Every mom should have a good chocolate chip recipe. Baking them with your children will create memories they will cherish even as adults. If you are looking to save time, mix a double batch of the dough, roll half into a log, seal in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Next time you want to whip up a batch, simply thaw the log and slice it into rounds to bake.

INGREDIENTS

• 125 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place butter in a bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add vanilla and egg and stir to combine. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.

Place spoonfuls of the dough on a greased baking sheet, allowing space for them to spread. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they turn pale gold.

Allow cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool some more.

Indulge with someone you love.

MM

Ever since I can remember, my parents (and most of their generational peers) have been determined to buy a house, pay off their mortgage and own a piece of property outright. Ownership, for them, is the definition of financial stability and long-term security. While in many ways I agree, I would argue that times have changed and home ownership is not necessarily the answer for everyone.

Sure there are many advantages to owning your own home, such as security and a relatively safe financial investment; but there are also disadvantages, including sunk costs. Although Boomers rely heavily on the benefits associated to home ownership, they may be overlooking the downsides. Instead, some would rather use part of their earnings to rent, while using the bulk of it to contribute to other savvy investments and/or lifestyle choices.

What are these pros and cons? Here is a breakdown:

OWNERSHIP

Advantages

1. Once you own a house and have paid off a chunk of your mortgage, you will be able to borrow against the equity and contribute to other investments, such as owning a rental property (allowing for passive income);
2. Generally, real estate increases in value. Certainly there are dips in the market, but in the long-run it is usually a safe investment;
3. Owning a home can be considered a form of saving. Your money goes towards your mortgage each month and eventually it gets paid in full. In later years you can sell your home (and buy a smaller home) to use the profit towards retirement, travel, and whatnot;
4. When owning a home, you experience security and a certain level of control . You cannot be evicted and you can decide on renovations or improvements.

Disadvantages

1.  As a home owner, your capital is sunk into the mortgage and therefore tied up;
2. Tied up funds represent lost opportunity to invest your money elsewhere;
3. If you own a condominium, you incur monthly condo fees, over which you have no control should they increase;
4. You must pay property taxes;
5. You must pay for maintenance, repairs and/or major renovations;
6. Interest payments made over the life of your mortgage are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, which could have been otherwise invested;
7. Choosing to move represents more hassle than if you were renting;
8. If you do decide to move, you incur real estate fees, land transfer taxes, legal and other closing costs.

RENTING

Advantages

1. As a tenant, you benefit from legislation that controls rent increases;
2. If you stay in the same apartment for the long-term, you benefit from rent control. This is because rent increases are based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and not on the rising value of the property;
3. You can easily plan a budget around fixed costs, having to worry about paying rent only – without needing to plan for maintenance costs, condo fees, nor property taxes;
4. Fixed expenses with known cash flow lends to improved financial planning;
5. You have the freedom to change locations as needed, or as desired, with minimal expenses;
6. If wanting to travel long-term or move on short notice, tenants have the flexibility to sub-let or put their furniture in storage. When owning a house in this same situation, proprietors have to maintain payments towards the mortgage and property taxes, and ensure that the home is being checked on regularly to satisfy insurance requirements.

Disadvantages

1. Your monthly rent cannot be considered savings, given that payments are made towards somebody else’s mortgage and can never be cashed in for future investments;
2. You have no control over other renters in the building, including their pets, taste in music, or socializing habits;
3. You rarely have the freedom to personalize or renovate your space;
4. Eviction is a reality should the building undergo major renovations;
5. You risk the disadvantage of being at the mercy of an irresponsible and unresponsive landlord.

The pros and cons of renting versus owning are not always clear-cut. It is important to assess your current situation, as well as your future financial goals, and plan accordingly. As with most things, the better choice boils down to personal suitability, lifestyle choices and (of course) cash flow.

Exchange Services

Do you have a skill to trade? Are you handy, a photographer, a hairstylist, a writer, a gardener, a yoga teacher? Everyone is good at something. You simply have to take the time to identify your special skill and begin to offer it in exchange for other goods and services instead of cash.

I know a photographer who exchanged a family photo session for a head of highlights. An avid gardener who donates her time to a nursery during the long weekend in May in exchange for shrubs and flowers, and a yoga teacher who swapped free private lessons for a web design.

Exchange Goods

Just because something has grown old and boring in your opinion does not mean it will not appeal to others. Organize a meeting with other like-minded people to exchange: clothing, children toys, books, or even homes. To start, suggest the idea to friends and family and maybe extend the concept to a community level eventually.

Food Exchange

One way to harvest a large amount of produce without turning your entire backyard into a garden is to arrange with friends and neighbours to each grow select fruits or vegetables and then exchange with one another. You grow tomatoes and cucumbers while the neighbour grows carrots and raspberries. Not only will your taste buds benefit, but friendships will solidify because of it. The same can be applied to homemade beer or wine.

There are so many ways to get what you want. Just add a little imagination!

MM

My mom and dad were super frugal, but then I don’t know what kind of income dad was dealing with and mom didn’t work. I remember that birthday and Christmas gifts were limited; but, we never thought anything of it because that’s all we knew and it was great. We were happy!

Throughout the year, we were outside most of the time playing on the swings, running through the sprinkler or riding our bikes. When it was raining we played board games or made cookies. We were raised in the mid-west where basements made great playrooms. We did not eat a lot of frozen, processed foods, mainly because Mom was raised with a grandma who killed her own chickens, need I say more? And we almost always had a garden in the backyard.

Now a parent myself, I have learned and adapted ways to save money and thought I’d share a few of my ideas.

1. Limiting gifts – cut back to a set number of gifts. Depending on your child, explaining this idea may be  difficult. To help, consider a trip to a local mission or shelter to teach them to value their things and to introduce them to the needs of others.

2. Go to the library – the library is a great resource for books, videos, storytime, and other family-oriented activities. We sometimes forget about the library these days. Instead we run to the store to purchase books for our kids and ourselves. Book stores now offer comfy sections where kids can cozy up with a few books, which parents then buy and take home. But the same set-up exists at the public library and it won’t cost you a thing!

3. Going out to restaurants – choose restaurants that have free meal days for children. Many restaurants now have times or days during the week when they offer free meals for children under the age of twelve.

4. Cut down on expensive snacks and frozen treats – start baking cookies together or making homemade snacks. There are many simple things you can make that don’t require large amounts of time. For instance, just a couple days ago, my daughter and I made little pizzas in cupcake tins and they were so tasty – plus, we only needed four ingredients!

5. Visit resale shops for clothes and toys –resale shops sell lightly-used clothing and toys that are really unique compared to the replicated outfits in department stores. Look for them in the more affluent areas of town where you may find clothing with the tags still on!

6. Buy school supplies and back-to-school clothes at the end of season – instead of shopping at the beginning of the school year for school supplies start purchasing next years supplies when they go on clearance after school has started! This strategy also works when shopping for your children’s school clothes.

As parents, we need to make an effort to spend time with our families, making it memorable and worthwhile – but not necessary expensive.

Guest Post: Nancy Parker was a professional nanny and loves to write about a wide range of topics such as health, parenting, child care, babysitting, and nanny tips. She can be reached at nancy.parker015 @ gmail.com

Although I am not a vegetarian nor a vegan, I have discovered some delicious recipes in Alicia Silverstone’s cookbook The Kind Diet. Here is one that I have made often and that I rely on because you can make a lot of it, keep it in the fridge for the week, supplying your lunch with a quick and healthy option. Although saffron is not cheap, I would say splurge on this one as it really adds to the dish.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into cubes
• 2 cups yellow onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of ground pepper
• 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance butter (or butter if not vegan)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 2 scallions, white and green parts chopped

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the squash, onion, carrots and zucchini on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once with a spatula about midway through.

While the vegetables roast, bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the butter, remaining pepper, cumin and saffron. Cover the pan and steep for 15 minutes.

Scrape the roasted vegetables and their juices into a large bowl, and add the couscous. Bring the vegetable broth back to a boil, and pour over the couscous mixture all at once. Cover tightly with a plate and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Add the scallions, toss the couscous and vegetables with a fork, and serve.

MM

Commission on Parts

After a bit of digging, I discovered that employees in the Parts Department of a dealership are paid a commission on all items sold. Mind you, on average the bonus is minimal: 0.025%. That means, if (s)he sells $100 worth of parts, (s)he receives $0.25. That doesn’t seem like much to motivate an employee; however, the cents add up to dollars eventually.

Knowing that the same person who is recommending new parts for your vehicle also receives a cash incentive for the volume (s)he sells certainly plants a seed of doubt in the consumer’s mind. If the mechanic benefits directly from the amount of money you spend at the garage, who is to say that you are not being sold parts your car does not really need?

Bonus Pay for Service Hours

In addition to the commission on parts, mechanics receive bonus pay for service hours worked. Meaning, the more hours they work on your vehicle, the more bonus they receive in addition to their base wage. Again, this model makes it possible for mechanics to charge for more labour in order to accumulate service hours and therefore earn more bonus pay.

The balance here is that sometimes, when working on cars, the mechanic may be paid less than the hours (s)he worked. That is because most work is paid on the basis of the manufacturer’s book value. If the book says it only takes 2 hours to complete a job while in reality it takes 6 hours, the mechanic only gets paid for 2 hours. However, this also means that if the book predicts the job will take 6 hours but it is done in 2 hours, the mechanic will charge you for 6 hours of labour instead of 2 hours. Turns out that private garages also base labour hours on a generic guide, meaning that they can also benefit from an over-estimated job or can lose out an an under-estimated one.

Unfortunately, sometimes the mechanic will up-sell a service that may not be needed immediately in order to compensate for the inaccurate time estimate on a job. For example, a car comes in for a brake job, estimated to take 2 hours of labour but the mechanic knows from experience that it takes 4 hours to complete.  He may recommend another service, knowing that the second job will take less time than the book estimate in order to be compensated for time lost on first task.

Quality of Service

If you were to go to a private garage, you may save $10-$20 per hour on labour. However, this garage may not be as specialized to work on your car as the mechanics who work for the dealership. Keep in mind that years of experience must be taken into account when coming to these conclusions. Nonetheless, mechanics who work in dealerships work on the same cars every single day. They are equipped with tools specific to the manufacturer and are more likely to provide quick tournaround, given the assembly-line nature of their work environment.

Moreover, dealerships are very focused on customer satisfaction, having to report to the manufacturer if any grievances are filed. Any complaints from the customer direct to the manufacturer reflect poorly on the dealer.

On the other hand, you may have found a very competent independent mechanic who has many years of experience with whom you have built a relationship based on trust. More often than not, the level of personal attention one receives and the confidence a customer has in the mechanic will cement the owner’s loyalty for the life of many vehicles to come.

Whether you feel more comfortable having your car serviced at the dealership or at a private garage, at least now you know what really goes on.

MM

Prescription Drugs

Although more often we associate illness with the winter season, there are a few bugs going around at this time of year – not to mention an increase in the number of people suffering from allergies. As parents, we want the best for our children; specifically, we want them to be safe and healthy. When they are sick, we rely on health professionals to heal them and tend to administer the medicine that they recommend. But often we are being persuaded to buy name-brand prescription drugs to treat the symptoms when, in reality, generic alternatives are just as effective.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have great respect for medical professional; however, I do not think that doctors are above undo influence. The pharmaceutical companies exercise strong methods of persuasion to ensure that, when it comes to writing a prescription, their drug will be top-of-mind. Ever notice the calendars, posters and notepads emblazoned with various drug logos in your doctor’s office? Aiming to target the subconscious, pharmaceutical seduction does not end at the lavish annual conferences.

Most often doctors are not consciously aware that they are playing into the ploy. Unfortunately, they sometimes actively participate in the deceit. A doctor-friend of mine once recounted her experience in medical school. While she was on rotation with a family medicine doctor, she asked for advice on which drug to prescribe to alleviate a patient’s condition. The supervising doctor answered unapologetically: “well, which representative do you like best?” To realize that decisions on prescription drugs were made, in some instances, on such trivial facts was disheartening to hear.

The truth is that generic drugs are just as effective as name-brand ones – and cheaper! We have been led to believe that name-brand is best, but that is more-or-less a marketing ploy. What’s more, insurance companies will only reimburse a prescription claim to the maximum cost of the generic version. Meaning that if your name-brand prescription was $70 but the generic version is only $60, you will only be reimbursed a percentage of the $60 maximum. So next time you are in your doctor’s office, be sure to request the generic version of the prescription drug.

Natural Alternatives

Alternative, it is important to consider natural remedies as replacements to some prescription medication. Sometimes these alternatives are as effective and induce less secondary side-effects.

• Have a headache? Apply tiger balm to your temples
• Congested? Try a neti pot
• Experiencing acne, fungal infection or needing an anti-septic? Rely on tea tree oil

Take charge of your own health and avoid playing into larger scale marketing schemes. You will save a fortune!

MM

For many of us, motherhood is what sparked the entrepreneurial spirit in the first place. Discovering that you do not want to go back to work after maternity leave certainly has the ability to kick a business plan into high gear. And as a new business owner, it is difficult to strike the balance between building a clientèle and earning a living reflective of one’s time and financial investment. On the one hand, you do not want to charge too much for your service because you are just starting out. On the other hand, undervaluing your worth will not help you succeed.

Many years ago, as an undergraduate of English Literature, I offered my services as a tutor to high school students. Wanting to become an educator at the time, I was determined to gain some experience before applying to teacher’s college. I had never tutored anybody before so figured I would offer my services free-of-charge in order to build a client-base. After distributing some posters, I received a call from a mother who wanted a tutor for her son. She sounded impressed with my educational background but shifted her tone immediately when I told her there would be no fee. As a mother now, I can understand why she would have become suspicious but at the time I was surprised to learn that once I undervalued myself, she lost all confidence in my ability. I was not hired and thus ended by hunt to become a tutor.

Fast-forward ten years and that lesson still applies today in a more grown-up world of business. It is important to conduct an analysis of the market before pricing your services. If you are new, you may not want to value yourself so high that you turn people away; however, you do not want to price yourself too low either.

Even if you manage to gain clients initially despite a very low price (there is always someone looking for the absolute lowest price), you risk getting stuck in a vicious cycle of new clients insisting on the lower price granted to old clients. You decide to honour that agreement because you want the business, thereby creating a loop of referrals and low fees.

There is the argument that more clients, even if at a decreased payout, are better than less clients – but I tend to disagree. Wouldn’t you prefer to work less and make more?

And what about the rest who work for somebody else, whether in the private or public sector. How do they get caught in the trap of undervaluing themselves? By agreeing to work overtime without being compensated (either financially or in time). Sometimes they do not even realize how much overtime they are actually working. How often are you working on your BlackBerry during the bus or train ride home – or worse,  at the dinner table? Think about how much you are cheating yourself.

Remember, you teach others how to treat you. Value yourself!

MM

Happy Sunday!

MM