Single Moms can Enjoy Traveling too

Just like ordinary families, single moms can travel and enjoy their trips even abroad. The key to having your trip fun and easy involves careful planning and some tricks.

Keep searching for discounts
Don't stop researching prices after you have booked your flight, rental car and hotel room. You may find that the prices have dropped even further. Be sure to thoroughly read the cancellation policy on your reservations. If you can, cancel your current reservations and book at the better rates. 

Save on communication
If your cellphone will not cover long distance from the place you intend to travel to, it might be a smart idea to invest in a phone card before leaving. A phone card will make calls much less expensive and ensure that you don't accidentally make any expensive long distance calls.

Mind your cash and credit cards
When you are traveling, make sure you have split up some of your money and credit cards. Do not carry all of your available means of getting money with you in one place. Leave some cash or cards at the hotel when you go out. This way, you will always have a back up.

Make your kid sleep like Sleeping Beauty
When traveling with young children, try to plan an overnight trip. If your child can sleep during most of your travels it will make them more rested when you reach your destination. In addition, you won't have to worry so much about entertaining them during a long flight if they are asleep.  This is funny but it happens, some moms drug their children to sleep.  I am not kidding.  My sister is a pediatrician and she gives her kids some medicines to make them sleep on plane trips. This not only keeps your sanity but prevents you from getting rude stares from other plane  passengers.  Now single moms, consult your pediatrician before doing this and please do not overdo it.  Just on the plane and not everyday please.

Reward your kids
If your kid sees something they like, i.e. a favorite burger joint, take a little time to stop and enjoy it. Being a little off your schedule and providing a little fun time can make your trip more enjoyable. Plus, it makes a great reward for not disturbing peace during the plane ride.

Keep memories
Never forget your digital camera and always take along an extra memory card. You will most likely be taking more photographs than usual and the card in your camera can fill up quickly. You will also want to put the settings of your camera on the higher resolution in order to preserve your memories in a print version later, and this will take up more memory space on your card.

Extra bag for souvenirs
Always carry a small bag in your bags. Either a collapsible duffel or backpack that can be easily stored gives you the option of returning with items such as gifts, souvenirs or even duty free items. While it may be one more bag to check, you can avoid potentially higher weight charges from stuffing these items into your regular luggage.

Single moms don’t have to stay home during the holidays.  Your travel holidays need not be nightmares.  You can travel and enjoy the trip by following above tips.  After a few practice, these smart travel routines will make your travel plans running smoothly and that makes every trip, no matter where or why, as easy as possible.

Single Mom's Cooking Prowess

They say that single moms don’t have time to cook. This is not true!  With below tips, you will have that time to cook.  In fact, you will make time to cook because cooking serves many purposes.  It will test and improve your creativity enabling you to concoct culinary masterpieces.  It will  take stress away. You read it right, cooking can take stress away.  So single moms, wear your apron and flaunt your prowess in cooking and take that stress out from your system.

Time and Money Saving Tips

Here are some tips to further equip you, save you time and money.

If you realize that you have made too much sauce, you can take any excess sauce and put it in the freezer in an ice tray. This is very convenient because the next time that you need sauce for something you can pop a few cubes in the pan instead of making a sauce.

Pomegranates are a super food, but they can be super un-fun to peel. To make it easier, put the pomegranate portions into a bowl of water and gently separate the juicy seeds. The white pith will float to the top and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Collect the floating pith, discard it, and strain the water to be left with a bowlful of delicious seeds!

If you are out of bread crumbs you can try these simple substitutions in your recipe: cracker crumbs, matzo, crushed cornflakes, grounds oats, or even potato chips. Simply substitute an equal amount of the replacement food for the bread crumbs. You can also make fresh bread crumbs by finely chopping four slices of bread per cup you need.

For an effective way to cool down hot, freshly made stock during the winter, set the covered pot outside for a little while. You should not put such a large quantity of hot liquid in your refrigerator. Setting the pot outside is a great way to cool the stock enough for refrigerating or freezing, and it may be easier to skim off the fat layer on the top.

If you invest in nothing else in the line of cookware, purchase a non-stick roasting pan with a removable non-stick roasting rack. Instead of wrestling with a disposable roasting pan this Thanksgiving, praying it doesn't collapse, a decent quality roasting pan can save you time, money and heartache. Look for a deep pan with steel handles, able to hold the largest turkey or piece of meat that you would normally buy for your family, along with a roasting rack that enables you to lift the meat from the pan effortlessly. The non-stick coating will make clean-up a breeze and the pan can also be used for a large sheet cake, a pan of lasagna and so much more.

Useful Trick

Rub your hands against your sink after cooking with garlic. Garlic can be an undesirable smell to have clung to you. It might sound a bit odd, but next time you are cooking with it, rub your hands against your sink. If your sink is stainless steel, it should remove the smell. 

So single moms, flaunt your cooking prowess.  Have fun while cooking and delight your kids with mouthwatering meals!

Earn Extra Cash as Affiliate Marketer

In today's difficult economy, affiliate marketing is a great way to earn extra cash.  Single moms can definitely profit from affiliate marketing as there are a number of products out there that are either produced by single moms or marketed to single moms. 

Choose the product/service wisely
One of the keys to becoming successful in affiliate marketing or in any business is knowing the product and the market.  Knowing the product and the market will enable you to create excellent affiliate marketing tactics. Marketing a product you love is a great way to turn a "job" into a hobby, so try to pick something that really interests you and that really moves you emotionally. Your love for the product will come through and customers will pick up on this and ultimately buy more from you.

Data Gathering
When looking into an affiliate marketing program make sure that you look into one that will be able to provide you with the most current statistics. You may have to do a little digging to find this. It is important that you know exactly what is going on within the company so that you can have the proper information as a manager within the program.

Marketing Tactics – Banner
Throwing a banner at the top of your website that links to the front page of your affiliate company's website will not generate sales. Why would I bother clicking on that? What good is it to me? You have to TELL your readers why they should click on your links, and provide them with value.  You need to create not just a banner but a banner with great copy and graphics that will entice visitors to click.

Marketing Tactics – Videos
Recording videos demonstrating a product can greatly increase your amount of customers. Once you develop loyal followers of your marketing videos, you can then sell the affiliate content more assertively. If you create engaging and informative content, customers are much more likely to develop an affinity for your product.

Pitch and Tricks
Although it's a bad idea for an affiliate to act as if they're totally in love with a product, since it turns the potential customer off, it is still wise to link to the company's pre-sell product pitch. As long as you have read the pitch and find it to be tasteful, authoritative and relevant, you should send your traffic there.

The best affiliate marketers out there are innovative marketers. Relying only on the tips and tricks you read throughout various web articles will only get you so far. And that's because everyone's doing the same thing. You should soak up the information and use solid advice to build your own unique strategy.

Use a redirect so that you can hide your affiliate link. Some customers will just take the domain name and remove the affiliate portion of the link in the hope that they will get better pricing by "ordering direct". Using a redirect will force customers to actually use your link saving you your commissions.

There you go some simple tactics, tips and tricks to help you succeed in affiliate marketing.  If you are on the lookout for products, check http://bigmoneyvault.com

Home Business Pays the Bills

Single moms need to play several roles at the same time.  They are the bread winner, dad and mom rolled into one.  To best perform these roles, it is advisable for single moms to have home businesses.  Think of what you love to do and turn your passion into cold, hard cash with your own home business. 

Freelance Writing
If you enjoy writing, you can start a freelance writing business.  Check the internet for sites with platforms that provide a ready source of writing jobs that require little or no negotiation. Just select the job and start writing. This lets you gain confidence and test your aptitude for freelance writing as a career.

Multiple Revenue Streams
It is important to have multiple revenue streams in case one dries up for a while. Think of other businesses that will complement your freelance writing business.  Consider running a course on freelance writing through webinars, audio books and eBooks.

Discipline
Working from home may require more discipline as you are easily distracted with household chores and caring for your children.  You must plan your daily work and adhere to the designated tasks.  Do not interchange tasks unless for emergency reasons.  If you plan to start working at 8 in the morning, do this religiously unless for instances that you need to rush your child to the hospital.   

Plan
At the end of each day, set your goals for the next work day. It is up to you to build a consistent work system that will propel your home business forward. By simply setting up your goals the day before, you are allowing yourself to jump right into work immediately in the morning, which is often the time that you are freshest.

Consider putting a bar fridge in your home office so you don't get distracted by having to get lunch or a snack. Make your lunch in the morning and put it in your fridge, including healthy items like fruit, vegetables, a low-fat dip, protein and fiber.

Advertise
To advertise your home business, contact your local newspapers and find out if the business columnist can do a story on your home business. This is more likely to happen if you have a good story to tell, like rags to riches or you found a way to overcome an obstacle (capable single mom).

Paper Work
Make certain when you begin a home business to consult with an accountant to ensure that you adhere to all local, state, and federal laws regarding running a business from home. This is essential to keep your financial records accurate and within the law. An accountant can also make sure you take advantage of any available tax benefits.  It is also important that you keep excellent records and documentation of all of your business expenses. Keeping a good record of everything you spend on your business will provide you with the proof you need should you home business be audited by the IRS.

You might also want to check http://bigmoneyvault.com as one of your revenue streams.  

Earn Extra Income while Having Fun

I’ve been involved with a lot of single moms.  I’ve heard all sorts of stories – both good and bad, failures and triumphs.  I also know that single moms are also human beings despite the so many tasks and responsibilities they are able to accomplish all at the same time.  In those times that single moms are humans; they feel tired, stressed and lonely. During these times they just want to talk to someone or write to someone. The extreme opposite can also happen.  They can also be so ecstatic that they need to share it with someone or they’ll burst!

Writing a blog about your life can both be a remedy to your loneliness and can be a source of huge cash!  Writing a diary will relieve you of stress.  Your diary can also be a source of help and motivation to other single moms around the world.  Writing a blog can kill two birds with one stone - release your stress, help other single moms and earn money in the process.

What do I mean by this? Did you watch the movie, Julie and Julia?   This is a 2009 American comedy-drama film starring the award-winning actress Meryl Streep. It recounts the life of Chef Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) in her early culinary career and that of the young New Yorker Julie Powell.  Julie documented her culinary exploits in her blog which became super famous.  Women all over the world awaited updates of her blog.   

Earn money blogging
Single mom, you have such a colorful life and so many single moms (and parents) would love to hear your story.  Create viral posts about your challenges and how creatively you surpass these challenges on a daily basis. This will open your blog to advertisements.  You will receive requests for product review - everything from baby products, beauty products to health products. Schools will ask for endorsements.  Real estate companies will ask that their banners be displayed in your blog.  Advertising opportunities will be limitless.

Your blog success can open the door to other opportunities like authoring books and ebooks, coaching, speaking engagements, etc.  All these possibilities started because you, single mom, wanted to talk to someone and share your life so that others may learn from your mistakes and be motivated with your success.

Continue and level up
You are now having the time of your life and best of all you monetize your leisure time.  You can improve your blog by reviewing your regular updates. Your updates should be about three hundred to five hundred words in length; if you have a special story you can extend this out to a thousand words. Any longer and you'll likely lose the reader's interest.  You can also experiment in increasing your readers’ interest by getting them more involved through “polling”.

The key to a successful blog is relationship. Build relationships with your market/network.  Keep their interest and curiosity; and keep the cash flowing!  What started as a stress reliever, leisure and extra income can become your key to huge cash.

Single Mom Conquers All

Can you be a good parent when you also need help?  Being a good parent is tough; being a good single mom is next to impossible.  However, because of the love burning inside of you, you reach for the skies to give your child all the opportunities you can, while also making sure they aren't spoiled.

Be frugal and wise.
Make your own baby foods when your baby is ready for solids. Not only will this allow you to control what you are feeding them, it will also save you a ton of money. Having a child is extremely expensive so you need to cut costs wherever you can. Put some food in the crock-pot before you go to bed and blend it into a jar when you wake up.

Manage your kid’s rest time to free you to do your online business.
Be consistent about naptimes and bedtimes to help your days run smoothly. Kids thrive on routine, and skimping on the amount of sleep they get can impact their health and overall well-being. Check with your pediatrician to see how much sleep each of your children needs, and make it a priority to stick to a regular schedule as much as possible.  This will also be very helpful in managing your online business. 

Listen to your kids.
Beyond just trying to make excuses and complain, your kids could be telling you things.  If you are listening to them you can correct a lot of issues before they get out of control. They need to feel like they can talk to you and that you will actually listen and not just hear what you want to hear.

Teach your kids to earn their keep.
A great parenting tip is to make your child earn the money you give them. A simple way of doing this is to offer them an allowance if they do some work around the house. This will teach them some work ethic and also the value of working for their money.  It is also important to guide them on how to spend the money they’ve earned.  Teach them these great values while they are still young.

Be your kid’s first teacher; sex education included.
Although the schools today are attempting to play a larger role in a child's life in terms of sexual education, you should still teach this topic in detail. You might be embarassed to talk about it, but your kid needs to know about sex. Inculcate Christian values so they avoid STDs and unplanned pregnancy.

Know your kid's personality.
Your kids have different attitudes and personalities.  You must be able to adjust your parenting style depending on your child’s character.  If you have a child who is acting out it would be wise to spend more time with him. By spending more time with your child you will know his unique personality and be able to better address any issue more intelligently. As such, both of you will get along much better.

Becoming a good single parent is tough and is next to impossible; but IT IS POSSIBLE!

Handle Your Finances Wisely

A Single mom can’t be carefree with her finances.  With no financial support from the father of her children she needs to be extremely cautious where and how she spends her money.  This is difficult especially when she does not have enough.  Below are some suggestions to make the most of your money.

Learn to cook a few dishes from your favorite cuisine. When you have a craving for Lasagna, Pad Thai or Fajitas, you can pick up the ingredients yourself and cook the meal for a fraction of the cost than ordering it in a restaurant. Make more than you need and pack it for lunch the next day.

Try to buy items on sale in bulk. For example, if pasta noodles are on sale, but sauce is not, buy enough sauce for the current week's meal, but buy enough noodles for the month. Wait to buy sauce at a time when they are on sale or from another store that has them for less. You can save hundreds as those cents add up.

The best way to manage your finances each month is to set a budget. Figure out how much you make each month. Then, add up your rent, automobile expenses, and any other bills you have. Determine how much these bills add up to and subtract that amount from your income. The result is how much money you have leftover each month.

Stay within your budget by avoiding impulse buying. Marketers send relentless emails trying to lure money out of your wallet with special deals and offers. Online purchases are not always cheaper, and you should do your homework to find the lowest price for a purchase. Because you do not even have to go to the store, online impulse shopping is an especially easy trap to fall into.

Make sure you are carrying cash or your debit card for small purchases. You do not want to have to put small purchases on your credit card and end up paying interest on them. Some merchants also put restrictions on purchases made with a credit card not allowing you to put under 10 dollars on it.

If you are a young single mom, take advantage of student discounts wherever you can. Certain stores offer the discounts every day, while others limit them to specific days of the week or one day per month. It does take a little work to find out the details of the discounts, but if you can save on the things you would buy anyway it is worth the effort.

Learning about financial management helps you improve your finances. No matter what your financial situation is, you should have a better handle on it.  You are a single mom, out to take the world because you need to for your children.  Start with handling your finances wisely and you will go a long way.

Perfect Job for a Single Mom

The job market is a very competitive market.  A lot of people are highly competent and because of this, employers have become very choosy.  More often than not, employers have a “must” list as they evaluate their prospective employees.  We can’t deny the fact that single moms in most cases are at a disadvantage regardless of their potential contributions to the company.   Needless to say, a single mom must work extra hard to stand out against the competition.

It is difficult to find a job, so make sure that as you scout for a job you look for something that fits your personality type. For example, if you are shy and like working on projects alone, a job that requires you to be part of and contribute to a larger team may be a bad choice. Carefully assess your character and find a job that fits you.  Also, it is wise to look for a job that is in your sector and applies to your studies in college. Doing this will enable you to save time and effort.  You likewise increase the chances of getting hired and keeping your job.

Keep your resume short, compact and precise.  Indicate your greatest accomplishments, putting in quantitative information.  For instance, percentage increase in sales, number of employees you've trained and mentored, new clients developed, new profitable departments established, new branches opened, new products developed, etc. Keep this at a minimum one page, just enough to trigger curiosity. Longer resumes have a tendency of getting trashed.  So unless you have a wealth of experience that just can't fit on a single page, aim for brevity.

Make sure to keep your resume updated when you are looking for a job. You do not want a company that is interested in you to have a hard time reaching you. If they cannot get in touch with you right away they will look for someone else to fill the position.

It is always best when applying for a job through a major job site that you apply not only online but contact the company directly; specifically the hiring manager. This is important because you want your expressed interest to get noticed. Grab their attention in more ways than one.

The advent of the internet has enabled employers to get almost accurate information about the candidates.  The internet is a valid source to investigate candidate employee’s mental and social capabilities and background. Make sure that the information you have online will support and not discredit your job application. It is important to give a professional image online.  Provide your LinkedIn address to your prospective employer. Watch your posts on Facebook and Twitter.  Make sure that your Facebook friends will uplift you. As the saying goes, “show me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are”. Be critical of what you post on forums as these are connected with your identity.

If you are not familiar with the employer’s office, visit it a day before your interview to give you an idea of how much time you need to get there from your home. Arrive at least 15 minutes before your interview to give you time to freshen up and relax.

If you're doing a phone interview, make sure you're well-prepared before the interview starts. Make sure your resume is within clear view. You should have a short list of accomplishments ready to review. For note taking, have paper and a pen handy. Select a quite place to accept the phone call.  Put your phones on silent mode to avoid interruptions. Lastly, try using a landline if your cell phone reception is unreliable.

Whether employers admit it or not, single moms are less favored than their peers.  But if you focus and do your best to be above your peers, you can find a job or you can proceed to have an oline career.  Visit www.bigmoneyvault.com to know more.

Being a Single Mom can be Fun and Rewarding

Parenting is one of the most difficult, yet could be the most enjoyable job ever. How can children touch our hearts and drive us crazy all at the same time? Single parenting is no easy task, but we hope below tips that can help make parenting a little easier for you and your child.

Practice Patience
Patience is a virtue and single moms can surely develop this virtue as they take care and nurture their kids. Sometimes it will take more than once to get an idea or a rule through to them but be patient and persistent. If you lose your cool so will they! Through patience and persistence you can teach them right from wrong, and how to remain level headed.

Empathize
Homework can become very frustrating for children. Sometimes, the amount of homework our children bring home can seem daunting, to say the least. When your child seems too stressed-out during his evening sessions, try suggesting a homework time-out to ease the tension. Having a snack, drink, or maybe just some conversation about his day will sometimes do the trick. Breaking the work up into more manageable tasks can help as well.

Train Early
Get your child to do chores as soon as they're able to understand what you're saying. From an early age your toddler should be picking up his own toys. Train him to pick-up his toys after playing with them.  You can start by making it a game.  You can tell him that you are faster in picking and clearing his toys.  Let him compete with you.  Later you can reward him for doing the chore every time he is done playing.

Feed him the right food
Make sure you feed your kid healthy food.  Start with all-natural organic baby food products and then try to expand on healthy food from there. You then will be able to accustom his taste buds to only nutritious food.  As soon as he is able to understand, tell him the value of nutritious food and how taking care of his health is very important. Treats can be allowed but in moderation.

Above simple tips will make parenting easier, fun and rewarding.  Train a child in the way that he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6).  Enjoy every bit of your time with your kid as you watch him grow and mature to a fine person.