Does buying your kid secondhand clothes make you a “bad” parent?

26. September 2012 · 22 comments · Categories: Clothing, Kids, Wasting money

No. It doesn’t. It makes you a smart parent – who is wisely saving their money for stuff like education or awesome Lord of the Rings Lego kits (oh wait..that’s what my husband is buying himself :) ).

We don’t actually have kids, but I visited with a friend on the weekend who recently had her first child. I was telling her how most of the toys I have for my niece at my house are actually hand me downs from another niece, or were bought at a garage sale. Yes, I’m a cheap aunt. I help chip in for shoes on occasion and put money towards her education. Much better use than wasting it on new toys. :)

Anyways, she seemed greatly relieved to hear this and fessed up that she’d bought her daughter clothes at Value Village. And then asked if this made her a bad parent!  She’s finding out the hard way that motherhood comes with a lot of judgement, and another friend of hers told her she’d never let her kids wear second hand stuff.

WOW! I just think that’s absolutely crazy. I know I grew up wearing hand me downs. Heck, if any of my friends were the same size as me, I’d take hand me downs now. But I’m taller than all of them, so that’s never been an option.

I guess this is one of the reasons that people are so much in debt now. My friend felt badly that they could afford to buy her new clothes – but bought them at Value Village. I pointed out that she was being smart – her daughter would outgrow them quickly, and it was silly to buy them new. I pointed out my niece wears hand me downs (really nice ones, mind you – my brother has some well off friends!) and my parents buy her things at Once Upon a Child.

I don’t know. I guess I just grew up with hand me downs and thought they were normal. Guess I’m just out of the loop.

How do you guys feel about this? Do you buy second hand clothes for yourself or your kids?

RESPs – an overview

23. July 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Investing, Kids

I was inspired to write this post because apparently some idiot at the bank told my parents they cannot open one for their granddaughter (my niece). Seriously, that person has no business running a bank if she doesn’t know some basic information like who can open one!

What is an RESP?

An RESP stands for Registered Education Savings Plans.

Who can open one?

Anybody. Yup. Anybody. But it has to be opened for someone under the age of 17.

What is it?

It’s a great way to save for a child’s education. The best thing about it is that the government will actually give you some free money when you put money into it.

No way – the government wants to give me money?

Yup. It’s called a Canada Education Savings Grant. It can provide an additional $200 on the first $500 you save annually, and up to $400 on the next $2,000 saved.

The maximum lifetime grant that the Government of Canada will give to a child is $7,200.

Even if you can’t afford to put anything in at all – the child may be eligible for a $500 Canadian Learning Bond.

Okay, what about taxes?

You aren’t charged on the interest earned in the RESP, and because the beneficiary should be in a low tax bracket when they withdraw the money, they likely won’t have to either.

Can I deduct what I contribute from my income tax, like I do for an RRSP contribution?

Nope. Sorry. That’s a no-go.

And what if the kid doesn’t go to any kind of “higher education”?

Depending on the type of plan you choose, it can stay open and be used for the child’s sibling. If you wait long enough, the RESP can be closed and the money returned to you. Or, you can transfer the money to your RRSP. If you think this is a real possibility, make sure your clear on what your options are before you open the RESP.

What’s the lifetime maximum that can be contributed?

$50,000 dollars.

Have you opened an RESP? Would you?

Last minute, cheap summer program ideas for kids

04. June 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Cheap activities, Kids, Summer · Tags: , , ,

Summer is fast approaching, and for those of you with kids, it’s both a blessing and curse. The kids are looking forward to long, lazy days, but you’re tearing your hair out thinking “What do you mean I had to sign the kids up in March for summer camp?!”

When I was a kid, my Dad was a teacher, as were a lot of other parents on the street. So, they never had to figure out what to do with us kids over the summer. Most people don’t have that luxury though.  So, here is my list of of last minute, relatively inexpensive ideas if you haven’t managed to sign Junior up for 8 weeks of chess camp:

1. Talk to other parents in your neighbourhood. With luck, you may be able to find a willing teenager, stay at home parent, ambitious teacher, or unemployed adult, who will watch several of your precious darlings over the summer.  Going together should mean you can negotiate a group discount. Make sure you do your research so you are comfortable with whomever is watching your child.

2. Try a home based day care. If you already have your child in before or after school care, your care provider may be willing to provide all day care over the summer.  Don’t just assume they will though – they may already be at maximum capacity with children who attend full time year round.

3. Ask at work. I know my work provides emergency day care for a certain amount of time. This wouldn’t cover you for the whole summer, but it might tide you over until you could find something else.

4. Determine if you’re kids are old enough and responsible enough to stay home alone. Depending on where you live, there may be no specific legal minimum age, but you should keep a lot of things in mind before deciding to leave your kids at home along.

5. Local day camps. When I was a teenager, I spent 2 weeks volunteering at a camp called “Summer Activity Centre”. It was run by the city, cheaply – cause most of the stuff were volunteers like me. You could bring your kid as little or as often as you liked. And most kids survived the day – honest! :)

Hope you find these ideas helpful. What are your ideas for cheap summer programs for kids?

A free and fun afternoon with a four year old

30. April 2012 · 6 comments · Categories: Cheap activities, Kids

Is that a great title or what? I love alliteration (bonus Canuck Buck points if you know what that means :) ).

I went over yesterday to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and incredibly adorable 4 year old niece (yes, I’m a bit biased – but I’ll freely admit she gets her cuteness from her mother’s side, not ours).

I’ll refer to my niece as L – that’s her middle initial. L and I spent 2 very fun hours together and it didn’t cost a cent. First we spent some quality time making pretend strawberry tea and lemonade.  We just used a variety of plastic toys to pour water around and through things.  Then we headed over to the park for an hour.

City parks have got to be one of the best ways to spend time with kids for free.  This one is great – it’s got small climbing walls, swings, slides, and stuff you can swing across.  L was perfectly happy to play by herself some, and then we both went on the swings, and I chased her around the park, and down the slides.

Finally, we went back to my brother’s and she raced me around a little pond there. And she won. Fair and square. She’s in much better shape than I am. :)

It was a great afternoon, and we both really enjoyed it – and it didn’t cost a thing! My brother has actually been telling her stories about how I’ve been training night and day in order to race her.  I guess my pretend training hasn’t been strenuous enough.

What’s one of your favourite ways to spend a free afternoon – either on your own, or with others?

 

How to see a movie in the theatre for 2.50

23. April 2012 · 8 comments · Categories: Cheap activities, Entertainment, Kids · Tags: , , , ,

Over the years, movies prices have been steadily rising. To take family of four, it can costs at least 50 dollars just to get in.  If you add in snacks and drinks, you might as well take out a second mortgage to pay for your admittance.

However, there is now a way to a) see movies in the theatre for cheap b)support a good cause while you’re at it.

Cineplex is now running a series of movies on Saturday mornings, and listings are available from here until August.  Here’s a sample of some of the films running:

  • The Great Muppet Caper
  • Babe
  • Chicken Run
  • The Iron Giant (excellent movie, if you haven’t seen it!)
  • Big
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (I’m tempted to catch this one!)
  • Follow that Bird (I was forced to see this at the age of 10. I do not recommend it for the the 10 and up set. Smaller children may enjoy it)
  • Night at the Museum

Yes, you can probably get these for free on T.V or from the library, but I have to admit, there is nothing like seeing a movie on the big screen.  If you have young children who have never been to a movie, this might be a great way to introduce them. After all, if they can’t make it through the movie, then you haven’t wasted too much money.

As for the good cause I mentioned – it’s the Starlight Children’s Foundation, which helps provide support for family outing and activities, educational programming, and other great things like hospital playrooms for seriously ill children.

To find out more, check out the Family Favourites page at Cineplex.com.

And remember – you don’t have to be a kid or have a kid to go. You’re perfectly welcome to relive your childhood all on your own!

Are any of these movies ones you’d like to see on the big screen again? If not, what would you like to see?

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