I have posted a FREE CD that is packed with goal setting information.  It is available at WWW.GOALSMENTOR.COM.  With this goals site, I am helping others achieve their dreams.  

Please go there and let me help you get started.  I want to make a difference in people’s lives and this is where it starts!  What ever your hopes are (to save for your children’s college, to improve your parenting skills, open your own business) goal setting is where it all starts.

Are your kids always asking for a dollar here and a dollar there?  Do they want to earn some money of their own?

Here are 15 ways kids can earn their own money during the summer:

• Walk neighborhood dogs
• Bathe neighborhood dogs
• Sell lemonade or punch
• Sell cookies
• Sell the books they read last year (at a lemonade stand)
• Mow lawns
• Rake leaves
• Pull weeds
• Plant flowers or trees
• Babysit
• Hold a bike wash
• Offer to wash neighborhood automobiles
• Wash windows
• Collect aluminum cans
• Do extra chores at home

If you have any other ideas you would like to contribute for other mothers, please leave a comment.

Are you interested in building a membership site?

I wanted to share a free eBook called The Membership Site Masterplan. The free book is very informative. Here is the link to get your copy: Membership Site Masterplan

When I find free information on building blogs and websites that I feel is of value, I will share the links with readers of emomsblog because this blog has been such a wonderful experience for me. My start came when I found 10 free videos that walked me through, step by step, how to set up a blog, this blog. Writing emomsblog has been so much fun and is still a work in progress as many of my pages are still not complete, but will be soon.

Watch for the kids’ summer planning information coming soon. I am excited to share what I have been working on!

I want to thank Yaro Starak whose free videos walked me through, step-by-step, how to get this blog up and running using a hosting company.  You can view those videos and request a free blogging ebook from his website by going to this link 10 Easy To Follow Videos Showing You How To Create Your Blog From Scratch!

I use HOSTMONSTER for my hosting company and I really recommend their services.  The how-to videos on how to blog use Hostgator (above link).  If you are going through these video and would like to use the hosting company I use, 
CLICK HERE TO SIGNUP FOR HOSTMONSTER.COM NOW.

Good Luck on your website/blog!

More information to come.

Back up your computer.   This can save you a lot of time and money in the future.

I had previously backed up on a flash drive about three months ago so I wasn’t too worried about backing up again.  Finally, after several reminders from both Norton and Quickbooks, I decided I would back up Quickbooks because I had entered items almost daily in that program.  Lucky me!  My computer crashed and is in a bootloop (lingo from a techy).  

We have a second computer which is used by the family.  If this computer crashes we would lose our family snapshots from the past 5 years.  I am backing it up as I type this post.  I guess the most important thing to me is that I have all of our family pictures backed up because those are what I care about.  With digital cameras, it’s just too easy to lose your memories if your computer goes down.

Back up.

I believe the internet is the way of the future so I have set each of my children up with domain and website, and with that website comes a unique email address.  On their websites (blogs) they will talk about what kids talk about.  I am preparing them for success, or at least giving them a boost, in the internet world.

Since their blogs are so new, there isn’t a lot of substance to them yet and I haven’t finished the changes we will make.  The websites are www.egirlsblog.com and www.random4boys.com. 

They are both excited and have picked out themes from wordpress.org and have started making entries.  I know I will have to monitor their sites and I have set clear rules. 

Since this is my first website (emomsblog), I had to re-read how to create their sites.  It was a good exercise for me to run through the steps again.   I hope I am on the correct path!

For two seasons, my children have had the responsibility of refereeing soccer for the city we live in.  They are now 12 and 10 years of age.  They just received their pay for the fall season today.   What a great teaching opportunity this has been! 

To get the job, they first had to attend classes and pass a test.  When the season was upon us, they were responsible to be to every game scheduled to them, even if it conflicted with another activity, otherwise they were responsible to get a replacement referee.  At each game, they had to be fair and be aware of what was going on around them at all times.

Going over their paystub and explaining the taxes (social security and medicare only) was a perfect opportunity to teach real world circumstances.  I am thankful for these occasions, as it makes learning more fun for the kids.

I kept putting off setting myself up for online bill pay through my bank.  Since I started paying my bills on line about 6 months ago, I have saved countless hours, not to mention postage.  It took two close friends to look at me in amazement and tell me how much they loved it to get my off my duff.  It is simple and if you need help, call your bank.  They will be pleased to help you get started.  You will be happy you did.  I know I am.

I want to thank Yaro Starak whose free videos walked me through, step-by-step, how to get this blog up and running using a hosting company.  You can view those videos and request a free blogging ebook from his website at www.becomeablogger.com. 

I am excited about this blog and I promise to keep this blog exciting and updated for all of the people who visit this blog.  Comments and suggestions are welcome.

I am making some small changes in my life to boost my income and save whenever and where ever I can.  I want to share some ideas I have come up with.  I have already put most of these items to work.

1. Diversify your job and knowledge skills. Be available for anything that comes along to make extra cash. Sharpen you computer and/or handyman skills.

2. Set up a budget and stick to it.

3.  Plan your meals. Shop with a grocery list and stick to it. Watch for sales.

4.  Cancel your cable service, extra phone lines, extra features on your phone, or anything that is not absolutely necessary.

5. Turn lights, televisions, and radios off when they are not in use.

6. Turn down your heat or air conditioning a few degrees.

7. Unsubscribe to any unnecessary magazine, newspaper, book clubs, or movie clubs.

8. Repair broken items instead of replacing them. If your item is non-repairable, look for used items for sale or shop at a thrift shop.

9. Borrow and/or trade with family, neighbors, and friends on movies, books, tools, and rarely used items.

10. Find free banking. Do not pay any fees that you may not have to with any institution.

By putting these items to work right away, you will be well on your way to some saving money. Management of your money is one key ingredient to surviving during hard times.