Our Harry Potter Party - Sorting, Wands, and the Owlry

As a continuation in our Harry Potter party series (see part 1 here), today we will look at the sorting "ceremony," the wands and the owlry.

SORTING:
So I couldn't have a Harry Potter party without sorting the kids into houses. This would really have no bearing on them during the party.  We didn't play any games where we separated them into houses or anything, but just did it for fun.

When each guest walked in the door (parents too if they wanted), they were met with our sorting table.  This was a tiny cauldron that I found at a thrift store (luckily this was around Halloween, so these items are easy to find).  Inside the cauldron were pins with each of the house crests on them.  I found them on etsy.  There were a few etsians who offered similar pins, but the one I chose no longer is on etsy. =(  So just search around etsy. There are many of other great creators on there still!

So anyway...they reached into the cauldron and pulled out a pin and attached it to their shirts. 

In addition to a pin, they also picked up a sorting card that told them something about their houses.  These were created by me and I LOVED the result (if you let me brag on them for a moment).  They include the house crest, name, the sorting hat rhyme about the house from Harry's first year, basic info about each house, and a list of famous wizards/witches from that house. I thought these would be cool to tell the kids (or parents) about the house they were chosen for. And I am gladly sharing those cards with you now.  There is no reason that someone else would have to do the work to create these again, so here they are for download and use!

WANDS:
After the guests were sorted, they proceeded to Ollivanders to receive their wand. Against Ollivander's words though, we let the witches and wizards choose their own wands. They were created using this awesome tutorial that I found via (guess where) Pinterest.  They are made from paper and glue. That's it! Everyone loved them!

If you need a sign for your Ollivanders, you can print this one out.  I created this and printed it on the same parchment that I used for the invitations.

OWLRY:
We ordered these awesome unglazed ceramic owls and had them out for the kids to decorate.  I provided markers because I didn't want to get into the mess of paint since these were younger kids. Paint would look nicer and be more permanent though. It was a hit and they each loved decorating their own owl to take home. Some even named them!

You can of course, name your owl station Eyelops Owl Emporium (like the books), but we kept it simply with Owlry.  There are two sign options you can have if you'd like. Here and here.

I also want to note that a few of our guests showed up in costume.



Of course our little Harry

Actually quite unintentional, but we thought Patrick and his buddy made a great Harry and Ron.

Our party's Luna

If you want some more ideas, I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to Harry Potter party ideas. Some I used and some I didn't but you might find something PERFECT for yours!  Tomorrow we'll cover the incredible potions class!

Our Harry Potter Party - Introduction and Preparations

INTRODUCTION:
On October 1, 2011, our son turned 6 years old. Over the previous 6-8 months he had become borderline obsessed with Harry Potter. He had seen all 8 movies. By the time he turns 7 he will begin reading the books.

And I have to admit - my husband and I (although probably more I) are big fans as well.

So when he chose the Harry Potter theme, I was so excited that I could really geek out and run away with this theme.

So I started scouring the internet and found so many wonderful sources. I will include them as often as I can to show you where I got my ideas. I found them mostly via Google and Pinterest. In the end though, it was up to me to put this shindig together and make it work for us.

So over the next 6 days I will be documenting that party and all of its elements in full detail. I hope this series can help you construct your own Harry Potter party using the tools, recipes, and tips that I provide.

As always, feel free to comment, question, and participate! I am always around to respond!

INVITES:
For the invites, I scoured the internet for the wording.  I wanted it to look like a letter for Hogwarts.  This is what I came up with.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Wizarding School Candidate,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been invited to a Harry Potter birthday party in honor of Patrick [last name withheld] at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Please note that any wizard attire is welcome, but certainly not required for entrance. Term begins on October 1, 2011 promptly at 3:00 PM and will last until 5:00 PM. 

The location of the party can be found via Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station. If your parents are Muggles, a Memory Charm with make the platform appear as [address withheld]. If you need further directions to the party, please notify me at once.

We eagerly await your response via owl post by no later than September 29^th. If you do not have an owl available, you may use the Muggle telephone system and RSVP to [phone number withheld].  

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

I printed it up on parchment paper (purchased at your local office supply store or even Walmart) and prepared them for delivery.

So one of the first things I ever saw when I looked at Pinterest is probably what made me sign up myself.  It was this method of delivery for our Harry Potter party invitations.  I LOVED the idea and knew we had to do it regardless of how crazy our neighbors thought we were.

Here is a picture of the idea as presented on Pinterest:

Here is our execution.  Our local florist was almost out of white balloons (what?!) but we got brown ones and improvised.  Here is Patrick ready to deliver the invites.









Deliveries successful.

And awesomely enough, we did get one response by owl.  Check it out!

SCHEDULE:
I am a bit controlling particular when it comes to my kids' birthday parties.  I love to have a schedule, even if only in my head.  I need to know where the party is going.  We opted to do an afternoon party (3 pm - 5 pm) that did no overlap meal times or naptimes for the little ones so we only provided goodies and snacks and not a meal.  Yes, this was absolutely intentional. So here is how ours went:

• ARRIVAL: Guests arrive. Immediately they are sorted into a house and allowed to chose a wand.
• OWLRY/POTIONS: Guests have their choice of either decorating an owl, attending a potions class with Snape, or doing both with time permitting.
• PRESENTS: If we open presents in front of everyone, this is when it happens.  We skipped it at this time to have more time to play - and because they were engrossed in Potions class. Later we opened them after the party while some really close friend stuck around to hang out.
• CAKE: Here is the time to have cake and ice cream and yummies
• STOMP THE DEMENTORS: Time to run off some of that sugar and give adults (who aren't playing) time to socialize.
• HORCRUX HUNT: Time for an organized game
• SWEET SHOP: Time to visit Honeydukes and fill their goody bags with candy before going home. (yep, you're welcome, parents).

 DECOR:
I had some great ideas but honestly, ran out of time and wasn't able to put everything together exactly how I wanted.  So, I will show you where my inspirations came from and, when applicable, our execution of it.

The Entrance:

Another Pinterest find.  This is what it would ideally have looked like:

But since I searched the whole town for brick printed fabric and found none AND since I didn't have time to make my own (with fabric paint and a sponge, which would have done it), I went with streamers.  They didn't hold up well, but oh well... This was our result:

The red streamers were supposed to reflect the idea of a brick wall (although they didn't because they started ripping and fell down).  The sign I was proud of.  I basically used some fonts in MS Word and created both the 9-3/4 circle and the Hogwarts Express letters (colored gold).  I cut them out and glued them to a red piece of posterboard. Not high tech, but it worked.

I had the sorting table and the wand table, which you will see in another post.  Also I created a banner that said Happy Birthday Patrick.  I downloaded the Harry Potter font from Mugglenet and printed each letter really large and spaced out on yellow paper.  I "created" a lightning bolt by taking the "P" in that font and editing it in MS Paint and used those between each word and on the ends of the banner.  I cut each letter out and hung them on red thread across the living room. 

You can kinda/sorta see it going on in the background here if you want an idea of what I'm talking about.

Patrick's friend and carpool buddy. She was really getting tired of her mom's photography at this point, it seems! But you can see the banner in this photo. =)

The garage was our owlry and potions class.  I knew a lot of mess was possible likely so I didn't want that happening in our house. Worked out perfectly.

So - I hope you've gotten a good feeling about how we kicked this whole thing off.  Tomorrow we'll talk about the wands, sorting, and owlery.

By the way...if you want some ideas, I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to Harry Potter party ideas. Some I used and some I didn't but you might find something PERFECT for yours!

Wordless Wednesday - Beautiful Spunk

The Best of 13 Ways

Today - Friday the 13th - I'm going to feature some of the best tips/tricks that have been written in sets of 13.  Today we will look at the 13 of the 13 Best Ways to do different things.

So, without further ado...

Money:
13 Simple Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill
13 Easy Ways To Save Money On Gas
13 ways to save on prescriptions

Career:
13 Ways Your Resume Can Say 'I'm Unprofessional'
Thirteen Ways to Frustrate Your Employees
13 Ways to Beat the Afternoon Slump at Work

Health:
13 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally 
13 Ways to Fight Sugar Cravings
13 ways to add fruits and vegetables to your diet

Life:
Conflicts with Friends: 13 Ways to Communicate Without Drama
Never Fail Again: 13 Ways to Turn Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brillance
13 Ways to Make Saying No Easier

Other:
McAfee Security Tips - 13 Ways to Protect Your System

WFMW - Limiting Computer Time for EVERYONE

Photo credit: psd

We've gotten into a terrible habit.  We spend far too much time on the computer.  True that some of it is the standard checking email and reading some favorite websites' articles.  But then sometimes we are just sitting there so we find something else to look at.  No real purpose. Just out of pure boredom.

And frankly, I'm tired of it.

I'm tired of not spending more time being intentional about things. Not spending more time together as a family. Not spending time catching up on projects. Not spending time on quality tasks. 

Last night Chip and I were talking and decided that it seems silly that we limit how much time Patrick is allowed to play video games or play on the computer but those rules don't seem to apply to him or me.

So we are making an intentional change. 

Chip has limited himself to "during Abigail's naptime" to do his internet browsing. And I have asked for 15 minutes at the end of the day to check email and catch up (quickly) on Facebook.  I do get a little bit of time that I can hop on at work (like during lunch or breaks) to read up on my favorite websites and blogs and spit out a quick post for this blog, so I don't want as much time at home.

Additionally, we have given ourselves a bedtime of 11:00.  This way there is no going to bed late because we were wrapped up in some mind-numbing form of entertainment and end up feeling lousy the next day.  And we will be spending the rest of the time with our little ones who will be grown up way too fast soon.

We are making a change for ourselves to better our quality of life. We don't want our children's memories of us to be the backs of our heads while we are staring at a computer monitor.

What about you?  What are you changing to make your life better lived?

2012 - Plans for a Better Financial Year

So, as Wednesday's post indicated, 2011 was not a good year for us financially.  We made some headway. We didn't move in the wrong direction, but we really did not move forward a whole lot either.  We basically treaded water for the year as a whole.

And I was utterly depressed when I looked at the numbers.

So for the upcoming year I am making the following, hopefully more attainable goals for our family's finances.  This is assuming that the apocalypse doesn't really happen at the end of this year and make all of these plans worthless. =)

Reread Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover:
This is the book that kicked us into gear, and I obviously need to be kicked again. So I'm going to reread this for hopefully a new burst of inspiration

Figure out SOMETHING to do with the timeshare:
If you've been here for more than a month, you know how we own a timeshare and how I absolutely loathe it. We should have the deed in hand within the first month or so of 2012 and then we will start the process of getting rid of it.  I hope to resell it to the resort for a drastically reduced cost just to get it out of our hands. Yes...we'll still owe the money on it via the Lending Club loan, but at least we won't have maintenance fees and the burden of it hanging over us.  If we have to, we are willing to just deed it back to the resort just to get rid of it, but we'll of course get money for it if we can.  Anything we get for it will go straight into paying off debt. No rerouting of any of those funds.

Pay off $10K in debt:
Last year, I had HUGE aspirations for paying off debt based on some plans that didn't fall into place. This year, we're going with what we currently have and making plans based on current income remaining the same. If we get more, then that will just be a bonus and we'll happy dance all over the place (including this blog).

Cut up my hated Chase credit card:
I know...I probably should have already done this, but I haven't.  But I want to. This year. It's my oldest and largest credit account and that fact scares me regarding what it will do to my credit score. But I plan to build up the courage to do it and throw caution to the wind in regards to my credit score. I want to live like nobody else, right?

Tithe every.single.paycheck:
I know this shouldn't be hard, but it has been in the past, so I'm working on making this totally normal...even when it isn't comfortable.

What about you?  What are your financial goals for 2012?

Photo credit: svilen001

2011 - What We DID Accomplish

So yesterday's post was utterly shameful. It was embarrassing. It was humbling. It was depressing.

But 2011 was not a total waste. So today's I'm going to celebrate those things that we DID accomplish over the last year.

We paid off debt:
Okay, so $5500 isn't much to brag about, but in a society that is drowning in debt, this is not really that bad. We are at least moving in the right direction.

We refinanced our timeshare:
We chose to take out a Lending Club loan to use for the timeshare. It will allow us to get our deed in hand and hopefully get rid of it soon. As a bonus, the interest rate and terms are far more favorable for us and we're making real headway now. You can read more about the numbers game of it here. Seriously paying off for us!

Started an allowance system for Patrick:
It satisfies our desire to teach him hard work = money as well as "you're a member of this family and you're going to do chores without getting paid."  He's got his first savings account get up now and we're plugging away at it.  Financial lessons for kids - here we come! Details about the system are here.

Our Net Worth Topped $100,000:
This is a real reason to celebrate. I know it's a bit crazy to be stuck on a particular number, but that just seemed like a really nice milestone. Including our depleted home value and our mortgage, this is what we come up with despite our debt woes. Thank you, retirement plans!

So that's it.  What do you want to celebrate with me today? It can be finance related, or not. Just share.

Photo credit: calderilla

2011 - A Year in Review

Let's take a moment and review a snippet from a post from about a year ago:

I'm not going to call these my resolutions. Why? I'm notoriously horrible at keeping New Year's resolutions. And I want these to stick. So I'm psyching myself out by not calling them what they essentially are.

And then I gave you a list of non-resolutions.  So let's review how these turned out:

Pay down an additional $25,000 in debt.

Oooh...this was the big one.  And how did we do?

Paid off a whopping $5721.18.

Yep...that's it.

I obviously have failed at being a debt-paying-offer.

The non-resolution of paying off that chunk of change depended on a huge item that didn't happen.  In June, Chip left for OCS (Officer Candidate School) for the Army. It would be a full time pay (at a higher rank) for 2 months along with a housing allowance and travel pay. In other words...it was going to be a pretty sweet couple of months to pay regardless of him being away for 2 solid months with little to no contact with us.

After that, he had hoped to go for at least a few months of this year to his next stage of training, which would have been full time pay again. 

These things? Did not go as planned.  Chip was not ready for OCS.  And once he came home before graduation, he decided that he had gone for the wrong reason. He had gone for the paycheck. He really doesn't fee like he wants to be an officer or command other soldiers. He wanted a nice paycheck to round out his last eight year of military service that he needs before qualifying for retirement.

So that estimate of $25K was based on paycheck that never came. And now? He is at home taking care of our lovely daughter, which saves us a bundle in childcare, but does not add income to our household income. I'm totally okay with both parts of that, but it doesn't factor in well with paying off a huge amount of debt.


Maintain our $1500 starter emergency fund.
We actually have more in it right now because Chip was paid upfront when he went to OCS.  I put the excess money in our savings account so I wouldn't lose track of it and spend it or send it to debt repayment so that when the Army wanted it back, they could have it in one lump payment.

However, the Army has started taking it out of his monthly drill paycheck. I need to get him to find out if this is their plan going forward, because if so, we'll just go that route and I'll send the extra money off to debt repayment and up that balance down some more.

Continue tithing 10% each paycheck.
This is something I did really well for the first few months of the year. Then things got hard and honestly...my faith obviously wavered.  That's hard to admit, but it is the only explanation I have for stopping our tithe. I was scared when the money wasn't there for a few weeks, which is silly because God has always been faithful to make what we have work for us when I do tithe. But this controlling part of me panicked and this was the result. I will say that the last couple of months this year, we resumed tithing, so we are back on track.

Gift an additional $200/month toward our Relentless campaign.
This is an ongoing capital campaign at our church for various projects going on.  We made a faith promise of $200/month for two years. When my faith wavered (see tithing above), this suffered as well. So we have to get back on the wagon with this as well.

Side hustle $3000 this year.
This actually turned out okay.  We pocketed $4947.00 this year by selling stuff and in debit card rewards.  Some of that was due to my etsy shop, which ran really well the first half of the year (but I decided to close until further notice when Chip left for OCS so I could spend more time with the kids).

So 2/5. 

That's depressing. A 40% success rate.  There are not many people who would bet with odds like that.

But this year we're going to see what we can do.

Although we didn't eliminate $25K in debt, we did get rid of $5K. Which is better than nothing. And we've got a plan going forward. Tomorrow we'll talk about some successes that we not planned - mainly just to make me feel better about what I had to report to you today. Then on Friday, we look into the upcoming plan for 2012.  Maybe the goals will not be as naive this go around.

Photo credit: ilco

Free - or Almost Free - Christmas Activities You Still Have Time to Do With Your Kids

Photo credit: tome213

I know...Christmas is a mere 4 days away (WHAT?!), but there is still time to make some great holiday memories with your kids. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Bake Cookies - they can be complex, or really, really simple.  They can even be slice and bake from the grocery store although you miss out on the memory-making-mess that way (pro or con?).  Regardless, everyone loves cookies and spending the time with your kids making them gives them somethings to be proud of and something to gobble up. Bake some extra and visit neighbors. It's a great way to show yours appreciation for friendships or to even meet new neighbors you do not know.
2. Drive Around and Look at Lights - This one is easy.  If you live in a city, drive out to suburbia or just downtown to see how stores have decorated.  If you live in suburbia, I don't have to tell you how simple this is to pull off.  Just drive. You can't miss them. Even if you live in a rural area, you'll be able to find some spectacular displays. Have your kids tell you what they like most about each display.
3. Hot Cocoa - Make some cocoa and sit around and play a board game or tell stories. Just don't turn on the TV. That's for another bulleted item.
4. Favorite Christmas Movie - Here's that turn on the TV part. Make it special. Maybe it's your favorite as a child, like the Frosty and Rudolph specials.  Maybe it's a classic like Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe it's a comedy (Elf?). Maybe it's a newer holiday movie (Polar Express, The Santa Clause, etc). Whatever you like, cuddle up together as a family. Turn off the computers and cell phones and just spend time together (with popcorn?) and settle in for some memories.
5. Visit Bass Pro Shops - If you have one of these, they offer a huge selection of holiday fun for the kids. There is a great Santa photo op where they give you a free picture, crafts, games, coloring pages, and lots of fun things to look at in the store as well.  Seriously...this store knows what it's doing.
6. Go Skating - Okay, so if you live anywhere in the northern half of this country, this is an option for you. Some of us in the southern half have an indoor version that would work. Regardless - even if you are no good - don't be afraid to let your kids see you as a hopeless klutz on a set of ice skates. They will remember the hilarity that ensues and I promise it will be worth the exchange of your pride for those smiles.
7. Read the Christmas story - The real one. Open up your Bible (we do this on Christmas Eve) and read from either Matthew or Luke - whichever version you prefer - or both and share the real reason for the season.
8. Volunteer - If your children are old enough to help, take them with you to a charity or shelter and help out. They need to see you giving back while they learn to do the same. There is still time for this.
9. Play outside - Don't just send the kids outside - go have a snowman building contest or have a snowball fight. Just on a sled and take off down the hill.  Just get out there and enjoy the time with those little ones that won't always be around to play with.
10. Attend a church service - Most churches have Christmas Eve services, but this year we get that seldom event of Christmas Day hitting on Sunday. Do you attend?  Do you spend that time with family? My vote is to attend - He is the reason to celebrate, right?  If that means moving your family activities to Saturday or Monday, do it. Don't skip church to celebrate Christmas. That seems a little ironic.

Do you have any other suggestions that can be pulled off between now and Christmas?  Let's here them! 

Wordless Wednesday - One Year Later

Countdown to Christmas - Daily Treats

This year we are doing something different for Christmas. Although the season is always full and fun, I want to make sure it is fun of memories for our children. Fun things that may make MY schedule full, but will build excitement for our children.

So each day, we will be doing SOMETHING holiday related.  And bonus - most of them cost nothing. =)

• December 1 - Decorate the tree and pull out the Fisher Price Nativity for the kids to play with
• December 2 - Attend Christmas musical that Chip is playing in
• December 3 - Savannah Lighted Christmas Parade
• December 4 - Shop for Angel Tree child and take Christmas pictures
• December 5 - 8:00 Charlie Brown Christmas special (ABC)
• December 6 - Pinecone Trees
• December 7 - 7:30 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated) (TOON)
• December 8 - Bake and decorate Christmas cookies
• December 9 - The Journey
• December 10 - City Market Christmas in downtown Savannah
• December 11 - Gingerbread Village
• December 12 - Bake Treats
• December 13- Watch 2 Christmas cartoon classics (Rudolph, Frosty, etc)
• December 14 - Gingerbread House Kits
• December 15 - Snowman from Socks
• December 16 - 6:30 Mickey's Christmas Carol (ABCFamily)
• December 17 - Make pottery for Nana for Christmas
• December 18 - Bass Pro Santa's Wonderland and choose this year's ornament (kids get a new one they choose each year)
• December 19 - Take treats to Police Station and Post Office
• December 20 - Make handprint ornaments
• December 21 - Watch 2 Christmas cartoon classics (Rudolph, Frosty, etc)
• December 22 - Take Food to Fire Station
• December 23 - Drive around and look at Christmas Lights
• December 24 - Church, reading of The Christmas Story

What about you?  What are some fun things you do at Christmas to make it memorable?

Age Appropriate Chores

Yesterday I spoke about the chore system we are starting to use for our son.  I am a firm believer in children learning work and responsibility from a young age.  Whether or not you want to pay them for their work is a personal decision.

Please note that the handling of chores might vary with your child's maturity level and any physical limitations your child might have, so the ones I'm laying out are from experience and just to be used as a general guideline or a place to start. Regardless, these are tasks that may be age appropriate for your little ones.

1-2 Years (I told you - we start early)

• Picking up Toys
• Putting clothes in hamper/laundry basket
• Putting dry food in pet bowl using a plastic cup
• Brushing/flossing their teeth (with assistance)
• Putting items in trashcan
• Picking out their clothes for the next day (with guidance for weather considerations of course)
• Help make their beds
• Clean up spills they make
• Put things back where they found them

3-4 Years (including any listed above)

• Making their beds
• Brushing teeth/flossing (supervised but unassisted)
• Putting food and water in pet bowl using a plastic cup
• Dusting (use a sock on their hand)
• Dress themselves with minimal assistance.
• Bringing in lightweight items from the car
• Start learning how to sweep or holding dust pan for parent (no, the sweeping won't be pretty at this point, but they have to learn somehow), use dry mop on floors
• "Help" wash the car
• Help water plants
• Clean own setting at table

5-6 Years (including any listed above)

• Put away laundry
• Sort laundry (colors/whites/etc)
• Fold towels, socks, etc (some might even be able to clothing)
• Sweep
• Clip coupons
• Clean windows (inside)/glass doors with supervision
• Clean walls/baseboards, doors, doorknobs
• Help wash the car
• Water plants
• Weeding (with supervision)
• Hang up towels in bathroom
• Pet's food and water
• Load dishwasher (with supervision)
• Dictate thank you notes for parents
• Set table
• Fix bowl of cereal
• Prepare school items (backpack, homework, etc) for next day
• Getting the mail

7-9 Years (including any listed above)

• Pet's food, water, and exercise
• Vacuum rooms
• Wet mop rooms
• Wash windows (inside) and doors without supervision
• Put away dishes from dishwasher
• Help prepare food (with supervision)
• Pour drinks
• Make PB&J sandwiches
• Get own snacks
• Help use coupons at store
• Help put away groceries
• Take out trash
• Rake leaves
• Weeding
• Answer phone
• Write thank you notes
• Dry dishes by hand
• Learn how washer and dryer work
• Clean own room entirely
• Clean mirrors
• Help pack lunch for following day
• Basic organization
• Prepare own bath

10-14 Years (including any listed above)

• Solely responsible for homework (parents can check over, but should not have to remind)
• Get self up and ready in morning
• Wash dishes by hand
• Launder own clothes
• Iron clothes (with supervision at first)
• Learn to fold fitted sheet (yes...this is a skill)
• Wash windows inside (and out if your windows fold inward)
• Change sheets on bed
• Deep clean own room
• Put away all groceries
• Change light bulbs
• Clean kitchen (with supervision at first)
• Clean bathroom (with supervision at first)
• Mow the lawn
• Help make grocery list
• Cook a basic meal (reheating, grilled cheese & soup, etc)
• Bake cookies and cakes
• Older of group can baby sit in some states
• Prepare lunches for following day
• Change a litter box (for cat owners)
• Give dog a bath
• Basic home repair (painting, hanging picture, etc)
• Learn basic car repair/maintenance

15-18 Years (including any listed above)

• Cook a meal
• Landscaping (edging, trimming, etc)
• Run errands to grocery store
• Make shopping list
• Run carpool errands for young siblings
• Baby sit
• Purchase own clothes
• Maintain their vehicle (gas, oil, possibly insurance)
• Deep cleaning appliances (oven, fridge, defrost freezers, etc)
• Check and replace vacuum cleaner bags
• Clean gutters
• Chop wood
• Clean fireplace

What do you think?  Any I should add?  Any I should shift around? 

Photo credit: hortongrou

Our Chore System

Now that our son is six, we've decided to start giving him an allowance. He often wants to buy things and we don't like to buy things "just because" but really do understand that he should have the right to buy something he wants if he has the money and he should learn how spending works.

 Before we get into an argument around here about whether children should be paid for their chores or not, let me give you a few different views on the matter.

1. Yes - Children should be taught to equate work with money and learn that hard work = payday.
2. No - Children should do chores because they are a member of the family and should not get paid for their chores.
3. No - Children should get paid each week to have spending money but not in direct response to the work they have done. However, lack of work or behavior problems can result in lack of payment for the week.

And us?  We're kind of doing a combination of the three above. 

Here is what our plan is.  Patrick already has some chores that he does just because he is a member of the family.  This includes setting the table, cleaning up after himself after dinner, putting away his clean laundry, picking up all toys before bedtime, putting all clothes in the hamper when dirty, and picking out clothes for the next day of school. He will be making his bed as soon as we have him in a full size bed at the beginning of next year (currently he sleeps on a daybed without any covers - by choice). Other things come up, but those are the usual culprits for him.

We've decided that we're going to leave those alone.  General tidiness is something that I expect from all members of our family pertaining to their body and their living space.  I don't think people should get paid for being neat.

We are going to add some tasks though that he CAN get paid for.  What?  Yep - none of his chores will be required work, but will only be done if he wants to earn money.  They will be weekly chores that Chip or I currently do, but our son is capable of doing. Harder chores will be worth more money. If he wants to earn some money for the week, he will do those chores. If he feels he does not want to do those chores, he will not earn any additional money that week and we will do those chores ourselves as we always have.  And - money will be deducted from his weekly total with behavioral problems that come up.

I think this will teach him the following:

• Work = Money
• Hard Work = More Money
• No Money = No Spending
• How to do the tasks in question by practical hands-on learning.
• Stupid choices (behavioral problems) can cost.

Also - it will just help us out because we won't have to do it that week.

To put this into practice though, I am using a system that I saw on Pinterest.  I am modifying it slightly by not specifically using chalkboard paint and weighting each chore the same, but the same concept applies.

One will be a bucket of chores using craft sticks to note the chore and the amount that chore will earn.  The other bucket will be completed chores.  After he finishes a chore, he can move the stick from one bucket to another.  At the end of the week we will tally up the completed, deduct $0.25 for each red stick in the completed bucket (indicating a behavioral problem) and pay him.  From this total we will teach saving and tithing, but that is a post for another day, as this one will be long enough as it is!

Currently, this is the list I have for weekly tasks:

• Bring trash from upstairs bath and his bedroom downstairs to big trashcan - $0.25 (once a week)
• Sweep kitchen - $0.50 (once a week)
• Sweep living room - $0.50 (once a week)
• Feed dog - $0.25 (up to 4 times a week) - she doesn't eat a full bowl a day
• Fold laundry (towels only) - $0.25 (once a week)
• Fold laundry (his and his sister's - all) - $1.00 (once a week) - it's one load for the two of them combined. And he actually folds laundry really well.
• Dust - $0.25 per room, up to 6 rooms

That would total up to $5.00 if he did every task possible.

And I have ideas for specialized tasks that are not every week deals, but will be added to the bucket on an as-needed basis:

• Clean baseboards (all) - $1.00 per level of the house (we have 2 stories)
• Clean windows (all) - $1.00 per level of the house (we don't have that many windows)
• Clean storm doors - $0.25 per door (we have 2)
• Help wash car - $0.50 to $2.00 depending on amount of participation
• Clean doors/doorknobs/scuffs on walls (all) - $1.00 per level of the house; $0.25 for small jobs
• Clean cabinet fronts - $0.25 per bathroom; $0.50 for lower level of cabinets in kitchen
• Water plants - $0.25 (we don't have that many plants - it would increase with more plants)
• Put away groceries - $0.50 - $1.00 depending on level of participation. Not a weekly task because we often grocery shop while he is at school.

For those variable tasks, we can incorporate our other colored craft sticks (that we already own) by color coding the amount.  For instance, move the "Clean baseboards" stick to the completed bucket and two blue "$1.00" sticks if he does all of the baseboards on two levels.

We'll modify it as we go.

But that's the plan.

What do you think?  Do you pay children for their chores?  What type of system do you use?  What other tasks could our 6 year old do?

In Honor of Our Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, I am posting this email forward I received. I confirmed it on Snopes to be true. Enjoy!

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School, Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten.

On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room, they discovered that there were no desks.

"Ms. Cothren, where's our desks?"

She replied, "You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk."

They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades."

"No," she said.

"Maybe it's our behavior."

She told them, "No, it's not even your behavior."

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period...still no desks in the classroom.

By early Afternoon, television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and, as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk less classroom, Martha Cothren said, "Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you."

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, "You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it."

By the way, this is a true story.

Thank a soldier and their family today.  If you've been part of a military family, you understand the sacrifice that these people make.  If you haven't, be grateful that someone in the past was, and still today is, willing to sacrifice so that you could be free. Free to learn, free to earn, free to believe - or not to believer, free to speak, free to read, free to write, free to gather, free to vote, free to work, free to spend, free to save.  You are free to make every choice you make in our nation because thousands were willing to die for the dream of those freedoms. Enjoy your freedoms and do not take their gift for granted.

Handmade Christmas Gifts to Save You Money

If you are anything like us, you are finding yourself this year on a more limited budget than you might have found yourself in the past.  Or maybe you're just attacking debt.  Or maybe you're doing fine financially but decided there is no reason to spend a lot of money on Christmas presents when you can make some that mean more to the recipients.

Regardless of why you're reading this post, obviously you are looking for some low cost alternatives for Chritsmas presents.  Here are some ideas that I've run across (mostly on Pinterest) for some great gift ideas that won't break the bank.

Click through below (sorry - I didn't want all of the photos clogging up my front page).

What Lending Club did for Our Timeshare Loan - Our True Story

Featured in this weeks Carnival of Personal Finance!

In September we made a leap and took out a Lending Club loan to replace our timeshare financing. I wanted to give you the details of this deal. And see, I'm a numbers kind of gal. I'm logical to a fault and numbers just make sense to me. So although this post might be a bit tedious to read for some, it sheds a lot of light on the subject of debt to me. Please read on whether you like numbers or not. It's truly shocking.

Here are the down and dirty details of that deal:

Original Cost for Timeshare: $17,820.00

Down Payment: $4,716.69

Total Amount Financed: $13,103.31

That was in February of 2008. 

Balance of Loan September 2011: $10,906.17

Whoa!  WHAT?! 

Yep...in three and a half years after paying $238.78 a month on time every time with no penalties, we had knocked down that loaning a massive $2197.14.

TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS in 3-1/2 YEARS? 

Yep...that's the horror of 17.9% interest. That's the horror of ANY interest. (cash is king, people!)

So, in September of 2011 we took out a Lending Club loan for $12,000 at 9.99%.  This would cover our timeshare debt as well as the loan fees associated with taking out the loan. It left us about $300 that got us through a rough period in a tight month.  But that's another story.

So we made our first payment on October 9th to our Lending Club loan in the amount of $387.15. 

So notice that our payment is now about $150 higher.  We could have settled for a payment that was closer to our previous payment but we chose a 3 year loan with a lower interest rate rather than a 5 year loan with a higher one.  We did they math and saw that we could work in the extra $150 for the hugely improved (over 17.9%) interest rate.

Of our first payment, $287.25 went to principal.  That's 74.2% of our payment that went towards principal.  One month earlier, of our $238.78 that we paid, only 31.0% (or $74.05) went towards principal.  Yep...in one month we've already paid more than 3X the amount of principal than we would have on our old loan.

To make it even crazier...we are paying $148.37 more a month for this loan, but in the first month, paid off $213.20 more in principal.

AWESOME!

And as crazy as it may sound to some of you, I actually care that my interest is going to people who are responsibly investing their money in Lending Club rather than a financial company that financially rapes people like they were us.

So, if you had any questions about whether Lending Club works, I can tell you that it has certainly worked for us. Even in one month's time.

So if you need a loan, go check it out.  Do the calculator they provide on their site. Go through the pre-approval process to see if the payments would do the wonders for you that they have done for us. Interest rates start at 6.78%.

And if you're looking to invest wisely, consider Lending Club. You may not put a large sum in, but the current returns for investors average 9.6%.  Because I invested with $50 of free money, I invested in more risky loans, and my current return is 18.01%.  Either of those beats anything you'll get with a CD or even the more risky current stock market. You can rest assured that Lending Club does not lend to just anyone; in fact, the only approve about 10% of the requests for loans before people even get a chance to decide if they want to fund them. And you can know that you are helping people who are working their way out of debt the honest, hard-working way.  

Links provided are affiliate links, but the story is all mine and all true. It really does work for us and I couldn't be happier about it.

8 Unexpected Things That Make My Day

I love when the unexpected is perfect. Those little things...they really make my day.  Here are a few off the wall ones

1. Entering a public restroom to find the seat lifted. This typically means your tush will be the first to touch it since it was cleaned. (yeah...only works on women's rooms, fellas).
2. Parking within two spots of the front door without having to stalk fellow patrons leaving the store.  I know...it's better to walk for your health, but when you're in a hurry, this is perfection!
3. Finding an available register at the grocery store or Walmart.
4. Learning that a client/vendor/friend is taking me to lunch unexpectedly on a day when I wanted to get out of the office but was struggling with the idea of spending the extra money.
5. Finding a broken parking meter that I am allowed to park at.
6. A song that comes on the radio that I had forgotten was once one of my favorites. Yes, I crank it up and sing like a fool.
7. Pouring the perfect amount of milk into my cereal.
8. Clean sheets on a bed.  Love, love how tightly they are tucked, how smoothly they are fitted and how they smell like laundry detergent and bleach. Call me strange, but this is one of my small pleasures in life.

So there they are. Little things that no one does FOR me, but I just happen upon. Okay, so you can argue that #8 doesn't JUST HAPPEN, but it is one of my ultimate happy moments that has nothing to do with anyone's actions to make me happy. It's just a moment that I get to encounter as a side effect of having to clean the linens. And it is pure bliss.

What about you?  What would be on your list?

Photo credit: bosela

5 Steps to Becoming a Better Listener

Whether you are trying to run a business, manage a group of employees, or just be a good friend, really knowing what another person is telling you is key to being someone who is liked, respected, and trusted. Take these five steps to really get to know other people.

Step 1: Listen Aggressively
Make sure you are listening and really grasping what people are telling you. And I don’t just mean the words. Listen to their tone of voice and listen to what they are actually NOT saying.

For instance, if a cashier at the grocery store looks at you and snarls when she spits out the words, “Have a nice day,” you don’t honestly believe she wishes you well, do you? Obviously she is having a bad day or going through a difficult period in life. Or maybe you just irritated her. The sarcasm dripping from her lips is a clear indication that the words you heard were not truly what she was trying to say.

Also keep this in mind when responding to others (although that is a topic for another day).

Also…pay attention to what the person is NOT saying. For instance, is there some important point that is missing? Are there words that would normally fit into the conversation that you are having but are absent from this one? Is there anything they are avoiding telling you?

Listening is very different from hearing. Make sure you know (and practice) the difference.

Step 2: Observe Aggressively
Have you ever what one of the many police dramas on TV (can you miss them?!) or courtroom shows where it is obvious that something just doesn’t look right. Take a step back and look at the other person while they are talking to you. Do they look withdrawn? Do they look uncomfortable or nervous? Are they avoiding eye contact or fidgeting? Is their body facing toward the door like they are ready for a quick escape?

These are all signs that somewhere there is some missing truth in what they are telling you. They are avoiding the truth or covering up with a lie. Even a lie of omission is a lie and something is really going on here.

Did you know that I was told that FBI agents are told that during their first interrogation, they are to completely ignore what the person is saying and strictly observe. Pure observation is what tells them who to bring back for a second interview most of the time. That's serious business, people!

Step 3: Talk Less
Listen 75% of the time and talk 25% of the time. People are coming and talking to you because they have something they want to tell you. Don’t assume that they want your opinions or for you to relate to them unless they ask for it or the conversation leans in that direction. Don’t immediately turn the conversation into something you’d rather talk about or into something about you. They didn’t come to learn about you, most likely, but to relay something important to you. Make sure you are listening and get your ego out of the way.

If you do learn that they seem to want confirmation or acceptance, you can relate a similar story about yourself, but keep it brief. They have come to talk. Rarely do people come to you just to sit and listen to whatever you feel the urge to say at the moment.

Step 4: Take a Second Look at First Impressions
As the conversation continues, sort out for yourself how this needs to be perceived. Don’t go off of your first gut-reaction. You need to observe the person and think about the situation entirely before jumping to any rash decisions or assumptions.

Why is this person coming to you with this information? What do they expect to get from your conversation? What would you like to hear in a similar circumstance but with the tables turned?

Give people the benefit of the doubt. Even if you are wrong, you’ll feel better about being wrong than if you had not trusted a person of integrity in the beginning.

Step 5: Step Back
Take your emotions out of the equation. Force yourself to step back and use your observation skills to make a decision rather than your emotions. Although our emotions are a gift from God, we do not always use them correctly and often cause hurt, distrust, and degradation. When you check your emotions out of the game, you immediately become more observant, a better listener, and are able to think more clearly. Carry on the conversation in this manner, not with the emotions that may have arisen during your talk. Make sure you act and do not react.


Are you a good listener? If so, what do you feel contributes to this? If not, what can you work on?




I swiped this info from a presentation that I attended for work purposes. The five steps and some examples are not my own although some of the elaborations are mine. I shared them in hopes that you can use them as I plan to be able to.

Photo credit: Ambro

Happy Columbus Day!

Fees for Using Your Debit Card?

Is your bank one of the ones about to start charging you for using your debit card?

Mine's not.





Find a bank today that will let you use your own money for free!