For many families, the recession still hasn’t ended. While “technically” the Great Recession has been over for years, practically speaking many families are still feeling the pinch. As a result, some are getting creative about the side businesses they are ready to start, as well as how they bring money into the family.

In some cases, this might include encouraging children to get summer jobs and help contribute to the family finances. Indeed, there are some families that ask kids to contribute to family finances in some way.

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Each summer parents everywhere hear the familiar refrain: “I’m bored!”

While you can send your children to summer camp, or sign them up for various programs, it can start to get expensive over time — especially if you have more than one child. If you are looking for more frugal options, here are some ideas for the summer:

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If you have kids, one of the questions that parents inevitably have to face is this one: How much should I pay the babysitter? If you want to go out and have some fun without the little one(s), and they aren’t old enough to watch after each other, you’ll have to hire someone you trust to watch them while you’re out painting the town red.

The answer to that question, like the answer to so many like it, is that it depends. What you pay depends on a number of factors. You want to be fair to the sitter, but you also don’t want to overpay for the service.

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When it comes to the cost of college, many parents and students consider only what they will pay for tuition. The listed tuition price is often the price that is considered the most important; it is usually the highest single cost.

However, it is important to look at more than just tuition costs when making a plan to pay the college education bill. There are numerous other expenses involved with attending college, and in some cases those costs can add up to rival the cost of tuition at the more moderately-priced schools.

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Not too long ago, my son wanted to buy a book. He only had about half the money he needed, since he had recently made a larger purchase. For the first time ever, he asked me if he could borrow the money, and then pay me back. I was hesitant, because I don’t like the idea of teaching him that he can just get money for things he wants now by borrowing.

However, after some thought, I decided that this could be a good learning experience. I explained that, like Monopoly, if he’s going to borrow money, he’s going to have to pay extra in interest. So, even though he was borrowing $7, he would need to repay me $8. I told him it would come out of his allowance (after he paid his charity donation and savings), and he had to repay the debt before he could buy anything else.

He agreed, and has been kind of bummed ever since. Instead of watching money grow in his spending jar each week, he has to give all his money over to other obligations. Even worse, in his eyes, is the fact that it’s taking longer to repay me because he owes an extra dollar in interest. An extra dollar! That dollar is going right to my pocket for me to buy candy, instead of him being able to get that big candy bar he wanted the other day.

Right now, he is making grand declarations of never borrowing again. The whole exercise has made a big impression. Hopefully, we won’t have repeats of this borrowing situation later on because of this experience. However, if he does ask to borrow money later, there is a good chance that interest will be charged.

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One of the realities of life is that more and more adult children are living with their parents. In some cases, the plan is to save money by living at home while a child attends a local college. At other times, the children are “boomerang” children — returning home after college while they try to get their financial feet under them.

In any case, it’s important to have an understanding when your adult children live with you. Remember: It’s still your house, and you’re still in charge. You don’t want your efforts to help your children achieve financial independence to degenerate into enabling them to make poor decisions while making little progress.

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We have a lot of cool gadgets around our homes. Many of these gadgets offer the chance to easily purchase apps, games and more. As a result, you might find that your children can quickly make purchases without your knowledge — simply using the devices found around your home.

It’s important that you monitor your accounts, and pay attention to what is on your devices. You want to prevent your children from running up the bills with the gadgets designed to make your life easier.

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One of the big questions that you have to ask yourself as a parent is whether or not you should get life insurance for your child. Programs like the Gerber Grow-Up Plan let you buy life insurance for your children for a small price. Then, when your child is older, he or she can keep the life insurance policy, ensuring that he or she is insured, or the policy can be cashed in to help pay for college.

Another consideration is that it is possible to purchase “regular” life insurance for your child. Some people choose to purchase whole life policies for their children. And, of course, many parents have riders attached to their own policies. These small insurance amounts are meant to help cover burial costs. Here are some things to consider as you determine whether or not to buy life insurance for your children:

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