The Curious Mom

When you become a parent, budgeting is harder than when you are single. But of course, on a case-to-case basis, we have different lifestyles and different reasons for budgeting. In my experience, unexpected purchases are the things that I and my husband must avoid such as toys for the kids. Too many toys are not necessary we know that. As my kids grow, I learned a lot about budgeting our finances. In this post, I will be sharing some budgeting tips. Whether you're a parent or not, maybe you can get helpful tips in this article that I will be sharing.

In buying things, it is best to know when you should need to buy that particular thing. Look out for promotions and also start coupling, Oh love using coupons to save! Also, I learned to buy second-hand toys. Yes, because why not, I just sanitized and clean it thoroughly. Save me a lot. In buying gifts for someone or a thing for yourself, always check the specs and not just the brand. Understand and take time to read real previous from real buyers to know if that thing is worth it to buy.

When I became a mom, everything becomes expensive for me because I really try to save most of the time. I even tried cut-costing in my clothing, yes we can do that, as long as it's comfortable to wear then you are good with that clothes. Instead of buying take-out food, I cook our food, and by doing that I can also save some money. 

We don't want an additional debt, as much as possible we want to get out of debt. Know your needs and wants is one of the first steps and probably a big step because most of the time we actually spend more on what we want. Manage the incoming money, don't compare the earnings of other people to yours.Track your spending, things to pay. Review and organized receipts, DebtConsolidation.com is helping people to understand and pay their debt. It is an online resource and tool that help managing finances and debts.

If you are making and following daily budgeting, stick to it and focus prioritized what needs to be prioritized. Don't overspend, this is about your hard-earned money. Think as it is wise in handling your money, more on discipline.

Sometimes, we need to make a big purchase. Things that we really need, in this case for example buying properties you need to think many times before putting up your money in that particular property. Ask for advice, professional advice. But, if you are still paying, things can wait. Purchase when you are ready financially.

Always save for the future, if you feel there are things that are unnecessary strip that away. Tiny luxuries, when adds up make a huge impact on your budgeting. Try to save as much as you can, you never know the emergencies, a lot of advantages when you have savings in your account.

Lastly, keep your job and work hard while saving and paying on time everything will go on smoothly. 

San Francisco gets all the glory from tourists, but Oakland doesn’t get enough of it. People who cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Oakland have already soaked up enough of the color and culture of San Francisco. But, they’ve only experienced a fraction of the surprises the East Bay Area has to offer.

If you and your family did go the other direction, then you’d see how Oakland is the better option. While San Fran appears big, Oakland is actually the biggest. Oakland boasts a population of over 400,000 people, and that’s not counting the 300,00 tourists who pass through. Not to mention the emerging tech industry. There are so many good places that would make Oakland a great destination for your next family trip. We’ve narrowed it down to the big four.

Lake Merritt

Established in 1870, Lake Merritt is the oldest nature preserve. The lake itself is a tidal lagoon fed by seawater, making it a perfect place for migrating Canadian geese, snowy egrets, and black cormorants. Merrit is encircled by a scenic 3.2 mile walking path and event areas. Young children will enjoy Children’s Fairyland amusement park. Fairyland has so many fun rides and one-of-a-kind puppet shows that Walt Disney himself used it as inspiration for Disneyland. Also, be on the look-out for the lake’s kaiju mascot, “Merritzilla.”

Buying a home is a very intense and demanding process. If it is the first time you’ve ever purchased a home, it can definitely be very overwhelming, confusing, and you will probably feel lost at some point during the process. There are many parts when it comes to purchasing a home, but today I want to focus on one aspect of it: the financial part. Today, I want to share with you a couple of tips that will help you learn how to become financially prepared for a home purchase. There are many things that first-time homeowners are not aware of, so this is very important to read and know before you consider buying your first home. Here are my tips:

Start Saving

Before you even think about the ins and outs of buying a home, you need to start saving your money. Nerd Wallet says, “Lenders like 20% down payments. That’s $60,000 on a $300,000 home. For one thing, you’ll probably procure a superior home loan financing cost. There is a wide range of different advantages as well:

Of course, there is one major, succulent admonition: The initial installment isn't the main forthright cash you need to manage. There are credit shutting expenses and sincere cash to consider too. Before the emotional music restores, we should investigate some drop initial installment choices.”

With the rise of do-it-yourself financial planning, more Filipinos can now take charge of their hard-earned money. But despite the growing information and advice on personal finance, many still lack an investing mindset. This means looking beyond traditional savings instruments to achieve future goals. In fact, Sun Life’s SOLAR (Study of Lifestyle and Relationships) reveals that only 38% of Filipinos are willing to take investment risks in order to earn more and that only 8% actually invest.  Furthermore, only 16% claim to have life insurance despite 88% of Filipinos worrying about their financial situation in case something happens to the breadwinner.

Clearly, many Filipinos still need guidance and advice on how to achieve lifetime financial security. A role that a Sun Life Financial Advisor can fulfill with their professionalism, a caring attitude, a winning mindset, and an inspired vision.

Losing your job can be pretty scary at times. As a matter of fact, it can be downright terrifying in certain situations. You’re not sure how much time will past until you manage to get a new job and what’s worse, you may have to wait months to receive your unemployment insurance payments.

During this period, mishandling your credit cards can be easy. You may feel tempted to tap into a line of credit, in order to keep your old lifestyle. However, before you plunge into debt, you should take a break, and read these four credit card tips.

For starters, you need to make a daily budget. Once you’re done with it, you need to prioritize it. This means that first, you need to spend money on crucial things like food and bills and leave some of the less important “luxurious” things for later.

So if you have some funds left after you pay the bills you can afford to spend a few dollars here and there on certain luxuries. But make sure that you have enough money to access transportation because you’ll need it to go to job interviews.