LilSugar

Do You Check-in on Your Children During the Night?

LilSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:03 PDT

Actress and mama of six Angelina Jolie stars in the thriller, Changeling, a film about a woman whose son is kidnapped. Saying that is her biggest fear, the celeb admits to checking on her children in the night. This is a common practice among many parents. Do you partake?

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7 Money Tips For Couples Starting a Family

Business Insider — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:15:00 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Business Insider story here on Savvy!

Middle-income parents will spend nearly $227,000 in 17 years for children born in 2010, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

But don't let that scare you - saving for a family can actually be fun if you know what you're doing.

"The most important thing to understand is that your priorities are going to change and your spending habits need to change to reflect those changes," says Stuart Ritter, a financial planner at T. Rowe Price.

With Ritter and other financial experts' help, we'll help you prepare.

Invest in a 529 savings plan

Saving for your child's education is crucial to his or her success, and 529 plans are tax-advantaged college savings accounts that are available in all 50 states.

Most are free to set up, while some states require a minimum of $25 to open an account, says Adam Koos, a certified financial planner with Libertas Wealth Management. Anyone can contribute and take advantage of the tax benefits.

Open the plan before your child is born, says Ritter, and name yourself the beneficiary. You can change the name on the account once your child is born.

Read on for more.

50 Geeky Date Ideas For Valentine's Day (and Beyond)

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:10 PST

Coming up short for Valentine's Day date ideas? If you and your sweetheart are more of the geeky persuasion, simply hitting up an overpriced restaurant just won't cut it. We brainstormed 50 date ideas that incorporate science, tech, and video games, for a special Valentine's eve. But don't limit yourself - tackle these date ideas all year!

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro - grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.

See the rest of the list after the break!

Uh Oh! Watch Out For These 12 IRS Audit Red Flags

Kiplinger — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:06:09 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy!

The IRS audits only slightly more than 1% of all individual tax returns annually. The agency doesn't have enough personnel and resources to examine each and every tax return filed during a year. So the odds are pretty low that your return will be picked for review. And, of course, the only reason filers should worry about an audit is if they are fudging on their taxes.

However, the chances of being audited or otherwise hearing from the IRS increase depending upon various factors, including your income level, whether you omitted income, the types of deductions or losses you claimed, the business in which you're engaged and whether you own foreign assets. Math errors may draw IRS inquiry, but they'll rarely lead to a full-blown exam. Although there's no sure way to avoid an IRS audit, you should be aware of red flags that could increase your chances of drawing unwanted attention from the IRS.

1. Making too much money

Although the overall individual audit rate is about 1.11%, the odds increase dramatically for higher-income filers. IRS statistics show that people with incomes of $200,000 or higher had an audit rate of 3.93%, or one out of slightly more than every 25 returns. Report $1 million or more of income? There's a one-in-eight chance your return will be audited. The audit rate drops significantly for filers making less than $200,000: Only 1.02% of such returns were audited during 2011, and the vast majority of these exams were conducted by mail. We're not saying you should try to make less money - everyone wants to be a millionaire. Just understand that the more income shown on your return, the more likely it is that you'll be hearing from the IRS.

Read on for more red flags.

Dr. Bob Sears Shares His Best Advice on Calming a Colicky Baby

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:01:22 PST

When the witching hour becomes the witching days and nights, it's time to bring in the experts. Colic, defined as a condition in children between three weeks and three months old that causes them to cry for three hours a day at least three days a week, can be trying on new parents as well as their tot. While there's still no known cause of colic, doctors may be coming close to a remedy. I spoke with Dr. Bob Sears about techniques parents can use to calm a colicky baby, and he revealed a new treatment he's finding success with in his own patients. Check out our interview above!

Carpooling Parents Aren't Using Booster Seats

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:36:15 PST

Do your kids need a boost when riding with their friends? Most likely, yes! According to a study out today, while 76 percent of parents use a booster seat for their own child, only 55 percent require it for other children they are driving. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that tots remain in a booster seat until they are 4' 9" tall and between eight and 12 years old. When carpooling to school or extracurricular activities, many parents seem to be letting those rules slide in order to accommodate more kids.

Before heading out for your next carpool run, check out five backless boosters specifically designed for carpooling moms. They're narrow, lightweight, and easy to move between cars.

The Benefits of Homeschooling Your Kids

LearnVest — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:05:49 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

In the past, LearnVest spoke to parents who chose not to use diapers with their children and dove into the stay-at-home parent debate. This time, one mother shares why she has decided to homeschool her children.

In 2002, we had our third child, 10 years after our second was born. Our eldest two boys were in a private school, but we began to consider the best way to educate our newest addition. Although we loved the school our boys attended, each year cost us about $10,000. We questioned how feasible it would be to put additional kids through there, too.

We had three more children in the following years for a total of six, and with each new baby came further confirmation that putting our four youngest through private school was out of the question financially. Our two eldest were approaching college age, which put even more pressure on us.

The decision was simple. We elected to educate our four youngest at home.

Why Public School Wasn’t an Option

We always knew that we wouldn’t send our children to public school. Parents who opt out of public school do so for many reasons: safety, quality of education, religious conviction, and many others. My husband and I both went to public school, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t know what schools are like today. For us, religion was the main reason. We believe that God gave parents the responsibility to raise, train, and educate their own children. Many parts of the Bible talk about training your children - to us, that includes education.

For more, read after the jump.

Add These Award-Winning Books to Your Tot's Bookshelf Today!

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:06:22 PST

Go ahead and add some silver to your bookshelf! This morning the American Library Association announced the winners of the most prestigious children's book honors, naming the 2012 John Newbery Medal and the Randolph Caldecott Medal award winners, as well as the recipients of several other distinguished awards. The honorees represent the best books - both written and illustrated - for tots. Go ahead and check out the winners and then add them to your nightly reading rotation. Your kids will thank you with a lifetime of reading ahead of them!

Fresh Start Resolution: Put More Money Into Your Retirement Accounts

Emily Co — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:32:10 PST

It's a new year and a new you! Fresh Start is a short series detailing 12 helpful tips to start off the year right, whether it be to advance your career or increase your financial cushion. We've already given you advice on kicking your daily deal habit, quitting caffeine, and making a call to lower your bills. Here's another way to start afresh in 2012.

For those of you who have never really thought about your retirement accounts, this year would be a good time to start padding it up. Although the past few years have been rocky, experts still recommend adding money to your 401(k) or IRA and riding out the slump. Here are some things you can start doing:

Check if your company matches: If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, you should take advantage of it immediately - especially if your company matches. Most large company plans match 50 percent of your contributions and up to six percent of your salary. If your match is less than the norm, it's still beneficial to participate, because any type of match means free money.
Figure out how much you need: A simple trick to figuring out how much you need is to look at your life right now and estimate your expenditures. You'll need about the same amount of income in retirement that you need right now. Although there will surely be more medical expenses to pay, there will also be less expenditures in other areas such as student loans, saving for retirement, and paying for your children. If you need hard statistics, you can play around with Bloomberg's 401(k) savings calculator that estimates how much you'll need to contribute each year to reach a certain amount. It even factors in things like salary increase rate, employer contribution match, and the investment rate of return.
Don't be down about the down economy: Although you might feel disheartened about your dwindling 401(k) account, keep in mind that you're not really playing around with stocks. You're going to be in it for the long haul with your 401(k), so you'll be riding out all the rockiness of a stock market. Look at it this way: stocks will be cheaper to buy when their value has lowered. One more thing to consider: you might want to limit your monitoring of your retirement accounts (maybe to once a quarter) so you won't be swayed by the roller-coaster numbers.

Read on for more advice.

Tips and Workouts For a Strong and Fit Pregnancy

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:50:13 PST

If you're pregnant or planning on having children in the near future, it's good to know the facts about what's safe and appropriate when it comes to working out. Check out the posts below to ensure you stay active, fit, and strong during your pregnancy.

Momma-to-Be Strength Training Routine

Hip and Back Stretches For Mommies-to-Be

Expecting? Dos and Don'ts of Working Out

How Pregnancy Ruins Workouts (and Ways to Deal)

Running With a Bun in the Oven

Kerri Walsh's Strong Mama Pilates Routine