Tag Archives: family

10 Things You Need to Know When Buying a Family Car

06/24/2022 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

family, driving, travel, cars, trucks, suv, vacation, parenting, kids, safety

As more and more new cars hit the market, the wealth of choices available for families increases and makes finding the ideal vehicle for your family a bit more complicated. However, there are some features you should be looking for when it comes to finding the perfect family car. From SUVs to minivans, hatchbacks, and compact city cars, there is a different car for every family, but the following 10 points will help you make the right decision on your next family car.

Safety Rating & Features

Finding the perfect family car can be overwhelming, but the safety rating is one of the most critical aspects of buying a new vehicle. When shopping for a family car, you’re likely looking for more than just a spacious interior—you’re looking for a car that can hold all of you and your loved ones if an accident were to occur. One of the best ways to avoid a severe car accident is by looking for a vehicle with a safety rating of five or higher.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides car safety ratings. The scale goes from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating. Some of the most common safety ratings you’ll see on family cars are either five or four stars. When you shop for a family car with a safety rating of five or above, you’ll be protected in the event of a collision.

Comfort

When it comes to the comfort of a family car, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice safety for it. Whether you’re heading out for a weekend getaway, taking your children to soccer practice, or traveling for work, you’ll likely be in the car for hours. That can put a lot of strain on your entire family if your vehicle isn’t comfortable. At the very least, a family car should have a comfortable ride. While you probably don’t need an SUV or crossover with a luxury interior, a family car with a comfortable interior will allow you to enjoy your ride. If not, you might want to invest in some upgrades that can increase the comfort level of your car and provide support for longer car journeys, such as seat cushions, air-con upgrades, tinted windows to clock out UV rays, and Bluetooth for entertainment purposes along with features such as cup holders or custom air fresheners to keep your car smelling fresh at all times.

Economic

When buying a new family car, the fuel cost will surely be on everyone’s minds. You want to ensure that your next car is economically sound, so you don’t spend more on fuel. One of the best ways to keep your new vehicle’s fuel costs low is to look for a car with a fuel efficiency rating of at least 33 miles per gallon (mpg).

The best fuel-efficient cars are typically Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundai or Kia, which can get up to 47 mpg.

Suitable for Car Seats

When looking for a family car, you’ll likely want to ensure it has enough room for multiple car seats. Many states have regulations about which cars are suitable for multiple car seats. While many family cars have enough space for multiple car seats, you’ll want to ensure that the vehicle you’re looking at is suitable for your seats. Some of the most common car seats are infant seats, child seats, and booster seats. You’ll want to make sure that the car you’re looking at can hold the type of seat you have.

Style

While looking for a family car, you might also want to keep in mind the car’s style. Of course, you want to ensure the car is safe and has enough room for your family, but you should also consider how it looks on the outside. One of the first things family members will notice when they see your car is how it looks on the outside. If your family car looks nice, it can make a big difference when out with the family. There are many ways to choose a family car for your next vehicle. One of the best ways to reduce costs is to look for a used car. Used cars can be an excellent option for families who want a reliable vehicle that won’t break the bank.

Price

Once you’ve chosen the right family car and are ready to begin the search, the price tag is one of the first things you’ll want to keep in mind. While safety ratings and features are essential, you should also keep the price in mind. The best way to find the perfect family car at the right price is to shop around. You can use online tools to help you find the best deal on a new vehicle, or you can visit your local dealership and walk around to get a feel for the car’s price.

Avoid going over your budget to afford a better one unless you can comfortably afford any repayments if you are making monthly instalments.

Running Costs

Once you’ve found the perfect family car, one of the first things you’ll want to keep in mind is the running costs. Many factors determine how much your family car will cost you, but one of the most important is how much gas your new vehicle uses. The best way to keep the cost of gas down on your new family car is to shop around and find a vehicle with excellent gas mileage. You can use online resources to help you find a car with excellent gas mileage ratings.

Practicality

After choosing the perfect family car, you’ll want to ensure it has the suitable practicality. While it’s essential to keep the running costs of your new vehicle in mind, you should also be mindful of how practical your family car is. One of the best ways to keep practicality in mind is to shop around for a vehicle that can meet all of your needs. When looking for a family car, make sure it has enough space for your family, can pull double duty as a vehicle and a weekend getaway, and has the practicality you need. Another option is to look into whether or not you would find extra seats useful for you. Additional seating options can be handy if you carpool for clubs or school drop-offs.

Consider how you will use the car to assess the practicality of the vehicle you are looking to buy. You also need to consider how and when you will be driving it. Do you need to be driving in busy cities, meaning you might be better off with a nippy small car that can get in and out of traffic and park quickly in compact places? Or do you need the power of an SUV to make long journeys across states?

Storage

One of the essential practicality factors to remember when purchasing a new family car is the storage options. One of the best ways to keep your new family car’s practicality in mind is to ensure it has enough storage. One of the most common storage options found on family cars is a trunk. Trunks are great for storing your groceries, sporting equipment, or other large items you’ll want to keep close at hand. However, many family cars don’t offer enough storage space to put the things you’ll want to keep close at hand. Underfloor storage options in cars or hidden compartments under seating can be helpful for families. You can even purchase vehicles that can reconfigure the seating arrangements to suit your needs and potentially increase floor space allowing you to store more items or carry bigger loads while having a full vehicle.

Technology

As your family grows, you’ll likely want to keep your family car up to date with the technology available. Newer cars are made with the latest technological features, from in-car entertainment screens controlling all the functions to voice-activated options and even self-driving modes if you purchase a Tesla. While this isn’t always the case for older models, some will be fitted with certain technologies that can benefit your driving experience or allow them to be equipped retroactively.

These can include Bluetooth, Sat Navs, in-car hands-free kits, parking sensors, automatic climate control, automatic wipers and lights, vehicle collision, and parking sensors, to name a few. While not everyone needs all of these features, looking at the options available at your price point can help you to identify what you can afford and what you are likely to want in your new family car.

Conclusion

Buying a family car can be an overwhelming experience, but with a bit of planning, you can find the perfect family car. This article will help you choose the ideal family car for your family. Before diving into the process, make sure to do your research and make sure you are considering the right features for your needs. With these tips in mind, you will be well on your way to finding the perfect car for your family.

Going Strong, Life, Lifestyle, Parenting, Tips

6 Ways To Avoid Dad Burnout

06/17/2022 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

dad playing with daughter outside, fatherhood

Pexels

Being a dad is a rewarding role but it can also take a lot out of you. Working hard and trying to care for your family may leave you feeling exhausted at the end of the day.

If you have a busy life then it’s all the more reason why you need to put measures in place that help you to remain energized and in a good mood. What you don’t want to do is ignore how you’re feeling and hope that your anxiety goes away. Here are six ways to avoid dad burnout so you can get your health and happiness back on track.

1. Identify Your Stressors

A wise first step is to create awareness around what stresses you out the most. For example, it may be working long hours, having young kids who need you, lack of sleep, or having poor time management skills. Identify your stressors so that you can work with them and hopefully not let certain aspects of your life get in the way of you feeling your best. Once you know the causes you can better cope and take good care of yourself as soon as you notice your stress levels rising.

2. Find Time to Relax & Put Your Feet up

It’s also important that you find time to relax and put your feet up every so often. Rushing around and being on the go all the time will drain your energy and you might feel worn down. Avoid dad burnout by making it a point to rest and calm your mind and body. There are many ways to spend your time such as watching a movie, reading a book, or sitting on your patio and enjoying some of the best cigars and pipes on the market. You’ll feel refreshed and more like tackling your to-do list when you’re good about incorporating downtime and not always being connected and busy.

3. Set Boundaries at Work

Avoid dad burnout by not overdoing it at your job. Set boundaries at work so people understand your limits and your availability. Learn to delegate tasks to others so that you have a manageable workload and aren’t the one staying at the office late each night. Ask for help when you need it and set up a home office that will provide you with greater flexibility when it comes to your work hours and schedule. Make lists and set priorities so you know what needs to get done first and foremost each day. Take time off, eliminate distractions, and learn to say no when you don’t have availability.

4. Have A Personal Life & Hobbies

Another way to avoid dad burnout is to have a personal life and hobbies. This will keep you happy and engaged in life. It also provides you with the opportunity to have a social calendar and activities that help you build relationships with others. Hobbies enrich your life and leisure time allows you to take breaks from your responsibilities and work duties. There are many options out there to give a try so start by experimenting with different hobbies and see what you find the most rewarding.

5. Exercise & Break A Sweat

One of the best ways to stay healthy and beat stress is to exercise. Not only move more but also find ways to break a sweat regularly so that you sleep better and have less anxiety. You’ll feel more energized overall and will love the way you look which will boost your confidence. Work daily exercise into your routine and you’ll feel great and have a positive outlet for managing your stress. You’ll like the way you look and it’s an effective way to boost your mood and mental health. Even if you don’t feel like exercising you should try to because you’ll feel better once you’re done.

6. Open up & Talk

It might also help to confide in others when you’re feeling overwhelmed or need advice. Open up and talk to your spouse or friends and extended family and use them as sounding boards. Let them know what you need from them such as just to listen or if you want advice and suggestions for certain problems you’re facing. The more you get in the habit of opening up and talking about how you’re feeling, the more likely it is that you’ll avoid burnout and be able to navigate the future with a more positive and optimistic outlook. There are also dad support groups and other fathers out there who are going through what you are and would likely be happy to listen and converse.

Lifestyle, Parenting

10 Reasons Couples Opt for Divorce

06/17/2022 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

If there is one thing that isn’t easy, it’s marriage. You and your spouse promised to be together in sickness, in health and in everything in between and yet this isn’t always rainbows and butterflies. Marriage is work. It’s showing up every single day for the person you promised your life to and ensuring that you are working together to get those rainbows. Every time you find one, there will be a follow up of rain and storms to follow and for many couples, they are able to clear the rain and make the rainbow happen.

For others, it’s not always that easy and they never find those rainbows again. You expect that your partner will be with you by your side. You made vows to one another and that meant something to you both at one stage. The thing is, infidelity, a lack of communication and issues with money can all contribute and you end up searching online for how to serve papers for divorce – even if you didn’t think it would go that way. You may never have considered a divorce before, but if it’s been something that’s popped into your head from time to time, you should get to know all of the reasons couples choose to divorce. Below, we’ve put together the top reasons that couples cite when they are choosing to go down the road of divorce.

couple with relationship issues, divorce, marriage, therapy, counseling, love

Image Source: Pexels

Someone has been unfaithful. Being cheated on is painful. It’s a betrayal and it makes you feel as if you can’t trust anyone around you. It’s not the best thing to happen to anyone and when you seek something outside of your relationship instead of getting it from your spouse, you are betraying the vows you took. Infidelity is going to be a big reason to rip the family apart and it can leave long lasting scars on the person that has been cheated on. Being cheated on is a good reason to divorce, because nobody should stay in a marriage where they don’t feel respected. It doesn’t really matter the reasons behind the cheating, because even if one of you isn’t getting something from the other one, communication should have been the first port of call. If communication didn’t work, then that person should leave the marriage and ask for a divorce before any cheating infidelity could happen.
Money. Money may make the world go around, but it’s also something that can rip people apart. Money mixed with love isn’t easy and a common reason for divorce is that you are having money issues. Whether you are having issues with gambling or debts, or your partner is hiding money from you, there are issues with money that can lead to divorce. Everything from different spending habits to separate financial goals can cause a rift in your marriage and that can cause further issues down the line. As a partnership, you should be able to talk to one another about issues to do with money. If you’re not communicating with one another, any problems with money that are going to come up may not be resolved quick enough or delicately enough. Money can tear apart friendships, businesses, families. If you’re not careful, I could tell you apart, too.
You’re not communicating. For a marriage to work in the long term, you have to talk to one another. Everything that you do is about communication, from the conversations you have to the way that you touch each other. In a marriage, communication is crucial and you’re going to significantly impact your marriage in a positive way if you learn to communicate together. Trying out counseling is a good way to talk with a little help as counseling is going to help you to reach resolutions that you may not have come to on your own. When couples start talking to each other, they can start practicing mindful communication and stop making mistakes that hurt each other.
Arguments. Every single couple argues, but those relationship bickers aren’t the problem. Bickers can be resolved over time but when the arguments become incessant, you end up killing your relationship. Couples who have the same arguments over and over again do so because they don’t feel heard. Arguments are supposed to clear the air but when they don’t, they end up being the friction rub that rubs away that love and affection. Counseling can help, but eventually those who stop arguing are in the position where they stop because they know the other person won’t listen at all. This is a leading cause of divorce.
Physical changes. Believe it or not, many couples go through divorce because they lose physical attraction for the person they married. It sounds like something that shouldn’t happen – in sickness, in health, right? Well, weight gain is not an issue, it’s a symptom of a wider problem. Weight changes are a superficial reason to divorce but they are still reasons for people when they are asking for one. It’s not just the physical attraction issue; it’s the person they turn into when they gain significant amounts of weight or lose too much weight, too. When you marry somebody, the chances are life hasn’t changed you physically yet. If your partner has a baby, her body will change. If he has stress in his life, his hair will change. Ideally, you remember that you married each other for who you are, not what you look like. However, if you can’t get past the person they have become due to these physical changes, divorce is a smart decision.

Image source: Pexels

Unrealistic expectations. When you opt for marriage, you expect certain things from one another. You expect to rely on one another and you expect to be able to give to one another throughout your marriage. These expectations can be difficult and it’ll leave you feeling let down and unhappy. You don’t deserve to set each other up for failure so make sure that you talk this through with one another. Expectations are so important in a marriage, especially if you choose to have children one-day. Articulating your expectations before you sign on the dotted line and exchange vows is an intelligent thing to do, but if you didn’t do that, and you realize that your partner is not willing to live up to expectations that you have, separating may be your only option.
There’s just no intimacy left. If you don’t feel physically connected to your partner, it can ruin your marriage. Without intimacy, your marriage can end up with you feeling like you are living as roommates rather than lovers, and that’s not fun for anyone. If you are out of physical love with your partner you can try counseling and other ways to get that spark back. You can also discuss ways to bring that love back to the relationship. It was there once before and if you can work on your issues, it’ll be back again if you want it to be.
There’s a lack of equality. This is actually one of the leading reasons behind divorce, because if one of you is packed with resentment about the other, then that’s a reason for the relationship to break down. When one partner feels they take on more responsibility or they aren’t being treated fairly, the other will capture that resentment. This can be overcome, especially if you know you can make the right changes and act differently towards each other. You don’t need to feel like you’ve been shoved with the responsibilities in the marriage, and neither should your partner. Things have to be equal in a marriage for it to be worth fighting for and no one needs to deal with snowballing resentment here!
You’re just not ready. If you are opting for a divorce, you have to consider whether you were ready to be in a marriage in the first place. So many couples cite marrying too young as their reason for ending their marriage, and it makes sense. Some couples who make it work grow together, and others grow apart. If you got married too young you might decide that it’s a good reason for a divorce. You should always be prepared for such a big deal in life but it may not be until several years later that you realize that you got married in a fog of love.
Abuse. A good reason for divorce is that one part of the couple is being abused in some way. Abuse is a big deal and not feeling connected because of the way that you are treated is a smart reason to let the marriage go and try to move on. Being abused is something that you should be divorcing over so that you can avoid this happening going forward. Getting the right help is imperative to getting back on your feet.

Marriage is hard. If it turns out not to be for you, you are not tied to somebody for life. You should not compromise on what you want if your marriage is not working – so think carefully about divorce and whether it’s the option for you.