Deployment is a very scary word. It means, for an unknown period of time, you or your spouse will be separated from the family. Once you get past the shock of deployment, it’s important to prepare financially for a military deployment. Preparing Financially for Military Deployment Get on the same page Running the family finances is tough! Before your spouse leaves for deployment, make sure you get on the same page as your spouse. Sit down and have budget meetings before deployment. It’s important for both spouses to know where they are financially before the deployment begins. This is a good time to talk about whether the spouse not deployed will work and how each bill will be taken care of. The more detail you can hash out now, the fewer issues you will have later. Our first … [Read more...]
Easy Tailgate Food Ideas You Need to Know
Football season is coming up and fast! Football watching parties are pretty big every Sunday (and Saturday for you college football fans). Tailgating is also pretty big each weekend there is a game. Now I don't know about you, but I'm not into making huge complex recipes when I have to cook out of the back of a truck (or in some cases on the outside burner of my RV), So I have a list of easy tailgating food ideas for you! These are part of our Tailgate Food Ideas List. Easy Tailgate Food Ideas You Need to Know Some of my favorite recipes include the football cupcakes, Coca-Cola pulled Pork and dill pickle bites. But I am a southern girl and my husband has a list of very different favorite recipes. What are your must have easy tailgating recipes? Let me know in the … [Read more...]
Baskin-Robbins Celebrates National Ice Cream Month with the USO
This post is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand and I have been compensated for my participation. All opinions are my own Ok everyone, we have dropped the ball. It is National Ice Cream Month, and I am JUSt now hearing about this! How is this possible. I have the worst sweet tooth, and we generally do an ice cream run a few times a month. I am slightly addicted to Baskin-Robbins Americas Birthday Cake Ice Cream. That is why I am super excited to see their newest flavor... Baskin-Robbins Celebrates National Ice Cream Month & USO That flavor there would be Chocolate Oreo Birthday Cake Ice Cream. This Oreo addict's dream ice cream. I am drooling just looking at this picture. This is Baskin-Robbins’ new July Flavor of the Month, OREO® Birthday Cake, … [Read more...]
9 Ways to Save Money Furnishing a College Dorm Room Essentials
Are you ready for your high school grad to move into their new dorm room? Most likely you are saying no because you aren't ready for your child to leave. If this is your first one to leave the nest it can be very overwhelming trying to figure out what college dorm room essentials you need and ways to save money on them! 9 Ways to Save Money Furnishing a College Dorm Room Essentials This is an excellent time for both you and your child’s life, but it can also be a pretty pricey time if you aren't careful! Here are a few ways to save money on furnishing a college dorm: Go trash digging. This sounds a little adventurous, right?! Seriously, you would be surprised how many people just throw things out. Look at apartment complexes, in store trash bins, and alongside streets for … [Read more...]
Get Refunded for Cell Phone Data You Don’t Use
Have you heard? Verizon is now joining the rollover data plan market. The downside is your phone bill will go up $10 a line. For us, that's a $20 increase. For others, that can mean an increase of up to $50 or more!! OUCH! If you are looking for a competitive phone plan that has great prices and an awesome data option, have you looked into getting refunded for cell phone data you don't use? Get Refunded for Cell Phone Data You Don’t Use Wouldn’t be great if companies offered you a refund when you don’t use all of something you paid for? I mean if you go over your data, you have to pay for that, right?! So, why doesn’t the company have to pay you back when you don’t use it all? Well, Republic Wireless thought that was a great question! What is Republic Wireless? Republic Wireless is … [Read more...]
Mix & Match Nordstrom Womens Summer Styles
So I am currently down in Florida visiting family, and it is HO-OT. Don't duh me! I know Florida + Summer = Heat, I grew up here but this just an entirely different beast then up north. I am watching the temperature where my husband is, and it's 68 degrees when here in Florida it will be 91 degrees F. The heat means different wardrobe (new clothes!), different hair styles (wearing my hair up!), sunglasses and of course a great bathing suit! Mix & Match Nordstrom Womens Summer Styles Now I feel like I need to put the typical disclaimer here so here it is: Yes, I know Nordstrom isn't considered "frugal" to some of you, but I do write content to help people of every income level. I do not exclude anyone on ANY budget from $1 a month to $10,000,000 a month. So if this post isn't … [Read more...]
Easy One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Pasta
I love making meals that take only one pot to make. This means ONE pot to clean, ONE pot to put away and that makes ONE happy mommy! Easy One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Pasta This recipe is also great for an easy weeknight meal; it's quick and easy, and like I said, 1 pot means less to clean, and sooner you can get to bed.... or Netflix. Let's be honest once kids are in bed, it's Netflix binge time. Well for me at least! Ingredients 1 lb Ground Beef 1 small Onion, diced 40 slices Pepperoni 24 oz jar Spaghetti Sauce 3 cup Penne Pasta 2 cup Water 1 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Directions Brown ground beef and onion in a large, oven-proof skillet and drain excess fat. I like using my cast iron skillets for this. Add 25 slices of pepperoni and spaghetti sauce. Add pasta … [Read more...]
Car Advertising – Earn Money from Your Car + More Ways!
How much money do you spend on your car payment? I was reading that the average car payment in America is $479. OUCH! But did you know there are several way to make your car pay for itself? Can you imagine your car earning you enough money (or more!) to pay it's own car payment? How nice would it be to free up a few extra hundred dollar in your budget each month? Well it IS possible! Car Advertising - Earn Money from Your Car + More Ways! Let me start with this disclaimer 90% of the time this will NOT be a fulltime income. Can you earn a fulltime income from your car? YES. I will share below how that is possible. Now instead of being a WAHM (work at home mom) you could become a WIYCM (work in your car mom)! Bonus: Use On My Way - This is a phone app they pay you for each mile … [Read more...]
Free Summer Date Ideas
Summer is the perfect time to spruce up your romantic life with the one that you love so dearly. But, what do you do if you don’t have money to dish out for those romantic dates? With 4 kids most of the time it's all we can do to just pay a babysitter so we have become pretty creative on our date nights! Here are some totally free summer date ideas we have done in the past. Free Summer Date Ideas Now I love getting outdoors when it's warm plus so much outside is free to do so much. But you can have fun inside too! Relax in the Tub Light some candles, sprinkle some flower petals, and sip some wine in the tub. Going on a date in the tub is free, but it can look like you spent a million dollars on it if you add a little spice. Take time to just relax with each other in … [Read more...]
Mango Lemonade Recipe
It's summer time, and one of my favorite things about summer (other than the smores) is lemonade. Ok, I won't lie I'm also addicted to Peach Sweet Tea, but my kids love the lemonade! Mango Lemonade Recipe I loved drinking lemonade as a kid. I even remember having a contest with a friend on who could make the sourest batch of lemonade. That one ended when someone put a whole bottle of hot sauce in their pitcher...... Yeah..... Well I've grown up since then (for the most part) I love raspberry lemonade, and I have recently grown an addiction to Mango Lemonade. My kids still prefer the regular lemonade or anything colored blue, but they will drink this too! This drink goes great with any of my Easy Meals Ok, this recipe is super easy here we … [Read more...]
Mix & Match Target Womens Clothes for Summer
I don't know about you but I have a slight addiction to shopping Target womens clothes. They are comfortable and it seem like almost everything fits me pretty good. They have cute styles and my husband loves how they look on me. That's a plus right? I swear this isn't an add for Target I just love shopping there. Mix & Match Target Womens Clothes for Summer My budget would be in big trouble if I didn't use my Swagbucks to cash out for Target Gift Cards (in stead of Amazon) every now and then to buy some new clothes. I also save on my Target addiction by buying several items and mixing and matching like this to have almost 3 weeks of outfits! If shopping online, make sure to check out Ebates for cash back opportunities too! Dollhouse Skinny Jeans - $34.99 Merona Linen … [Read more...]
First Aid Supplies – Using Essential Oils in your First Aid Kit
Making your own first aid kit is a great thing to do, especially if you have kids. You know better than anyone else what your family’s needs are, and what type of health products and treatments you use on a regular basis. Having a more natural kit on hand to keep in the car, or with you as your travel is such a nice thing when an incident occurs, than trying to scramble quickly to find something you need, or run to a store for it and you can feel good about it, too. First Aid Supplies - Using Essential Oils in your First Aid Kit Here are a few reasons why you should include essential oils in the kit: 1. They are so much more affordable than most over-the-counter medicines. Most oils cost pennies by the drop and all you need at a time most times, is just 2 or 3 drops. It is … [Read more...]