Text4baby Helps Moms Get Critical Health Information

It has been said that there is an app for everything. While some apps are purely for entertainment, others are designed to provide useful information to a select group of people who can benefit from it. Such is the case with Text4baby. It helps moms to receive critical health information about their babies. Text4baby is available through the App Store. Compatibility requires iOS 6.1 or later. It is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Android users can get the Text4Baby app from Google Play. The Wireless Foundation and participating mobile operators support Text4baby. All messages that a mom or … Continue reading

Kids of Same-Sex Parents Benefit From Supreme Court Ruling

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States revealed their decision on the same-sex marriage case that had reached their court. The case was called Obergefell v Hodges. In short, the Justices of the Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality is the law of the land. Kids of same-sex parents benefit from this decision in so many important ways. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license marriage between two people of the same sex. They also ruled the the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to recognize a same sex … Continue reading

Get Your Porch Organized and Decorated for Fall

Fall is fun! There is nothing like the crisp air, the bright colors, and the last push for outdoor adventures before the cold winds of winter start bringing everyone in doors. While you can still enjoy the outside, why not get your porch organized and decorated for Fall? Fall is a great excuse for decorating, but who has the motivation when the front porch is filled with clutter and debris? This area sets the first impression whenever anyone visits your home. Start by removing everything from your porch, so you can clean the floors. Shake out those rugs, use a … Continue reading

Save on a Mid-Summer Getaway

Forget about the fact that Wal-Mart and Target erected their school supply displays before the last firework exploded on the 4th of July.  Take a look at the calendar and you will see that there are more than six weeks of summer vacation left before most kids head back to class. For many families, that leaves plenty of time to get in another trip or two before the end of the season.  In fact, if you’ve waited this long to take flight on a summer vacation you stand to save a pretty penny.  According to travel insiders, late August is … Continue reading

Frugal Friends are Priceless

If you surround yourself with frugal friends, saving money will be easy. Yesterday, after the town parade and free hot dogs and games, my family headed over to an area attraction that was sponsoring free admission for the day. The promotion wasn’t widely advertised. It wasn’t mentioned on the website or put on any community calendars, so not too many people knew about it. Thanks to a faithful frugal friend, though, who alerted me to the event, my family of five was able to enjoy the afternoon, which included a free tour, a narrated tram ride, and time in “the … Continue reading

Getting Fit without the Gym

I’m looking forward to school being out for all sorts of reasons, such as having time for daily adventures with the kids. I am also looking forward to school being out so I can get back to my morning walking/running group. Each morning, the group meets at 6am and walks or runs until about 7:30. One my oldest hit middle school (sixth grade here), I had to drop out due to his earlier start time. Once school is out, he can sleep in and I can go work out. Fitness groups are free, and working out with someone else often … Continue reading

How to Get a Free TV

In the Romans household, we teach them to be frugal at a young age, so my eldest son was excited to tell me a related story when he got home from school yesterday afternoon. His best friend’s family recently got a very large flat screen television for free. A free TV is pretty good. The family went out to purchase their new television and paid full price. They then took it home and hooked everything up. With the first show they watched, they noticed a small red line in the middle of the screen. It wasn’t something glaring or overly … Continue reading

FInancial Lessons I Learned from Selling a Car

Want me to tell you what I recently learned from selling a car? Actually it was two vehicles, In the past two weeks. One was an SUV and the other a pick up truck. It was an interesting experience. Our normal modus operandi is to purchase a car and then maintain it until it basically turns into dust, so selling cars is pretty new to both my husband and myself. So why did we do it and what did I learn in the process? Be Prepared to Seize an Opportunity There is something called an opportunity cost that can work … Continue reading

Getting More Bang for Your Cruise Buck

Passengers on Disney’s oldest cruise ship will soon get more bang for their buck thanks to a huge renovation project.  The 15-year-old floating city is getting fitted with a series of phenomenal deck-top attractions, including a massive water slide called the AquaDunk. The Disney Magic’s newest attraction is being built to please passengers looking for thrills and chills at sea.  The water slide will be situated on the ship’s forward funnel and features a translucent tube and trap door where passengers wait a near-vertical free fall. When the door opens, riders drop nearly 40 feet before being shot through a … Continue reading

Shameless Savings

I love to shop.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to support this passion.  Consequently, I’m often put in a situation that’s all too familiar to parents:  kicking pride to the curb. Admit it; you’ve done some pretty gross things since becoming a parent.  Goodness knows I have learned to exercise an immeasurable amount of humility since giving birth.  For example, I never thought I would willingly stretch out my hands to catch another person’s vomit.  Ditto for plucking poop out of the tub with my bare hands.  I also never imagined I’d allow my shirt to be used as … Continue reading