Last month, I had found some great, free resources for homeschooling parents and shared them with you in 3 Free Homeschool Incentive Programs. Here are some more free programs for both homeschooling parents and parents who send their children to school. Kids will love participating in these programs because they tap into a child’s creativity, and they usually get something for free.

Homeschooling Parent – List of Incentive Programs and Discounts

 Home Depot Kids Club: Home Depot offers free workshops for children ages 5-12. These workshops take place the first Saturday of every month. Kids can build a cool project to take home. They also get a free apron, Home Depot pin, and certificate of achievement. Check out your local Home Depot for more details.

Lowes Build and Grow: Similar to Home Depot, Lowes also have a free workshop on Saturdays at 10 am. Dates vary, but usually Lowes has a project once or twice a month.

Bass Pro Shop: Even if your family is not the outdoorsy type, Bass Pro Shop is a must to check out with your children. They offer crafts, a shooting range, a shooting gallery, a casting pond, a family workshop, and boy scout merit badge workshops, all for free! Not only is a visit to Bass Pro Shop something fun to do, but it can be highly educational for you and your family.

Michael’s The Knack: Michael’s Craft Store has free make it and take it projects for kids. Usually the crafts are very simple and are completed in the store within thirty minutes. Other craft days are free with the purchase of one item. For example, in January, Michael’s hosted a time capsule craft for kids, but parents needed to buy the pencil box at Michael’s. Michael’s aims to have several craft projects for children throughout the month. While you are there, you can see if you qualify for the teacher’s discount, if you are a homeschooling parent.

Six Flags: The Six Flags’ Read to Succeed program is definitely the best on the list if you are a homeschooling parent and live within 250 miles of a Six Flags Amusement Park. Homeschooling parents must register soon and have their children’s reading logs sent to the program by March 2012. Kids in grades K through 6 can participate. The child is required to read six hours from the time you register until March, and they will receive a free admissions ticket to Six Flags in the spring.

Local Library: There are so many free and fun programs available at major stores and attractions. I did not want to forget the one free resource almost everyone has in their city – the public library. The library is a great place for free readings, book clubs for kids and teens, and sometimes even classes or events, depending on your library.

Just because you may be a homeschooling parent does not mean you have to keep the teaching inside your home. With so many fun and free activities available, kids can learn more, while you are able to save more. Check out your local stores and your city to find more fun and free educational experiences for children.

What other incentive programs and discounts can you add to the list for homeschooling parents?

This post was written by staff writer Ashley.

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Eating healthier is not only good for your body, but also for your finances.  If you eat healthier, you will often see your cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar level improve, and you may drop weight if you need to.  As your health improves, you will be better able to stave off health issues that can be quite expensive.

Our family has made the commitment to try to eat organic produce, but that can be costly.  This year we are exploring subscribing to a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture.

How Does a CSA Work?

When you buy shares in a CSA, you pay the farmer upfront for a portion of their produce every week or every other week.  In return, you will get fresh, local produce directly from the farmer.  Often times the produce is organically grown.  If you live near a city, the farm may be an hour or two away from your home, but the farm will most likely bring deliveries close to your area for you to pick up once a week.

Benefits of Community Supported Agriculture

• For 18 to 22 weeks, usually from mid-June to sometime in October, you will receive a variety of produce.
• You can try new varieties of vegetables that you wouldn’t normally purchase on your own.
• You are supporting the local economy and a local farmer.
• Often the farm will invite you and your children to visit, which may make your children more eager to eat their vegetables.
• Most CSAs give you recipe ideas for the produce they deliver.

Drawbacks of Community Supported Agriculture

• You may not have much control over what you receive.  While some CSAs let you pick the produce you want, many just have a standard box of produce and you have no choice as to what you receive.  This can be difficult if you or someone in your family is a fussy eater.
• You must pay upfront for your shares, which can be a hardship for some families as shares for a family can run from $600 to $1100, depending on the size of your family.
• You are usually locked into the farm for the season, so it is important to research the farm and make sure you will be satisfied with the quality and variety of your produce.  You can go to a site such as yelp.com and type in the name of the farm you are considering purchasing from to read reviews from other share holders.  Alternatively, you can use a site like localharvest.org both to find CSAs near you and to read reviews from other shareholders.
• Most CSAs fill up quickly.  I tried looking for a CSA in our area last May, and all of the shares were already sold.  If you want to join a CSA, you should do so during the months of February and March.

While a CSA is certainly not the only way to buy locally grown, organic produce, it does offer a reasonable alternative to overpriced stores specializing in organic produce.  If you are willing to try new produce, you may enjoy having a CSA for the summer and fall.

This post was written by staff writer Melissa.

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I recently set a personal weight loss goal to lose 10 lbs. in 10 weeks. Soon after the New Year, I came to the conclusion that I needed to drop a couple extra pounds. I have never considered myself overweight and generally feel that I am a fairly fit middle aged man.

However, after doing some research on what my ideal weight should be – I decided it would be a good idea to drop some pounds. According to my latest body mass index (BMI) calculation, I am in the upper range of ideal weight for my height. I would prefer to be right in the middle, which is my target weight of 162.8 pounds.

Controlling Medical Costs

Why the sudden focus on losing some pounds? I am approaching 40 years of age and want to continue to control my weight the best I can. The older that I become; the harder it will be to maintain a healthy weight.

I am also very concerned about controlling our rising health care costs in the future. From our medical copay to health insurance premiums – I am looking for ways to handle our rising medical costs. I figure the healthier my family, the more money we can save and enjoy ourselves.

My Weight Loss Program

I want to lose 10 lbs., so I gave myself 10 weeks to accomplish this goal. My first baseline weight (two weeks ago) came in at 172.8 lbs., so my target weight is 162.8. Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons, I did not get to weigh in during my second week. Now that I am into my 3rd week, I was able to weigh in and my results were a bit disappointing.

Here is the breakdown of my first 3 weeks on my weight loss program -

• Week 1 – 172.8
• Week 3 – 172.2

Ouch! In two weeks I lost a total of .6 lbs., putting me well behind the 1 pound average I am looking for. This means I need to lose 9.4 pounds in 8 weeks, which is certainly still in range. From this point forward, I will need to drop about 1.2 pounds per week – which isn’t so bad.

So why didn’t I hit my goals as I originally had hoped? There are several factors, which include -

• Super Bowl – I didn’t go crazy eating a lot of processed foods, but I still ate more than I should have.
• Increase in Exercise – I actually bumped up my running in the past two weeks which may have actually added some more muscle weight.
• Work – I was in training for my job all last week, which took me out of my normal weekly routine.
• Weather – The weather was really crappy where I live over the past several days which didn’t help me.
• Snacking – I didn’t cut out all of my nighttime snacking, which I need to work on in order to reach my goal.

I am not going to blame missing my two week target on any one specific thing. It seemed to be a combination of factors. I also realize that my body mass index number shouldn’t be the only factor in determining my target weight.

What is your best weight loss program that has worked for you? Do you have any weight loss goals of your own for the new year?

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Did you get a raise this past year? I didn’t get one or cost of living increase from my employer last year. Actually, I didn’t get one the year before either. It now looks like I won’t be getting any pay increase this upcoming year as well.

I know firsthand how frustrating it can be not to get a raise or cost of living increase after putting in a lot of hard work for your employer. Fortunately, I still have a job with steady income coming in – so I am not going to stress too much over it.

Instead of complaining about not getting a pay increase, I plan take matters into my own hands by giving myself a raise. I don’t believe in relying on other people or companies for my family’s well-being. I take full responsibility for my family’s finances, which is why I am proactive about managing our money properly.

Listed below is one of the best ways to give yourself a raise every year, even when your employer does not.

How to Give Yourself a Raise

I recently declared the best source of passive income is to own blue chip dividend stocks. Owning shares in well managed dividend paying companies can offer a steady stream of income to investors. What’s even better is that the best dividend paying companies will give you a raise each year just for owning their stock!

Take a look at these 5 companies that I currently own in my dividend income portfolio. This list is not a recommendation to buy shares in these companies, but should prove to you the power of investing in dividend stocks. With each stock that is listed below, I have included the percentage dividend increase from the prior year.

• Abbot Laboratories (ABT) – 9% dividend increase
• McDonald’s (MCD) – 14.7% dividend increase
• Aflac (AFL) – 10% dividend increase
• Procter & Gamble (PG) – 8.9% dividend increase
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – 5.5% dividend increase

The 5 companies listed above are some of the best dividend paying stocks to own. Each company has had a strong history of increasing dividends annually, which is a good sign to look for when screening income stocks. Investing in companies that have a strong history of increasing dividends every year can help you give yourself a raise, even when your employer does not.

If you think last year’s dividend increase in these stocks was a fluke, take a look at the 10 year average dividend increase of each company. Each stock on this list has increased its dividend payout annually for at least the past 10 years.

• Abbot Laboratories (ABT) – 8.7%
• McDonald’s (MCD) – 29.0%
• Aflac (AFL) – 20.9%
• Procter & Gamble (PG) – 10.9%
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – 12.4%

Just think if you would have invested in McDonald’s stock 10 years ago? Your shares would have averaged a 29% increase every year. When was the last time your employer gave you a 29% raise, or even a 5% pay increase in a given year?

Full Disclosure – At the time of this writing I own shares in ABT, MCD, AFL, PG, and JNJ.

What stocks do you own in your portfolio that offers an annual raise?

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Do you have an employer sponsored medical plan? Have you noticed drastic increases in your medical premiums and deductibles over the past decade? I know that my family has certainly been impacted by these increases and I am sure we are not alone.

In a recent publication, The Commonweath Fund highlighted the rapidly rising health insurance costs that is putting a strain on the budgets of most Americans. Their study found that medical deductibles from employer sponsored plans has doubled between 2003 and 2010. The total premiums (employer and employee paid) averaged $14,000 per family in 2010 and is continuing to grow.

As companies continue to try and cut expenses, more and more of these medical costs are being passed down to the employee.

My Medical Premium and Deductible Increases

Over the past 10 years, I have changed employers several times. I have taken promotions at companies and have also moved on to better opportunities with new employers. Each time I changed my job, I brought in more income.

One thing that has remained constant during this time is the sharp rise in medical premiums and deductibles year to year – regardless of my employer. As each year passes, it seems that more and more of my family’s medical costs are being passed down to me.

Here are few examples of the increases we have seen during that time.

• In 2012, I will pay $6,195.12 in medical premiums compared to $5,884.08 a year ago. That is a 5.3% increase from the same employer sponsored plan. Considering I didn’t get a raise or cost of living increase, I basically took a pay-cut at my job this year without even knowing it.
• The medical copay for office visits went from $25 to $35 in the past year – a 40% increase from the same employer sponsored plan.
• Our first child was born 8 years ago and my wife and I paid a $500 medical deductible. Just 9 months ago our third child was born. This time we paid just over $4,000 in medical deductibles and copay’s. Each of our children were born healthy with no complications for mom and the baby.
• Prescription copay’s, medical deductibles, emergency room visits, and any other type of medical expense has increased by over 5% in the past year from our employer sponsored plan.

My list could go on and on with examples of how our medical expenses are skyrocketing. The bottom line is that we are paying more and more each year for less and less medical coverage. It doesn’t seem to matter who my employer is – the costs are increasing much faster than my income.

How are We Handling Increases to our Medical Premiums and Deductibles?

To be honest, I am starting to struggle to find ways to control our rising healthcare expenses. Sure, we can cut our cable and other non-essential expenses – but that can only help for so long. If we cut the cable or drop our cell phones this year, then how will we manage the following year? After a while, there may not be anything left to cut.

We are not at the point of having to cut anything from our budget. However, to offset these costs, we are investing less, going on fewer vacations, paying less mortgage principal, and finding ways to stretch our food budget.

Some experts may suggest flexible spending accounts (FSA) as a way to save some money on medical expenses. Frankly, I am tired of the big hassle that these accounts bring. I spent a ton of time faxing in receipts and arguing with our FSA provider last year over what prescriptions and medications were covered. The time I have wasted to save a couple dollars on tax doesn’t seem to be worth it anymore for these silly accounts.

For the time being, we don’t need to take any drastic measures to cope with these rising costs. However, if the trend continues, something will have to give. I plan to start giving our medical costs some serious thought over the next year to see if something can be changed. If these increases don’t slow down, I will need to have a plan in place to manage them.

How are you coping with rising medical premiums and deductibles?

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