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.

Managing a work-life balance can often leave you with trouble focusing at the office and coming home only to forget what’s for dinner. There are easy ways to boost your memory and concentration, so you can feel more in control of your mind. USA Memory Champion Ron White shared his tips on foods and activities to sharpen your focus and improve your memory.

Dieta

• Fish: Salmon, halibut and tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, an important part of the development and functioning of the brain. Consumption of omega-3 fish oils are linked to lowering the risk of dementia and stroke, and can improve memory as you age.
• Fruits and veggies: Cruciferous and leafy green veggies, such as broccoli, brussel sprouts and spinach, can reduce the decline in memory and even reverse memory deficits. In the fruit department, berries, such as blueberries, contain antioxidants help to protect your brain and improve memory, says White.
• Chocolate and vino tinto: These indulgences contain flavonoids -- antioxidants that have been linked to brain health. Just be sure to limit consumption so not to reverse effects!
• Whole grains: Pass on white. In addition to providing energy and promoting heart health and weight loss, whole grains like brown rice and whole grain cereal may help to slow the rate of cognitive decline as you age.
• Water: “A dehydrated brain is bad for your focus,” says White. Be sure you drink the recommended eight glasses of agua each day.

Actividades

• Physical exercise: Cardio not only gives your heart a boost, it can also boost the brain. “Exercise improves blood flow, and better blood flow means more oxygen to the brain,” says White. Exercise also helps to reduce the risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both of which can lead to memory loss if serious enough. A recent study from Umea University in Sweden also found that memory skills improve significantly after weight loss. How’s that for motivación?
• Sleep: Getting adequate sleep can actually help enhance your memory. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, found that people remember objects they were shown better after they sleep versus being forced to stay awake. Plus, sleep disruption can lead to performance decline in newly learned skills.
• Laugh: When you laugh, you intake oxygen at higher levels and boost circulation. Both help the brain to function at a better rate.
• Memory games: White recommends trying mental exercises to help your memory. For example, “turn every name you hear for the next month into an image,” suggests White. “Lisa as Mona Lisa, Karen as carrot, Steve as stove. Turning things into pictures helps you later remember names, because it makes things visual.” You can also put your mind to work by challenging yourself with a variety of new and interesting activities and hobbies.
• Brush up on your español: Studies have shown that bilinguals are more adept at solving mental puzzles. People who know or learn a second language have more gray matter, a major component of the central nervous system that helps you to complete all types of tasks. Plus bilingual seniors experience less cognitive decline.

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.”

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.’

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.