Friday, July 30, 2010
$2 Tuesdays - Thanksgiving Point
Thanksgiving Point is having their $2 Tuesday promotion in August. You can get into Farm Country, Thanksgiving Point Gardens or the Museum of Ancient Life for $2/person (ages 2 and under are free). Check out their website! Also, the website says you can get a half pound of fudge for $2 too! Cheap fun and chocolate - don't miss it!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Saving For College
With ‘back-to-school’ quickly approaching, the cost of schooling is more on our minds and it all quickly adds up: school clothes, school supplies, fees, school lunch, etc. Have you considered how quickly the costs of college add up? Tuition, books, fees, room and board. They can be even more costly and the cost of tuition is quickly rising. How do you plan for sending your children to college?
The first step would be to decide what, if anything, your family can save towards future college expenses. Saving for college should not detract from saving for more immediate family needs. For example, you should have a fully funded 3-6 months emergency savings before saving for college. Also, don’t neglect saving for your retirement. You can always hope your child gets great scholarships, but there are no scholarships for retirement.
After deciding how much you can contribute, decide what option works best for you. The Utah
Educational Savings Plan (UESP) is ranked by Morningstar in the Top 5 of college savings plans (529). It is a very flexible plan that boasts low fees and expenses, no minimum amounts to open an account and no minimum monthly contributions. There are also many options for allocating your contributions. You can choose how aggressively you want your money to grow (keep in mind aggressive growth means increased risk). There are also options for age-based investments. You can specify the age of the child you are saving for and the account automatically adjusts to more conservative funds as your child grows. The money is accessed tax free as long as it is used for qualified expenses and you can get a tax credit of 5% on your state taxes.
The funds can only be used for qualified higher education expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies, room and board). If your child decides not to attend college, the account can be transferred to another family member or the money can be withdrawn for other uses (earnings subject to federal and state taxes with an additional 10% federal penalty tax).
Another option for savings is a Uniform Transfer to Minors custodial account (UTMA). There are fewer restrictions on what this money can be used for in regards to your child. It can be used at any time to benefit your child as long as it isn’t considered regular ‘parental obligations’ (feeding, clothing, housing, etc). However, the earnings from this account must be reported on the child’s tax return. Depending on how much you are saving, the earnings usually aren’t enough to require filing a tax return. Another thing to consider is the parent is only a custodian of this account and the minor child can take control of the funds at age 18-21. Hopefully your child is responsible enough to manage this resource appropriately. Also, because the money belongs to your child, it may impact their ability to receive financial aid. Depending on where you choose to establish the UTMA, there may be minimum amounts required to open and contribute to the account.
If you want to option of funding a mission as well as college, you might want to consider saving in a UTMA account. Every family and situation is different, so discuss your goals and research your options to find the best savings plan for your individual circumstances.
http://www.uesp.org/index.html [Utah Education Savings Plan]
http://www.statefarm.com/mutual/acct_types/custodial.asp [info about custodial accounts]
The first step would be to decide what, if anything, your family can save towards future college expenses. Saving for college should not detract from saving for more immediate family needs. For example, you should have a fully funded 3-6 months emergency savings before saving for college. Also, don’t neglect saving for your retirement. You can always hope your child gets great scholarships, but there are no scholarships for retirement.
After deciding how much you can contribute, decide what option works best for you. The Utah
Educational Savings Plan (UESP) is ranked by Morningstar in the Top 5 of college savings plans (529). It is a very flexible plan that boasts low fees and expenses, no minimum amounts to open an account and no minimum monthly contributions. There are also many options for allocating your contributions. You can choose how aggressively you want your money to grow (keep in mind aggressive growth means increased risk). There are also options for age-based investments. You can specify the age of the child you are saving for and the account automatically adjusts to more conservative funds as your child grows. The money is accessed tax free as long as it is used for qualified expenses and you can get a tax credit of 5% on your state taxes.The funds can only be used for qualified higher education expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies, room and board). If your child decides not to attend college, the account can be transferred to another family member or the money can be withdrawn for other uses (earnings subject to federal and state taxes with an additional 10% federal penalty tax).
Another option for savings is a Uniform Transfer to Minors custodial account (UTMA). There are fewer restrictions on what this money can be used for in regards to your child. It can be used at any time to benefit your child as long as it isn’t considered regular ‘parental obligations’ (feeding, clothing, housing, etc). However, the earnings from this account must be reported on the child’s tax return. Depending on how much you are saving, the earnings usually aren’t enough to require filing a tax return. Another thing to consider is the parent is only a custodian of this account and the minor child can take control of the funds at age 18-21. Hopefully your child is responsible enough to manage this resource appropriately. Also, because the money belongs to your child, it may impact their ability to receive financial aid. Depending on where you choose to establish the UTMA, there may be minimum amounts required to open and contribute to the account.
If you want to option of funding a mission as well as college, you might want to consider saving in a UTMA account. Every family and situation is different, so discuss your goals and research your options to find the best savings plan for your individual circumstances.
http://www.uesp.org/index.html [Utah Education Savings Plan]
http://www.statefarm.com/mutual/acct_types/custodial.asp [info about custodial accounts]
With All Your Getting, GIVE
“I plead with you that with all your getting, you should also give to make the world a little better.” (Pres. Hinckley, quoted by Jon Huntsman, Sr at a BYU Commencement, Aug. 1999)
We have such abundance and can easily share our bounties with others. We certainly don’t want to go into debt to help others, but if we have the means, then we should give. With back-to-school sales starting, an affordable and fun way to involve the family in giving is to assemble school kits for the Humanitarian Center.
Here is a list of what should be included (see the website for instructions on how to make the cloth bag).
Humanitarian School Kits
· 4 unsharpened pencils
· 1 pencil sharpener
· 1 box assorted colored pencils (approximately 7" long, about 12 pencils to a box)
· 1 pair blunt-nosed scissors with metal blades
· 1 rubber pencil eraser (approximately 1" by 2")
· 1 straight edge ruler—not to exceed 12", with metric measurements
· 450 pages of lined paper in glued or spiral-bound notebooks (no more than 6 notebooks or pads per kit).
· 1 durable cloth bag made of heavy fabric
Another affordable way to give is to assemble hygiene kits. Our ward has been asked to gather the supplies for hygiene kits prior to the General Relief Society Broadcast in September. If you can assist with this in anyway, please donate the supplies to Sister A. Beck or someone in the RS Presidency.
Humanitarian Hygiene Kits
· 2 unbreakable combs (no sharp handles)
· 4 toothbrushes (packaged)
· 1 tube of toothpaste (6-8 oz., no pumps)
· 2 bars of soap (approximately 4 to 5 oz.)
· 2 hand towels (new towels, approximately 15" by 25". Please do not use dish towels or washcloths)
“It was always a privilege to assist those less fortunate than we, even when we had virtually nothing ourselves.”
--Jon Huntsman, Sr (BYU Commencement, Aug. 12, 1999)
Humanitarian Kit Lists and instructions
We have such abundance and can easily share our bounties with others. We certainly don’t want to go into debt to help others, but if we have the means, then we should give. With back-to-school sales starting, an affordable and fun way to involve the family in giving is to assemble school kits for the Humanitarian Center.
Here is a list of what should be included (see the website for instructions on how to make the cloth bag).
Humanitarian School Kits
· 4 unsharpened pencils
· 1 pencil sharpener
· 1 box assorted colored pencils (approximately 7" long, about 12 pencils to a box)
· 1 pair blunt-nosed scissors with metal blades
· 1 rubber pencil eraser (approximately 1" by 2")
· 1 straight edge ruler—not to exceed 12", with metric measurements
· 450 pages of lined paper in glued or spiral-bound notebooks (no more than 6 notebooks or pads per kit).
· 1 durable cloth bag made of heavy fabric
Another affordable way to give is to assemble hygiene kits. Our ward has been asked to gather the supplies for hygiene kits prior to the General Relief Society Broadcast in September. If you can assist with this in anyway, please donate the supplies to Sister A. Beck or someone in the RS Presidency.
Humanitarian Hygiene Kits
· 2 unbreakable combs (no sharp handles)
· 4 toothbrushes (packaged)
· 1 tube of toothpaste (6-8 oz., no pumps)
· 2 bars of soap (approximately 4 to 5 oz.)
· 2 hand towels (new towels, approximately 15" by 25". Please do not use dish towels or washcloths)
“It was always a privilege to assist those less fortunate than we, even when we had virtually nothing ourselves.”
--Jon Huntsman, Sr (BYU Commencement, Aug. 12, 1999)
Humanitarian Kit Lists and instructions
Book Recommendations
Check out your local library for great, FREE resources to enhance your financial knowledge . . .
Children’s Picture Book Recommendations:
Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock by Sheila Bair: teaches children about saving money
Jenny Found a Penny by Trudy Harris: teaches children about saving for a goal
Adult Recommendations:
Live Your Life for Half the Price by Lyle and Tracy Shamo: great tips and suggestions for cutting your budget, living on less and surviving tough economic times.
If you have additional suggestions for book recommendations, leave a comment on the blog.
Children’s Picture Book Recommendations:
Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock by Sheila Bair: teaches children about saving money
Jenny Found a Penny by Trudy Harris: teaches children about saving for a goal 
Adult Recommendations:
Live Your Life for Half the Price by Lyle and Tracy Shamo: great tips and suggestions for cutting your budget, living on less and surviving tough economic times.
If you have additional suggestions for book recommendations, leave a comment on the blog.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Free Activities
Here are a few upcoming FREE activities that you might want to consider . . .
Kennecott Copper Bingham Canyon Mine Visitors Center is free July 16 - July 25. It is normally $5 per passenger vehicle. If you've never been, it's quite interesting. They show a short video, have displays in their visitors center and huge tires you can stand next to. It is mind-boggling how large their equipment is.
There are also some fun activities surrounding the Days of 47 events.
July 17th Youth Parade and Festival - [some of our cub scouts will be marching in this parade]
The parade is at 10 and the festival follows it until 2:00 at Washington Square City/County building downtown.
Days of 47 Float Preview at South Towne Expo Center - July 19, 20 from 11am-9pm
Great opportunity to see and vote for the floats that will be in the July 24th parade (and it's air conditioned!) Our stake even has a float this year, so go and vote for ours!
July 24th Days of 47 Parade
Kennecott Copper Bingham Canyon Mine Visitors Center is free July 16 - July 25. It is normally $5 per passenger vehicle. If you've never been, it's quite interesting. They show a short video, have displays in their visitors center and huge tires you can stand next to. It is mind-boggling how large their equipment is.
There are also some fun activities surrounding the Days of 47 events.
July 17th Youth Parade and Festival - [some of our cub scouts will be marching in this parade]
The parade is at 10 and the festival follows it until 2:00 at Washington Square City/County building downtown.
Days of 47 Float Preview at South Towne Expo Center - July 19, 20 from 11am-9pm
Great opportunity to see and vote for the floats that will be in the July 24th parade (and it's air conditioned!) Our stake even has a float this year, so go and vote for ours!
July 24th Days of 47 Parade
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