Category: Save Money

May 14, 2021

4 Ways to Frugally Travel With Your Pet

Since most of us have not gotten our travel fix in the past year or so, it’s about time to hit the road again. And we aren’t any different in that we can’t wait to explore the world again. But, now that we have our own pet, we had to look into ways to reduce the costs. Therefore, here are the 4 best ways we’ve found to frugally travel with your pet.

1. DRIVING

One of our favorite options, and usually the cheapest when traveling, is driving. Of course, isn’t always an option, depending upon where you live and where you’re going. But, if it’s a viable option, it can save you a ton of money. Plus, you get the experience of seeing things on the road that you would otherwise miss.

We’ve really enjoyed our summer road trips because we run across so many things we didn’t even know existed. And if you are traveling with a pet, like we are, this can make the whole trip easier. It gives us a chance to travel as a whole family, but doesn’t add too much more cost to our travel budget. And since we’ll probably need to stop more often for potty breaks, we’ll have more of a chance to stretch our legs and check out our surroundings.

2. TRUSTED HOUSESITTERS

As soon as I found out about Trusted Housesitters, I fell in love with the idea. Trusted Housesitters pairs people needing a pet sitter while they’re away with others who want to watch their pets, and their homes, in exchange for free lodging. Since we are huge fans of both pets and free lodging, it’s hard to go wrong here.

Not all Trusted Housesitters options will allow you to bring your own pet with you. So, you’ll need to narrow down your options within the platform to only allow those that do.

If you know the dates you want to travel, then you can search anywhere around the world for options. But, if you’re choosing to save as much as possible when you travel with your pet, you should probably only consider options that are within driving distance. Pairing the two options together can really help you save a ton of money. This is because the driving and the lodging won’t cost you anything extra at all to bring your pet with you. Huge bonus!

3. AIRBNB

Airbnb is another great option when you want to frugally travel with your pet. While it will cost money, unlike Trusted Housesitters, the fee to bring your pet can be nominal. And, since Airbnb is offered in nearly every country, the possibilities of where you can travel are fairly limitless.

With Airbnb, the host will note if pets are allowed and which type. You can even filter your possible options by going to the Airbnb Pet-Friendly link directly.

If you aren’t sure where you want to go yet, all you have to do is enter the following information to pull up a ton of choices:

Check-in date
Check-out date
How many adults
How many children
How many pets

Once again, though, if you want to save the most money, it’s wiser to choose options that are within driving distance. Flying with a pet can get pretty pricey, depending upon the airline and the size of your pet.

4. pet friendly NO COST HOTELS

Most hotels charge an additional pet fee to have your pet stay with you. Mostly, this is because of the extra cost of cleaning up after your pet when you leave. And if your pet destroys anything in the room (due to scratching or chewing) the fees can really add up. Hotels aren’t generally big fans of this, so their added pet fees reflect their attitude towards pet destruction.

Luckily, a few hotels have become a lot more pet friendly because they want to attract a different audience. Therefore, these 4 hotels may be the best bet for you to frugally travel with your pet at no extra cost.

ALOFT HOTELS

Aloft hotels will let any pet under 40 pounds stay for free. Plus, they also offer complimentary bowls, blankets and toys upon request. Pretty awesome, right?

KIMPTON HOTELS

The Kimpton hotel chain don’t have pet fees for just your cats and dogs, but other pets as well. This hotel chain usually offer beds, bowls, blankets and treats. But some of them are even fancier and offer more pet amenities, including pet massages! Plus, each hotel has a Director of Pet Relations and a Pet Concierge that can help pet owners find anything they might need to make their stay even better. This is really cool!

MOTEL 6

If you’re looking at more of a motel option, then you may want to check out Motel 6. will let up to two service dogs or well behave pets stay for free. They will even let your children stay for free too, as long as they are well behaved!

RED ROOF INN

Red Roof Inn is another lower cost option, like Motel 6. They will let up to one pet per guest room stay for free. The weight limit can vary between property types though. So, it can be either up to 40 pounds or up to 80 pounds, based on whether it’s a Red Collection property or any of the other Red Roof Inn property types.

TRAVEL WITH YOUR PET SUMMARY

Ultimately, there are so many awesome ways to frugally travel with your pets for low or no additional cost. Some of our favorites are:

Driving
Trusted Housesitters
Airbnb
Pet friendly no cost hotels

Overall, I always want to have the best experience with my family (pets included) for as little as I can get away with. So, combining driving with one of the other options is the best way to achieve that, in my book, at least.

What are some of the best ways you’ve found to frugally travel with your pet?

March 11, 2021

Why Equipment Loans Are Important for Startup Businesses

Starting your own business is not an easy feat. You will need a lot of patience, a lot of filled paperwork, a great idea, and a lot of money. Of course, you will also need equipment for whatever you want to do or produce. Equipment means that you will need even more funds, which can quickly get overwhelming for your budget. Luckily, there are equipment finance options you can choose to make it all a bit easier.

Read on to find out everything about equipment finance and why it is a great choice for startup businesses. Read more

January 15, 2021

How We Plan to Celebrate Super Bowl During COVID

Let’s face it, COVID has changed how all of us live our lives. And this includes how we get together and celebrate even the little things in life. Since the Super Bowl is almost upon us, this is something we have certainly been thinking about recently. We usually go to a big Super Bowl party every year with friends and family. But this year it seems that may not be the best way to celebrate and still stay safe. So, here are the ways we are contemplating celebrating Super Bowl during COVID this year.

how can we Celebrate Super Bowl During covid?

The first thing we have to decide with regard to a Super Bowl party is whether or not to have a socially distanced party or celebrate it virtually. The decision will not be the same for all of us, but ultimately you need to decide which of these options makes the most sense for you and your family.

If the socially distanced Super Bowl party makes the most sense for you, then there are some great ways you can make this work effectively and economically. These include:

Provide football themed masks available for your guests or ask that all guests wear a football themed mask upon arrival
Masks should be worn whenever guest are not eating or drinking
Space seating areas 6’ apart for different groups (so that families can still sit together but still socially distance)
Set up smaller food stations in multiple areas of the house
Have a separate beverage station that only one person will be managing to minimize contact
Have different viewing screens in different areas inside and outside, when possible

However, if having a virtual Super Bowl party feels more comfortable for you instead, then that can be fairly easily achieved also. Some good ways to pull this off are:

Pick a designated time to begin your virtual streaming call with friends and family
Set up your food and beverage table within sight of your streaming device so all your friends and family can see how cool your football themed table is
Share food and beverage recipes ahead of time
Spitball games to play during commercials and/or half time
Participants in the virtual games can put money into the pot via a money payment app to avoid contact
Create some fun contests for everyone to participate in

super bowl party must haves

Once you’ve narrowed down which kind of Super Bowl party you’re having, then it’s time to dig into the must haves for a great party. All of these party items should be multifunctional so that you can use them for other things throughout the year. This way, you can help minimize the overall cost since you will be using them for more than just one party.

No matter what, there are a few must haves that can really make your Super Bowl party shine. These items should include:

Larger TV or projector for viewing the game
Super Bowl themed games
One or two good grills
Diverse grilling tool set
Party food & beverages
Serving dishes

TV or Projector Options

The TV will be the most expensive thing on the list, but there are ways to make this work. If you already have a great TV that will do the job well, then adding a projector might just be a great way to go. These have become much more economical in the past few years and can be moved around to so many different places. I found a great projector that comes with a screen for under $100, which I think is awesome. This way we can move it to a completely different room, or possibly even outside to show the game on the side of the house. And, this is something we could use all year long, which helps offset the initial cost.

But, if you don’t have a great TV, now is a really good time to buy one. The end of January through Super Bowl weekend is usually when a lot of companies have the deepest discounts on TV’s. So, keep an eye out for great deals on 65″ – 75″ TV’s during this time. They will definitely cost you more money than the projector, but this is another item you can easily use all year long.

Super Bowl Themed Games

There are plenty of games to choose from when it’s party time. So, if you already have some favorites, then start with those. For us, personally, there are two games we really like to play during the Super Bowl especially.

The football squares game is a huge Super Bowl party past time for us. This game can be played during Super Bowl, but also with all other sports games throughout the year. Each player chooses squares on the board they think will be winners and if they are correct they win the pot at the end of each quarter. Each column and row have on number on them and will denote the last number in the score for each team at the end of the quarter. This game can be a lot of fun, but get super competitive, so watch out! And this is a really good game to celebrate Super Bowl during COVID since you don’t need to have physical contact with one another.

Another favorite party game we like to play is cornhole. This game can be seen at parties and bars all over the US recently, so it is much easier to find now. If you aren’t sure which team you want to root for, then you can choose a cornhole set that is just sports themed so you can play it all year long for any football games. Overall, though, this is a fun backyard game just to have on hand for every day fun, Super Bowl party or not.

Grills

Having the right grill, or grills, is an essential part of any party, Super Bowl or otherwise. We actually like to have two grills on hand to begin with. One is a larger grill for feeding our whole family or party purposes. While the second grill is a smaller tabletop grill to bring out at parties or for traveling. If you don’t plan to do a lot of grilling throughout the year, then the smaller tabletop version may just be a perfect fit for you.

Either way, you can pick up a grill for fairly cheap in most cases. And since we prefer to cook with charcoal, these grills are usually a lot cheaper than the gas versions. Of course, there are also some hybrid grill options out there now that are charcoal but have a gas igniter, which are pretty cool. No matter which version, or versions, of the grill you go with, make sure it be used throughout the year to help offset the costs of the purchase.

Grilling Tool Sets

Once the grill has been sorted out, grilling tools are the next natural step. We prefer to keep two sets of diverse grilling tool sets on hand. A big part of this isn’t necessarily for parties, but they come in handy then too. But we use one set for indoor cooking/grilling and another specifically for outdoor grilling/cooking. Either way, these sets can be pretty easy to find and very cost effective. So, if you plan to have a Super Bowl party, this is when having more than one set can really help.

Getting a smaller set for more everyday use that has 2-4 pieces is a great way to start. But, if you want to get really fancy, you can upgrade to a huge multipiece grilling set with all the bells and whistles. In most cases, you can pick a pretty decent grilling tool set up easily for under $20, and sometimes even under $10. So this is one thing that certainly won’t break the bank.

Party Food & Beverages

No Super Bowl party is complete without a great selection of food and beverages. Of course, everyone is going to have a different idea of which types of food and beverages they want to have. But, here is a list of some of our favorite options:

Chicken wings
Chips
Cocktail wieners
Dips
Football cookies
Hamburgers
Hot dogs
Meatballs
Potato skins
Sliders
Beer (bottles, cans or a keg)
Football themed mixed drinks (Tequila Touchdown)
Wine

Ultimately, it’s great to have others brings some of their favorite football party food also. Since providing all of the food for a party can really do some damage to your budget, having a pot luck can really help offset the costs.

Serving Dishes

Once you have decided what food and beverages you will be having at your party, then it’s time to figure out what you will be serving them in. Some of my favorite options are:

Football themed party set (usually has plates, napkins, silverware, cups)
Large party napkins
Paper or plastic plates (different sizes usually come in handy)
Disposable silverware
Disposable Cups (with a marker to write guests names on the cups)
Tongs (disposable plastic kind or the metal heavier kind)
Football shaped chip and dip platter
Larger round serving platter or two
Tiered serving stands
Chafers and sternos for keeping food warm
Large cooler for beers and cold food

How to Celebrate Super Bowl During COVID Summary

Overall, there are quite a few different ways we can choose to celebrate Super Bowl during COVID. And each way will be totally up to you and your individual situation. But ultimately, the Super Bowl is a great time of year where a lot of us can get together to socialize and cheer on our favorite team. Along with laugh at some of the crazy half time commercials! But, because of COVID, we have to be a lot more careful how we celebrate with each other. Whether we celebrate by social distancing or virtually, there is still a lot of the same party items and food involved. We can stay safe but still have a great time. And here’s hoping the Super Bowl next year will be back to normal!

How do you plan to celebrate Super Bowl during COVID this year?

December 15, 2020

Some of My Favorite Shopping Apps This Holiday Season

The holidays are upon us once again. And with only a few shopping days left, we have to make the most of it. But, with holiday shopping can sometimes come holiday debt. That is the last thing any of us want. Therefore, I have found some great shopping apps that can help you save more money. Plus, they can be used all year long for any shopping possible to save even more. This is what I call a shopping win!

IBOTTA

Ibotta has been one of my favorite shopping apps for quite awhile now. With Ibotta, you can either shop in person or online. If you choose to shop online, you have to shop directly within the Ibotta app in order to get the rebate. If you shop in person, you have to upload an image of your receipt in the app to get the rebate.

A lot of the rebates go across multiple stores, which makes shopping even easier. However, I usually look up the store I am planning to shop at first to see what Ibotta rebates are being currently offered first. Then, if I find items that I am thinking about buying, I will see which other stores they might be offered at within Ibotta. Once you find items you plan to purchase, then click the plus sign to add them to your list before you can earn the rebate.

Once you go through all of the steps, your rebate will show up in your Ibotta account fairly quickly. Sometimes I have seen mine as quickly as 5 minutes later. But more often than not, I see the rebate the next day. Some stores are now automatically connected to your shopping rewards number with that store. And in those cases, the rebates will be automatically added to your account within 24 hours. I like this even more because I don’t have to scan anything. Just remember to use your store shopping rewards information when you check out in store so that you can get the Ibotta rewards.

Cash Out Ibotta Rewards

But that’s not the only way to earn money with Ibotta. They have regular rewards categories and group participation bonuses to help you earn more faster. Click under the “Earn More” tab to find other ways to add more money to your account. Some of the ways to earn more include:

refer a friend
working with your team to hit the monthly bonus amount
purchasing a specific featured product
purchasing a specific group of products

Once your Ibotta account reaches $20, you can cash it out. PayPal is the primary way to redeem your Ibotta rewards, but they also offer some gift card options too. In fact, I just recently cashed out my Ibotta rewards balance for an Amazon gift card. And then I used that gift card to buy Christmas presents for the family. Now that’s a win!

RAKUTEN EBATES

Another one of my favorite apps/extensions is Rakuten. I have this on both my computer as an extension and on my phone as an app. If you put it on your computer, then it runs in the background anytime you are shopping on a website. It will pop up and tell you if there are any current rebate offers for that seller. Which, during the holiday season, are much higher than normal, so take advantage!

If there is a current rebate with Rakuten, then just click on the “Activate % Cash Back” button at the top right-hand side of your screen. Once you’ve completed that, you are on your way to getting cash back rebates.

If you choose to use the app on your phone, you have to launch your shopping trip directly from the app, just like Ibotta. Once you purchase something that qualifies for a rebate, you’ll get an email with the store and the amount you will receive. That amount will be deposited into your Rakuten account within a couple of days, usually.

Their cash out method is slightly different than Ibotta, though. They send a “Big Fat Check” every quarter for whatever you happen to have in your account. It can be sent as a physical check or you can connect your bank account for them to direct deposit it to. I prefer the latter method, personally.

Honey

Honey is another app/extension that I have been using for years now. This one is very similar to both Ibotta and Rakuten. Except that it helps to find coupon codes online and then apply them to your checkout order to save you money.

Any time you shop online, Honey will pop up on merchant pages that they work with to tell you how many coupon codes they have. When you are ready to check out, just click on the pop up and it will run through all of the coupon codes to see which one gets you the biggest discount, if any. Then it will automatically apply it. This can potentially save a lot of time scouring the internet for coupon codes. And I know it has helped me save a lot of money that I otherwise might not have.

On top of saving you money on your purchases, you could also qualify to earn Honey Gold. The gold points accumulate in your account until you reach a minimum of 1,000 coins and then you can cash them out for gift card rewards. It just doesn’t get any sweeter!

COUPONCABIN

CouponCabin is another hybrid app, like Honey. They not only have coupons for thousands of different websites, but they also offer rebates up to 10% off on some sites. Take, for example, right now they have a $100 bonus on any order over $100 purchased from Kohl’s. That can really help you ring in the savings this holiday season!

Plus, you get a $2 bonus cash back reward just for signing up. And if you add the app to your phone and shop within a certain amount of time, you get another $5 bonus. The payout methods are a little more diverse than some of the other options. With CouponCabin, you can cash out your balance to:

Amazon gift card (they give you an extra 10% back for using this method)
Check
Chase payments
Charitable donation
Direct deposit
PayPal

This gives you a lot more leeway with what you can do with your rewards.

BEST Holiday Shopping APPS SUMMARY

Ultimately, there isn’t much time left to get your holiday shopping done. But, by adding some, or all of these shopping apps to your arsenal, you are bound to save more money. Plus, you can even earn money for future purchases. Which is what I call a huge holiday win-win!

What are some of your favorite shopping apps?

December 14, 2020

4 Useful Tips to Help you Save Money on Online Entertainment

Let’s face it – everyone is looking to save money in one way or another, and especially in the age of the internet, most of that saving needs to happen in the digital environment. Whether it’s online shopping, gaming, or streaming, users are interested in the best ways to get more bang for their buck. Below we’ll check out just a few strategies you can use to make the most of your online experience. Read more

December 3, 2020

Should I Buy Amazon or Alibaba?

Almost everyone knows about the two eCommerce giants, Amazon and Alibaba. In fact, for the longest period now, they have been providing consumers with the best eCommerce platform that enables them to meet their needs. Finding some products in physical stores may be difficult. That’s why the majority of the customers do opt for the sites because they have almost everything. The convenience with which they serve their customers is also part of their strengths.

At some point, you may not be convinced by the site to buy from. That is because they offer almost the same products at almost the same price range. Furthermore, investors may be stuck on where to invest when they start comparing the two giants. They might assume that they all have the same ROI when you invest in them. Realistically, it’s difficult for two things to be the same in everything. Not even twins share certain traits. If you have been wondering about the best way to distinguish the two, this article is the best for you. The chances are that after reading, you will be in a position to distinguish which site is better to buy stocks from. Keep reading. Read more

November 13, 2020

How We Are Planning to Safely Spend Thanksgiving During COVID-19

The holidays this year are going to look a bit different. Of course we all hope we will come out of this sooner rather than later, but COVID-19 has definitely affected every aspect of our lives. And a big part of that has to do with how we celebrate. Usually we celebrate the holidays in a larger group since we have a pretty big family. But since we are all still supposed to be socially distancing, that isn’t going to happen this year. So here is how we are planning to safely spend Thanksgiving with our family during COVID-19.

safely spend Thanksgiving

Some of our immediate family is within the same city and have been socially distancing. So, we are considering getting together with that part of the family for Thanksgiving. However, if we do, then we will still be changing up our configuration a bit in the name of safety.

Just because we aren’t supposed to be gathering in large groups in indoor, confined spaces doesn’t mean we can’t get together. It just means that we have to make our group smaller and get together in outdoor spaces instead. This actually works great for us because we have a large two story deck and one of my siblings has a deck and a screened in porch. So we have two options where we can seat family members and serve food safely.

Thanksgiving Food Stations

One of the ways we are planning to optimize either option is by setting up different food stations. This way we can control the flow of traffic into different areas to keep with social distancing practices.

One of the possible layouts for our different stations include:

Beverages section
Bread/rolls section
Cranberry/fruit section
Dessert section
Meat station (turkey and ham)
Potato station
Vegetable station

With this many different sections we are helping our family to safely spend Thanksgiving together. But, if we want to go one step further, we could also release one table at a time to get their food and drinks. This is how it is typically done in the catering world. And since I worked in that world for many years, I am very familiar with the tactics and smooth implementation.

Plus, if we all bring a few different dishes, that can help make Thanksgiving more budget friendly for all of us. We we could all definitely use!

Virtual Thanksgiving

Since not all of our family will be able to join in the celebration this year, we have to get creative. And since all of our birthday parties this year have been virtual already, we are getting pretty good at this. The important part is that we have still been able to see each other and celebrate, and it looks like Thanksgiving will be no different.

For the family members that aren’t going to be able to join us in person, we are considering having a joint Thanksgiving. Meaning that we plan to talk with them ahead of time about a menu. The goal is to try and have all of the same foods that we normally would so that we can experience them together still. But what that means is that we will have to learn how to make some recipes that may be a little out of our wheelhouse. Which sounds like a really fun idea to me!.

And on top of that, we are thinking about trying to decorate each table similarly. The hope is that this will make us all feel like we are in the same place celebrating.

Safely Spend Thanksgiving Together Summary

No matter what, this Thanksgiving will be different. But, this gives us a chance to think outside the box and come up with some new creative ways to be together. We will still get to enjoy the food, family and laughter just like every other year. But, we may not all be together in the exact same spot doing it. And that is okay. As long as we are able to find ways to safely spend Thanksgiving together, I am still excited by the holiday. And the joy it brings to all of us, especially in this very trying year.

How have you and your family decided to safely spend Thanksgiving together during COVID-19?

November 12, 2020

5 Tips for Staying Out of Debt This Christmas

You see advice everywhere for getting out of debt after you’ve overspent during the holiday season. In reality, it would be better if you could get advice on how to stay out of debt before the Christmas season.

If you are still paying off last Christmas, consider an online installment loan to get you back in the black. So many people have allowed Christmas spending to take over their lives that they worry about the money they spend after the holiday is over, and reality has set back in, instead of worrying about it before they spend it. In this blog, you’ll find a few of the best ways to stay out of debt this upcoming Christmas season.

October 14, 2020

How To Lower Your Food Costs With These Three Simple Changes

(Image via https://twitter.com/ohmyveggies)

Food isn’t cheap. In fact, grocery shopping can certainly add up to a lot more than it used to. Whether you’re looking for mini cheesecake ingredients or keen to invite the family around for a bbq in the sun, getting everything in order can cost a fair bit. In fact, the cost of living has gone up in many parts of the world, and food is a huge part of that.

There are numerous ways in which we can cut back on food costs and save money in the way we do things, though. It isn’t always easy, but it’s certainly do-able, especially in 2020 when the variety of food options and online resources we have available to us are priceless. You can still enjoy a healthy diet and save money, too. It isn’t all about just eating junk on cheap offers in stores. In fact, it’s the total opposite. Maintaining a healthy diet and eating delicious cuisine, all while saving money, is easy to achieve, it just involves making a few changes.

So, without further ado, here’s a few helpful ways in which you can lower your food costs. Read more

August 13, 2020

Save Money on Your Household Bills with This Ultimate Guide

Household bills are continuing to rise across the world. That is why we have compiled this guide, so you can find everything you need to know without worries. Read more