Jessica Ward is a full-time freelance writer and adoptive mom to two wonderful children. She writes to support her parenting/adopting habit. For more information see www.jessicaward.me or for frugal family tips see www.thepennywisefamily.com or @jessc098 on Twitter.

Many parents know the feeling—your school may not be meeting your child’s educational needs, or you do not feel they are safe there, but you don’t have the resources for a private school  either. What options are available to parents?

We’ve faced this in our household, our youngest, adopted from east Africa arrived with a language delay but a high IQ—she might not reach her full potential entering Kindergarten this year. Our oldest, also very high IQ, has learning disabilities that interfere with her classroom functioning, but she isn’t low-functioning enough to qualify for special services. In sixth grade, she risks missing out on critical life-skills (organization, time management) that may affect her success for a long time.

My family is a resourceful bunch and mired in education. My in-laws both work for school districts (a teacher and an administrator) my mother is a school psychologist, and I was home-schooled until the ninth grade. (And I like to think I turned out all right.)

There are still options for parents who have concerns that their neighborhood public school just isn’t hitting the mark.

Private schools. Yes, I know, not in the budget. Many schools still offer scholarships for children. Do some research and contact schools that might work.

Change public schools. Some districts may allow you to waiver your child out of a district and into a district with programs that better fit your child’s needs.

Charter schools, or alternative learning environments. Washington State (where I live) doesn’t allow for charter schools, but our district does have an alternative school available for grades 3-12, and two districts offer online school, which is ultimately what we choose—we waivered our kids out of our home school district and into a public online school.

Home schooling. This can be done with or without a curriculum program.  Home-educators can order “school” from a provider, or attend co-operative groups to share teaching and grading duties with other families, or design their own program to meet their state’s educational requirements.

Un-schooling. Un-schooling is perhaps the earliest form of schooling, encouraging children to learn from their natural environment. It’s gaining popularity as a learning program and works for many kids with attention or behavior challenges.

Supplementing. Keep the public school, but add on programs from the local library, church, synagogue, 4-H, scouting or other organizations.

Don’t be limited—you can mix the strategies above to meet your child’s individual needs. Private and alternative school programs aren’t all full of preps or thugs, many cater to children who are kinesthetic learners or who need more workforce-oriented learning opportunities instead of the classic “reading, writing and arithmetic.”

It is possible to meet your child’s young educational needs without sacrificing their future college fund.

On that subject…
It isn’t too early to be shopping for scholarships and academic programs to give your child a financial kick-start into college. While many scholarships aimed at children under age 13 aren’t published (for privacy reasons), there are some directories available. My daughters and I plan for these scholarships each year and make a list of which ones to apply for. This list caters to elementary and middle school students. http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/age13.phtml

Also, many programs exist for children to begin college early. Here in Washington we have a program called “Running Start” which allows high school juniors and seniors to attend community college classes along with, or instead of their high school classes at no charge.  I benefited from two years of free tuition this way, and a direct-acceptance agreement to any state university after I completed my Associates’ Degree.

Bottom  line: Don’t give up! A little planning and frugality now can give your child the education he or she deserves and will give you the peace of mind that you need as a parent.

There are 564 personal loans available to invest in on the Lending Club platform as of this Monday, June 13 at 12:30pm.  Great time to mobilize that cash sitting idle in your account.  Browse Notes >>

@RobGarciaSJ

This is one of the most frequently asked questions from those thinking of borrowing or investing via Lending Club.

Yes, it can be confusing.  Every state has its own laws about investments and securities as well as lending rules and regulations.  Here is an up-to-date view of states in which residents can obtain personal loans, invest or trade, via Lending Club as of today:

Investing

To invest in Lending Club Prime Consumer Notes, you must reside in one of the following 28 states and meet that state’s financial suitability conditions: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

If your state is not listed above, you may be able to trade notes via FOLIOfn's Note trading platform.  At this moment, applicants from District of Columbia, Kansas, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont are not eligible to become trading members with FOLIOfn.

Notes offered by prospectus filed with the SEC.

Borrowing

All personal loans made through Lending Club are issued by WebBank, a Utah-chartered Industrial Bank.  We accept loan applications from US citizens or permanent residents of at least 18 years old with a valid bank account, a valid social security number and a FICO score of at least 660.  At this time, we are not accepting loan applications from the following 8 States: Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Tennessee.  For more details on borrower requirements, visit our help section on borrowing.

For the latest updates:

@RobGarciaSJ

Everyone looks forward to summer vacation, but in the current economy it can be hard to see anything there except rising debt. After all, travel is expensive and sometimes it seems that, the more you enjoy yourself, the more you have to spend.

However, this doesn’t have to be true. There are a few easy things you can start doing today that will help you raise the money you need for your trip, and also save money while you’re traveling.

Ask For Contributions

Sick of getting more stuff that you don’t really want every time your birthday or Christmas rolls around? Consider asking for monetary gifts instead.

While some people hesitate to give money because it doesn’t feel like a personal gift or they don’t know what you’ll use it for, most people are willing to give to a cause. If you tell folks that you’re raising money to go to Thailand next fall with your family, they’ll know where their cash is going and they’ll know they’re giving you something that means a lot to you.

Also, if you get your contributors something in return, you may want to consider "crowdfunding" your vacation through sites like Kickstarter.com or Indiegogo.com.  Check out Katie and Jessie: they plans to pay for their trip from New York to Alaska with contributions from viewers who will be happy to get a video journal of their experiences in Bed & Breakfasts they stay along the way.

Get Off the Beaten Path

While resorts and resort towns are often expensive (even if you buy an all-inclusive package), there are often places nearby that are much cheaper. Finding these locales takes a bit of research, but visiting them gives you a more authentic experience of the place you’re visiting and costs less.

Case in point? Sayulita, Mexico. It’s about an hour north of Puerta Vallarta and offers some of the best surfing and surf culture that Mexico has to offer. Stay in a villa, rent an apartment, or camp on the beach and enjoy all the authentic Mexican food and drinks you want while spending much, much less than you would somewhere else.

How do you save money when you travel? Share your tips and make someone’s day.

Crash Your Friend's Summer Homes or Rent from a Stranger

For a lot less, you could rent a summer house from a friend or perhaps look at couchsurfing or unique rentals from people who place their houses or extra rooms for others to use (check out airbnb.com or homeaway.com).  "Staycations" are also an alternative that has become more popular lately, as you get to explore interesting places right around your own corner without breaking the piggy bank to cover for expensive air fares.

Pay in Advance, Get Better Deals

All travel providers (hotels, airlines, etc) want to sell their inventory ahead of time and increase occupancy.  Cruises are famous for offering great deals if you buy in advance (sometimes a year or so ahead of time).   What most people do to snatch these deals is charge them on credit cards, but here lies the mistake... if you are not paying your credit card in full, your vacation could end up being more costly when you consider the high interest rates credit cards charge.  Look at fixed rate personal loans as a great alternative to budget and pay for a vacation.

Be Surprised, Pay Less

If you are willing to go where the low prices are, sites like Priceline.com and HotWire.com hook you up with hotels and airlines with  extra inventory to sell.  These hotels and airlines are willing to give it out at heavy discounts, sometimes up to 60% below their published rates, just so that they can get additional revenue.   You don't know the name of the hotel or final itinerary, so you have to be flexible and willing to "go with the flow".

Do you have other ideas to cut on your summer vacation expenses without sacrificing the thrill of a perfect getaway?  Share them below.

Image courtesy of Kelly Teague.

Finally, somebody tells it like it is:  longer-term certificates of deposit are bad investments because they make savers "lose out to inflation." Elizabeth Ody, from Bloomberg News, arrived at this conclusion after combing through the latest report from Market Rates Insight.

Many purchase CDs to lock in a fixed return that is also FDIC insured.   Unfortunately, you also are insured that your investment will not keep up with inflation - the rising cost of living – in effect, providing a negative true return.

Elizabeth went on to say that inflation "was 2.11 percent in February, surpassing the long-term CD rate of 2.10 percent for the first time since October 2008". Read Elizabeth's full article here.