All posts tagged: @lifeordebt

Giving Presence – Have I Gone Too Far?

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There’s nothing I love more than being on holiday. It doesn’t have to be a long holiday, or even a holiday to anywhere fancy. As long as I’m not at home facing the endless list of things that need to be done, then life is good. Which is why I think ‘giving the gift of an experience’ is a concept I’ve embraced. OK, maybe we’ve gone passed embracing and are now in a serious, long-term relationship. You see, last year the experiences I gave the kids for their birthdays were fun days out doing something they each loved. Miss 10 went horse-riding, Miss 8 went skiing and Mr 8 had a not-so-great day out at the Monster Slide festival. This year, I may just have taken it to a whole new level by using the idea of ‘giving presence’ as an excuse for a holiday (or two). I didn’t see anything wrong with this approach until a well-meaning friend pointed out that I might be setting the bar a bit high – creating an expectation that …

Are Season Ski Passes Worth The Money?

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Skiing may not be a cheap pastime, but if you are the kind of family that likes to take a winter holiday then skiing can be value for money when compared with, say, a winter escape to the islands. This time last year we bit the bullet and invested in annual ski passes. We did the math and figured that so long as we had at least four days on the slopes we were getting value for money. But of course there’s more to skiing than lift passes. There’s the gear, the accommodation and the cost of simply getting there and back. Winter 2016 passes have just gone on sale, so it’s time for us to crunch the numbers and decide whether we got value for money. The cost of annual ski passes Last year our passes cost $1,100 for our family of five – a pretty good deal given the ‘rack rate’ for all mountain passes for a family of five is around $360 per day. After just three days on the slopes, we’d …

A Parents Guide to Getting Kids to do Chores

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In my Parents Guide to Pocket Money I mentioned that it’s not always a good idea to attach pocket money to chores. It’s just too easy for kids to refuse to do chores because they either don’t yet value money, or don’t have an immediate need for it – leaving you frustrated and with more things to do! You’ll still need a way of incentivising the kids to do what needs to be done. If it’s not going to be with money, then the best idea is to create a second form of currency which can be earned. Here’s some ideas on how – and why – to do this. Use the things your kids value the most Figuring out what incentives to offer in return for doing chores is easy – just find the things your kids value the most. In our house that would be access to technology, but it could just as easily be treats, play dates, sleepovers, or all of the above or anything else you think will work. Whatever it …