Most of us have some sort of cash back rewards on our credit or debit cards. Every time we use them, we get a percentage back in the form of cash or redeemable points that we can save in our rainy day fund, or use to splurge guilt-free, depending on your personality. But you may not know that, with Swagbucks, you could be multiplying those cash back rewards without changing anything about your credit card or spending habits. As you finalize your holiday shopping plans, don't miss out on this chance to double, triple or even quadruple your cash back from online shopping! Here's how it works - Swagbucks, which always offers great cash back on major online retail sites throughout the year, is doubling their rewards for the entire holiday season. But wait - On Black Friday (Starting 8pm ET … [Read more...]
How to Maximize Your Money with Post-Holiday Sales
Some of the best deals in December come on the week following Christmas Day. The post-holiday sales are designed to get the extra inventory of holiday toys, gift ideas, and baking goods out of retail stores. How to Maximize Your Money with Post-Holiday Sales Read on to find out how you can get the most for your buck when shopping after the holiday! Consider your budget. Just because things will be marked down doesn't mean you should go crazy with your post-holiday spending. If you can't afford it, it's not a good deal! Take cash only to the stores after Christmas to avoid overspending. Think about what you really need. If you still have 14 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper in your closet, you don't need to get more even if they are just $0.50 each. Stock up on what you do need - … [Read more...]
Peace of Mind for Military from LifeLock
Being in the military you move around a lot. That's no secret, but that moving leaves us traveling more to visit family which leaves us with more of a chance to have our identity stolen. My husband also had to have a few different clearances in his time in the Navy and recently one of the databases for those clearances was compromised. Add in EVERYTHING with the military is tied to the service members social security number from, mine and my kids medical records to our pay checks. So when you talked to anyone even on the phone we had to give out that social security number and you never knew who was on the other end of the phone. Add in there was a breech in military medical records, which included social numbers a few years back, needless to say we keep a VERY tight watch on our … [Read more...]
ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas TV Schedule
It's no secret I LOVE Christmas. I have so many great Christmas memories. Memories of decorating a Christmas tree, going to look at lights, and eating out on Christmas Eve. Memories of opening gifts and being so impatient because I didn't want lunch or dinner I wanted to play with what I got. The year my grandfather bought me The Sims it was over I was addicted and to this day if I start playing you can say bye-bye to me for days! But that is another subject. Christmas. That's what we are talking about. Besides Christmas music, I love watching Christmas movies. Frosty The Snowman, Home Alone, and Santa Clause were some of my favorites. Now that I have kids I love Polar Express, Berenstain Bears Christmas Tree, and Veggies Tales Christmas Collection. ABC Family's 25 Days of … [Read more...]
Save Money on Your Student Loans and Pay Them Off Faster
Students loans seem to be a necessary evil. Many need them to go to school to get a better job, then spend year working that job just to pay them off. It's fun or ideal but many wouldn't be able to go to school with out them. They never go away though, they can never be erased in bankrupcy so you have to pay them off and the sooner the better! In fact the sooner you can pay them off the more money you will save in the long run. First check out SmarterBucks. SmarterBucks is a cashback and rewards site that applies your rewards payment directly to your student loans. You sign up and connect your account to your federal student loans account. Then, when you shop online through SmarterBucks or do surveys or other online activities, you earn cash back. SmarterBucks makes a direct … [Read more...]
What I Have Learned Homeschooling My Kids
We have been homeschooling for 3 years now and I started with my son in Pre K he is now is 1st, and I have a daughter in Kindergarten and I am working on 'Tot school' with my 3 year old. I am by no means an expert at homeschooling comepared to others but I want to share with you what I have learned in my homeschooling adventure. What I Have Learned Homeschooling My Kids My biggest lesson that took me until this year to learn was don't plan too far ahead. I spend my first 2 years taking the first 2 or 3 weeks before we started and planning everything, planning lesson plans and whatwe would do everyday. I would then find with in the first week we wouldnt be able to do everything I had planned each day. By the first month I was tossing out curriculum that didn't work and replacing it … [Read more...]
Parmesan Ranch Potatoes
Being in a smaller kitchen in the RV we had to come up with some new recipes, you cna only make potatoes so many ways but they are cheap and help our fluctuating grocery budget as we move from area to area. One my family loves are these Parmesan Ranch Potatoes. They are easy to make and cook! Win, win! Parmesan Ranch Potatoes What you need: 2lbs of red potatoes 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese 1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix How to make it: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut potatoes into medium sized even chunks. Combine ranch dressing mix and parmesan cheese in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Put potato chunks into Ziploc bag. Shake to coat potatoes with ranch/parmesan mixture. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread potatoes out on baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for … [Read more...]
25 Recipes for Leftover Turkey
I LOVE Thanksgiving Turkey. I always buy one to big for what we need so we have left overs. The day after Thanksgiving it's tradition to have open faced turkey sandwiches. Then we normally ahve enough for one or two more meals. I will freeze it in meal sizes batches and then Google recipes to try out. This year I am ahead of myself. Here are 25 yummy recipes for all that leftover turkey. 25 Recipes for Leftover Turkey Turkey Noodle Soup- Kooky Carol's Easy Turkey Pot Pie- Kooky Carol's Turkey a la Sweet Potato- Food Done Light Cream Cheese Turkey and Vegetable Soup- Hot Eats and Cool Reads Thanksgiving Leftovers Quesadilla- The Cookie Rookie Turkey Legs and Rice Casserole- Diet Hood Open Faced Turkey Cranberry Enchilada Melt- Running to the Kitchen Turkey Tortilla … [Read more...]
Getting Ready to Transition to Table Food with Gerber
Making the transition from baby food to table food for babies is a long slow process. You start with baby food then teach them how to chew normally you start with things like Gerber baby puffs, but now Gerber has a new next step. Gerber Lil Bits 3rd foods. Gerber has 10 recipes in their Lil Bits 3rd Foods. Lil' Bits recipes come in 7 fruits and 3 veggies. Fruits are: Apple Blueberry, Orchard Fruit Medley, Apple Banana, Banana Apple Strawberry, Pear Apple Berry, Island Fruit Blend and Banana Apple Mango. Veggies are: Mixed Carrots, Corn & Butternut Squash, Butternut Squash & Potato, Sweet Potato Apple Carrots & Cinnamon. They have soft chunks perfect teaching your little ones how to mash up food. These foods are a great way to make the transition easy and fun! Gerber … [Read more...]
Seeing Paris on a Budget
Planning the perfect Paris holiday can at times seem overwhelming, especially as the costs of Europe’s major cities has increased drastically over recent years. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of great and thrifty ways to enjoy a weekend in Paris. Looking to plan your trip to the romance capital of the world and save some money along the way? Here are a few Parisian travel tips to keep in mind: 1. Book in Advance This might sound terribly cliché, but the reason why it’s such a repeated piece of travel advice is because it’s absolutely true. Booking your travel and accommodations well in advance will ensure that you get the best prices available. it will also give you peace of mind that you have secured a hotel, hostel, guesthouse or B&B for all of the days … [Read more...]
Important Money Lessons For Kids Of All Ages
Financial education is an important step in your child’s life and it’s surprising that our school systems do not teach these life skills. As a parent, it is up to you to teach your son or daughter how to save money, keep a checkbook balanced, and choose a credit card. Parents are the number one influence on their child’s financial behaviors and help them to live financially fit lives. They need to be taught the essentials about money at an early age and they are never too young to start. Below are important money lessons for kids of all ages, as well as activities to illustrate each point. Ages 3-5 The Lesson to learn: You may have to wait to buy something you want. Just like any education, the first lesson sets the foundation for their future. Kids at the age of 3 to 5 … [Read more...]
Unique Ways Military Families Use Technology During the Holidays
As the holiday season comes closer and closer, many military families are spending the holidays apart. Others are spending the holidays together with the looming dread of deployment just days after what is supposed to be a happy time! We all know times have changed. Deployments are not like they were for our parents and grandparents. We have a great little thing called technology! We don’t have to wait months on end for a letter to reach us from overseas. Many deployed service men and women are using Skype to keep in contact weekly, if not daily! Even emails come within minutes of the service member sending them. Pictures can be sent back and forth with a click of a button. Skype is a great way to enable your service member to watch their kids open Christmas gifts or be part of a … [Read more...]