It's Time for School

Homes For Sale

With the housing market down, buyers and sellers are looking for cheaper alternatives for listing and finding homes on the market. The internet is home to many options, and is a great way to begin your home search or test a For Sale By Owner without a real estate agent. Even real estate agents are looking to the internet as additional marketing for their current listings.

Click Here to learn how to list your home on one of these popular real estate sites, Zillow.com.

5-A-Day for Your Toddler

I am constantly searching for new ways to get my toddler to eat healthy food. We have all heard that making their food fun is important. If it doesn’t look exciting, chances are it won’t be exciting to your toddler. This week, as I was browsing through the fruit at Costco, I found the ultimate fun fruit – champagne grapes. These little grapes are so sweet and easy to eat. At less than $4.00 for a huge container, they are also a steal of a bargain.

Worried about these little sweeties going bad before they disappear? This week was a great week for bargains in my household. Living in a small condo, I have put off purchasing a FoodSaver. It is on the top of my list of must haves, but I must have more room before I can have one! Luckily I spotted the hand held Foodsaver at Ross this week for only $12.99. This little deal was retail $49.99 and works great. It is worth stopping by your local Ross to see if there are any left!

Want more yummy baby and toddler food ideas? Visit my favorite homemade baby food site, http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/. Don’t forget it is always important that you supervise your toddler during snack and meal time. Also, follow your pediatrician recommendations for starting your baby on solid foods.

Vote for Addyson

I recently had the opportunity to work with James and Michelle Hill, a husband and wife photography team here in Atlanta. James and Michelle use their talents and experience in photography, film and modeling to help capture the perfect portraits for you.

James Adam Hill Photography teamed up with Elite Model Management and KooKoo Bear Kids, an online store featuring furniture, bedding, décor and clothing for babies and children, to search for the next KooKoo Bear Kid. I took my daughter Addyson for her first official photo shoot. We love KooKoo Bear Kids and were excited to work with James and Michelle. The experience was beyond my expectations! James worked so well with Addyson, and I was so excited and proud of her for showing the camera what a huge personality she has.

Let your vote count for Addyson! I encourage you to visit JamesAdamHill.com and see his wonderful gallery of pictures. While you are there, vote for Addyson by leaving a comment below her picture. You can go directly to her photograph here, or search for “Addyson Alane” in the search box at the top of the homepage.

Thank you for your vote! And thank you to James, Michelle, and KooKoo Bear Kids for such a fun experience!

The Cost of Child Care

Today I have been doing some research on the cost of child care in the United States. Many families assume that it is financially impossible for mom to stay at home with their children. Just by doing some basic calculations and subtracting monthly expenses from your partner’s salary actually gives you quite an inaccurate view of your situation. When you carefully evaluate your finances by creating a budget and calculating all expenses associated with child care, you may realize that the impossible is actually possible.

The actual cost of child care is not an easy thing to find. It will depend on the area you live in, what type of child care you need, your child’s age and the amount of time your child will spend in child care. To give you an idea the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) has reported average annual fees for full time child care in 2008. The average cost for child care in the US in 2008 was $8,798, ranging from $5,096-$15,895. For an exact figure in your state, click here. In-home childcare costs tend to average slightly less than child care centers, while hiring a nanny will be your most expensive option (up to $3,033 a month for full time care).

When figuring your costs for child care and considering your budget as a working mom, you cannot forget to think about what your job is actually costing you. Working creates costs that you do not incur when staying at home. Think about transportation costs, parking, clothing, dry cleaning, lunches, coffee and snacks. You should also include in your budget take-out food costs and expensive grocery bills. The thought of cooking, buying in bulk and grocery shopping with coupons is not exactly a reality when sleepless nights and long days at the office are your routine.

When you create your budget and consider all of the costs associated with working and child care, you may find that the amount of money you are actually bringing home is far less than what you assumed. At this point you should consider your options. Is the possible 10% of your income worth it? Can you cut back on some areas in your budget to account for the loss of that amount?

Before you make your decision, spend time working on your budget. Budgets are not set in stone, and everyone needs to make one that works for their family. Use your calculator along with your creativity and you may realize that staying at home is actually the economical choice for your family. (not to mention so much more rewarding!)

Need help creating your budget? Begin here.

This post is part of a series on being financially able to stay at home with your children. Click here to learn more on this topic.