Search Results for: blog being prepared with an extra gift

Green Gift Guide – Part 2

There are just a few shopping days left, but if you are still looking for ideas, consider the 2010 Holiday Green Gift Guide from Green America. This great guide offers a wide variety of gifts for family, friends, children and babies including beauty and body care, clothing and accessories, food and drink, home items, and gifts, art, and accessories. Eco Express has some very yummy looking organic goodies. Their truffle temptation is reasonable priced at $26.99 and they have a gorgeous artisan cheese and fruit basket. They have gifts for birthdays, births, romance, housewarming, weddings, and just if you want … Continue reading →

Christmas Movie Marathon the Frugal Way

Whether you are having a snow day or just want to avoid spending money at the malls, being prepared for a Christmas movie marathon is a good idea. You can enjoy some fun family entertainment for free. Just pop the popcorn, grab an extra blanket and snuggle up on the couch with your family. ABC 25 Days of Christmas The television station, ABC, offers Christmas shows every evening during December. You usually get at least three shows back to back in any given night. They don’t seem to duplicate the shows, or at least not during the same time slots. … Continue reading →

Update on Home and Personal Security

With the downturn in the economy home burglary and invasions have unfortunately increased. For this reason, you need to take extra precautions in protecting your home. Families.com has several articles on protecting your home and property, but with the increased danger in our communities, there are some new things you should consider. A home security system is an important key to protecting your home. While most people use home security to protect the house when they leave or when they are sleeping, you should also use a security system during the day. An increasingly disturbing number of home break-ins are … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review: April 21st Through April 27th

This week it is all about shopping and spending, from the upcoming rice increase to going green. We’ve included a lot of tips on saving, too. Here is the Frugal Living Week in Review for April 21st through April 27th. April 21st Gas Saving Roundup Will you curb your vacation plans this summer because of gas prices? I’ve already cut back on driving here and there now that gas prices have reached the mid $3 range, but analysts say that things will only get worse. Gas prices predicted to rise to $4 a gallon this summer, just in time for … Continue reading →

Holiday Travel: Tips For a Smooth Flight

A year ago this week I was on a flight to Hawaii to spend Christmas with my family. (We actually flew out on December 23rd.) I prepped, planned and packed like a pro, but the brutal reality of flying during one the busiest travel weeks of the year is that you are at the mercy of the airline… and the nation’s air-travel system. If you are planning to take flight this week (or anytime between now and January 6th) you run a good chance of being delayed, missing a connection, or otherwise experiencing some type of travel inconvenience. While there … Continue reading →

What Grade are They In?

In the education blog, Shannon Stepp recently wrote Is Teaching To Grade-Level Standards The Only Way To Go? Another post talks about grade level retention. These are very valid questions. In fact, if it were up to me, grade levels would be abolished. I think there should be a checklist that tells when kids are ready to be promoted to middle school. There should be another checklist for promotion to high school, and a final checklist for high school graduation. Grade levels only get in the way. When we discuss homeschooling with friends, families, and even strangers, the question of … Continue reading →

Recovering from Christmas Spending

Christmas has come and gone, and you have spent all that you planned to. Did you stay in budget or did you go over? Did your expenses in other areas increase as you ran around to attend all the necessary holiday events? Have you already planned for your New Year’s Eve expenses? It is time to take a step back and evaluate what you can do better next year and to get your budget back on track. Here are four areas to consider. 1) Did you stay on budget for your Christmas presents? If you went over were there any … Continue reading →

New and Improved Rebates

How have you been rewarded by companies that value you as a customer? Did you get a free cooler for opening a checking account at your local bank? What about a complimentary mug from your insurance company? If you have accumulated a closet full of freebies you don’t want then I have some good news. Now you may be able to pick out your own “prize” for being a new customer. Some businesses are offering promotional “rewards” that actually do more than just collect dust. For example, where I live a local cable company is rewarding customers for upgrading their … Continue reading →

How To Have a Claim Free Holiday Season

I just love the holiday season, I love cooking, baking, making gifts, entertaining and everything about being stressed-out with the joy of giving my family and friends the best I have to share. It’s the time of the year I enjoy giving others something they wouldn’t ordinarily give to themselves. We always have a huge party and invite everyone, It’s my turn to show off and give them the taste of my cooking. We all (hopefully) invest in a Homeowner or Renters insurance policy for a reason. The fact is that every year the holidays bring multiple opportunities for families … Continue reading →

Parents: Considering Homeschooling?

It’s that time of year. Parents are wrapping up another school year with their kids. Hopefully this was a fantastic year but sometimes parents are faced with the challenge of making difficult educational decisions for their children’s future school career. Perhaps your child is struggling to keep up. Perhaps the social experience of school was painful and difficult for your child. Perhaps your child has shown gifts that their current school is not prepared to support. Maybe your child has been diagnosed with a learning disability or ADHD and you question the diagnosis or the treatment. There are many situations … Continue reading →