Welcome to Maine Family Times
Louise Kirkland, CFLE, Extension Educator

Welcome to the Maine Family Times, a newsletter from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. This newsletter is for families with children aged five through eighteen. In this issue, we will learn ways to save more and spend less.

Saving money is on everyone’s mind these days. Not a day goes by without hearing a discussion about the rising costs of food, fuel or other daily needs of our family. No matter where you are in your families’ development, there are some basic money management ideas to consider. Whether you are preparing for your second child, getting your young teen into college or thinking about when you retire, talking with your family members about money should start at an early age. Planning how your family spends money is called “budgeting.”

• A great way to start is to involve the family with money saving ideas. That is where you can get their buy-in. If your children feel part of the decision, they will likely support doing it.

• Start a strong savings plan by paying yourself first. By doing so, you might decide to put away $25 for those unexpected costs or emergencies. You’ll be surprised how quickly your savings will add up.

• Know how your money is spent by tracking your spending.

Here are some smart money moves to consider when starting a family budget:

• Organize your information
• Set money goals
• Use a system to pay your bills on time
• Keep your records
• Learn ways to save money
• Spend your savings wisely
   

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4-H is Fun for Everyone!

Learning by doing is the way 4-H teaches community fun!

Animal projects, science, engineering and technology, fashion and knitting are some of the 4-H projects for all youth ages 5-19. Get involved in 4-H in your community and find out what learning by doing is all about.

There are a number of ways to get involved in 4-H: clubs, after-school programs, school enrichment programs, and community-based youth leadership opportunities. Parents can volunteer as club advisors or chaperones, or simply support their child’s 4-H projects. Families often become involved in 4-H community service projects.

4-H is the youth development program of University of Maine Cooperative Extension. To get involved, contact your county UMaine Extension office, call 800-287-0274, or visit www.umext.maine.edu.

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Winning Ways to Grocery Shop with Kids
Kate Yerxa, Extension Educator

Grocery shopping with your children, no matter their age, can be a challenge. Instead of dreading the task, try to involve your children from beginning to end and turn the chore into an enjoyable, less stressful time to spend with your family.

Before going to the store:

• Involve your older children in planning the meals you will be shopping for during that week. By involving the whole family in meal planning, communication is improved and there will be less arguing at mealtime.

• Plan shopping trips when children are not tired or hungry; do not wait until the end of a tiring day.

• Discuss expectations before you enter the store. If you have younger children, you might say, “Remember to stay close to me. I need to be able to see you.”  If your children are older, discuss situations that may bring about frustrating behavior.

• Have a plan in case you and your child are separated. For example, tell your child, “If you lose me, always go to the lobster tank.”

• Young children may need familiar things to feel secure. You could bring a favorite blanket, toy or book from home.

• Your child may get hungry in the store. Bring a nutritious, age-appropriate snack for him to eat during the shopping trip such as, raisins, cut-up apples, crackers, etc.

Once you are at the store:

• Keep your child close. Hold hands. Let him hold onto or help steer the grocery cart. Or, safely secure your young child in the grocery cart.

• Give your child a job. For example, ask her to help pick four apples, find the cheapest green beans, or match the coupons with the labels.

• Make a game of shopping. Ask your child to count the number of items you need, find items based on color and size. Have him use his senses such as, touch or smell, when choosing foods.

• Reinforce appropriate behavior and make a point to let your child know you appreciate them. If they receive attention for good behavior, they will not need to misbehave for attention. “Catch your child being good” is a powerful preventive.

Adapted from University of Maine Cooperative Extension Bulletin #4341, Winning Ways to Grocery Shop with Young Children.

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Help Your Children Learn About Money

Kristy Meisner Ouellette, Extension Educator

As the economy becomes tighter, discussions about finances and savings have become more common at the dinner table. In the current state of the economy, understanding and working together to save money is a family affair. Family finances does not have to be only an adult conversation, it can be a wonderful “teachable” moment between you and your child.

As a parent, you can help your child develop good financial responsibility early on; help them to understand how the economy works. Teaching them the differences between needs and wants is the first step in under-standing a budget. For example:

• Fruits and vegetables are foods that our body needs to stay healthy. This is different than a toy at the store. A toy is something that we want, but we do not need to have the toy to keep us healthy.

• We need to pay our rent each month so we have a place to live. We’d love to go on a vacation together; this is a want.

Children need to learn where money comes from. People earn money from their jobs; everyone has a job that is important. This is a great way to initiate a conversation around family chores and expectations. As children get older you can start to have discussions around credit cards, checking and saving accounts.

Learning how to be fiscally responsible is something children learn from their parents.

Including children in simple discussions around earning and savings teaches them the first steps to understanding finances.

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Do you need to save more and spend less?

Sign up for the Money $ense Newsletter by calling the Piscataquis County Office 1-800-287-1491 (in Maine) or 207-564-3301 (outside Maine)

TTY Phone Number (for the hearing impaired) (in Maine): 1-800-287-8957

http://www.umext.maine.edu/savemoney

This newsletter is filled with money saving ideas for you and your family.

If you want to start saving money, please call today!

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Winter Fun and Energy Savings
Jane Conroy, Extension Educator

Here are some ways for you and your family to enjoy nature while having fun and saving the environment.

Instead of using a gas guzzling snow blower, ask children in your neighborhood if they would like a winter job. They earn some extra spending money and outdoor time when they shovel your driveway. You save on the purchase and use of an environmentally less friendly snow blower.

Change to Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lights. Remember to limit your holiday light displays. Leaving lights on for short periods, no more than three hours, will enable you to save energy and money this holiday season.

Decorate your home with “Energy Stars.” Appliances and electronics with the Energy Star label – the government’s symbol of energy efficiency – can cut related home energy bills up to 30 percent. Use the savings to jump-start your children’s piggy bank accounts.

Make a Save the Earth resolution that’s good for your pocketbook and the environment. Get started on those energy-efficient home improvements you’ve been putting off for too long.

Let a programmable thermostat “remember” for you to lower the heat when you leave the house empty to go to work (or overnight when you’re cozy in bed), or to the mall for a day of shopping–and to warm it up again shortly before you return.

When you’re looking for that special gift for the kids, remember there’s nothing wrong with gifts that are powered by the imagination, rather than by batteries or electricity.

Strap on those cross-country skies to tour the neighborhood. It’s a great way to work off those extra winter calories, and it’s much cheaper than filling up your family SUV.

Unplug the video games and read your favorite story instead. Your children may appreciate your attention and time, and you will be saving energy in the process.

Spend some time sewing by making a door draft stopper to save that precious heat.

Conduct an Energy audit of your home. This is a fun way to get your children involved at looking at ways that energy is wasted- leaving the lights on, not turning off un-used items, opening the refrigerator to just look at what’s inside.

Do an “Energy” scavenger hunt.” This may include noting the places in your house where there are air leaks or drafts. Check all the lights to see which have compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in them. Take a notebook along for yourself and maybe hide a surprise for your children.

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For more information on educational programs in your area, contact your county Extension office.