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Everyday Cheapskate: Tips Are for Kids!

Mary Hunt

Raising kids is not cheap. It's the smart parents who find clever ways to keep childhood fun without breaking the bank. We love it when they take the time to send in their best tips for ways they save time and money every day.

FUN FOOD. When my daughter was small, I would take a chicken hot dog and, using a sharp paring knife, cut just the bottom half of the dog into quarters. On the top half, I used a toothpick to gouge out two "eyes." I would boil these creations, and the bottom halves opened up to look like the tentacles of an octopus! -- Debbie, e-mail

KID SWAP. My husband and I have two small children, and getting a baby sitter for a night out is outrageously expensive. Instead, we've set up a "kid swap" with friends who have children the same age as ours and with whom our kids are friends. Once a month, they take our kids for a Saturday afternoon and evening, and on a different day, we do the same for them. The host family is responsible for dinner and getting everyone into their pajamas before pickup time. It's free, fun and a chance for parents to have couple time. -- Amy, California

PHOTO PHRUGALITY. My husband coaches our 7-year-old daughter's softball team. The team chose to opt out of the expensive professional sports photo. Instead, the team arrived an hour early for a game. Parents brought their own digital cameras, and we took our own photos. We e-mailed them to one another and had plenty of pictures from which to choose. Each family had its choice to use a photo service to get prints or to print them on its own home computer. -- Mandy B., Texas

TRAVEL TIME. My kids like to draw while in the car, but their crayons and markers always were rolling around. A trip to get pizza gave me an idea that has made travel time much easier. I got a medium-sized pizza box for each child and put their drawing supplies, including paper and coloring books, inside the boxes, and they use the tops as "desks." Everything stays together, and each child has a large surface to draw on. The best part is no more crayons melted into the carpet! -- Cheryl H., Iowa

SCALDPROOF. When my kids were little, we taught them to use just one bathroom in our home. In that room, I turned off the hot water below the sink so that as they got more independent, they could wash their hands safely, without the risk of scalding. -- Lucy K., Georgia

FREE TUTORING. I am a home-schooling mom, and my son is taking algebra. I discovered that my local library's Web site offers free online tutoring to kids with library cards. All we have to do is put in our card number. Within seconds, my son is chatting live with a tutor who walks him through whatever problem he is struggling with and answers all his questions. It's perfect for the student who only needs occasional help with a subject, and not a weekly tutoring session. -- Susie G., California

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Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Include your first and last name and state. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including "Debt-Proof Living" and "Tiptionary 2." To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Copyright 2009 Creators Syndicate Inc.

This news arrived on: 10/14/2009

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