Are you looking for some more affordable or cheap snacks for kids? This list of 14 different easy-to-serve snack foods should do the trick. Some are homemade and others are store-bought, but all are inexpensive.

These snack options have been time-tested with our five kids and should do well for your family.

Do you ever feel like you’re feeding a bottomless pit?We’re talking about those kids or teens with “hollow legs.”

Remember when they were babies and we fed them every two hours?  Well, the two-hour feedings start all over again in the pre-teen and teen years.

You want to provide nutritious and healthy snacking … Read more »

If you’re looking for great websites to enhance your child’s learning you’re going to love this list of the best free educational websites for kids.

It can sometimes be hard to find the ideal balance of fun and learning. The challenge might seem daunting, but have no fear the perfect learning website is out there.

Just check out this list of fun and information-filled sites to find the right website for you and your kids!

We’ve put this list into 7 different categories to make your search easier. See the table of contents for details.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 A Directory of Free … Read more »

Does your family work together as a team? We raised five kids and found that family teamwork helped us accomplish things faster. It also helped build our kids’ work-ethic and confidence.

Teaching kids the value of Family Teamwork has far-reaching effects. It translates into club activities, sports, jobs, church and eventually into their own families. 

In this article, we’ll share some tools and strategies that we used for more than 25 years as we raised and released our kids.

By the way, we didn’t do it perfectly. We had some stumbles, we had some failures, but overall, our kids learned that when we work … Read more »

Will money gifts to Adult Kids really help them? Do financial bailouts enable our children and make them dependent on us as parents? Here are 8 ways to help without enabling them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Money Gifts for Adult Kids — What Should We Do?2 A Retiree/ Senior Mom Helping out Adult Children3 Twelve Tips for Giving Money Gifts to Adult Kids.4 12. Consider putting it in an Annuity or other Investment5 When money gifts to adult kids need to stop!
Money Gifts for Adult Kids — What Should We Do?

A website visitor asked:

We have three grown … Read more »

Is it possible that our good intentions and generosity could end up entitling our kids? No parent intentionally sets out to create dependent children who expect to be given everything they desire.

If you want to raise kids who aren’t entitled but are empowered – keep reading. We have 7 ways we helped our kids to become Financially strong, fit and independent.

Kids are kind of funny. If we offer to pay for something, they’ll gladly let us do it . . . forever and ever. If we don’t pay, they’ll carry on about how “mean” and out of touch with reality … Read more »

We’re all about being realistic and frugal. In this article we’re looking for practical ways that grandparents can positively Influence their grandchildren – some of these ideas are amazing!

We asked our Facebook friends how they’ve seen Grandparents influence Grandchildren in a positive way. Our goal was to build a brainstormed list of ideas to encourage grandparents to be active participants in their grandchild’s life.

If your child’s grandparents (your in-laws or parents) could help your family with their financial and relational resources, what would you wish for?

This list is full … Read more »

If you think that Kids are Expensive …. You’re right. Have you heard the government statistics about the cost of raising a child?

We raised 5 kids and spent less than 60% of what the government experts estimated. Learn how.

Kerri’s story: How one reader grew up and was taught to manage money.

Question About the Cost of Having Kids: When I graduated from high school, I paid for my own auto insurance, graduation gown, and class ring.

My grandmother paid for my class picture. My graduation gift from my parents was a cell phone with a very limited plan because it was … Read more »

Can community youth organizations and programs help develop character in a child? There are many different types of youth activities that could contribute to your child’s physical, emotional, and vocational development. We’ve been involved in a number of these organizations and have compiled a list of the 20 most popular youth organizations in the US.

If you’re looking for the names of groups where your kids can learn and grow in character and leadership keep reading …

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Discovering the Hidden Potential in a Child2 Selecting an Organization with Good Leaders3 How Much YOU Should Be … Read more »

Is your teen looking for a summer job? There are companies hiring AND lots of out of the box earning opportunities. 

We’ll give you tons of practical ideas to help your teenager find work this summer, and into the rest of the year. 

1. Paying Summer Jobs for Teens

There are lots of jobs for teens in the restaurant industry and others. Here’s a short list of the types of jobs a young person can get near home.

Courtesy Clerk at a Grocery Store

Our son Joe did this and worked his way up into helping promote his store’s weekly $5 Friday Deals. Many grocery … Read more »

Have you wondered if you should give your teen a car?

Are other parents in your area doing it and you’re getting pressure from your child?

Should Parents Give A Car to a Teen?

Is it MoneySmart to give your kids a car and a computer?

One dad thinks so.

We didn’t give any of our kids a car. But we did help them save and shop and buy their first cars for cash.

When we heard about this dad who gave his teenager a 1965 Mustang, we thought he’d lost his mind.

Why We Think This Dad is MoneySmart

The dad of the family wrote the … Read more »

We taught our kids to save money on electricity … and everything else. When we received this question from a website visitor from Australia, we thought we’d put our ideas in writing so you could learn to save energy for kids too.

Question about how to get my kids on board with saving money

Do your kids save electricity? How do you get your kids to appreciate ever-increasing electricity costs and to turn off lights and appliances? Mine just seem to walk away and have no care that Australian electricity costs are rising and rising and we now pay a carbon tax … Read more »

Should you give your kids an allowance for chores?

“NOOOOO!” … that was our first response.

But years later we reconsidered this decision because we discovered the 5 / 50 / 500 money rule.

There are rules that govern our lives, our world, and the universe. There are also rules that govern the earning, saving, and spending of money. Knowing how to operate within the rules usually means success and a more peaceful existence. Violating the rules has the opposite effect.

Preparing your child to live a financially independent life may not be on the top of your to-do list. But if … Read more »

Are you wanting to help your teenager establish a good credit score? Teenagers & Credit Scores is a great topic to be concerned about. Raising money-smart teens is more than just teaching our kids to work and earn and save and spend carefully. We need to teach teens the ins and outs of borrowing money and being smart about credit.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Question about Teenagers & Credit Scores2 Answer: How to Establish A Credit Score For a Teen3 Helping our own teenagers establish credit scores4 Other Things You Can Do to Help Your Teen Establish … Read more »

If you’re having a baby and want to save money we’ll show you how to raise a baby on a budget.

To us they’re cuddly, snuggly and sometimes slobbery — and to marketers, they’re a gold mine. We’re talking about babies and what it costs to diaper, feed, clothe and entertain them in their first years.

Some experts predict — and hope — that you’ll spend somewhere between $8,000 and $10,000 before Junior’s first birthday.

Believe it or not, in these situations, when marketers push a multitude of expensive products, you may find the greatest savings.

Yes, you can beautifully outfit your baby … Read more »

This Kid’s Money Saving Tips page is devoted to teaching kids financial independence and life skills. It discusses Kid’s Toys, Life Skills, Allowances, Gifts and everything else. On this page you’ll find a growing list of our favorite money saving tips for Kids!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 1. Your Money Smart Kid’s System & Autism2 3 2. How Do You Say “No” to Your Kids About Money4 3. Finding New Kids Toys At Garage Sales5 4. Do You Give Children Allowances?6 5. Learning Life Skills for Kids Over the Summer7 6. Gender-Neutral School Supplies Save … Read more »

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 This Baby Savings Page contains a growing list of our favorite Money Saving Tips for Babies! 2  3 DIY Baby Food4  5 Kids Pics For Free6  7 Wash Cloths — Bottoms Up8  9 I’m Going Cloth10  11 Baby Savings on Diapers
This Baby Savings Page contains a growing list of our favorite Money Saving Tips for Babies! 

Caring for babies can be incredibly expensive, but these tips and tricks will help you keep your child happy and healthy. From DIY baby food to pictures, to baby personal care … Read more »

This Activities for Kids & Teens Page has ideas for activities, clubs, programs, keeping kids busy during the Summer, and managing lessons, plus a whole lot more.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 This Activities for Kids & Teens Page has ideas for activities, clubs, programs, keeping kids busy during the Summer, and managing lessons, plus a whole lot more.2 Summer Activities for Kids & Teens3 Recycled Piano Music4 5 How to Afford Kid’s Activites 6 Special Birthdays7 Rocket Science Clubs8 Laughter In The Dining Room9 Preschool Kids Summer Fun10 Public Library Storytime11 … Read more »

Some kids just want to be grown up and have a knack for making money. Entrepreneurship for kids is a hot topic – how can a parent help channel that energy in the right direction?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 What’s on the mind of your average 15-year-old?2 Look for Problems and Niches3 Get Your Children Out of the Box [Store]4 Educate Your Kids About the Marketplace5 Easy Businesses to Start6 Share Opportunities with Print and Electronic Marketing7 Encourage Financial Management8 They’ve Mastered the Basics – Now What?
What’s on the mind of your average … Read more »