Category: Life Hacks

Are you looking to boost your children’s intelligence? Are you trying to give your kid a headstart when it comes to school and the real world?

There are a ton of different scientifically supported ways to raise smart kids. Let’s go through some of them now!

1. Read To Your Kids

Immersing your children in the written word is an important part of raising your child’s intelligence. So, make sure you start reading to your children as early as possible! Try out baby books to get your kids interested in reading when they’re still little so that they’ll stick with it later on.

2. Limit The Screen Time

While it’s impossible to completely stop your kids from using screens, it’s important to limit their time staring at a screen, especially when they are little. If possible, experts recommend that you limit your child’s screen time to two hours or less a day. Instead, try out books or other activities with your kids, where possible, and save the TV for after dinner time.

3. Talk To Your Kids

Talking to your kids, especially before they learn to talk, is helpful for teaching them how to verbalize and express yourself. And, don’t limit yourself. Explaining difficult concepts and issues to your kids while they’re still long can help them with creative problem solving, understanding different perspectives and understanding difficult issues in the long run.

4. Get Them Into Hobbies

Having diverse interests is an important part of raising smart children. Plus, many of these hobbies have different benefits for your kids’ intelligence.

Exercise, like competing in sports, can increase blood flow to the brain which can increase their intelligence. Studies have shown that participating in music can help make children smarter as well.

And, these are just a few of the many hobbies your kids might enjoy. Find out what your kids are interested in so that they’ll want to stick with the hobby or activity they start out with.

You can even try out riddles for smart kids or smart games for kids so they can start getting an idea of what they are interested in before you commit money to something that may not work out.

5. Teach Them Hard Work

It’s important for kids to understand early that hard work pays off. Not just so that they’ll be successful in their careers, but so that they’ll be successful in school, and ultimately university! Teaching your children responsibility (in age-appropriate ways, of course) is a great way to help your kids learn to raise their intelligence on their own!

Happy Kids Are Smart Kids

While experimenting with the above is fun to try, it’s important not to put too much pressure on your children. Happy kids are smarter kids, after all, since they have more room to be creative and explore their creativity. So, while you try and raise smart kids, make sure you’re having fun.

Are you looking for more information on childcare, parenting, and related topics? Check out some of our other articles today!

There’s no need to resign yourself to a lifetime of welfare lines just because you’re a single Mom. You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck, either.

Don’t let the fact that you’re a single parent ruin your financial hopes and dreams. You can live a life of abundance and prosperity if you’re open to learning a few tricks. Keep reading to find our tips on how to survive financially as a single mom. 

Track Your Income and Your Spending

One of the best financial tips for single moms is to ensure you’re not spending more than you make. You can do this by creating a budget and sticking to it. Here are some effective budgeting times for single moms. 

First, calculate how much you make every month in income as well as how much you spend on necessities. Include essentials like your rent or mortgage, utilities, bills, groceries, insurance, and gas. Other expenses can include things like entertainment, dining out, clothing, and travel. 

If you’re spending more than you’re making, you’ll never get ahead. Go through your budget with a fine-toothed comb and cut unnecessary spending.

One of our favorite budgeting tips for single moms is to consider small sacrifices. 

Do you really need several television subscription services, or can you cut it back to one or two? Do you have to order in pizza every Friday, or can you make homemade pizza with the kids instead? These seemingly inconsequential sacrifices will add up in the long run.

Find Child Care Help

Surveys show that 72% of parents spend at least 10% of their household income on child care. If you’re a single Mom, that percentage will be much higher with only one income. 

Many states have programs that will provide subsidies to make your child care more affordable. You’ll still have to pay for your care, but it won’t be as much as what you’re paying now. 

If you don’t qualify for subsidies, try asking your family and friends for help. Maybe your Aunt Betty can watch your child for a few hours a week to help cut down on your childcare budget.

Buy a Home

One of the best ways to start building wealth as a single mom is to buy a home. Though it might sound like a far-off dream initially, it doesn’t have to be. 

Don’t purchase beyond your means. Your starter home might be outdated and cheap, but it’s still an excellent investment. You might be able to sell for more than you bought it for in a few years’ time. 

Speak with a mortgage lender to see if there are programs for single moms. They’ll be able to give you advice about how to find the money for a downpayment, too. 

Consider Consolidating Your Debt

Debt is a stressful thing to have looming over your head all the time. It can make getting ahead seem impossible. 

If you have an enormous amount, you might want to consider consolidating it. This will help make repaying what you owe more management and affordable over time. 

Debt consolidation is not right for everybody. Familiarize yourself with the pros and cons before making a decision. 

Knowing How to Survive Financially as a Single Mom

Now that you know how to survive financially as a single mom, it’s time to put our tips into action. You’re not the first single mom to thrive, and you won’t be the last. 

Keep reading our blog to find more tips on thriving as a single parent.  

About 10,000 Americans hit retirement age every single day. Whether or not they can afford retirement, many will retire anyway.

But money isn’t the only thing you need to consider for your retirement planning. There’s a lot else on your plate that you should try to tackle while you’re still young. Here are the top things you need to consider.

Money

When you think about retirement, money is probably the first thing you consider. Can you even afford it, and how do you know if you can or can’t?

It used to be that retirement was considered a 3-legged stool. Retirees could count on social security, their pension, and their own savings to get them through the later years in life.

But today, companies gave up pensions for cheaper 401(k) plans that are a good tool, but not as good. For anyone currently under 40, they’ll likely never see a penny of social security.

Which leaves savings. Our 3-legged stool is now a pogo stick.

Hopefully, you started saving for retirement when you were young, but most likely that wasn’t the case. Use a retirement calculator to figure out how much you need to be saving, and what you can live off of.

A Place to Live

Housing is currently the biggest expense most people have. Now is a good time to think about retirement homes where you can live affordably throughout your golden years.

Some of the best places to retire include Florida and Arizona since the weather is typically warmer. If you own your home, it may be worth downsizing into a cheaper, smaller home that’s easy to upkeep when you’re gone. You can use some of the profits from selling your home to bolster your retirement savings.

Your End of Life

While you may have a full 20 years from the day you retire to the day you leave this world, you never know when you’re going to go. So it’s smart to plan out your funeral and your end of life wishes ahead of time.

This will make it easier for your loved ones when it’s time for you to go. And if you can prepay for as many of the funeral and burial features as possible, you’ll save them a big financial burden.

Consider the cost of cremation vs burial and other major funeral purchases to help you save money.

There’s a Lot to Consider When You Hit Retirement

There are a lot of things you need to consider when you’re planning for retirement. People used to retire at 65 when the life expectancy was 67. Today you’re likely to have 20 full years after you retire, so there’s a lot you need to think about.

Making sure you have enough funds, a place to live, and as few expenses as possible is a great place to start your retirement planning.

Now you know what you need to consider for retirement. What else would you like to know more about? Keep exploring for more insights.

You’re staring at your curriculum vitae or CV on the computer screen, knowing it might be the most important document you’ve ever written. It’s the key to getting your place at your dream university, so you need to highlight your strengths in clear, error-free language. Can you trust yourself to do it right, or should you hire someone?

Hiring someone to write your CV depends on how well you know your weaknesses and strengths. Can you tell your own story? Are you a good writer?

Read on for ideas to help you decide whether to hire a CV writer or not.

Can You Emphasize Your Strengths?

Each academic position or job posting has different requirements. Your CV will need to show that you fulfill the requirements. That means you will need to tailor your CV and showcase your strengths for each application. 

If you have trouble identifying your strengths, or if you feel self-conscious about identifying your strengths, you may want to use professional CV writing. An experienced CV writer can consult with you to help you figure out your best qualifications for certain positions. Sometimes a CV writer can even help you identify strengths you didn’t realize you had.

Can You Focus on What’s Important?

An academic CV can be 3-5 pages long, which gives you plenty of room to list qualifications, experience, and publications. But having too much information, or irrelevant information can hide your most important information. It’s also easy to focus on some of your favorite work, instead of your most relevant work.

An objective CV writer may be able to identify what’s most relevant for each individual application.

Can You Write Clearly?

Although you’re applying to a university, your language needs to be clear and not full of academic jargon. If you’re too used to writing formal academic style, you may need someone to help you break through to clarify. You might also need someone to look at your CV and help you catch jargon that’s only used at your university.

Likewise, if you know that writing is not one of your strengths, get some help. You may ask a trusted friend who’s also a good writer or turn to a professional. 

Does Your Experience Fit a Template?

A good CV template will give you a good start for your writing. Many universities include examples of templates, including the University of Oxford and the University of Leeds. You can also find general CV examples on different websites.  

If you feel that your experience doesn’t fit into one of these formats, you may want to consult a professional for guidance.

Do You Have an Advisor?

The best people to help you write your CV are your faculty advisors. They know what kinds of information to include, and what formats are most effective. 

If you don’t have access to a faculty advisor or a trusted expert, you may want to consult a CV writer.

Let Your CV Show Your Best Self

Once you know your strengths and weaknesses, you’ll know what to work on and when to ask for help. You’ll be able, to sum up, your qualifications and your best work so that your CV will help you reach your goals. 

If you liked this post, read our blog for more great articles.

When times are tough, it can seem like every trip to the grocery store is an exercise in balancing your credit utilization and keeping your bank account above the required minimums. If you’ve got a large family, then this issue becomes only more significant.

In this article, we’ll help you do away with the qualms that typically come with picking up the bill after a grocery shopping trip. We’ll give you some tips on the cheapest way to buy groceries so that you can save money more efficiently.

Check Sales Before Every Trip

Grocery store sales aren’t like many other promotions that are few and far between. Instead, pretty much every grocery store has some kind of sale always going on. This is due to the fact that the massive amounts of inventory that grocery sales need to stock are not always calculated. Thus, some items are bound to be leftover at the end of every month that need to be sold before their expiry date.

The day before every grocery trip, take ten minutes to sit down and look at the various sales that the grocery stores in your area have going on. Pick the store with the best sales that suit your list, then go to it. This tip alone could very easily save you hundreds of dollars over the course of the year.

Never Shop While Hungry

One of the best saving money tips when it comes to grocery shopping is to never shop while hungry. When your stomach is empty, it becomes that much harder to mentally resist purchasing food that you don’t need just because the thought of it makes you salivate.

By eating your fill before you head out, you will be better able to exercise self-control and stick only to the items on your shopping list. 

Stick to the Essentials

Another important tip to save more in the grocery store is to stick only to the essentials. If you’re in a tough financial spot, then you need to remember that you simply will have to make sacrifices in order to get by. Those sacrifices include not buying everything that you want at the supermarket, and instead only buying what you need.

So the next time you’re in the checkout line, skip that magazine that promises to teach you how to fix strawberry legs and put the expensive exotic fruit back in the produce section.

Try to Leverage Free Delivery Services

Last but not least, try to leverage free grocery delivery services wherever available. This reduces the amount of gas that you spend getting too and from the grocery store. While not a significant cost on each trip, it is one that will build up over time.

Know the Cheapest Way to Buy Groceries

Now that you know the cheapest way to buy groceries, you should be far better equipped to feed your household on even the most meager of budgets.

For more financial advice, check out the rest of the articles on the website!