4 Things To Consider Before Having a Pet

We used to have dogs and cats as pet back in my younger years. Growing up with a pet is such a wonderful experience that I want my kids to have. Base on my experience, I'm sure that the bond they can make is immeasurable, and something that money can’t buy. 

But - and yes, there is a but - when you purchase your child an animal to look after, there is a certain responsibility that you yourself will have to undertake. Everything needs to be covered - the vets bills, the cleaning-out duties, the feeding times; if your child is not old enough to do it, forgets or simply refuses, the task falls into the hands of you, such as..

Cleaning

If you have a caged pet, then you won’t just have to clean it out - you will need to buy bedding materials, replace any leftover food and water, disinfect and keep the animal entertained whilst you are doing so; it’s recommended that you have a safe place to put them so that they don’t escape whilst you’re doing this. In some cases, you may have to clean the animal itself; it’s not just dogs and kid that need a bath when they get dirty.

If you are having an indoor pet such as a dog or a cat, be prepared for the toilet-training that comes with it. Dogs are worse than cats in the time it takes for them to realising where they need to go potty, and if you don’t have a wipe-down floor you should probably go for the best carpet shampooer you can get your hands on; it’ll be well worth the money instead of having to replace a whole carpet. 

Exercising

This is a great way for the family to get out and about by including a pet on your walk. This is mainly restricted to dogs, but people have been known to walk their cats, ferrets and even rabbits. It’s all dependent on how far you want to get on your journey whether you bring one of the last three mentioned animals with you, but again, if your children aren’t interested in giving your pet the exercise it needs and deserves then the responsibility lands on you. 

Feeding

Certain animals require certain foods at certain times of the day, and the costs can soon add up. If you can’t commit yourself to feeding an animal as well as your family, you should probably look at getting some sea-monkeys or just ditching the whole pet idea instead.

Bills

This isn’t just the vets bill when something goes wrong - try and stay one step ahead of paying out a huge chunk by investing in the right insurance for your pet. There are many companies out there who can offer competitive deals; you may not even miss the amount of money that is coming out of your account each month. Unless your child has an accessible trust fund which has been specifically made with the intent of spending on sick animals, there’s not much chance that they will have the money to cover any accidents. 

Ensure you are aware of all of the costs involved before making your decision - you’re caring for another life.

Bills, Balances and Back-Payments: The Ins and Outs of Running Your Household's Finances

Running a household and looking after your family is never something that is particularly easy. The truth is, it’s very hard, and we all make mistakes. Managing money is difficult, and no one gets it right 100% of the time. But you can help to make sure that you get it right more often than not by doing some extra planning and learning more about financial management. It might seem like a pain to spend your time on things like this, but it could really pay off for you later on. Your family life could improve massively. Here are the ins and outs of running your household’s finances in the right way.

Know Every Financial Obligation and Put Them in a Database

First of all, you need to put everything in order. This is something that should be done before you start worrying about anything else. For a start, list all of your family’s financial obligations. This should include loan repayments, bills, regular expenses and basics such as food. Of course, there are always extra expenses that you don’t see coming. To make sure you have these factored into your financial plans, add an extra amount to each monthly financial plan. You should also put all of this into a database to make it even easier to understand.

Find Ways to Cut Back Without Making Big Sacrifices

Cutting back and spending less is important if you want to manage your household’s money in the right kind of way. It certainly can be done if you put your mind to it. Sure, having kids and keeping them satisfied is not cheap. But it’s always possible to find cheap ways to keep the kids entertained. You can’t buy your way to financial happiness, so find ways to have fun and bond as a family for free. For example, instead of going out, you could plan a movie night in front of the TV. And instead of staying in an expensive hotel, you can make your own fun while camping.

Learn About How to Manage Cash Flow

Cash flow is one of those things that everyone is aware of, but not many people really understand fully. When you don’t understand how to manage the flow of money coming in and going out of your family’s accounts, you will never get a proper grip on your overall finances. There are many ways to manage cash flow better, but they all start with learning. There are many online tutorials that can help you to achieve what you want to. Take the time out of your schedule to teach yourself about this subject.

Discover the Power of Buying in Bulk

Buying in bulk is something that all families should do if you ask me. When you are able to buy large amounts of the things you need, you can get a price that saves you a lot of money in the long-term. For example, if you eat a lot of pasta as a family, buy one of those huge sacks of dried pasta. This will last you for a long time, and over the course of a year, this will work out as being so much cheaper than buying a small pack of pasta each week. This applies to so many other things as well; not just food items. Look at the options and find ways to bulk up if you want to save cash.

Learn to Prioritise Debts Correctly

Most families have some form of debt to consider and think about. Many of them have multiples debt obligations that they’re juggling. Mortgages, personal loans, car loans, student debt and other types of debt can all pile up and seem insurmountable. But that doesn’t mean that the debt can’t be overcome. In fact, it definitely can. You just need to know how to prioritise your debts and pay them back in the right order. Cash advance loans and payday loans need to be paid back first because they’re short-term loans. But debts with longer terms can be left for longer.

Keep Re-Assessing Your Options and Looking for Cheaper Deals

Re-assessing your options is always important when it comes to managing your debts. You can’t stay on top of all the important things if you’re not aware of all your options. For example, when was the last time you compared internet service provider deals? There are often plenty of cheap deals that can save your family a bit of extra money. You just need to be prepared to look for them.

Jobs For All Caring Generations In The Family

Getting a job, whether you are a teen, a mom or a senior, is naturally about the money. But there’s more than the pay to find job satisfaction. There’s a sense of pride too! People who are naturally caring souls and who love to help others tend to prefer a career in social care and medical areas. But sometimes, you don’t have the time right now to build a new career. Sometimes, all you want is to help others in your spare time and make a little money. So, here are a few ideas for everyone in the family!

For The Stay-At-Home Mommy

Moms who want to stay at home to take care of their children while still keeping actively involved in their career tend to prefer starting a freelance business. Freelancing allows you to choose when and where you work, which is the dream of every new mom: Finally, you can have time for the kids when they need you! Additionally, this should help to support the household budget as things are easier when both parents work. But what if you are looking for something to satisfy your caring side? Your freelance business could be focused on providing advice and counseling people, as a wedding planner for example. Or if you love animals, why not look at dog walking jobs in your town? There are plenty of families and elderly people who need a dog walker to keep their favorite pet active. 

For The Retired Senior Who Wants To Stay Active

If your parents have recently retired from their employment, they might have mentioned to you how empty their days seem to be. Most old adults find it difficult to cope with retirement, especially if they are still fit and active. Suddenly, the prospect of facing no deadline nor commitment can be daunting and can make them feel useless. If they still have a lot of energy to give and want their experience to continue to matter, you should talk to them about the option to become an elderly companion for seniors who need a hand. There are all sorts of assistance that your parents could provide to older adults, such as offering their services as a driver, helping with the house cleaning, or even being a personal companion for everyday life. This is a great opportunity for caring and compassionate individuals to feel useful and help someone who needs it. 

For The Responsible Teenager

If your teenagers have a high sense of responsibility, such as helping you at home or loving to look after their young cousins or siblings, maybe it’s time to discuss with them the possibility of a babysitting job. Not only could this help your teen to earn some pocket money but this is also a great way of approaching the work market. After all, a job as a babysitter is the proof that someone is mature and responsible enough to be trusted with young children and babies! There are plenty of good books and tutorials online to help your teen understand better the tasks of a babysitter. 

Revamp Your Bed and Reclaim Your Sleep Space

Expectant parents are often warned about the challenging months that are to follow; night feeds, colic, sleepless nights. What they aren’t told is what happens after the ‘baby’ years and that often, for parents, the sleep deprivation continues well into childhood. Just like in our case, my husband and I still co-sleep with our three kids.

Often a one-off event becomes a bad habit that’s hard to stop and parents can reach breaking point. Aside from the tension lack of sleep causes between spouses, a recent BBC News article claimed that sleep deprivation costs the UK 40 billion pounds a year with employees suffering for bad nights either phoning in sick or not working efficiently. 

This is sometimes easier said than done and parents are often too tired to tackle the problem leading to night after night of uncomfortable bed-sharing for the whole family. Sleep disturbances often start at around 2 or 3 when changes are happening in the child's life; Starting nursery, potty training, friendship issues or a move of house can all trigger something that causes a young child to become needy at night and family life to become fraught.

Often a room re-vamp can be a good start to getting a child out of the parents bed and back into their ‘big boy’ or ‘big girl’ room. A cot-bed with the side taken off may be big enough for a child up to the age of 6 but it doesn’t provide a very inspiring or comfortable sleep space for a growing.

Tidying, decluttering and adding a few new features to a child's bedroom can work wonders. A night light is a great way of providing comfort and a few rugs and throws can soften the edges of what may appear a frightening space child's mind during the nighttime hours.

The key piece is of course the bed. Choosing something comfortable, creative and safe can be a challenging and with an overwhelmingly large market to chose from it’s important to pick something that reflects a child's interests and imagination. Rocket ships, racing cars, princess castles - there is a lot of choice out there.

Cuckoolands collection of toddler beds are a good example of beds ideal for that in between age. Offering bright and colourful designs they bridge the gap between cot-bed and full sized single. Themed beds can offer a great day-time play space for a child and their friends and a secure place to dream at night.

With the transformation complete it’s important to introduce a new sleep routine alongside the aesthetic transformation. Less screen time before bed, calming pre-bedtime activities, a bath and soothing stories can all help to encourage a child to sleep happily and deeply in their own room, and hopefully stay their.

Sleep changes don’t happen overnight but by parents and child reclaiming their own sleep space everyone in the family will reap the benefits.

Learn It To Earn It! Using Your Vacation As A Learning Experience For The Kids

It might not be the first thing on your list of priorities, but getting your child a holiday experience that proves to be educational is an extremely beneficial experience for your little ones. And it’s unlikely that they will take too kindly to you “forcing” any type of learning on them, especially if they’re a little older! But, if you take them to a place where they don’t even realise that they are learning, then you’ve won the battle. The standard school system doesn’t really make learning fun, so what better way to get your kids to learn than by enjoying themselves! Here are some ideas and travel tips for giving your kids a worthwhile learning experience.

Go Native!

Learning about our native amerian ancestors is a vacation package like no other! While making s’mores, you can listen to a native tribe member tell stories about the constellations, and you can learn how to make a pot using the old method of pinch and coil, or make your own bracelet out of copper. There are resorts, like the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa that do guided nature tours of the Rio Grande. Orignally tailored to kids, these are so popular, that it is now open to adults too. Other activities can include watching tribal dancers perform, learning how to bake bread in a traditional hurana oven and there are even more physical activities like horseback riding. For a package that’s educational and fun, these ones are hard to beat!

Never The Twain Shall Meet!

Mark Twain is one of America’s most celebrated authors, so if your child in school is studying The Adventures Of Huckleberrry Finn, you can go to The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Conneticut. Here is where Twain spent a portion of his adult life, writing some of his most notable works, like The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, and his house was one home to an early incarnation of the telephone. One of the best getaways in a lovely setting, Hartford has many educational attractions, such as the Hartford Public Library, which has over 500,000 holdings.

You Can-Yacht Be Serious! 

Going yachting is a serious activity for kids, and places like the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda (which is part of the British Virgin Islands) teaches children how to be a sturdy sailor! There are basics courses that combine classroom sessions with hands-on experience on the side of the dock. There are other workshops such as beginners practice maneuvers, as well as learning how to anchor, understanding the waters and working with the winches. These are aimed at kids aged 7 and older, and once the skills have been learned by your trusty landlubber turned ship cap’n, you can all sail to one of the nearby cays, or go snorkeling. There are family vacation packages available which include lodging, outings, and meals.

If you really want to get your kids some educational time on vacation, these destinations will make them think that they didn’t learn a thing, but merely had a good time. In which case, mission accomplished!

Treat Yourself! 8 Tips To Add A Little Luxury To Your Everyday Life

We always see photos of celebrities stepping off private jets and wandering around wearing shoes and dresses that would cost the entirety of our monthly food budget. As a ‘normal’ non-celebrity person, that’s obviously a lifestyle that isn’t attainable for the rest of us. It is possible, however, to introduce a little luxury into your life without completely going crazy and breaking the bank. Here are 8 tips to help…

Your Style

1. Save for classic pieces

It’s very easy to go for disposable fashion – we tend to value quantity over quality, and it does feel good to have a new top every time you go out with your friends. But if you want to go for luxury, then it’s a much better idea to save your money for pieces that will last the long haul. Go for good quality materials, and natural rather than synthetic fabrics. Save up for classic makeups like lipsticks, mascaras, and blushes. You can also opt for permanent makeups like having lips or brows tattoo, and for thick and long eyelashes check out eyelash serum available online.

2. Splash out in the sales

The number one sales rule is that you shouldn’t spend money on something that you wouldn’t buy anyway. So make sure that you bookmark items that you want on more expensive high end websites, and wait for them to go down in price so that you can invest in them. Only buy things that will last the test of time, from reputable brands. It’s a good time to buy leather boots, good quality coats and new clothes for work. You could also get a good bargain for a summer dress to wear to a wedding in a winter sale.

3. Don’t over accessorize

"Look at the cherry blossoms!Their color and scent fall with them,Are gone forever,Yet mindlessThe spring comes again." ~ Ikkyu #cherryblossom #sakura #Japanese #tree #flower #bloom #blossom #beautiful #pink #life #hope #faith #quote #quoteoftheday #quotestagram #instaquote #instapost #instadaily #igers #igersdaily #igersph #goodnight

A photo posted by Pearl Paguio (@pearlizshell) on Nov 4, 2016 at 8:38am PDT

One way to make your outfit look cheap is by wearing too many accessories. Coco Chanel said that before you leave the house, you should look in the mirror and take one thing off. Make sure that the jewellery you wear is all good quality – it doesn’t all have to be gold, silver and diamonds, but if you have costume jewellery that’s started to fade, put it in the bin or donate it.

Your Home

4. Upgrade your bed

There’s nothing that feels more luxuriant than slipping between sheets with a high thread count at night, so why not upgrade your bed? The thread count means the number of vertical and horizontal threads in one square inch of fabric, so the higher the thread count, the softer and nicer the sheets will feel at night. Egyptian cotton has a reputation as the best quality cotton in the world, so you could also splash out on that. If you find that you get a sore neck and back after you get up in the morning, it’s probably time to go for a new pillow, or perhaps a new mattress topper. Finally, if you’re susceptible to skin rashes, why not go for hypoallergenic blankets and pillows?

5. Splash out on your bathroom

If you’re a parent, then you’ll know that your bathroom is one of the only rooms in your house in which you can actually relax – even if you have your kids banging on the door and asking to be let in while you’re trying to wash your hair! It’s important that you make your bathroom as luxuriant as possible so you can enjoy the few minutes of blissful quiet and solitude. Go for high end toiletries and use plenty of body moisturizer after your shower. If you go for a fragranced one, then you can skip your perfume when you’re getting dressed. Go for new soft towels like Richard Haworth bath towels. Even if you might be spending more than you’re accustomed to spending on towels, they’ll be worth it when you step out of the shower. You could even go for a heated towel rail. Not only will they dry your towels quickly so they won’t end up smelling of damp, there’s no better feeling in the winter than wrapping yourself in a toasty warm towel. Finally, if you’re taking a bath or shower at night to relax, get a scented candle in lavender or sandalwood, to help you chill out and give you a good night’s sleep.

Your Lifestyle

6. Make sure that you stay fit and healthy

This will help you in all aspects of your life, as you can pass on good eating habits to your kids and make sure that they’re healthy in the future. Buy good quality organic fruit and vegetables, and go for ethical meat. It might all be a little more expensive but the quality will far surpass other food, and you’ll feel happy in the knowledge that you’ve given the animals you’re eating a better quality of life. You could also join a gym – splash out on a nice one so that you feel comfortable and happy going there and so you don’t waste your (probably exorbitant) membership fee!

7. Spend time on yourself

One of the most luxuriant things you can ever do is spend time on yourself. The reason that celebrities and rich people look so good is that they have much more free time than the rest of us. They don’t have to worry about going to work every day, public transport, trying to find affordable childcare – and they have time to go to the gym every day and pay talented hair stylists and makeup artists to make them look flawless at all times. Of course, we don’t have the time or the spare money for that. But it is important that you try to take time for yourself. Focus on your hobbies and make sure that you don’t lose yourself after you have children. It’s important for your kids to see that you have your own life and interests. Ask your partner to look after your family for a day and take yourself off to an art gallery or bookshop.

8. See your friends

Take time out from your family to see your friends and treat yourself with a nice dinner out or a few cocktails. It’s easy to lose touch with them as you get older and your schedules get more demanding, but the truth is that seeing your friends will help you stay sane in a crazy world.

Oh Canada! The Vacation Nation

Europeans are spoiled for choice when it comes to travelling. Apart from the UK and a few islands, the other countries are all joined together and allow for an amazing train or road-trip experience should wanderlust set in. There are a variety of different cultures, languages and places to explore with little regard needed to what they need to organize beforehand in terms of travel visas … mainly because not many places require one. 

In the USA, aka the ‘No Vacation Nation’, travel and holidays are often limited to other states. If you live in a cold state, you fly to a warmer one. If you live in a landlocked state, you go to one with a beach. If you live in a countrified state, you go to a city state - you get the drift. The culture of what literally lies above us (well, on a map at least) is one that isn’t too often thought about; Canada seems a bit too far away and a bit too cold and a bit too every-other-excuse-you-can-think-of. 

Quit the excuses. It’s time to fly (or drive!)

Bonjour!

In Europe you can get the French experience. It’s the same in Africa too, in some countries. But forget those - it’s also the case in parts of Canada like Montreal and Quebec, where French is the majority official language (56% for Montreal and a whopping 95% for Quebec). It was initially called New France. Most children in French-speaking regions of Canada are brought up to be bilingual. So get your taste of Europe by visiting Canada - it’s a small victory, but one to be embraced. Unlike the Europeans with France, you will need to get a travel visa - try official-canada-eta.com to get yourself covered

There’s A Moose Loose…

The wildlife in Canada is so varied that it’s mind-boggling how so many different animals exist there. If you venture up towards the Canadian islands of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, for example, you are more likely to see small creatures like the star-nosed mole or the northern flying squirrel, amazing mammals such as the beaver, coyote and the typical Canadian moose, and if you’re heading towards the ocean then seals and even humpback whales can be spotted - all brilliant animals to witness in the wild. 

All of the Lights

If you head to Canada, you are in with high chances of seeing the most amazing natural phenomenon on offer - the Aurora Borealis, the best light show around There are so many places across the country on offer to you as a viewing platform, spanning across all ten provinces; so wherever you are, there will always be the chance that you can bear witness to this brilliant display of light in the sky. It’s something that all of the family will enjoy; children will love seeing the bright flickers across the night sky and for adults, it’s a childhood fantasy come true. Plus, it’s free - and there is nothing better than a trip out for all the family that won’t cost you half a month’s salary to fund it.