HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED CHRISTMAS AT HERSHEY PARK? Christmas time at Hershey Park is something that should be experienced by everyone at least one time. It is a wonderful way to spend a weekend (or longer if you can swing it)! After Thanksgiving, the entire town of Hershey Pennsylvania is transformed into a chocolate Christmas wonderland, […]
Archives for 2021
CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TEEN BOYS – 100 EASY IDEAS!
WHAT GIFTS DO TEEN BOYS ACTUALLY WANT? Christmas gifts for teen boys are a difficult subject in my opinion. Gone are the days of Legos and Nerf guns! While my teen still loves those things occasionally, as the years go on it is more difficult to know what presents to purchase. Firstly, as a practical […]
THINGS TO DO ON HALLOWEEN FOR TEENS 2021!
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR TEENS FOR HALLOWEEN DURING A PANDEMIC? Halloween for teens in 2021 is a tough one. We are still dealing with the COVID pandemic. In addition to that, as kids get a little older, tweens and teens are frequently not welcomed for trick or treating. I have never really understood that […]
Movie Night with Family – Why you should plan one!
MOVIE NIGHT IS A GREAT FAMILY FUN ACTIVITY! ALSO INCLUDED HERE ARE MOVIE IDEAS FOR THE TWEEN AND TEEN CROWD! Movie night with family is one of my favorite activities. I am always looking for ways to connect with my tween and teen. However, it is harder to find activities to engage them enough to […]
EMPOWER YOUR TEENAGER-GET STARTED NOW!
WHY SHOULD YOU EMPOWER YOUR TEENAGER? THERE ARE MANY REASONS TO DO THIS. To empower your teenager is to give them the authority to make decisions, entrust them to problem-solving, and educate them on making good decisions. And speaking from my own experience, it does not come naturally to parents. When you first become a […]
GLAMPING in a CABIN is an amazing way to camp! FAMILY ADVENTURE SERIES
GLAMPING IN A CABIN IS CAMPING WITH ADDED COMFORTS! Glamping in a cabin is one of my favorite traditions. There is a back story of how we started vacationing this way. I grew up with traditional camping. We had tiny two-man tents, sleeping bags, and lived on cereal and sandwiches, and occasional items cooked over […]
FUN things to do this SUMMER with kids!
HAVE YOU EVER RUN OUT OF IDEAS FOR SUMMER FUN? THINGS TO DO THIS SUMMER WITH KIDS IS HERE TO HELP! THERE ARE MANY IDEAS HERE TO CHOOSE FROM TO KEEP YOU ALL RELAXED, ENTERTAINED, AND HAVING A GREAT SUMMER! Things to do this summer with kids is an attempt to have a solution to […]
529 PLANS – Open one for your child today!
OUR CHILDREN FACE MANY NEW CHALLENGES IN THE WORLD…WOULDN’T YOU WANT TO HELP THEM BE AS PREPARED AS YOU CAN FOR THIS FUTURE WORLD? Why should you consider a 529 plan? Student loan debt statistics in 2021 are staggering figures. According to a Forbes.com article “there are 45 million borrowers who collectively owe nearly $1.7 […]
Making Memories with a FAMILY GAME NIGHT!
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR TWEENS, TEENS, OR ANY AGE FAMILY? MAKING MEMORIES WITH A FAMILY GAME NIGHT IS AN AMAZING WAY TO CREATE SOME FAMILY FUN! Family game night, and making memories, are some of my favorite things to talk about. And my favorite part of life, really. As the […]
CONFIDENT TWEENS/TEENS – 8 AMAZING STRATEGIES!
BECOMING CONFIDENT TWEEN/TEENS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS THAT A CHILD CAN MASTER Why do you need strategies for confident tweens/teens? Because it is a valuable skill that will help them through life. A confident, self-assured child would be a dream, right? However, they do not come out like that. I mean, maybe […]
KIDS and CLUTTER – How to conquer it today!
IS IT POSSIBLE TO BALANCE CLUTTER AND KIDS? Together kids and clutter can make you crazy! At first, it seems so cute. I remember having my first child and going into the toy store. I wanted to buy ALL the things that he needed (aka I wanted!). That really brought out the kid in me. […]
ROTH IRA FOR TEENS! Why they should get one!
WHY SHOULD A TEEN WORRY ABOUT SAVING FOR RETIREMENT? Let us be clear, all people should save for retirement. It is part of your financial responsibility to save for your future. If you make it to retirement age social security will not be enough to meet your needs. Do you want to just get by? […]
INDEPENDENT KIDS-How to encourage it!
CAN CHILDREN BE INDEPENDENT AT ANY AGE? YES, THEY CAN! Teaching kids to be independent is not as easy as it sounds. I mean, I like doing things for the kids. And it is faster. And easier. It takes time and patience to teach children how to do just about anything. But in the grand […]
Teach children THANK-YOU notes now!
Thank you notes are not a thing of the past! Why should children write thank-you notes? Like newspapers, magazines, Christmas cards, and basically anything written many people think that this is a thing of the past. I do, however, disagree. Teaching children to write thank-you notes is a wonderful skill to teach. This skill can […]
OVERSCHEDULED burned-out families vs. BALANCE
IS YOUR FAMILY OVERSCHEDULED AND AT RISK OF BURNOUT? How do you get overscheduled burned-out families? Just like most people, when I had my first child, I had all the hopes and dreams for what I wanted for him. When my family started I worked full-time. At the time that my first son was born, […]
Keep personal record-keeping organized starting now!
WHAT TYPE OF RECORD-KEEPER ARE YOU? As a CPA I spend lots of time going through other people’s records and paperwork. Over the course of many years, I have seen all kinds. Organized, precise, half-missing, thrown in a box, I have seen them all. In my own personal life, I have been on a journey […]
Family Traditions – Bridging the Past with the Future
My first thought about family traditions is the song by Hank Williams Jr. I personally enjoy many types of music so often when I think of a subject, I relate that to a song. At any rate, today’s post is about something near and dear to my heart, and that is FAMILY TRADITIONS! To be […]
EMERGENCY FUNDS – Yes! You should have one!
Emergency funds are simply sums of money put away in some form and saved for unplanned expenses. It is a little bit of security for things that are just plain unexpected. Being prepared for the unexpected in a sense. It is defintely familiar to me why you need an emergency fund. It is the difference between […]
ANXIETY – Helpful ways to manage it!
Anxiety control – can it happen? Can you manage anxiety? Is it even possible? When anxiety takes over, it kinds of feels out of control. You may feel nervous or upset. Before we get into this, please understand that I am not a doctor and I am not giving out medical advice. If you feel […]
Teaching KIDS about MONEY! Get started NOW!
Kids and money. They sure require a lot of it, right? But teaching kids about money is not something that we normally give a lot of thought to. We just handle it for them. Unfortunately, I have learned the hard way that kids grow up faster than you realize. It really does fly by. And […]