With the cost of just about everything on the rise these days, families have begun an earnest search for less expensive childcare. This is one of the major expenses parents face when pay day rolls around. Depending on the family dynamics, it’s often a case of one parent’s salary being used primarily to pay for childcare expenses. Let’s look at some alternatives there are to reduce those high childcare costs.

1. Share and Swap Care – Get together with friends to schedule alternating childcare among your group. If possible, working alternating schedules could permit a schedule convenient for everyone. However, if you all work similar hours, you could consider hiring one childcare provider who would be willing to care for all of the children, while splitting the cost.

2. Nanny-mom – You may find someone willing to come to your home and be a nanny for your children, but she has a child of her own who needs her attention. By allowing her to bring her child along while she cares for yours, you’re not only getting childcare for your little one, but you can pay her less as she doesn’t need to pay for her own childcare expenses.

3. Staggered Work Hours – You and your spouse can try offsetting your work hours. Instead of both of you working 9am – 5pm, perhaps one could work 7am – 3pm to cut the number of hours your children need to be in daycare or with the sitter.

4. Office Daycares – There are many companies who are now providing employees with daycare facilities in the same building as their offices. These are normally available either at a largely reduced rate, or as a benefit offered to enable longer work days from their employees.

5. Telecommuting – Many companies are offering the option of telecommuting to their employees. This enables you to work from the comfort of your own home, while not worrying about childcare. Any appointments or meetings which require your attendance could most likely be scheduled for a time when your significant other is available to care for the children. If not, at least you will have far less to pay for a babysitter if you only need one on occasion.

6. Family help – Perhaps grandparents or other relatives would be willing to care for your children while you are at work. Although grandparents will often tend to do this for free, you may want to take them out for dinner on a regular basis or some other activity or gift to show your appreciation for their generosity.

7. Start a new job from home – There are many ways you can do this, and not only does it remove the necessity of childcare, it can also get you some potential tax breaks. If this doesn’t sound like something you would be interested in doing right now, there is another alternative. Sit down with your spouse and calculate carefully both incomes and compare them to your monthly expenses. Then recalculate what you could save if one person were to stay home instead of working. Be sure to include not only childcare costs, but clothing allowances, travel expenses as well as the change in income tax brackets. You may just find the second salary isn’t as much of a necessity.

When you’re selling a home that you’ve lived in for years, it can be difficult to look at it through the eyes of a potential buyer. But if you want the best possible selling price, you’ll have to do just that. No matter how great your home is, if it’s not visually appealing, it won’t bring the price that it should. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to increase your home’s value. In fact, expensive renovations are rarely cost-effective. It’s the simple things that provide the most bang for your buck. Here are twenty things you can do to increase the appeal of your home to potential buyers.

1. Clean up the yard. You may have developed a blind spot when it comes to weeds and trash in your yard, but those are among the first things that a prospective buyer will notice. So get out the weed whacker and remove the debris, and if you have items sitting in your yard that don’t belong there, move them.

2. Maintain your flower garden. If you don’t have one, plant a few easy-care flowers.

3. Pressure wash the exterior. You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference it makes.

4. Add a fresh coat of paint to your siding if needed. This can make the difference between someone stopping to look at your home and someone driving on by.

5. Wash the windows. Dirty windows may not be noticeable from the street, but they’re glaringly obvious up close.

6. Wash the interior walls, and repaint or rewallpaper if needed. Be sure to fill in any holes before painting, and use primer for a smooth finish. White or a light neutral color makes the best impression.

7. Declutter your home. Put some things in storage if necessary. An uncluttered room looks larger and more inviting.

8. Put up new curtains and blinds. They don’t have to be fancy or expensive, just new. The ones that you’ve been using for several years are likely faded or stained.

9. Thoroughly clean the floors. Clean floors as directed by the flooring manufacturer, taking care to remove stains. Wax hard floors if recommended.

10. Invest in a new shower curtain and toilet seat for the bathroom. Again, these do not have to be extravagant, just new.

11. Put in new light switches and outlets. This is inexpensive easy to do, and it gives your home an updated look.

12. Refinish the kitchen cabinets.

13. Add crown molding and other details. These items are cheap and easy to install, and they can change the entire look of a room.

14. Put in a ceiling fan or two. You can find inexpensive ones at discount stores, and they’re easy to install if you use them to replace an existing light fixture.

15. Place vases of fresh flowers around the house. This will add visual appeal and a light, pleasant scent.

16. Pay special attention to the entryway. This is the first thing prospective buyers will see when they walk in your home, and hence the basis for their first impression.

17. Remove or replace old and worn rugs.

18. Clean all appliances. Even older ones look better when they’re spotless.

19. Consider putting slipcovers on old furniture. Even if you’re taking it with you when you move, the furniture that’s in the home makes an impression.

20. Hang up some mirrors in small spaces. This gives the illusion of a larger room.

Owning a home is clearly number one on the wish list for many of us. However, owning a home outright is a close second. From a financial perspective, paying off your mortgage faster is a smart move. Being mortgage-free allows you to decrease your monthly expenses dramatically and enables you to finally give your retirement, children’s college fund, and day-to-day savings account the attention they deserve. Throughout the first few years of your mortgage, the majority of your payment will go towards interest. These tips can help you avoid the interest-trap and work towards living the mortgage-free life you deserve:

1. Choose a 15-year fixed rate mortgage.
Most homebuyers choose a 30-year fixed rate mortgage because it allows them to pocket several hundred dollars more than a 15-year term each month. While this may be a sensible option, if you’re able to forgo the extra $400 or so in your bank account, choose a 15-year fixed rate.

- If you take out a loan for $200,000 at an interest rate of 6% for 30 years, your monthly mortgage payment will be $1,199 and you’ll pay over $231,000 in interest throughout the course of your mortgage.

- If you take out a loan for $200,000 at an interest rate of 6% for 15 years, your monthly mortgage payment will be $1,688 and you’ll pay just over $103,000 in interest throughout the course of your mortgage.

- Though a 15-year term will force you to pay a higher amount each month, you’ll be free from paying a mortgage in just 180 months and you’ll save $100,000 or more in interest payments.

- 15 year fixed rate mortgages boast lower interest rates because the lender assumes a lesser risk than a 30-year mortgage term.

2. Make regular lump sum payments.
At the start of every year, make an extra lump sum payment towards your principal. When writing the check, specify that this payment should be applied to “principal only” as most lenders will simply apply the extra payment to interest, if given the opportunity.

- Apply your Christmas bonus towards making this extra lump sum payment. Or, if your employer is less generous, simply set aside $25 per week throughout the year and send in an extra check of $1,300 in addition to that month’s mortgage payment.

- Lump sum payments can be made at any time of the year you choose. However, most lenders set restrictions as to how many times per year you can make lump sum payments.

3. Send a second check each month.
As stated above, the majority of your mortgage payment goes towards interest; in many cases up to 75% of your payment is applied towards interest. But, you can beat this catch 22 by sending an extra check to be applied only towards your principal in addition to your monthly mortgage. -By doing this, you continue to pay your interest and heavily decrease the amount you owe on principal over the course of just a few years.

- Only send as much as you can afford. It can be anywhere from $50 to $300 or more. Though paying off your mortgage faster is a priority, it makes little sense to unnecessarily dig yourself into a financial hole.

- Many people opt to send biweekly payments towards the principal (you must arrange this with your broker), but there is security in taking this approach. If your income decreases, or if other expenses increase, you can stop making extra payments towards your principal at any time without penalty.

Other conventional options of paying off your mortgage faster include arranging biweekly mortgage payments, refinancing your home, or opting for a balloon mortgage. But you can avoid the hassle of these more complicated processes by simply working strategically with your existing mortgage.

Today’s schools are not known for teaching kids a great deal about managing money. In fact, many young people even graduate from high school without knowing how to balance a checkbook or the importance of saving for the future. So, in order for children to learn how to have a successful financial future, the bulk of their teachings will likely need to come from home. There are a variety of important topics that relate to finances. Here are a few of the top tips that kids should be taught about money:

Don’t Get Into Excessive Debt.
One of the most important topics that kids must understand about money – especially in light of the recent economic downturn – is that they should not ever get themselves into excessive debt. In this case, it is a good idea to teach them the difference between “good” debt, such as a mortgage, and “bad” debt, such as high-interest credit card balances. This is even more essential for those who are preparing to go off to college, as the credit card companies do a lot of advertising about “easy financing” to college students.

Some Financial Instruments Have More Risk Than Others.
Although it is important to invest, kids must understand that different types of investment options will carry varying risk. For instance, although investing in stocks could produce a higher return than bonds, there is also a great deal more risk of losing principal as well.

Know How Liabilities Can Affect the Value of Assets.
When teaching kids about how to build their net worth, they should know that even though they may accumulate a large number of assets, there may also be the need to finance some or all of these assets – essentially lowering their overall amount of value by the balance that is still owed on them. Likewise, kids should also be aware that financing assets that can appreciate such as property is better than financing a depreciating asset such as expensive furniture or home electronics.

It’s Never Too Early to Save for the Future.
Teaching kids that it’s never too early to start saving for the future is another top lesson. By showing them the “magic” of compounding interest, it will be easy for them to see that by starting to save at a young age will allow them to build up the value of their savings by a great deal more than if they wait until later in life to begin.

Pay Yourself First.
Certainly, one of the most essential finance related lessons to teach kids is that they should always “pay themselves first.” This means that no matter what bills are due, it is important to set aside at least some amount for savings on a regular basis, because after all – your most important creditor is YOU.

By showing kids the importance of saving and the value of interest, coupled with a good understanding of risk versus reward, it is likely that they will carry these financial lessons throughout their entire lives.

Just like with our physical health, there are some key rules that everyone should follow in order to stay financially healthy. By veering away from these basics, you run the risk of not attaining future financial goals, or worse yet, having unmanageable debt.

Tip #1: Pay Yourself First
When asked who their most important creditor is, may people respond that it is their mortgage company or the lender that has financed their auto. Yet, while these are important assets that many people must make regular payments on, the truth is that your most important creditor is YOU. Most people begin saving for retirement while they are still at a young age – and this is critical because the amount of income producing assets you have when you are ready to retire will be crucial to your future lifestyle. Therefore, no matter what your income is today, it is imperative that each and every month, you make a payment to yourself. This deposit could be in the form of a savings account, an employer sponsored retirement account such as a 401(k), or other investment vehicles of your choice that will help get you to where you want to go in the future.

Tip #2: Avoid Unsecured Debt
One of the worst financial traps that anyone can get into – whether young or old – is that of credit card debt. Many young people are bombarded with credit card applications while still in college. But, while the offer of instant credit may sound tempting, it is easy to let balances grow along with excessive interest and fees. If you aren’t able to pay off your credit card balance every month, you can easily get further and further behind until you are using a larger percentage of you income just to keep up with the minimum payment. Unfortunately, as the amount of your debt grows – and especially if you are unable to keep up with the payments – your credit score can be negatively affected. When this happens, it becomes more difficult to get financing from other lenders such are mortgage companies, auto loan companies, and other lending institutions.

Tip #3: Review Your Finances Regularly
Any plan will usually require a periodical update – and this is especially important when considering your financial plan. The goals you set and the milestones you achieve along with way will be imperative to how – and to how well – you will live in the future. So remember that it’s important to get regular financial health “check-ups.” It is a good idea to review your financial situation at least annually. This means that you should really take a look at your income, expenses, and savings in order to determine if you are still on track with your financial goals. In some cases – especially if you’ve had a life changing event such as marriage or the birth of a child – your financial goals may have changed. Therefore, be sure that you make the necessary revisions to your financial plan in order to compensate for new milestones.

It seems that with just about any high-dollar purchase, as well as many moderately priced items today, we are asked to purchase extended warranty coverage. In fact, in some cases, the salesperson who sold us the item can just about have us convinced that the item is likely to break at approximately the same time that the manufacturer’s warranty runs out. Yet, although many of the extended warranties that are offered provide easy to repair or replace options, are they really worth the price? The answer to that question is that…it depends.

Review the Item’s Maintenance History
One of the factors to consider when deciding to purchase an extended warranty is the history of repairs that other customers have had to make on the same item. This information is easy to obtain online by going to any number of product review websites.
This is a great way to get a feel for whether or not the item you are considering purchasing has a good or bad reputation for working correctly. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that even if an item has great reviews, there is always the possibility of purchasing a “lemon.”

Consider How Long You Plan to Own the Item
Another factor in your decision to purchase an extended warranty is how long you plan to keep the item. If, for example, you only plan to use it for a short period of time, then it may be worthwhile to take your chances with just the manufacturer’s warranty on the product. On the other hand, if you are buying something you plan to use regularly for the long term, then the extended coverage may be worth the extra cost.

What Type of Protection is Really Being Offered?
Extended warranties are essentially insurance policies. Therefore, many of these plans require similar rules that are often found in other types of coverage such as the payment of a deductible or co-insurance.
Based on this, some questions you should ask prior to purchasing an extended warranty should include:

•Are there any deductibles or copayments that need to be paid prior to obtaining the coverage or reimbursement promised in the extended warranty policy?

•If there is a deductible required, will it need to be paid every time that the item breaks, or only the first time?

•Is there any type of waiting period or minimum ownership time frame in which you have to own the item before coverage will become effective?

Consider the Price of the Item Versus the Cost of the Warranty
One of the biggest criteria that should help you in determining whether or not to purchase extended warranty coverage is the price of the item itself. For instance, if you are purchasing a small electronics item that costs under $100, then it may be worth it to take your chances and forgo the extra coverage. However, if you are purchasing a pre-owned automobile for several thousand dollars, then the purchase of an extended warranty may be well worth the price as it can provide you with both the coverage and the peace of mind in knowing that you won’t need to fund all of the costs of potentially expensive repairs.

My husband and I have been doing a lot of talking lately about the possibility of paying off our mortgage early. I’ve been reading about several different bloggers who have actually accomplished this amazing goal. We figure if other people can do it, why can’t we, right? So we ran the numbers through an emortgage calculator and were shocked at how much we would save if we were to start putting extra money towards our mortgage payoff. While the thought of being entirely debt free is very appealing, the practical aspect of finding more money to throw at the mortgage is a bit intimidating. Here are some ideas we’re tossing around to find help us pay off our mortgage early:

Make One Extra Payment Per Year.
We’ve crunched the numbers and have found that just by paying one extra mortgage payment per year, we can can decrease the amount of time required to pay off the morgtage by several years! That’s a lot of savings right there.

Cut Back On Non-Essential Spending.
We’ve calculated that if we cut back in several areas of our spending including entertainment, dining out, and basically just frivoulous spending we could find another $200 per month to put towards the mortgage. I think if we tried really hard we could probably come up with another $100 but sustaining that for a long time might be difficult.

Use Our Tax Refund.
We’re expecting a tax refund this year so we are planning to put this towards the mortgage payment. We are adjusting our withholding for next year so we have a higher take home income and less of a tax refund. This will allow us to pay more money each month towards the mortgage.

Work Extra Overtime Hours.
My husband has the opportunity to work some overtime hours these next few months so that will allow us to have some additional funds to put towards the mortgage debt.

Sell Things We No Longer Use.
We have quite a large collection of video games and books. I may try selling these on eBay and using the proceeds for the mortgage retirement fund.

Are you considering paying off your mortgage early? If so, what steps are you taking to accomplish that goal?

Photo Credit: nikcname

Perhaps you, like many others, believe that once your will has been drawn up, that’s the end of the process. While wills have never been anyone’s idea of fun, it’s important to review your will on a regular basis. There are many reasons to pull out your will and give it a thorough review. Here are some of the most common reasons:

1. New family members.
In general, if a will is worded properly, any children that are born after the will has been signed will be entitled to the same share of the estate as the pre-existing children. Even so, if you have a new child, check with your attorney just to be sure everything is worded according to your wishes. Also consider how your wishes might change based on other new people in your life. What if you re-connect with a family member? What if you make a new best friend? Maybe one of them would be the person to take good care of your boat when you’re gone. Consider all new people who’ve entered your life since you signed your will.

2. Moving.
States have different laws regarding estate taxes and how property is treated. So if you move from one state to another, there may be some major issues that need to be examined. Consult your attorney anytime you move to a new state as this can have significant ramifications.

3. A windfall.
A large increase in your wealth may require another look at your will. Again, this depends on your state. Some states have monetary limits for certain types of inheritance items. Creating a trust might be the right move for you now. With your new wealth, you may also have a greater degree of flexibility to take advantage of certain tax shelters. And you might be considering being more generous regarding who’s included in your will.

4. Divorce.
Most of us aren’t interested in leaving anything to our ex-spouses. If you’ve gotten divorced since your will was drawn up, it’s time to talk to your attorney. A proper and thorough revision will reduce the likelihood of the will being contested. Consider the fact that if you don’t change this document, your ex could end up with everything!

5. Death.
If your spouse or only child passes away, your will should undergo a thorough review. This event may radically change how you wish to distribute your assets. Back-up recipients are usually specified within a will, but it never hurts to take another look.

6. Change of heart.
Most wills are drafted by people who are still quite young. As you age, however, your wishes may change. Maybe you were very close to your brother at one point, but haven’t spoken to him in the last five years. Additionally, as some people age, they become more involved with charitable organizations. Maybe you’ll have the desire to include such a group in your will.

Many times people go shopping with the intention of buying just a few items or maybe even just to go window shopping and return with much more than they originally anticipated buying. Many might attribute this phenomenon to lack of self control or the need for instant gratification surpassing practical needs to limit spending. However there are more subtle techniques at work here, many of which are being utilized by the retailers themselves in order to get you to spend more. Here are some of the most common spending triggers and what you should know about them before the next time you go shopping.

1. Using Shopping to Change Mood
Although retailers might be considered partially responsible in getting buyers to spend more than they originally anticipated studies indicate that it might actually be the buyers themselves contributing to the problem. Common internal spending triggers include having the mentality that shopping is a reward or thinking that purchasing new items can help one to “feel better” if he or she is having a bad day. Often these types of problems are much deeper than the shopper anticipates, and if not treated in a healthier way than shopping, they could potentially lead to financial ruin.

2. Using Plastic Instead of Cash
Using credit and debit cards to pay for purchases allows the shopper to believe the idea that they can simply pay off the purchase later which often results in shoppers spending more than they had originally anticipated. By using cash shopping can instantly see the reduction in their cash flow and will be more likely to halt spending before they over spending in comparison to receiving a bit at the end of the money. In addition to this with cash there are no finance charges involved which can make that original purchase end up hurting that much more.

3. Online Shopping Tricks Used by Retailers
Retailers are more than happy to take advantage of the customer’s impulse shopping. Although prices tend to be lower online than in brick and mortar stores, retailers have come up with a clever tactic to get buyers to spend more. Often online retail sites will have a related items section next to the item that the customer is purchasing or near the shopping cart. The hope is that the customer will purchase one of those related items (usually an accessory) in addition to purchasing the main item. The simple solution here is to put it back if you don’t really need it!

4. Department Store Salespeople
Salespeople are often used to aid customers in locating items within a store or finding the item that will be suit their needs. But what many customers tend to forget is that these people are also well trained in sales. Typically, salespeople will be trained to use sales techniques to influence your mood about the item, create a sense of urgency to make the purchase, or sell you higher priced versions of the same item over the lower priced one. When working with a salesperson make sure to ask a lot of questions and if necessary leave the store and come back before making the purchase.

In our busy lives it’s easy to get caught up in our present financial concerns – those of paying for family life and budgeting for the bills. As we get older and head towards retirement, though some of our money priorities may change, we can still find ourselves struggling to pay for the life we want. Whether you are heading towards those golden years, or an older relative is looking to make more of their money, here are a few ideas to help you manage your personal finances in retirement.

Exercise the power of negotiation

Although some points of expenditure reduce as you get older, you will always be faced with paying for utilities such as water, electricity and insurance. What many people don’t realise is that a lot of companies work with the retired to secure them special tailored deals. Whether it’s Castle Cover home insurance or paying for utilities online, there are plenty of ways to save cash when paying bills that you may not be aware of.

Be wary of scams

Unfortunately there are still those in our society who target older people in order to make a fast buck. This can be over the internet, phone calls and via the mail. The media regularly report on horror where one misjudgement by someone who is usually very aware of potential scams can result in dozens of letters being stuffed through a letterbox each morning asking for more, or spam emails littering an inbox. Never give out your financial details over the phone or on a website and advise older relatives to do the same.

Put your skills to use

Though people spend a lot of time dreaming of the relaxing times they’ll have in retirement, the reality is after decades of working many can struggle with filling their time. Financial restraints can also pose problems and restrict how you spend your leisure time as you get older. If you or an older relative are in this position, you may want to investigate making money from an existing skill or hobby, or learning a new talent that could make you a small amount of money and keep you busy and fulfilled.