Dear Kid,

Mom is cooking. And she’s not sharing.

Even though I’ve asked very nicely.

I think her exact words were, “Puppy, go write to the Kid about it because you are not getting any of this chicken.”

Or something like that.

So just to show that I’m a good boy, I decided to write to you.

Today was a very exciting day. It started when Mom woke me up (she wasn’t cooking then) and we snuggled before I took her for a morning walk. She likes to think she wakes me up, but really I’m wide awake the minute she gets out of bed. I just like to lie quietly in my blankets and let her think she’s waking me up because she needs jobs like that.

After our walk, I had breakfast. Do you know what breakfast is? It’s FOOD! Which is de-li-shus.

Then I chewed on my chipmunk toy while mom went upstairs. It was Very Important Chewing, but I kept an ear open in case there were Intruders. Or someone dropping food. (There weren’t any Intruders today, but don’t worry—I’m guarding the house.)

Then I took a nap, because breakfast and chewing are very tiring.

When I finished that nap, I turned around and took another one. Naps are something I practice every day, and I am very good at them. I would be happy to teach you how to nap if you’d like. You let all of you go to sleep EXCEPT for one ear, because you never know what might happen. Be sure to turn around every now and then so your other ear can listen and your first ear can sleep.

After my naps, I did a bit of this and a bit of that (although not really very much of that), and then everyone came home and now there is COOKING and My Nose Is Going to Explode and No One Cares!!!

I think you should come home from college and feed me.

Love, Puppy

And that’s exactly what I found on my computer.

Love, Mom

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Dear Kid,

As you may be aware, college is expensive. Not expensive like “Oh, look! The price of gas at this station is 5 cents more than across the street!” No, expensive as in “WHAT!!!??!!” Turns out, it’s even more expensive when you, the lucky student, have the great joy of footing some or all of the bill. Scholarships are dandy things, but they are often insufficient (if they even bother to show up).

Which means finding money.

Earning it is generally the best option, but as the average annual college cost is “WHAT??!!” and the average earning ability of students is generally about enough to buy lunch one day a week, student loans often become an important way to cover the cost of an education.

Today’s guest blogger, Zyana Morris, shares some great advice for dealing with student debt….

Tips for Successfully Managing Student Loans | Guest Contributor Zyana Morris

The best approach to oversee debt is well, to be free of any type of debt, but we all know how that is easier said than done since the economic situation is a wee bit unfriendly. In any case, paying for your university education, or getting money or student loans to take care of the cost of education, is something unavoidable for many.

In order to pay back your student loan successfully, there are several things you ought to do. If you want to be away from the recovery demons, you should plan a payback route even before you sign the principal promissory note. While we are all aware that such should be the case, most students don’t worry about paying back student loans until after they have graduated.

Here are some tips to help you make arrangements to manage your student loans successfully to guarantee repayment success.

You Do the Leg Work
All loans are not equal. A few loans offer payback incentives while you are at school; this reward can often be extended to even after you have graduated. Some loans do not provide any such benefits and repayments are expected soon after you have graduated school. For instance, the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loan charges a 3% advance start expense, adding pressure to the already overburdened student. The student thus has to save more to bear the burden of not only interest but also the necessities such as books, school supplies, and everyday costs.

Read Your Mail
Ordinarily, student borrowers get a considerable amount of information regarding their student loans. You’ll probably get mail at the beginning, throughout the loan term, and after graduation from school. While it may seem like junk to you, it is very important that you sift through each piece as it could contain crucial information regarding your student loan. In the event that you do not understand something within the documents, you can call up your lender and have the issue resolved in a timely manner. It is important that you do not disregard the mail or you may pass up a major opportunity for a basic due date or essential data you have to follow up on concerning the loans. Lenders often mail regarding incentives, benefits, offers, and repayment plans.

Organize that Mountain of Paperwork
Save the greater part of your student loan research material and correspondences. That way, you are going to know exactly what you consented to, what is expected from you at the time of repayment, and how much debt you have acquired. It is intriguing how marking the promissory note for your loan is so motivating while repaying the same loan is the exact opposite. Four years of school go by faster than you think, and before you know it you are graduating and the student debt repayment is glaring you in the face.

Being able to put your fingertips on all your printed loan material will help a lot in the student loan frenzy. To make things simple for you, start by setting up a decent, simple to use, record-keeping framework in which you can keep your student loan research material and correspondence. The book shops and libraries have books and programming items on personal finance and budgeting that will offer you some assistance. Regardless of what filing system you pick, whether archive organizers, fasteners, portfolios, or envelopes, make one document for every loan or record you have, and keep your things organized properly. Also, while sorting out your record keeping framework, ensure that it is protected. The record-keeping framework ought to be kept protected from burglars and fires. Various experts likewise prescribe that you have to keep your student debt records and correspondences until they are all completely paid off.

Here is a list of things that you should keep with you until you’ve paid off all your student loans.

• Essential research material like your student loan applications, promissory notes, dispensing and exposure articulations, and advance exchange takes note.
• Copies of all correspondences concerning your understudy advance organization and/or adjusting organization, for example, your school’s money related guide office.
• Contact and telephone number of the credit supplier.

Zyana Morris is a passionate blogger who loves to write on trending Life Style topics. She is a featured author at various authoritative blogs. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks for the great advice, Zyana.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

It’s that time of year, and I’m fighting a cold. Well, I’m fighting the edges of a cold. Fighting hard. This is not a fight I plan to lose.

Today we have a guest post about treating a cold using natural remedies. Since I don’t have any intention of allowing this cold to settle in, I’m hoping planning not to need them. But just in case you encounter a germ or two you can’t fight off, here’s all the info you might need.

So without further ado, here are

5 Natural Recipes for Treating a Cold

There is nothing as important as healthy life, free of any infections. With healthy people in a society, the society grows since there is maximum work output. Can you imagine for a moment how the country might be if half of its citizens are sick? Proper diet and weight check is what healthy person calls for. It is so unfortunate that we don’t fully control our health but we can treat ourselves.

Some infections such as cold are difficult to avoid because they are airborne. Once your neighbor or sibling is infected, the probability of you contracting the same disease is very high. Rather than going to see a doctor, you can generally treat yourself.

1. Lemon juice does it

Lemons are good for general diet and weight loss. Here is how to use lemons to treat a cold.

Requirements

1. Honey
2. Slices of lemon
3. Water

Procedure

1. Extract lemon juice from the lemon slices and dilute it with water
2. Make it sweet by adding honey to the resulting juice
3. Your treatment is ready for work. Any amounts of the ingredients allowed since all have a nutritional value but lemon amounts should be slightly higher than honey’s.

2. Cinnamon soother

Most of the time, a cold comes with a throat infection which makes you have that irritating sensation. Cinnamon is the most appropriate product to sooth your throat.

Requirements

1. Coconut oil – 2 Tablespoons
2. Raw honey – 2 Tablespoons
3. Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon

Procedure

1. Mix coconut oil with ground cinnamon
2. Add honey to the mixture to form a uniform paste
3. Take it to soothe your throat

3. Ginger tea

Organic ginger has an irresistible taste. Ginger tea is great for helping you feel better when you have a cold.

Requirements

1. Peeled grated ginger root
2. Hot water

Procedure

1. Place the ginger root into a tea brewer
2. Add hot water and let it steam for about 10 minutes
3. Add peppermint to the resultant drink
4. Your tea is ready for consumption

4. Peppermint tea

Peppermint is a sweet tasting organic plant that can help us overcome a cold without doctors.

Requirements

1. 5 Peppermint leaves
2. Hot water – 1 Cup
3. Honey – 2 Tablespoon
4. Lemon juice – 1 Tablespoon

Procedure

1. Chop the peppermint leaves into small pieces
2. Add hot water and steep the leaves
3. Add honey together with lemon juice to enhance the taste

5. Salt bath

This is one of the very different ways of treating cold apart from consuming treatment products. This treatment heals cold by detoxifying the body, reducing inflammation, and enhancing blood circulation.

Requirements

1. Warm water
2. 2 Tablespoons of Epsom salts

Procedure

1. Warm your normal amount of bathing water
2. Add the Epsom salt to it and bathe with it

Conclusion

Almost everyone in the world has suffered from a cold to a point where they no longer view it as an illness. They have just termed it as a part of life. However we should not take it for granted because it could be something more than it appears. It could extend to a chronic breathing system infection. Most people like natural, which is why the above recipes are there for you. If the cold persists, consult a doctor.

Ella James is an aspiring author who is pursuing Health Services Administration degree from St. Petersburg College. She is an active contributor to Consumer Health Digest, which is a leading Health News. In recent years, she had the opportunity to review Joint soother. Get connected with her on Facebook and Twitter.

As Ella says, your best option is to avoid getting sick altogether. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, get enough sleep, and run away from anyone with a drippy nose. But if you do happen to catch a cold (or if it happens to catch you), now you know some great natural ways (in addition to chicken soup) to help yourself feel better. Thanks, Ella!

Love, Mom

P.S. The cold won. I’m off to find a lemon or two.

Dear Kid,

Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia. It is a happy, convivial place (I know this because My Friend The Internet told me so), and if you go to Servia you should definitely add Novi Sad to your list of Places to Go, Things to See.

Today’s blog is a guest post from Kate Flannery, an Australian (with—I’m assuming—a fabulous accent) living in Novi Sad. Seeing as she was once a college student and is now a writer, she is as expertly positioned as one can possibly be to contribute to DearKidLoveMom. She also included Helpful Links which is more than you can sometimes say about what I write.

Say hello politely, please.

Studying is supposed to be the most exciting part of your life. It is a period when young people leave their homes, most of them for the first time, to start living on their own. The question is how to organize your life once you have flown from the family nest and, above all, how to stay within your budget – both on campus and off campus.

Strict Budget Rules

The hardest thing for freshmen living on their own for the first time is to stick to their own budget rules. When you live with your parents, you do have some limitations, but they are usually imposed and managed by your parents. Even if you exceed your budget and splurge your pocket money on video games, you will always have food to eat in your family home. However, students who do not learn how to strictly stick to their budget rules will soon have to start borrowing money; been there, done that. It took me three months to get back on the track of normal living and studying, because I had to borrow money during my first year, and paying back is hard when you don’t even have a regular income, and can barely support yourself. The rule of thumb is that you set your monthly budget and never spend a cent more. Perhaps this worksheet for off-campus student dwellers might help you achieve that.

Economical Meal Planning

In order to make your budget last all month long, the first thing you need to take care of when you are choosing your off-campus apartment are your household appliances. To be more precise, you have to buy an energy efficient cooktop. The equation is quite simple – if you live outside the campus, you will have to cook more. If you do not get proper cooking appliances, energy-wise, you will waste hundreds of dollars more on your electricity bills.

Also, when it comes to preparing food, I realized during my studies that home-made meals, such as rice, beans, zucchini, and vegetable-based dishes in general will leave more money in your pocket. But beware of the yummiest of recipes! You will have to edit the quantities of most ingredients most of the time, because college is no time to eat a “serves four” dish by yourself.

Not every meal is cheaper than a restaurant meal, and some places treat students particularly generously. Keep in mind, as well, that eating fast food too often is the main reason most people put on serious weight in college, that vain time when living your life for the perfect Instagram shot is not frowned upon. Eating home-cooked food is the best way to stay on top of your budget and health.

Privacy Settings

As people differ in everything they do, their approaches to studying also vary significantly. While some students like being surrounded by dozens of their fellow students, others prefer living and studying alone. Whatever you do, bear in mind that you have come to university to become a highly educated professional. So, if you want your own peace of mind, renting a room for a single person is the best solution. I tried sharing a room with a friend of mine, not just an acquaintance, but someone I could trust, and it was not practical at all. Probably the best option is having your own room in an apartment populated with one or two additional students, too. Such an arrangement will give you a chance to combine both private and social features of your life within the same place.

Rent Issues

When I was a student, I often changed apartments. This strategy can also save a lot of money, annually speaking. Basically, whenever I realized that my roommates – well, flatmates at least– were going to leave our place, I also moved. The biggest issue with living with other people is trusting them to stay on top of their rent. Staying alone in an apartment meant to be shared by two or three people is impossible, even for a month. This is why you should always ask your roommates how long they are planning to stay and include that in your housing contract. You can further improve your financial situation regarding rent by agreeing with your landlord to use a rent payment program – we settled for Rental Rewards. It motivated both my landlord, one of my flatmates, and myself to be mindful of rent payment dates.

I firmly believe my university years formed me as a person more than high school ever could. The most important lesson I learned there was how to live on my own with the assets I have at my disposal. I hope my experience will help new students make their first independent steps with more ease than I ever did.

Kate Flannery is a lifestyle blogger a long way from home. She moved from Perth to Novi Sad as part of a student exchange program for literature majors, and has stayed in Europe since, as an ESL and creative writing teacher. She spends her time connecting with fellow expats, looking for the next great adventure, and pining for the Australian boating scene. You can keep up with her on HighStyleLife.

Thanks Kate! Have a great day, kiddo.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Tomorrow is a big day. It’s Clean Your Refrigerator Day and America Recycles Day.

One would hope there’s not too much recycling of the things you manage to clean out of your refrigerator.

I don’t know if we’ll get around to celebrating Clean Your Refrigerator Day. The frig needs it, that’s for sure. It’s been sending out mysterious sticky spots as invitations, but so far nothing seems to have developed limbs, so I’m guessing we can put it off a week or two if we have to. On the other hand, given everything we went through to get the darn thing, you’d think we might clean it up occasionally.

As far as recycling goes, I can’t decide if I think having a Day dedicated is good or not. On the one hand anything that promotes recycling is Good. On the other hand, needing a Day for something we should be doing all the time is frustrating.

I don’t think we have a Day dedicated to garbage; as a society, we’re pretty good at throwing things away, so we don’t need a capital “D” Day to remember to do it.

Not so much with recycling.

Which is too bad.

So tell everyone to take their cans and paper and cardboard and other recyclables and keep them out of a landfill.

At least for one day.

Who knows? It might start a habit.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

As you probably know, I love when people do things that are unexpected. And I love when people do things Society expects them not to do.

Like being the only girl on the Varsity football team.

So I was quite excited when Jennifer Birch suggested writing a guest blog on using Twitter (yes, I love Twitter too!) to help empower girls. And without further ado, here are Jennifer’s thoughts.

How can a tweet empower young females?

Social media has become an extension of our personal lives.

Although deemed to be detrimental to children and to teens, it has its share of benefits to them, especially to young females.

Based on data by BeeVolve, Twitter users aged 15-25 have the largest share of usage on Twitter (73.7%). In a separate set of data by the research company, it showed that Twitter users are mostly females (53%).

Since young women highly dominate this platform, why not use it to empower the young ladies of today? We want to show you just how powerful Twitter can be in bringing out the #ActiveGirls in this demographic.

#ShowYourWorth
With varied topics to choose from, you can join any discussion by sharing your opinions online via your personal accounts and using a relevant hashtag (#). However, it’s best to avoid being rude online as it can lead to cyberbullying. Consider providing non-biased insights with supporting facts and figures.

If joining online discussions doesn’t interest you, then maybe you can show your value by inspiring other young ladies by sharing your adventures in life, such as your last trip, your latest projects, or anything that presents and empowers you.

#NoToStereotype
One of the positive effects of Twitter is casting stereotypes of the past aside. Through Twitter, women are able to showcase their talents and skills freely and whilst being supported by other women online, who also share the same passion.

Many advocates are now extending their assistance to diminish the never-ending gender-biases of our society. An example is Kate Pietrasik in the United Kingdom, and her advocacy to spread neutral parenting through unisex clothing. Personally maintaining the Twitter account of her clothing line Tootsa MacGinty (@TootsaMacGinty), she shares her point about destroying gender stereotypes not only in clothing but in our decisions in life. In one of her posts, she retweeted @FeministPics that shows a 1967 clipping of The New York Times with a quote “I think it’s time to change the rules. The rules are archaic. Women can run.”

#TechieGirl
Among the most prevalent hashtags on the platform that empowers young ladies is #TechieGirl. By using the platform’s search box, you can view everyone who has used this hashtag while sharing their own #TechieGirl experiences. Previously dominated by men, the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) industry has seen many changes recently as more women are now freely able to present their interest on the matter. An inspirational figure in this sector is Joanne Bryant (@joannebryantsf), an insurance business owner in California who admits to being “socially & technology savvy.” Her tweet on January 8, 2015 shows a picture of her while spending her 40th birthday at the CES 2015, which she calls the “happiest place on earth.”

So, if you are still feeling unsure on how to empower yourself, then start searching on Twitter. You will be able to find that there’s more you can do to show the world that you’re a #TrueActiveGirl.

About the Author

Jennifer Birch is an inspiration to her thousands of followers on Facebook and Twitter (even on her blog). Following various personalities online, she loves to share her thoughts about empowering young ladies to show their special skills and knowledge. Jenni retweets many of the posts of the most influential women on Twitter such as Padmasree Warrior of Cisco and Kate Pietrsik of Tootsa MacGinty She remains to inspire #ActiveGirls around the world to be free, active, and fun-loving.

Thanks Jennifer!

Have a great day, kid. Look for ways to inspire people.

Love, Mom