By Regan Gray, Children First for Oregon

The Great Recession that led to an explosion in childhood poverty began in December 2007 and ended — officially — in June 2009. But it doesn’t seem that way for almost half of Oregon’s children.
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Our January issue contains several articles loaded with advice on how to get control of your family’s finances. The following online articles offer additional financial advice from local parents with suggestions on creative (and fun!) ways to stay within your family’s budget.

• Do-It-Yourself and Save
• It’s New to You (buying used)
• Readers’ Best Budget Saving Tips

By Julia Silverman

After the umpteenth jar of home-made tomato sauce, Olivia Bucks’s husband cried “Uncle!”

“No more,” he pleaded, overwhelmed by the tomatoes-by-the-ton stacked every which way around their Arbor Lodge home, not to mention the late nights his wife was keeping canning, pickling and preserving.

Bucks finally gave in, but not before she’d filled the shelves in her pantry with jewel-toned salsas and sauces, pickled green tomatoes, tomato paste and more.
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By Julia Silverman

This past year, with money still tight all over town, Andrea Davey and her husband were able to pay down a significant amount of principal on their mortgage, beyond their regular monthly payments.

How did they do it? Davey says it was all thanks to her baby daughter’s insatiable need for stuff: new toys, new clothes, new books, an exersaucer and more. Instead of buying thousands of dollars worth of baby gear, Davey got creative. She founded the St. Johns Swap and Play, a place where, for a small monthly fee, members can play together and swap the toys, books, clothes and gear their kids no longer use.
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We asked our Facebook fans this question: What’s the one thing you’ve done that has had the biggest impact on reducing your family’s expenses?

Here’s what some of them had to say:
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Top Five Financial Resolutions for Parents

By Candice N. Aiston

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, you might be thinking about your New Year’s resolutions. While about half of people who make New Year’s resolutions break them, research shows that making resolutions is useful. According to a University of Scranton study, people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.
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The Best Things in Life Aren’t Things

Giving Your Kids What They Really Want for the Holiday

By Heidi Smith Luedtke

In the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, it’s easy to feel pressured by your kids’ latest material wants. Store displays and commercials have even the youngest kids clambering for bright and shiny new toys. If your child’s wish list adds up to more than you can afford and you’re tempted to spend money you don’t have, give yourself a time out.

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