Serendipity Mommy

For happy, healthy, thriving moms

Dissolving the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Lifestyle

by

Many parents are under enormous amounts of stress. With Covid-19 still lurking, they now find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. This may be due to a loss of income through no fault of their own or, possibly, because of poor spending habits. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated problem affecting only a small percentage of the workforce. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your current situation and achieve a sound financial future. 

Immediate Help

If time is of the essence, regarding finances, there are ways to secure additional funds quickly to get you over your immediate hurdle. Unlike traditional banks, some lenders do not require an excellent credit score to grant approval for a small loan. Conduct a search online to see if you qualify. If you are unable to secure funds through any lender, a family member may be in a position to offer a loan to bring your bills current. 

Advancing Your Career

If you don’t make enough money to cover regular expenses, advancing your career makes sense. Higher education will allow you to afford life’s essentials and have money left over to start enjoying life. Maybe your interest lies in graphic design. Enrolling in a reputable school will teach you how to become a graphic designer. While attending school you can look into companies and their requirements for employment. 

Creating a Household Budget

Proper money management leads to financial wealth. Creating a household budget is a step in the right direction. It will teach you about your areas of weakness and effective ways to save, spend, and track your finances. Write down everything you owe out and to whom. This will open your eyes as to where your money goes and allow you to find effective ways to reduce your debt and put money away for setting goals. 

Control Spending

In the digital world, it’s easy to spend money that you don’t have. You pull out a credit card and use it to pay for basically everything. A better approach is to start using cash instead. Cash is something you can hold and view. It will give you a real sense of how much things cost. As a result, you’ll think about every purchase you intend to make.

Reducing Household Expenses

It takes a lot of money to continue to maintain your home every month. There’s the mortgage, taxes, utilities, water, and cable. In addition, you have homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, car insurance, and food and essentials. Finding ways to reduce your monthly expenses will put money back in your pocket that you can use to pay down debt. Bundling services like cell, television and insurance are a few examples of savings you can enjoy to the tune of 20 percent or more. Replacing standard light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs and running the washer, dryer, and dishwasher during non-peak hours will also provide additional savings. 

Stop Using Credit Cards

Credit card debt can cause you to be cash poor. Put your credit cards in a drawer and start relying solely on your cash. Initially, you may find it difficult. However, after a few months, you’ll find that you no longer need them. In the meantime, you can start to pay off your debt. Some people use the method of starting with the card that has the highest balance or the highest interest rate. Others use the one with the lowest amount owed. 

Have a Night Out Once a Month

In order to stay the course and end the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle, you need to feel that you can still enjoy life. Mark a date once each month when you have an evening out. For the rest of the month, you buckle down and avoid eating out or purchasing things you want versus the things you need. 

Living paycheck-to-paycheck causes stress and anxiety. Thankfully, with a few changes, you can dissolve this way of life sooner than you may imagine. 

Understanding Work Credits and Social Security Disability Eligibility

by

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) pays out benefits to people who are no longer able to work because of a disability or medical condition. However, not everyone is covered by the SSDI program. To obtain benefits through SSDI, you must be ‘insured’.

In contrast to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), not everyone can file for SSDI benefits. You must have paid a sufficient amount into the program. When you earn wages and pay FICA taxes, you also receive ‘work credits’ that will qualify you for coverage under SSDI. 

Work Credits and SSDI: Understanding the Basics

The Social Security Administration (SSA) tracks everyone’s work history. The agency has records on how much you have earned in wages and paid in federal taxes. Every time an employee earns qualifying income, they receive a work credit. 

Under federal law, you can receive a maximum of four work credits each year. To get a single work credit in 2020, an employee must have earned at least $1,410 in qualifying income. To get all four credits in 2020, an employee must earn $5,640 in qualifying income. 

How Many Work Credits for Social Security Disability

How many work credits you need to qualify for SSDI coverage depends, largely, on your age. Workers under the age of 30 may need up to 18 work credits—meaning they need a maximum of 4.5 years of work history. 

Workers between the ages of 31 and 41 generally need 20 work credits, or five years of qualifying employment. From there, the number of work credits needed for eligibility gradually rises until age 62, where it reaches the maximum of 40 work credits. In other words, anyone with 10 years of work history should satisfy the SSA’s work credit requirement, regardless of their age. 

If you have never filed for SSDI or SSI benefits and you have questions about the process, you are certainly not alone. Do not hesitate to get help filing your initial application. A Social Security disability lawyer will help you get access to the full benefits that you are entitled to under the law. 

6 Reasons You Might Need a Personal Loan

by

 

Personal loans can be a logical solution to a problem that involves not having enough money to cover a large expense or even to consolidate debt. If you’re in a bind and considering taking out a personal loan but have never applied for one before, then you might be confused and a little wary.

If you have less than stellar credit or are worried about applying for personal loans with no credit, it’s important to make sure that you do your research carefully, and check late fees and interest rate information before you apply. While you never want to apply for a personal loan just for extra money, there are a few times when getting a loan just makes sense.

Home Improvements

Whether you’re going solar, adding an extra bathroom, or just updating the cabinets in your kitchen, it’s going to cost you a tidy sum of money. Money that you might not have easy access to. A personal loan can get you the money you need and help you better your home at the same time.

Trouble Paying Bills

In today’s chaotic and uncertain economic times, many people are finding themselves having a hard time making ends meet. Having trouble paying your bills is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s possible that on top of your normal household bills, you’ll find that the winter is extremely colder than usual, meaning higher heating bills, or the landlord could raise the rent all of a sudden and expect you to pay the extra. A personal loan can help you get back on top of things where you belong.

School Expenses

The cost of going back to school as an adult can boggle the mind. However, if you want to get somewhere in life, that’s often what you have to do. A personal loan could give you the money to purchase books, supplies, and maybe even help on that tuition bill while you’re waiting for your financial aid or student loan to kick in.

Car Repairs

Car repairs seem to always be needed when you least expect it, and when your bank account is dry. A personal loan can help you fix your car, and keep you from missing work or having to beg for a ride with someone. Your car is something that you’ve got to have, so waiting to get it fixed in most cases just isn’t an option.

Debt Consolidation

Often, you get to the point where you’re sinking into debt, you’ve maxed out your credit cards, and you aren’t sure which way to turn for relief. Debt consolidation is an option and a personal loan can make that possible for many people. You do want to do your research well and figure out what the best way to consolidate your debt is. For credit card debt, a personal loan works super well, because you’re getting out of all those interest and late fee payments every month, and just paying one simple bill, instead.

Covering the Holidays

While this might seem to be a bad reason for getting a personal loan, more people than you might think use these loans for the holidays. The last thing you want to do is max out your credit cards or drain your bank account with holiday spending. Instead, take out a small personal loan to get through the holidays and pay it back throughout the year.

These are just a few of the reasons that people get personal loans. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, and in fact, has helped many people through quite a few bad situations in the past and will in the future as well.

Ways to Live on a Single Income

by

With schools either adopting remote or hybrid instruction due to the continuing pandemic, many parents find themselves at home tending to the needs of younger children. This presents challenges for families where both parents work full time. As a mom, you may consider taking time off from your current employer or leaving the office indefinitely for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, if you made the decision to remain at home, there are ways to cut expenses and live on a single income.

Taking Out a Personal Loan

Taking out a small personal loan to pay off credit card debt will allow you to focus on household expenses and keep your bills current. There are a few other advantages too. First, you won’t accumulate added interest and secondly, you will keep your credit in good standing. Make sure to shop around to make sure that you acquire the lowest interest rates. Credit union loans are among the lowest available, so they make a great place to begin your search.

Commuting Cut in Half

With only one person commuting to work, you can cut the expense in half. You only need to put gas in one car and your second vehicle will last longer. You can also cut costs on clothing, lunch, and the morning coffee purchased on the way to the office.

What You Can Remove

When faced with life-altering situations, compromise is necessary. Reducing expenses for your budget and cutting those things that you can live without, will free up money to cover your essentials. For example, cable television is extra and not essential. You will need the internet for children’s learning lessons. However, when it comes to television, you can reduce the plan to basic, giving you a savings of up to one hundred dollars. If you have memberships such as for the gym and monthly subscriptions, these are items you can cancel and resume once you return to work.

Get the Best Price

Awareness of what you spend is more important than ever. Every dollar you save is money you retain in your pocket. Coupons provide an effective way to save money. Using online coupon sites you can select the ones that apply to items on your weekly shopping list. To save even more, check the fliers printed by local grocery stores and compare prices prior to your outing. Depending on the size of your family, you can save twenty dollars and more each week on food shopping using this method. The same applies to anything you buy. Conduct a thorough search to make sure that you get the lowest price.

Earning Money from Home

You made the decision to stay at home to help with schooling and provide care for your children. Since you’re already at home, taking on a part-time job that you can do while children are working or later in the evening, will supplement your monthly income. Freelance writers and tutors are two part-time jobs in high demand and as such, worth consideration. Or, perhaps, you have a hobby and you’re good at it. Selling these items online can bring in extra cash.

Living Within Your Means

It may prove difficult initially, refraining from spending money on the things you enjoy. After all, up until this very moment, you were financially stable and experiencing a comfortable life. However, for the short-term, living within your means is necessary to sustain a good quality of life. Spending money on frivolous purchases must come to a halt to stay afloat. Avoid dining out, impulse purchases, and putting any debt onto a credit card. These are all steps in the right direction.

The year 2020 has proved to be challenging for many families. If you cut back on your expenses and find ways to save money on the items you need, you’ll be able to live life comfortably on one income until your children return to school full time.

We’re Getting Hitched: Save-The-Date Tips for Engaged Couples

by

It’s finally happening. The love of your life has asked for your hand in marriage. While you’re reveling at the moment, the journey to planning your wedding has begun. Once you’ve ironed out some basics like your wedding date, the theme, and location, you’re ready to let your friends and family in on the big news. Though you could quickly spread the word through individual phone calls and conversations, today’s couples opt to send out save-the-date cards.

What is a Save-The-Date Card?

Save-the-date cards are nothing more than pre-invitations. Their purpose is to let friends and family know about your upcoming nuptials and that their attendance is requested. When received, your intended guests can lock-in the day well in advance. It also gives them adequate time to call out from work, save for a gift, and make arrangements for transportation, childcare, and hotel accommodations (if necessary).

When to Send

Since save-the-date cards are pre-invites to your wedding, you want to send them out well in advance. If you’re planning a destination wedding, it is recommended that you mail them at least a year in advance. For local weddings, putting them in the mail six months ahead of your wedding is advised.

Hiring a Printing Company

While some couples opt to design and print save-the-date cards themselves, paying for the stationary, ink, envelopes, and postage is often a lot more expensive. Not to mention, the time it takes to design and distribute the cards properly may be more than you have to spare. As such, it’s best to hire a company to do the printing for you. Opt for a printing service with multiple templates, easy-to-use customization tools, quality results, and affordable rates.

Designing The Perfect Save-The-Date

After finding the best printing service, you’re ready to begin designing your save-the-date cards. While you may have some ideas in mind, here are some tips to make things easier:

  • Paper Selection – Before you begin thinking of images, patterns, and colors, you need to select a paper type. Though there are several types of paper to choose from, cardstock is your best option. This type of stationery is thick and ideal for printing everything from text to photographs. They have various colors and textures for you to choose from. Some couples have opted to forego the paper and design save-the-date magnets. Whatever you choose, it is ideal to select the same theme you’ll use for your invitations, programs, and thank you cards to keep things uniformed.
  • Wording and Font – What you put on your save-the-date cards is essential. Though you only have a few details of your wedding worked out, you want to include as much as you can for your guests. Ideally, you should put the name of the couple getting married, your wedding date, and the location or venue where you plan to tie the knot. If you have a wedding website or special rules (like adults-only), this information should also be included on the cards. As for font, while going with scriptwriting is expected, make sure that the essential details are legible.
  • Image and Design – Now comes the fun part of creating save-the-date cards for your wedding, designing, and pictures. You can opt to create a design from scratch with your engagement photo and chosen colors. There’s also the option to use templates provided by the site to give you a headstart. Either way, the idea is to capture as much of your special day as you can on a card. It should reflect your personality and give guests an insight into your love for one another. So, don’t be afraid to let your imagination run wild.

Once you’ve gotten engaged, the first thing you want to do is to let everyone know about your upcoming nuptials. Save-the-date cards are the perfect way to get it done. Not only are they a keepsake, but they provide your guests with vital information to ensure they can attend. The tips discussed above help you design cards that you and your guests will cherish forever.

get children’s educational toys from dhgate.com

Recent Posts

Calling All Moms!

Welcome to Serendipitymommy.com! The woman and parenting resource brought to you by a mom, for moms. I also write articles about travel, business, finance and many more subjects to take your super-momness to the next level!