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5 Things to Make From Scratch to Save Money

Homemade is usually best, especially when it comes to saving money. Here are five things you can make from scratch to save money. They include homemade cleaners, food prepared from scratch, baby items and more. Pizza Pizza dough is quick and easy when you make it in a bread machine. Even with loads of toppings, two large (restaurant large, not supermarket large) thin-crust pizzas will cost you around $4. For a little more money, you can buy prepared dough, but of course making your pizza completely from scratch means a lower cost as well as a lack of preservatives and … Continue reading →

Easy Ways to Clean Your Kitchen Floor

Over the years, I’ve tried a number of things to keep our kitchen floor clean. For a while there, it seemed like the best results and convenience were had by the most expensive systems. Fortunately, there are ways around the expense. Try one of the following ideas. The Cheapest An old fashioned floor scrub will be the cheapest. It only requires a bucket (or just a sink), some soap and something to apply the soap, from a brush to an old towel. You have to get down on your hands and knees and scrub and then rinse the floors with … Continue reading →

Save on a Trip to Paradise

From mid-September through mid-November you can score some of the cheapest airfare to Hawaii. What’s more, once you arrive in paradise, you can scoop up spectacular fall rates on hotels and rental cars as well. The Aloha State has something for everyone, from breathtaking beaches and active volcanoes to stunning waterfalls and dozens of award-winning golf courses. Hawaii is also home to some of the world’s best outdoor adventures, including year-round paragliding, windsurfing and snorkeling. Unlike most of the continental United States, Hawaii does not experience major temperature fluctuations in the fall. That means you can enjoy incredible weather and … Continue reading →

Four Things I Cut in Half to Save Money

There are many things in our home that we cut in half in order to save money. When we make those cuts, we never notice a difference. Using the recommended amount or the size something comes in isn’t necessarily the best idea, especially when something will work the same way, or sometimes works even better when it is cut in half. Your products will last twice as long! Laundry detergent I always use about half of what is recommended on those cap fill lines or the powder scoops. Why? I find that with a good detergent, the clothes get just … Continue reading →

Ways to Savor Summer Nights

While some parents are busy belting out “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” I am desperately trying to squeeze as much outdoor fun into what’s left of my daughter’s summer break. Classes resume next week and neither one of us is ready to say so long to the season. My family spends a ton of time outside during the summer months, and this year has been no exception, despite the record-breaking heat. Now that the new school year is about to start, we are trying to get in as many outdoor adventures as possible. Since I telecommute, I … Continue reading →

End-of-Summer Mom Savers

Kids in Hawaii started the new school year last Monday. Meanwhile, my pal in Atlanta just told me her kids head back to class tomorrow. Are you ready to say so long to summer? I’m not! I am dreading the back-to-school blues, including packing lunches, ironing uniforms, looking for missing shoes as the bus sits at the end of the driveway, and fighting with kids about going to bed when the sun is still shining brightly at 7:30 p.m. Still, if there is an upside to back-to-school, it’s got to be the sales. Not the ones on school supplies; rather, … Continue reading →

Multi-Generational Fall Getaways

Summer may be over, but that doesn’t mean you have to kiss the sun, sand and surf goodbye until spring. Fall is one of the best times of the year to score travel deals on beach getaways. In fact, some of the price reductions are so generous you can invite grandma and grandpa along for the ride. The change in temperature often means a dip in prices for multi-generational vacation packages to sunny locations, such as the Caribbean, Florida, Hawaii and the Carolinas. Since autumn is considered “off-season” at the aforementioned beach destinations, not only will you and your entire … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Save on Your Next Trip to Hawaii

Last year, my then six-old daughter celebrated her 12th visit to Hawaii. However, to her, the Aloha State is more than just a top tourist destination, it’s also home to grandma, grandpa, and a huge network of aunts, uncles and cousins. I kid that she would have been marking trip number 20 if it weren’t so dang expensive to fly from Wisconsin to Hilo. Fortunately, once we land in the “Land of Aloha” we score free room and board. Bottom line: traveling to Hawaii is not cheap. However, there are ways you can save on your next vacation there provided … Continue reading →

The Best Laid Plans

What’s that they say about the best laid plans often going awry? I’d bet anything that a parent came up with that one. It was probably a mom traveling with kids. A mom on vacation desperately trying to squeeze a million activities into a single day in order to make her children happy, but finding that the universe, and the kids, had other ideas on how the day should unfold. Sound familiar? It does to me. A few days ago my 6-year-old daughter and I took a summer road trip to Six Flags Great America, so that she could be … Continue reading →

Ways to Save on a Six Flags Staycation

It’s never a good day when travelers are actually excited to see gas prices hovering near $4. Three dollars and 89 cents for a gallon of unleaded–SCORE!! While the cost of gas has fallen slightly in the last couple weeks, from its highest levels since July 2008, Americans are still paying nearly a dollar more per gallon than a year ago. As a result, families from coast-to-coast continue to restructure their summer vacation plans in order to preserve their household budgets, and still have fun in the sun. That goes double for clans living in and around Chicago. According to … Continue reading →