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Posts tagged with: budgeting

4 Tips for Building a Playground in Your Backyard

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Every parent knows that one of the things that children will always want to do is to play. This means that setting up a playground in your backyard can prove to be the best gift that you give to them. That said, there are a few tips that you can make use of in this case so that you can be sure you spend your money in the best possible way, getting amazing returns from it as a result. Here are four tips that you can make use of so that you build a playground in your backyard that will keep your children occupied with endless hours of fun.

1. Choose the Right Equipment

The first step that you ought to take is to look for the right equipment for the playground. This is ideal equipment that’s age-appropriate for your children, and should also be safe. If there are accessories that come with something like a trampoline or a swing set, get these so that you can do the entire setup at once. This way, you can be sure that the playground will be safe and can be put to use the moment you’ve added the final equipment.

If you’re in the middle of a custody issue, you may have ample time to make the necessary preparations. That’s because there’s a wait time of two years from the date that an initial child custody order is set before a modification can be requested. This may apply to either party in a child custody case, but the goal should be to make sure that the playground is safe and fun.

2. Do Landscaping with the Playground in Mind

Remember that 90% of Americans actually prefer to live in homes that are surrounded by grass lawns. That said, make sure to landscape with this in mind, leaving ample room for the playground. This way, you can add decor and make sure that there’s room for everything to come up properly. Working with a professional landscape artist should help you make the right plans and come up with a practical layout that doesn’t negatively affect the layout of the compound in general.

3. Install Outdoor Lighting

While your children may typically play mostly during the day, you want to make sure that they can safely stay outdoors for a longer time if they want to. To make sure that this is the case, you should think about adding some outdoor lighting to the landscape. This is something that many people are doing, regardless of whether they’re adding a playground to the landscape or they’re setting something else up. This is based on the fact that the global market size of outdoor lighting in 2022 was $15.34 billion, according to Grand View Research. Outdoor lighting doesn’t even have to cost you a lot of money since you can take measures such as using solar-powered lighting and installing LED bulbs which are known to consume less energy.

4. Consider Adding Privacy

Finally, you may want to add some privacy measures to your landscape so that your children can play safely and stay protected from the public eye. To do this, the most practical solution is an exterior fence. Talking to good fencing professionals in your area should make it easier for you to pick the best material and design. This can improve the playground as well as the appeal and safety of the entire house. As such, take your time to make sure that you hire the best person and make the right choice so that you can enjoy all the benefits of having a solid fence without spending more money than you need to.

These four tips should help you build a playground that you love in your backyard. As a result, you’ll give your children an amazing opportunity to enjoy their time at home. They may never forget about this, so it’s worth the money and planning that it could take to do right.

Hope’s Debt Update – February, 2024

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I am hitting the ground running. Because my new work is contract based and I have learned over the years…I am working on a monthly retainer agreement and will be paid in advance each month. Since I started work this week, I have already been paid for the 9 days this month.

As soon as it hit my bank…I scheduled to pay off one of my credit cards. Woot, woot! My lowest balance card is at $0! And I am going to cancel the card to avoid any temptation in the future.

Debt DescriptionOctober, 2023 TotalInterest RateMinimum PaymentCurrent Total
Personal Loan #1$2,5000%$2,500
Personal Loan #2$2,5000%$2,500
Dad - New Furnace$2,6000%$2,600
CC - AMEX$89429.24%$0$0
CC - Wander$1,63029.24%$124$1,735
CC - USAA$5,00019.15%$135$4,966
CC - Amazon$1,49729.99%$53$1,481
CC - Sams$1,10629.99%$40$1,133
CC - Frontier$3,85729.99%$131$3,676
Car Loan$19,58112.69%Gymnast Pays$17,635
Student Loans$22,1212.875%In Deferrment$22,186
CC - Apple**$500Paid off every month$0
Total$61,186$60,412

Updates

I was a little disappointed to see that my overall total has not really gone down since October. But I did add the $2,600 that I now owe my dad; otherwise, it would have showed some movement. I am playing around with my forecast spreadsheet to see how I can balance paying off debt along with getting ahead on some things.

Since this is only a 6 month contract, I am being pretty conservative. My financial goals as of right now for these 6 months are:

  • Pay my mortgage payments through the end of the year.
  • Pay off 2 credit cards – 1 is done as of this post and I think I am going to pay off my second lowest balance as well.
  • Pay off my two personal loans at $500 per month beginning in April. I’ve already touched base with one of them and she’s good with it. Going to reach out to the other and get his okay. (Or better yet, get him to commit to a web build to cancel that debt. We will see.)

None of my part time income is in my forecast as it’s not steady. (Made less than $200 in January.) So for now, that money will just dump into savings to help rebuild my cushion.