February 23, 2012

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Fun Summer Activities for Teenagers

It’s summer and kids are beyond excited to escape the daily schedule of school and homework. However, keep your teenagers busy during the summer in order for them to stay positive and away from negative influences surrounding them. A little planning and discussion can help you plan positive activities for teenagers in the summer.

Volunteer

Summer time is a great time for a teen to embark on volunteer opportunities. Choosing a volunteer job in a field of interest will help them prepare for a career. Volunteering is also a great addition to a teen’s college application or resume. Volunteering teaches teens to give of themselves and can be a rewarding experience.

Travel

Summer time is a great opportunity for teenagers to travel. While traveling abroad or on Virgin Cruises, the summer allows for learning from real-life experiences. Ultimately, travel is a way to teach responsibility and cultural studies; both things that prepare someone for life in the real world.

Prepare for the Future

A teen can spend the summer researching internships for a job in a field of their choice. Also, have your teenagers research colleges that interest them. Teenagers can take time to decide what their schools of interest require and plan their course load and extracurricular activities for the coming years.

Ultimately, there are countless fun summer activities for teenagers. While some may enjoy working in a field of interest, others will enjoy embarking on Disney Cruises. Whatever the activity, staying busy and growing as a person is important to becoming a positive, productive adult.

Filed Under: Consumerism Tagged With: , ,

Coupons Save You A Lot of Money

Stretching a dollar has never been more important, and learning to use coupons is one good way to help with that.

Competition for customers and sales is fierce. Most stores, even those on the Internet, are regularly issuing coupons to encourage customer loyalty and attract new visitors. Many stores now offer printable coupons on their websites and offer coupon clubs and a coupon mailing list. Everyone who shops anywhere is now getting coupon booklets in the mail offering special deals and great savings.

If you’ve never used coupons before now is a good time to get started. Here are a couple of ways to dive into the world of coupons and start saving money:

  • Do some research online and pick a couple of websites like Coupon Queens that focus on finding and using coupons and alerting you to good deals as they are offered.
  • Bookmark one or two sites like http://www.offers.com/ that give coupon codes for you to use for discounts on all types of merchandise.
  • Stay organized from the beginning by coming up with a method to date and store your coupons so they don’t expire before you can use them.
  • Know when your favorite stores are offering double or triple coupon days and do most of your shopping on those days.
  • Try to find a coupon for all the products you buy on a regular basis, but don’t buy something just because you have a coupon.
  • Think about starting a coupon swapping club with your neighbors to combine your coupon collecting efforts.

Learning to use coupons is a good way to save money on anything you buy at regular price. Try it for one month and keep track of your coupon savings. You’ll be convinced.

Filed Under: Consumerism, Finance Tagged With: , ,

What to Consider Before Getting Your First Credit Card

If you’re a high school senior or freshman in college, chances are you’ve already started receiving credit card offers. And while many of these offers include advertisements of low interest rates or incentive programs such as cash back or frequent flyer miles, there are many things to consider before getting a credit card.

When thinking about getting a credit card, here are a few key terms you should know, as the cost of carrying a credit card goes well beyond what you charge:

  1. Balance versus limit
  2. APR or annual percentage rate
  3. Annual fee
  4. Finance charge

The balance of a credit card is the amount you have charged, thus the amount owed, and the limit of the card is the amount of approved credit you have at your disposal. Exceeding this limit can result in other charges and higher interest payments.

Annual percentage rate, or APR is it’s known in the credit world, is the interest rate the consumer will pay on the amount borrowed. Each credit card offers a different APR, which makes it easier to compare cards to see which has the lower APR.

Some credit card companies charge customers an annual fee, also called membership fee, for using the credit card. This charge is assessed whether the consumer uses the card or not.

Finance charges are generally a percentage-based fee that credit card companies charge customers for extending credit to them. In this fee, creditors also include cost of maintaining the account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Consumerism, Finance, Lifestyle Tagged With: , ,