Whether you like it or not, Valentine’s Day will be here soon! I personally have mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day. I don’t like that it allows retailers to get more money from consumers, by pressuring them to show their love with the right gift. We all spend way too much at Christmas, then in January, […]
I’d like to introduce you to Luna, whom we rescued from an animal shelter several years ago. Luna is now an old lady of ten years, but at the time, she was barely past one. She was picked up as a stray, as so many shelter pups are. We had gone to the shelter in
My student loans totaling over $100,000 were forgiven in 2024. Yes, I am completely serious. Student loan forgiveness does happen and it worked for me. I really did not think I would ever NOT have student loans. They loomed over my head for more than twenty years, making it difficult to purchase a house, and
Extra money can be hard to come by. Thanks to the Internet, these days we have a lot of side gig options like Door Dash, Instacart, Uber, Lyft, and so much more! Around 20 years ago, before we had so many different ways to bring in extra cash, I discovered that I could make a
It’s that time of year again! Halloween is a lot of fun for most of us. Decorations, Halloween parties, creative costumes, and so much candy!!! While we enjoy celebrating Halloween each year at my house, I also really look forward to it being over. The sugar factor is the biggest drawback for me. It’s common
It’s that time again! As the summer draw to a close, parents of kids everywhere are gearing up for Back to School. One of the most important things about Back to School is the shopping! Regardless of age, your kiddos are going to need new clothes, backpacks, lunch boxes, and school supplies. If your kids
I have been playing around with crayon art for quite a few years. I love getting my kids involved in art projects, especially during the summer. Crayon sun art is one that is easy and fun. It also produces some really cool results. I have been doing crayon art for years and typically after hot
Summer is here! If you’re like me, you are always looking for ways to entertain your kids. Cheap fun is good, but free fun is even better. The Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas (ATX) is a great option to check out if you live in the area or are just
I was almost 30 years old in 2006 and had spent way too much of my adult life doing things the “traditional way”. It was drilled into me from a young age by my parents that college and a job with a good company were my keys to becoming successful. I graduated college on time
Summer! So exciting, right? If you have kids like me, summertime likely represents freedom, a break from routine, and endless possibilities. However, it can also mean that you feel stressed about money. Summer also means pool fees, camp fees, and swim lessons, which all COST MONEY! It often requires money to help our kids spread
Tonight I outed myself as the Tooth Fairy. I don’t feel great about it, but I’m just freaking tired of keeping up the magical pretense. It’s exhausting! I previously killed off the Easter Bunny and the Switch Witch (I’ll explain later). Santa Claus and Elf on the Shelf are still going strong. I really hate
If you are a dog owner like me, then you probably also complain a lot about the cost of pet-related expenses. It’s very important to me that my pets get the proper food, medicine, and veterinary care they need and deserve in addition to all the love and attention we give them. Many years ago,
The year 2023 started out with a bang! On my first day back at work after the holidays, January 3rd, I was laid off from my job. To make things even worse, it happened via video call on Skype. For nearly all of 2022, I poured all of my energy into my new tech job
Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. If you really need help with basic necessities, like food, there are resources around you to help. You only need to put your pride aside and look to see what is out there. Whenever things seem overwhelming financially, I think about the year that I was so broke
Around ten years ago I was faced with filing bankruptcy. The United States was in the middle of a recession, and I was out of options. I was self-employed back then and had been doing quite well. Once the recession hit, everyone became afraid to spend money. My clients began to disappear overnight. I went
Did you know that you can make fast cash from focus groups? Let me explain… A couple of days ago, I spent much of my day participating in a focus group. I first learned about the focus group from a sponsored Facebook ad. I saw an opportunity to make decent money ($175) for the purpose
If you haven’t dealt with large medical bills for yourself or your children, you are very fortunate. I have personally dealt with some big ones and in the past struggled to pay these medical bills. There are ways to obtain financial assistance for medical bills. When my oldest daughter was almost five years old, my
If you are a mom or even an adult woman, there is a huge chance that you have been approached by someone about MLM (multi-level marketing). It’s likely that you have been approached multiple times about purchasing a product. Maybe it was through a Facebook friend advertising an MLM product that showed up in your
Let me introduce you to the world of mystery shopping. If you’ve ever worked in retail, food service, or property management, you’ve probably heard about it. If you haven’t worked in these spaces, then you still may be aware of it because it’s been around for a long time. Mystery shopping, also referred to as
Door Dash as a side hustle is something I’ve been curious about for a long while now. I’ve used it exactly once ever as a consumer and it was expensive! But I have been curious about how much money someone can made by delivering food via Door Dash. So here’s the lowdown… Signing up was
