Personal Consultant

Few are the jobs in today’s economy that are safe from uncertainty or outsourcing. That’s why it’s especially important to diversify your income. Las Fabulosas dug up three ways you can increase your earning potential by next otoño.

Clases de Lenguaje

Speak español already? Take a language class this summer at a nearby institute or even online to brush up on grammar, accents and sentence structures. Once you’ve built confidence and fluency during a summer intensive course, you can increase your earning potential by tutoring children or teaching adults.

Web Design

According to Noble Desktop, a web design school based in New York City, students can earn a certificate anywhere between one and six months depending on how many classes you can fit into your schedule. The goal is to earn a comprehensive set of skills so that you can build websites and trouble shoot. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average pay per hour is about $31.78.

Public Speaking
If you love digesting and sharing information before an audience, why not earn extra cash to speak to crowds? Classes in public speaking will teach you to organize your topic, modulate your voice and boost your confidence among other lessons. Before enrolling yourself in a verano class, pick a topic that stokes your passion, or about which you know a great deal. While speaking fees for beginners vary, you can also earn money as personal coach. Once you’ve had lot of practice before audiences, beginner speakers can expect to earn a few hundred dollars per gig.

Teaching Los NiƱos About Financial Responsibility

One of the best lessons that padres can teach their hijos is how to handle money. In fact, it’s never too early to start. Since figuring out where to begin can be difficult for most parents, Las Fabulosas breaks down how to put kids on the road to financial freedom.

Keep It Simple: There are only four things you can do with money: “Give-Invest-Save-Spend,” says Lori Mackey, creator of Prosperity4Kids.com, a financial literacy website geared toward helping children develop financial plans of their own. Focusing children on a limited range of options makes organizing their money much easier.

New Words: Engage los niños with palabras and who-what-where-when-how questions such as, “Why do you think it's important to save money?” and “What type of charity would you like to donate to?” Teaching them new words and getting them to share their ideas about money will help build their confidence.

Create Stories: “Picture books are so engaging because kids can see themselves in the story,” says Mackey whose book, Money Mama & The Three Little Pigs, takes readers “on a magical journey through the wonderful world of money where they can imagine being part of the characters in the books they read.” Mackey points out that reading to kids about situations they can relate to “builds the scaffolding in their little brains.”

Play Games: Monica Olivera, creator of the Latina home-schooling blog MommyMaestra.com, had her kids make three banks out of coffee cans. “They covered the outside with construction paper, decorated them, and wrote “Savings,” “Spending,” and “Giving” on each one. Next Monica created “forms” to record how much money was in savings, which they check every month or two. The goal is to motivate the kids to keep saving. “If they haven’t taken any money out, I give them an extra dollar,” she explains. “If they have added to their savings, I give them $2.”

New Uses for Old Things: How to Reuse Toilet Paper Rolls

As a busy, penny-wise mama, I’m on an ever-present mission to find new uses for things that may otherwise end up as trash. So when I was recently faced with a growing pile of paperless rolls left over from paper towels and toilet tissue, I polled my budget-conscious parent friends for tips on new ways to use these things.

Try these ideas if you’re looking to reuse leftover toilet paper rolls:

Get Organized

Toilet paper rolls are a wonderful way to keep electrical cords tangle-free. Fold the cord and slide it into the roll before plugging it in. Get bonus decor points by covering the roll with colorful tape.

And what about those tangled Christmas tree lights? Keep them in holiday-ready shape by wrapping them around a tube before storing for the year. Cardboard tubes can also be used to protect important documents or kids’ artwork: Roll the papers, slide into the tube (or tubes, if the artwork is long) and stash in a drawer or box.

Get Cozy 

Fill a cardboard tube with dried leaves and wrap in newspaper for an easy and accessible fire-starter. Stock a basket with these homemade starters during chilly months, and even the most hesitant of fire-makers will be ready to start a bonfire for some backyard summer fun.

Get Crafty

Cardboard tubes of all sizes are the ideal foundation for kid-friendly crafts. Paint the tube with stripes or dots and glue on feathers, or fur plus ears and a tail, and you’ve got a quick and cute handmade animal.

For the mini musician in your house, tape one end of a toilet paper tube with masking tape, fill with dried beans or rice, tape the other end closed, and you have a homemade maraca. Increase the fun factor by decorating it with bold paint and glittery glue.

Get Creative

Kids love pretend play: Try gluing two toilet paper rolls together horizontally and decorate with paint and stickers for a pair of homemade binoculars. Pretend you’re on safari in search of wild animals or a spy on a dangerous mission.

You can also turn empty tubes into fire-free candlesticks: Simply turn the rolls upright and outfit them with orange and yellow paper flames. Decorate them in festive colors (like orange and black for Halloween), or encourage your children to go exploring by ‘candlelight.’



Helping Los Ninos Make Healthy Food Picks

From the time nuestros bebés start eating solids, they are introduced to different tastes that will last throughout their lives. That’s why healthy food picks are crucial from the start.

Here, Claudia M. Gonzalez, MS. RDN, author of Gordito Doesn’t Mean Healthy, shares her winning tips for keeping your kids’ palates satisfecho -- and their bodies saludable.

Set a Good Example

“Sounds like a broken record, but it's true: Parents need to set a healthy example,” says Gonzalez. There is no such thing as a perfect diet, but Gonzalez tells parents to teach their children to eat fruits and vegetables above any other food. And remember: They may not embrace healthy eating immediately, but keep at it. “Nutrition takes patience, repetition, creative planning and not giving up,” she says.

Be Flexible

When introducing fruits and veggies, let your child tell you them the way he likes rather than forcing something on him. “If your child will only eat espinacas with lots of dressing, allow it,” says Gonzalez. “Eventually, they will outgrow these food combinations, but at least they became familiar with the foods.”

If your child is school-aged and you’re worried about unhealthy school lunches, but aren’t able to send a home-packed lunch with him every day, take control at home. You can compensate for any unhealthy foods through a nutritious breakfast and dinner.

Remember the Food Groups

The basic food groups are vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, protein and healthy fats. “Ask yourself, ‘Does my child eat from all food groups on a daily basis?’ If not, rethink your menu and grocery shopping,” says Gonzalez. For babies eating solids, Gonzalez says they don’t need to eat all food groups in a day, but recommends incorporating each group within a couple days each week.

Gonzalez also suggests letting kids have a sugar allowance. “Teach children how to use non-healthy foods within their diets rather than prohibiting them, which may lead [kids] to become junk-food lovers,” she says.

Get Moving

Diet is just one part of the healthy equation. Early in life, keep your kids active by going to the park or playground, joining playgroups or enrolling them in sports. Kids will enjoy exercise if it’s fun!

Save Money Now for Dia de las Madres

Whether you've always wanted to take mom to Mexico or splurge on a day at the spa, here are some easy tips for saving up dinero for Mothers Day and all year round!

1. Save money at the grocery store

The grocery store can be a big drain on your wallet, but it doesn’t have to be. Consider buying more frozen fruits and veggies, which many nutritionists say are just as healthy for you as fresh produce because they are picked and frozen at their peak of ripeness. Buying frozen broccoli, peas and blueberries lowers your shopping budget but not your nutritional value.

Also remember to keep your eyes focused on the register at the check out counter. Americans lose between 1 and 3 billion dollars a year in scanning errors because of human error or because sale prices have yet to be entered into the computer.

2. Read for free!

Instead of buying the latest bestseller for $15 or more, take a visit to the library or go to PaperbackSwap.com and trade books with other likeminded readers. It’s also a great way to clear the clutter from your home!

3. Be a smart home shopper

Before you buy new furniture, check out furniture sites like Craigslist.org and Freecycle.com, where people post things to give away for free instead of tossing them in the trash. Just put in your zip code and see what goodies you can score, from TV's to furniture and everything in between!

4. Consider the online goldmine

Flash sale on websites like Gilt Groupe and Fab.com offer designer duds and accessories for up to 60 percent off. And ShopItToMe.com takes it one step further by acting like your own personal sale shopper: Simply sign up and fill out your size and favorite labels. When they go on sale in your size, you'll get an email alerting you.