Filed in archive Finances by Michelle Donahue Hillison on September 24, 2008

Burger King will give you three free kids' meals for each child registered on their Club BK site. Check the mailer you get - you'll see in the fine print you can get three meals, not just one....

The Birthday Party Cycle

Filed in archive Entertainment , Family , Finances , Fun for the kids , Parenting , Planning the Holidays , Politics of Parenting by Michelle Donahue Hillison on April 7, 2008

I was born in 1970. I have vivid memories and grainy photos of the birthday parties of my youth - backyard events with games and cake and once, even a party at local McDonald's. The idea was mor...

Mommy $aves Big

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on December 28, 2007

We all know that having a kid is a tough task. Well, it is not just tough, but also very expensive. Just calculate the amount that you have to spend for milk (that's why breastfeeding should be pr...

My Reward Board

Filed in archive Finances , Fun for the kids , Parenting by Melissa Petri on September 6, 2007

photo Are you tired of hearing yourself over and over and over again, reminding your kid to clean up after he eats, put his toys away after playing, take the trash out, wake up early or sleep early b...

Kids and Money

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on July 31, 2007

photo Just like me, my eldest son loves shopping. Whenever we go to the mall, we always end up buying something for him. He never demands for more than one toy (thank God!), but apart from accumulati...

Insure your kids health

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on June 5, 2007

photo As many as 9 Million kids in America do not have health insurance. Either it's too expensive to pay for a private insurance or parents are not qualified for medicaid. Whatever the reason ma...

Frugal Tips for One Income Families

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on June 1, 2007

photo Family budget can sometimes (or is it most of the time) get tight. I for one experienced this when I went into maternity leave for 10 months. Not only does it mean that you have to curb your ex...

The Internet and The Work at Home Moms

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on May 30, 2007

If you're a stay at home mom with Internet access, and can snatch some time to go online when your child is napping, and interested to earn and contribute to the family's finances, then this s...

Teaching Kids About Money

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on March 21, 2007

Recently, my 3-year old son has been asking a lot about money and paying whenever he goes out with us. Several times, he even asked us for money so he could pay for our next purchase. The other day, h...

Cheap Textbooks

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on August 31, 2006

I can imagine how many parents and students are now concerned about the amount of money they need to spend for textbooks with the start of the new school year since, as reported, textbooks are way too...

Scooters Recalled by Target

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on August 22, 2006

About 185,000 Firestreet Scooters has been recalled by Triple Win Sports, in cooperation with the Consumer product safety Commission (CPSC). Apparently, the rider can lose control and be injured as th...

Budget Finances for Home

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on June 20, 2006

The vast majority do not have deep pockets. Most of us need to budget our home finances in order to avoid breaking the bank. It is always best to create a budget to track our family's cash flow. K...

Salary of SAHMs

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on May 12, 2006

Here is a very interesting assessment of how much SAHMs should earn... According to Salary.com, Stay-at-home moms, should they be paid for their "services", should earn an average of $131,4...

College Savings Plan

Filed in archive Education , Finances by Melissa Petri on May 4, 2006

I am no Vanderbilt. I do not think that I would be able to bequeath much to my children. Hence, the best that I could do is to make sure that I raise my children to be good adults... AND, that they ar...

Teach Kids to Save Money

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on March 26, 2006

As adults, we all know how important it is to budget our money. So, apart from instilling the value of education to our kids, we should also teach them basic spending and saving habits to ensure that ...

Save some money and feed your kids

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on February 24, 2006

I was close to re-naming this article from Jean Pascal Hebert (via Creative-Reporter) to HOME ECONOMICS 101. A great tip which most of us probably didn't even think about. I know, I never did. A...

Rights of a Pregnant Woman

Filed in archive Finances , In the Spotlight , Pregnancy by Melissa Petri on January 18, 2006

Since this is my second child, I have no fears about what would happen to me, professionally and financially. Not only because I know that I have a husband who will always be there to support me but a...

Earn extra cash

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on December 14, 2005

Didn't think you'd spend that much on Junior's braces? The car needed to be fixed and it has not been factored into your budget? God knows how we sometimes even don't have enough to ...

Cost of raising a child

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on September 20, 2005

Everyone knows that raising a child is expensive. I've always been curious how much it would really cost in total. Not an exact figure, of course, but a ballpark figure would suffice. Are you ...

Child Tax Credit 2005

Filed in archive Finances by Melissa Petri on August 23, 2005

Some of you may already know this from years of filing. However, a lot of would-be parents and first-time parents have absolutely no idea about this very important fact from the IRS. Here are the b...