Tag: family

A Guide To Getting Your Car Shipped

Posted on by Ms. Elle

If you are planning a move whether inter-state or internationally and going to be bringing your car along, you may want to start finding out early how to transport a car across the country or overseas in a way that makes the most sense for your move and your budget.   While shipping a car to another country isn’t cheap, it’s certainly more cost effective than buying a new car when you arrive at your destination.

Motor vehicles are major items to move, especially across the continent via sea and hiring an auto transport company to handle the entire process of shipping your car is a great idea. Traveling long distance has some risks that could endanger your safety and that of your car’s. Moving is already a big and stressful process and traveling long distance on your move day may create more stress.  While your car is trucked safely from state to state or across the ocean, you can focus on getting settled into your new home. No one looks forward to a stressful long road trip on top of a move.

When you hire an auto transport company for your interstate move, you can move multiple cars at the same time. This is beneficial for families with more than two cars. Shipping all your cars together means the entire family can make the journey together. When you engage an auto transport company, your car is safer on a vehicle moving truck. Some interstate highways have the most dangerous roads in the nation with accident prone stretches.  Leave this stressful job to the experienced truckers who drive auto carriers from coast to coast have a lot of training and a lot of experience driving defensively to avoid accidents. Your car will also avoid a lot of wear and tear on a carrier.

You probably won’t be able to leave any boxes or belongings inside of your car during the move. Generally, the only items that may be left in the car are those that are directly related to it—stuff like your spare tire and your jumper cables. Be sure to remove any important documents, such as your registration and insurance information.   The car shipping company that you hire will be able to tell you exactly what can and cannot be in your car when your car is being shipped to another country. They will also likely have a requirement on how much gas can be in the car. Most companies dictate that the fuel tank can be no more than one-quarter full.

Once you’ve made the important decision that you’re bringing your car with you to the new country, then the very next step is to find a reliable international car shipping company near you.  On the Shiply website, you will need to fill out a simple form which details the make, model and size of the vehicle as well as the pickup and delivery locations.  Auto transport companies can then send you quotes straight to your Shiply inbox, giving you the ability to easily assess your options and pricing from them for comparison.  You must be very anxious to know the cost to transport a car overseas as that price will help you decide if it’ll be worth it to ship your car to another country at all.  Whether shipping your car interstate or internationally, the process can be quite tedious but you can learn more about the details at the Shiply website to allay your fears and doubts.

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When Do You Know Your Family Is Complete?

Posted on by Ms. Elle

When we grow up we all dream about living in the perfect home, and having the perfect family. As we experience more of the world, we change our preferences, and our needs or priorities change. You might feel like you have created something that is very close to your definition of a perfect home, and this is the time to find a way to make the most out of your family life. Find out more below.

You Have Joy and Work-life Balance

If you know that you have everything you wished for as a little child, you know that you are there. You can look after your kids, build strong relationships with them, and make them understand the world without having to argue all the time. You can still pursue your career and do what you enjoy, while spending time with your loved ones and your friends. If you have achieved the work-life balance and are financially comfortable, you should be grateful.

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You Are Ready to Focus On Your Family  

Image via Max Pixel

In some cases, moms take a career break or change their job, maybe set up a business to have the time and energy to build strong families. If you have made a decision that you will not compromise your kids’ wellbeing for a corporate job, you will be able to improve your long term happiness. If you decide that your family is now complete, you can find out about the vasectomy cost and focus on your family planning eliminating stress from your life.

You Have a Family Support System

Image via Wikimedia Commons

If you can achieve work-life balance and enjoy your life with your loved ones being supported by your family members, this is a good place to be. After all, you don’t want your kids to grow up without knowing their grandparents or aunts or uncles. You have to involve your extended family in your life, so they can provide even more value to them and give them new perspectives in life.

You Have Shared Values

Successful families work together and achieve their goals because they share priorities and values, If your partner has the same values and standards when it comes to raising kids and finances, education, and social issues, you will find it much easier to make big decisions and get ahead with your life.

You Feel Like You Have Settled Down

If you sit down at night after a great day spent at work and with your family and you feel a sense of achievement, you are happy, and there is nothing you have to change. Being grateful for your kids and the emotional support you are getting from your loved ones is something you have to celebrate every day. Not everyone is as lucky as you.

When we look at our lives and see what we have achieved, it is easy to focus on what we don’t have. Take a step back and be grateful for the family you have, the love and support you get and the work-life balance you have achieved by making the right decisions.

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Parents on a Budget Ideas: Check Out This List

Posted on by Ms. Elle
Mom on a budget

I’m not offering solutions on spreadsheets or ultimate budgeting tips to solve your financial woes. Here, I’m simply sharing ideas that I have done and those that I’m planning to do as I tackle the every day strain of running a household on a budget.

Some of these are original ideas, others are taken from other parents which I have adapted and modified to suit my family’s needs. As you look into the list, feel free to choose the ones that fit your needs and adjust or improve it accordingly. And also don’t forget to comment below the changes that you have made or will be making, so that other parents could also learn from them too.

For most of us who are outside the rich and super-rich circle, budgeting is a familiar thing; parents on a budget is normal. According to Cambridge dictionary, budgeting is the process of calculating how much money you must earn or save during a particular period of time, and of planning how you will spend it. And parents as one of the most resourceful and creative people on the planet, always come up with ways and means to have ends meet. I guess the situations parents have to face on the daily basis necessitate the need to be resourceful and creative.

Without further ado, here are the list.

Save on energy, save lights. Nowadays, we are slowly branching out to vlogging and creating Youtube videos. And as you very well know good lighting is essential to have a clear, sharp, and color-rich video. So for vloggers and Youtubers, video lighting is a must. However as we’re on the budget side at the time being, well, there’s no better light source than the sun, right? So what we actually use is light from a lampshade to give the face extra illumination, and then a lot of sunlight. We’re lucky in a sense that one entire wall of our house that leads to the balcony is glass-walled, so it is totally a great, free source of light.

Natural health supplement. Health is super important, and getting sick can be so hard on the budget especially if your paying the hospital straight out of your own pocket. Giving children health supplements would certainly boost their immune system. However personally, I would go for something affordable, natural and organic, nothing synthetic. Moringa plant is a proven and tested super food with loads of health benefits which are reasons I include Moringa in my children’s diet. So we made our own Moringa powder and thought of creative ways to feed Moringa to my children.

Grow your own garden. Food takes quite a chunk of our budget especially that we love to eat. If you live in the country or has a big space that you could convert into a garden, then you are lucky. However even those of us in the urban area, we could have a garden in the city if we want to. Having our own source of food is not only healthy it is also liberating on the budget. I grow Moringa, malabar nightshade, aloe vera, lemongrass, bitter melon, and planning of growing mung beans, bougainvillea and santan flowers. I have been trying to grow onions, tomatoes, and cabbage but to no avail.

Be creative with snacks. My family is big on snacks and DIY no-churn ice cream. Instead of always buying (of course we do at times) crisp and other junkies in grocers, I recycle food leftovers. If I have leftover chicken and veggies, I make these into veggy nuggets or I make our own fruitshakes.

Toys for Mommies. If there are toys for the big boys, kitchen appliance are definitely toys for Mommies. For budget Moms like me, buying kitchen appliance can be heavy on the budget, and could be a hindrance from procurring one. For a very long time, I dreamt of having my own oven, but the real one is just way beyond my financial capacity. Thankfully though there are affordable alternatives, and that’s what I’ve got, an electric oven. It is not as powerful but it does the work just fine. And since we love cold beverages, and fruitshakes are healthier choices, I bought an affordable blender. It’s defintely on a budget new toy.

Budget bloggers assistants. Blogging is a great way to augment family income but it does not come for free. There are things that we need to spend money on to have a successful blog. Aside from yearly payment for domain and hosting, there are a number of other important essentials, and I listed 5 must haves for mom on a budget bloggers. Have you got other affordable must haves for blogging?

Travel on a budget. Part of parenting is to educate children, and traveling is a great way to teach them with a whole lot of things. Traveling need not be expensive. There are plenty of beautiful places to go to that are free of admission including temples and museums which are awesome places to explore and experience, and other kid-friendly, family drive routes which are public and admission free like parks, beaches, and zoos.

Inexpensive Outdoor Activities for Children. Another yet important parenting responsibility is to engage children in extracurricular activities. For children, physical activities and plays are essential factors especially during a child’s formative years. Creative parents know just where to go or what to do to have those muscles flexed or those imagination fired up, and empower kids without so much of a cost.

DIY whenever you can. I’m not so gifted with craftiness but wherever I could save I can always find a way, for example make your own gift wraps, christmas gifts on a budget, home-made playdough.

  • Old calendars for something educational. Every year we change calendar. Some calendars are made from really nice durable paper, and so instead of throwing them away why not re-used or recycle them into something really useful. During this time, my son who was a toddler was already showing readiness for reading. So instead of buying alphabet flashcards, I made my own, and save on a few bucks. Check them out. Aside from flashcards, we can re-used old calendars into picture frames, paper dolls, doll house, or any school projects that call for it.
  • Old School Socks Rag Rug. I have plenty of school socks rag. And because I don’t want to spend money on new rugs which sometimes costs more than $3, I made these socks rags into rugs. There are other ways, according to Amanda over at the Glorious Grape, she used mismatched socks to make chew toys for her dogs. And Chubskulit Rose use old socks to clean furniture. Old socks can also be used as stuffing for throw pillows and the likes.

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How to Create a Healthier Diet for You and Your Kids

Posted on by Ms. Elle

Our health is the most important asset that we have and having a healthy and nutritious diet is the key to achieving lifelong good health. As parents, an effective diet is also important to give us the energy we need to keep pace with our children, but of course our first priority is always to our kids’ health, so it’s essential that we pay full attention to their diets as well. Cutting down on junk food and adopting healthier options can make a vast difference to how you feel and how your children feel, so let’s look at how easy it is to do.

Increase Your Fruit and Vegetable Intake

Fruit and vegetables are nature’s gift to us all, as they provide us with the essential vitamins and minerals that we need on a daily basis. Expert opinions vary on how much fruit and veg we should consume, but they all agree we should eat between five and ten portions per day. That can sound like a lot but reaching the target can bring huge benefits to your health, fitness and energy levels. If your children are reticent to eating vegetables, or anything healthy, try hiding root vegetables like swede and turnip in among other foodstuffs, or encourage them to find one or two vegetables or fruits that they really like.

Cut Down on Sugar

Many of us have a sweet tooth, and there’s no denying that cakes, chocolate and candy taste great, but they are far from great for our health. Sugar is an addictive substance, and it features heavily in almost all the readymade and processed food stuffs that you can buy. It’s also a leading cause of obesity and linked conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, so it makes sense to reduce your sugar intake as much as possible. One way to do this is to cook your meals yourself using fresh ingredients rather than turning to ready meals or take-aways. This may seem difficult at first, but your body will soon forget its sugar cravings and love its new healthier diet.

Reduce Weight Naturally

Being overweight has an adverse effect upon every aspect of your life, so if you want to lose weight you’ll have to exercise more and eat less. That’s a simplistic equation of course, and some people find that they have to turn to a diet plan to help them say goodbye to their excess pounds; in this case, they should opt for diets based upon purely natural ingredients, such as the HCG diet. You can find more information on this hormone-based diet through expert websites such as Hcgdietreview.Com and this also means that you’ll be able to find the best HCG drops and supplements at the best possible prices.

A healthy diet and lifestyle adopted in childhood is likely to remain in place throughout an adult life, and the best way to encourage your children to eat healthily is to eat healthily yourself. Wave goodbye to processed foods filled with sugar and excess fat and say hello to homemade meals full of natural ingredients such as fresh fruit and vegetables. You’ll be amazed at the transforming effect it can have on you and your family.

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