For the past 4 years I have been going to the INA conference. It is an expensive conference for nannies and agencies. I have found it very worthwhile to attend. I do not ask my employeers for assistance though in paying for it. It is something that I personally do not mind paying for. I do however get an education stipend with my current job, so this coming year they will be able to assist with some of the financial costs.
If you are wanting to go to the INA Conference in the spring you could start by opening an ING or WAMU account online today. The INA conference is roughly $1000-$1200 for a 2 day conference. This is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on the number of roommates you have, the amount of money your employer contributes. This is an overwhelming number on paper but you can do this by saving $35 or more for 26 weeks from September 1-March 1($910 saved). Then another $35 for the six weeks from March 1-April 15/whenever the conference takes place($210 saved). You can pay for your INA membership and Conference registration fees at the same time before the early bird registration. This allows you to have the full amount for both.
How do you save that amount of money a week? It might not be easy but there are some simple things you can start doing to save. For all the things that you do put the difference of the money you would have spent into your online savings account. That is the great thing about it being online, you can transfer the money from your checking to savings online nightly.
-Set up a budget of all your bills, payment obligations, then put in your allowance and savings
-Don’t buy any new clothes unless they are 50% or more off
-Sell some of your books/items no longer needed on Craigslist, Ebay etc
-Choose to rent movies from the library instead of going out to the movies
-Go to the movies before 11am on the weekends for a cheaper rate
-Go to Starbucks once or twice a week instead of daily
-Carpool with friends to ADCAN meetings, and places
-Babysit once a month for someone and put that money into your savings account.
-Place 50% of all bonuses, holiday bonuses in your savings account, 25% to your bills, and 25% to spend
-Choose a side salad and an appetizer for dinner instead of a full meal and dessert for dinner out
-Instead of going out to eat every weekend, choose one weekend a month
-Take advantage of the metro and all the FREE museums in DC and the surrounding area for entertainment
-Have movie night at a Friends house
-Look to see if you can adjust your cell phone bill or other bills
-Use CASH to pay for things and not credit cards or visa check cards
-ask your employers to pay for your conference registration fee as soon as the info is out
All of this is part of self control. I will be honest it is very hard, but I have done it. Sometimes I slip but I get right back on the horse. I have increased my savings account monthly. I have used cash for a lot of things. This was very hard for me to adjust to because I am the American Express Poster Child. I can’t wait to see you at the 2009 INA conference.
Breakdown roughly of the fees associated with the conference:
The fees for conference (approximate)
$99 yearly INA membership fee
$275 early bird registration ( I believe it normally ends 6 weeks before conference)
$445 hotel fees($129 a night for hotel Thursday, Friday, Saturday night plus taxes of ~15%)
$60 misc food expenses
****if you email me I can send you the link to earn $25 free (with $250 deposit) in ING. I will get $10 and you get $25 for signing up through the link and your $250 deposit. Just post your email or send it to me ( your email addy will not be sold). **** nannyadventures at gmail dot com
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