ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

From the very beginning you know that you want to be a stay-at-home parent. That feeling only strengthens when your beautiful child is born. You take one look at him and wonder how you could ever give up the opportunity to spend each and every day with him, watching him grow and learn, and exploring the world for the first time through his eyes. You don't want someone else bringing up your children.

But there can be problems....like you were a two-income family. How can you possibly afford to eliminate one of those incomes? Well, there are a lot of answers to that question, parents share with you some thoughts...

The first thing looked at when determining “what you can afford” is how much money you made.  What  we really needed to examine was our expenses. So, the first step in the quest to stay home was to list the expenses you would incur in order to work, versus staying home. This is what we came up with: professional clothing (your kids don’t mind that you wear sweats or recycled op-shop!); transportation costs: fuel, tolls, public transit, parking, etc.; those “must-have” morning tea each morning; lunches with coworkers; gifts for coworkers (holidays and special occasions) make-up and regular hair cuts etc. CHILDCARE – it’s in bold print for a reason. If you haven’t priced this one out yet, do it now. This will easily be your greatest expense. And, it only goes up with each child.

Go ahead and add up all these expenses. Don’t be too depressed, because there’s good news: these expenses represent your “instant rebate” for staying home. You’ve essentially just eliminated the need for a good portion (if not all) of your income. Need more savings? Keep reading!

How many times per week are you dining out at restaurants, getting take out, ordering in, etc? By staying at home, you have the time to go to the grocery store and prepare a wholesome and much more economical meal for your family and to grow your own garden of eatin!!!

Eliminate (or at least cut back) on your little luxuries. Manicures, pedicures, massages, hair highlights, 300 television channels, 2000 cell phone minutes. You get the picture. Join http://www.freecycle.com/

Clip coupons... but if you take the time, it will save you money. There are also plenty of online sites that provide coupons.

Examine your bills carefully... go over every health insurance summary, utility statement, etc. with a magnifying glass, and check for billing errors.

Make this a team effort. If staying home only appeals to you and not your partner, your chances of success are greatly diminished. Do research to show the difference between daycare and stay-at-home children. Making adjustments to the family budget will affect the lifestyle of all those involved. Grow your own organic vegetables, this is great activity for the children a weel as healthy and budget saving.

 This transition will be much smoother with the support of your significant other.

And last, but certainly not least, follow your heart!

If you feel called to stay home with your children, then do it!

All it takes is the determination to succeed and the willingness to reduce expenses. Best of luck to you! And your children will thank you when they remember all the great fun family times - trips to the park, reading books, craft at home, home activities, endless tea parties, creating fairy gardens, gardening, washing and walking the dog, nature walks, hugging trees, Get into a routine and set them up for life the list goes on and on.....

http://homeparents.about.com/- Stay-at-Home Parents find support, parenting tips, home-based business information, recipes, freebies, chat, discussion forums, and frugal living tips.

6 Important Facts (and Myths) about Stay at Home Parenting

A great report from the late 90's giving facts about Stay at Home Parents across the USA

Slowlane   For you stay at home Dads

http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/athomedad/index.blog

We can all use more money in the bank.  These sites will help you save more of what you make!

Save Money - Free Financial Advice  

The Dollar Stretcher -A frugal website with tips about how to save money doing just about anything.  Just type in your topic and go. (A great search feature lets you type in any topic you like to help save you money, from buying cars to cleaning rugs)

Add cash to the budget...

Consign  Clothes
If you're like most, you have lots of clothes in your closet that haven't been worn for the last few seasons, if not the last few years. Get rid of them! Not only will you be de-cluttering your closet, you can make some money doing so. Call your local consignment store to make an appointment to bring them in. Make sure they are clean, pressed and in good condition. The better they look the more money they will bring. Sell baby clothes etc on E-Bay and ecobites has free classifieds. You can always purchase brand names from op-shops and garage sales and resell.

Get a Paper Route
This may not sound appealing, but you can actually make good money with a paper route. You can do this while your spouse is still home in the morning and your kids are still sleeping. It can be great exercise, too!

Take in a Boarder
Have an extra room in your home? You may be able to take in a boarder. It doesn't necessarily have to be a stranger, either. Ask your friends and contacts through work if they know of a responsible adult looking for a place to rent.Be sure to check laws and regulations before proceeding. Try fostering, it sure is great to help a child in need.

Have a Garage Sale

This is another great way to clear the junk out of your home while making money. I would guess that the main reason most people don't have them is the work involved in getting ready for them. A painless way of getting ready for your yearly sale is to keep a few big boxes in a storage area marked "Garage Sale".

Mark their prices before you place them in the box, and most of your work is done for you already. Remember: if you donate items, you can take a tax deduction on their current value. If you itemize on your tax return it is sometimes easier and more cost effective to take the deduction than to sell your things at a garage sale.

Staying home is great for your kids but sometimes tough on your wallet. 

Here are some ideas for how to earn some extra income while you're home being a super parent!

Direct Sales/Party Plan can be a great way to make extra income or alot of income.  There are many companies out there to choose from and this article helps you decide what to look for to fit your life

If you're shrewd, it's possible to make a nice income from doing surveys at home - pretty easy, huh? They're not all good though, there are a lot of scams.

Mom Inventors     Ever had a great idea for a product or business but didn't know what to do next?  Be inspired by these mom's who share their stories, tips and advice on how to be a mum (and or dad) with a business!

Get organized

Check out these sites for advice on running your home like a well oiled machine!

Organized Home  Not an easy task...but find ways to better organize your home with kids.

Flylady Personal Online Coach    -"Do you live in Chaos? (Can't have anyone over syndrome?)"   You're not alone.  This site will help you de-clutter your life.

There's lots of advice out there on being a better parent....here are a few sites that  you may enjoy, and please email us with your favourite's and we will add to the list.

Online Playgroup  Want to find or start a playgroup?  This site offers you help.

MOPS - Mothers Of Preschoolers   Tips and ideas on parenting preschoolers.

Twinsights   Got twins?...then there's lots of encouragement, stories and tips for you. 

Make some time for you

 A healthier, happier you makes a better parent.

The Simple Living Network 

Full Time Mothers  a small but growing voluntary organisation which supports full-time mothers. Based in London.

What About The Children a charity that focuses on the fact that children need to spend time with their parents.

Home Dad  support for fathers.

Women in the Home  support group for women in Ireland who choose to stay at home.

On these websites you'll find some great recipes, tips and more!

Spatulatta   An award winning site that will help teach your kids to cook!  Videos by kids show kids how much fun cooking can be. Allrecipes -   Want a recipes for banana cream pie?  Look it up here.  Don't forget to check out  Ecobites.com recipes - many healthy yummy recipes in the children's section, get the children cooking!

http://www.starfall.com/ A great interactive site for your children.

Member submitted.

Note: all the above links have been supplied as reference only and are not endorsed by Ecobites.  All care must be taken at all times when entertaining offers and services.