Search Results for: blog luxury items

Luxury Scrapbooks

Is leather truly better? If I were independently wealthy I would seriously consider placing my memories exclusively in leather scrapbooks. I love the look, smell and feel of leather goods, and scrapbooks are no exception. Unfortunately, genuine leather memory books are a bit pricey. Still, if you have the means, I would highly suggest preserving your prized photos and memorabilia in leather books. In addition to looking extremely attractive, leather albums are typically more durable than scrapbooks made from vinyl or canvas fabric. Moreover, if you are scrapping items that you want to keep for generations to come, leather albums … Continue reading →

A different type of frugal blogger

What do you get when a spendthrift marries a frugal person? You get a frustrated frugal person. Being married to a man who loves to buy cool stuff, my in goal in life is either to talk him out of purchases, or to beat him to the punch. In other words, I find good deals on things he wants before he pays full price for them. With that said, I am new to the frugal blog, but not to families.com. I have been on the site for a couple of years now as the Homeschooling blogger. I now have the … Continue reading →

Luxury Travel: Pampered Pooches and Flying In Style

PAMPERED POOCHES It’s no secret that some pets travel better than their two-legged counterparts. (There are even some furry tail waggers who are financially way better off than most people in the world.) And now an increasing number of hotels are taking notice of these well-to-do-animals’ standings in life. In a previous blog I told you about the growing number of hotels in paradise that are catering to pampered pets. Several resorts in Hawaii provide fresh-baked peanut butter flavored biscuits for doggie guests with their name inscribed on each. That’s on top of the special water bowl, pet-sized bed, and … Continue reading →

Maternity Care in the U.S.

The recent birth of the royal prince cost $15,000.  That sounds like a lot, right?  It is, but it’s only half the cost of a birth in America.  That’s right: the average price of a birth — in a normal hospital, not a luxury wing — in the U.S. is $30,000.  That makes us, according to an in-depth article by The New York Times, the nation that pays the most for maternity care.  Yet, we also have one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world.  It seems like these two things should counter one another, but in … Continue reading →

Spring Fling Without the Cha-Ching!

April showers bring May flowers… in your hotel room. It’s not often that you hear of hotels giving guests something for nothing, but this spring, the Hyatt Century City in Los Angeles is gifting visitors with the sweet smell of seasonal blossoms—for free. The popular L.A. lodging recently installed a flower cart beside its front desk. Upon check-in, guests are given a small vase and told they can design their own floral arrangement to bring up to their room, at no extra charge.  Blossoms range from tulips, daisies, and irises to chrysanthemums, sunflowers and carnations.  According to Hyatt staff, the … Continue reading →

Thrift Store Shopping Tips

You can cut almost any of your shopping budget by 60 percent or more when you shop at local thrift stores instead of retail stores. Imagine getting designer jeans for $5 or a new-with-tags name brand dress for only $3. How about that new hot video game for $15 instead of $50? It is all possible when you use thrift stores as a valuable resource to save your family budget. Getting Over the Ew Factor If you haven’t visited a thrift store lately, you should stop by and take a look. What you see may surprise you. Most thrift stores, … Continue reading →

Housekeeping Then and Now

I was recently watching a show depicted in the times before we had electricity. It was interesting to think about how different housekeeping was back then. In order to get the most out of your day, you had to get up with the sun. That meant rising pretty early. And the work didn’t end until the sun went down. I was thinking about how even back then, women kept a schedule. They knew when their day would begin and when it would end. They scheduled their housekeeping according to the different seasons. But they also set aside certain tasks on … Continue reading →

IHOP is Giving Away Free Pancakes – For a Good Cause

Every year, IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day by giving away a short stack of pancakes, for free, to everyone who comes to their restaurants. They ask that you leave a donation for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. This year, Free Pancake Day is on February 28, 2012. IHOP is an abbreviation for International House of Pancakes. The restaurant serves more than just pancakes, but it is their pancakes that made them famous. In addition to several varieties of pancakes, IHOP has other breakfast items on their menu. They also have selections that are more appropriate for lunch or dinner, if that … Continue reading →

Using Layaway? Here is What You Need to Know

This holiday season, it seems that every store is pushing layaway. This makes good business sense. With the economy the way it is, cash flow for many families can be tight. Also, time is limited. With layaway, shopper can get all of their gifts at one time, and then have the luxury of paying them off a little at a time. If you decide to use a layaway program, there are some things that you should know. This way, you won’t wind up losing money on the deal. First of all, check the store policy on layaway. Do you have … Continue reading →

Take the Train to Thanksgiving Celebrations

With just 13 days until Turkey Day, now is the time to solidify your holiday travel plans. In most cases, last-minute flights to and from major cities during Thanksgiving week are far from a frugal option. Fortunately, travelers determined to get to grandmother’s house to share in a festive Thanksgiving feast don’t have to rely solely on the airlines. Amtrak is moving full speed ahead with a campaign to reunite families this Thanksgiving. The passenger train corporation offers 30 routes to more than 500 destinations in 46 states. With a single ticket you can visit the most popular destinations in … Continue reading →