With the school year started, I’ll be you’re not alone in looking for really easy slow cooker recipes. Using your Crock Pot or slow cooker–or even your InstaPot pressure cooker–is a great way to get meals on the table without spending a lot of money. It’s a time saver and it’s a money saver. I…
Holidays
Experience Gift Ideas for Mother’s Day
Are you looking to for experience gift ideas for Mother’s Day this year? You’re on the right track. Especially if you can find experience gifts that mom can enjoy at home. Because we’re all spending more time at home these days. But that doesn’t mean that we can send gifts to mom or give her…
Hit the Stores for Best After Valentine’s Day Sales
I’ve outlined five things you may want to stock up on and save at after Valentine Day sales this year.
Healthy and Unique New Year’s Resolutions for 2020
When it comes to unique New Year’s resolutions, most Americans trend towards popular New Year’s resolutions instead of the unique. In fact, many have to do with better health. Here is what a recent New Year’s resolutions survey found: Six in 10 Americans wanted to drop some pounds. One-third hoped to get more exercise this…
20 Stores with In Store Pickup
If you’re a procrastinator or just hate the crowds at the stores, then you’ll love shopping at stores with in store pickup. That is you buy online and then use in store pickup to retrieve your purchase. This could be your saving grace during this holiday season–or really at any time of the year. In…
How to Take Great Holiday Photos with Your Dog
For every year that our family has had a dog, we have taken a holiday photo with our dog (or dogs). I know we’re not alone in including our dogs in our holiday celebrations. However, it isn’t every year that we succeed in getting a great holiday photo with our dogs. Sometimes our dogs in…
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day Ideas
Wondering when National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day is this year? Well, for 2019, National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day is December 20th. You’ve still got plenty of time to shop. This blog post on National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day ideas is all about where you can go for a National Ugly Christmas Sweater. I’ve included brick-and-mortar…
Cool Hanukkah Presents for Pet Lovers
Portions of this article on cool Hanukkah presents for pet lovers originally appeared on Parade.com. If you’re a Jewish pet owner and will be celebrating Chanukah, chances are you will be buying or already have bought your pet a present. According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), half of all dog owners and nearly four…
Holiday Tipping Guide
Wondering about holiday tipping for 2019? You’re not alone. With it almost December, holiday tipping usually becomes top of most American’s minds. It’s no wonder that so many people find themselves asking “Can you name someone you tip around the holidays?” And the answer is, it depends. It depends on where you are in your…
Thanksgiving Life Hacks
This article on Thanksgiving life hacks for 2019 is an update of a frugal Thanksgiving blog post I wrote a few years ago. The advice in it is solid, to be sure, but it really needed some additional life hacks to bring it into the here and now. Therefore this is what I’ve done. I’ve…
5 Experience Gift Ideas To Give Right Now
A few years ago my husband was looking for experience gift ideas for me and came up with a great one–a kit to test our dog’s DNA. Of the four dogs we’ve owned, all have been rescues. So even though we had veterinary records about their background, we never really knew what kind of dog…
Save Money on Holiday Vacation Rentals
If you’ve ever traveled with children, then you know that finding holiday vacation rentals often makes more sense than staying in a traditional hotel. When you spend your vacation in a rental, you often have access to multiple bedrooms, a kitchen and other amenities that make a family stay all the more pleasant. And, frankly,…
Holiday Light How Tos
Are you putting up holiday lights–or did you this past weekend like I did? I hope at the very least you’re using Energy Star-rated holiday lights, which Detroit Edison says uses 75 percent less energy and lasts 10 times longer. That’s a win-win for your spending and energy budget, wouldn’t you say? Savings aside it’s…
Checklist to Avoid Gift-Return Snafus
Getting gifts is great. Returning gifts isn’t–especially if you find yourself in a situation of not having the receipt or having to deal with a retailer that simply doesn’t want to deal with returns (no fair, I say). That’s why I thought you’d find this checklist from Consumer Reports, on how to avoid gift-return snafus,…