becoming more involved with. This is where real socialization happens for us, where our children interact with people similar to them and with people very different. They learn to respond to differences and understand them.
What about sports and extracurriculas?
Hanging out with people who are the same age as you and do the same things as you is not a well-rounded means of social interaction, in our minds. These activites have nothing to do with our plan for socialization, but have a lot to do with our plans to have each child pursue activities they enjoy. It is more of a curriculum activity than a socialization activity.
Continue reading What about socialization? …
From Under $1000 Per Month.
Save on Consumer Reports and fixing appliances
From: Sheri
You mentioned that the price of subscribing to
Consumer Reports is worth it to do research
online, but did you know that some libraries
subscribe and with your library card number, you
can access Consumer Reports through the library
Website from your home computer? This gave us
the same access as being members. We have
researched appliances recently and decided not to
buy, but to look for the washer I want used.
Fortunately, we have found a website that gives
free advice for fixing appliances manned by real
repairmen! This has saved us plenty! And they
have fair prices for their replacement parts
too. We have fixed our dryer, washer (twice),
refrigerator and oven with their advice. They
will also tell you when it is too difficult or
not worth fixing. AppliancePartsPros.com
Thank you for all the practical tips you share.
Continue reading Save on Consumer Reports and fixing appliances …
From Living On A Dime Blog » Living On A Dime Blog.
The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Freebies Edition
There is no such thing as a free lunch. From my experience, that’s completely true. Yet, I constantly advocate using free services all the time – the library, the parks, and so on.
Lately, a few readers have called me on this seeming contradiction, pointing out that, indeed, these things have costs. We pay those costs when we pay our taxes. And some people with a certain political perspective think it’s wholly unfair that we should pay for libraries and parks and the like.
Here’s the thing, though. It’s a sunk cost. We’ve already paid our taxes – and those taxes paid for those libraries. The money is already paid – so why not enjoy the fruits of those dollars? If you politically disagree with such services, act in a political fashion against them – but don’t eschew services. You’ve already paid for them. Use them.
Tyler Durden’s Guide To Personal Finance This is a humorous reworking of “Fight Club,” translating the themes of the movie into pretty sensible personal finance advice. I enjoyed reading it. (@ man vs. debt)
Thomas Carlyle’s Advice to Young Men This is brilliant advice for everyone today. Don’t follow advice to the letter – instead, explore and learn what works for you. A truly worthwhile person is able to find their own path and utilizes advice only in terms of trying to see things through another’s eyes. (@ art of manliness)
In Defense of Solitude (Part Two) I spend multiple workdays in solitude. For me, being alone is essential – a key part of being able to bear down and focus on tasks at hand. I find that interruptions make it much more challenging for me to complete anything well, so solitude is a key tool for my work. (@ soul shelter)
Banishing the No Momentum Monster Without some sort of crutch, I find it’s really hard to maintain the momentum of continuous work, like writing or exercising every day. For me, the “chain method” works well – I have a printed calendar on the wall in my office and each day I accomplish my specific goal, I put a big colored X on that date on the calendar. When I get a string of them going, I *really* don’t like breaking that chain, so it gives me motivation to do it. (@ unclutterer)
Off My Giving List I do the same thing – if a telemarketer from a charity interrupts me, I cease giving to them. I am a charitable person, but I value my family time and I don’t want it intruded on by some ham-fisted telemarketer. (@ free money finance)
Are Online Savings Accounts Worth It? We use an online savings account (ING) for most of our banking, but we also have a local bank for some specific teller services (cashing checks, mostly). We have the two accounts linked and everything just works like a charm. (@ bargaineering)
20 Cheap and Fun Date Ideas Most of these sound like a whole lot of fun to me! My wife and I already do several of these things, sometimes even with the kids in tow. (@ christian pf)
How to Destroy Your Investment Portfolio You can solve all five of these problems by simply buying a broadly based index fund and just sitting on it. Sure, you won’t hit a home run, but you will have consistently strong investment results over the long haul. (@ frugal dad)
Continue reading The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Freebies Edition …
From The Simple Dollar.