Must Have Apps for Saving

There are so many apps out there that help you save money on groceries among other thing. Here is the list of ones you should without a doubt find room for on your phone today...

Rebates/Cashback Apps

• Ibotta. Definitely the leader in this category right now. Save on some of the essentials like bread, milk, and eggs, plus a ton of name brand products.
• Checkout51. Similar to Ibotta, has a lot of different, not as mainstream brands. I often take advantage of their healthy offer, which is always a different type of fruit of vegetable each week. They also have cashback on a lot of popular beers and personal care products.
• SavingStar. I like this one because it offers big discounts, although you often have to spend $20-30 on multiple products. You also don't need to upload a receipt, which is convenient considering a lot of stores only give you one if you ask these days. Just make sure you redeem the offer before you go to purchase the items and you have to use your store rewards card!
• Snap by Groupon. This is a newer app and does not have the best offers yet, but I hear some changes are coming soon that could make this one very rewarding in the near future.
• Shrink. This one is great for discounts on organic products. We all know how much more expensive it is to switch to organic, well this app is key to bringing down those prices a little bit.
• Shopmium. They never have many offers, although once in awhile you catch one on a product you love. They also send rebates that can help you buy a product completely free of cost, so once again if you catch one you like, its definitely worth it.
• MobiSave. Also fairly new, but they have recently come out with a few products I buy on a normal basis, including some produce items. What is neat about this one is that they send you money directly to your Paypal account, no minimum requirement.
• Receipt Hog. My favorite app that has been around for awhile. All you do is take a picture of every receipt you ever get and watch the money add up, slowly, but you are getting paid to take a picture of a receipt, not a tough job.
• KrazyCouponLady. Good to have on hand. You can set the app to show you specific stores you frequent and great deals that are going on each specific day.

Store Specific Apps

• Cartwheel. Do not shop at Target without using Cartwheel first, end of story. Especially when it comes to grocery shopping and having to buy the essentials for baby, this one helps you save big.

Apps that Help you Make Money on the Side

• JobSpotter. All you have to do is take pictures of for hire signs. They give you $1 towards Amazon for every 100 points you get. You get 50 points for each picture.
• ShopKick. If you have extra time while you are out shopping, all you have to do is take pictures of certain requested items, maybe answer a short survey or two.

How to be a Stay at Home Mom Without Falling Into Debt

There are many reasons why a Mom stays at home until their child is school age. However, I do not know many people that do not take a financial hit when they make this decision. This day in age, it is almost impossible to survive off one income, therefore staying home becomes out of question for many. Here are my tips for making the stay at home life more of a possibility.

First and foremost, you need to find out how much of a difference you finances are going to change if you were working before. I wasn't making nearly as much as my husband yearly, so we were not taking a great as hit when I stopped working. Some people may still need additional income, or they may be able to get by covering certain expenses. Here is my advice regardless...

1. Cover specific bills by making money online.
The following sites are the ones I most highly recommend for quick income that can easily be done while entertaining your children or doing other household necessities.

• Swagbucks. I average $250 a month from Swagbucks. Their rewards are only in gift cards, so I get a Paypal gift card so I can transfer money directly to our bank account when necessary. To learn more on how you can make a similar income from Swagbucks, click here.
• InboxDollars. I average $30 a month from Inbox Dollars. What is neat about Inbox Dollars is the send checks directly to your house. I typically do not cash out until I have closer to $100 saved up and tend to use this money more towards emergencies. For tips on how to earn a similar income for Inbox Dollars, click here.
• CashCrate. I average $20 a month from Cashcrate. They automatically pull a check at the end of each month, but only if you make at least $20. This can be frustrating when you are only a few cents away, however the money does roll over to the next month. For tips on how to earn a similar income from CashCrate, click here.
• SendEarnings. I average $20 a month. This is almost identical to Inbox Dollars, just with slightly less opportunities.
• MyPoints. I am fairly new to MyPoints, but I am liking it so far. It is almost like a combination of Swagbucks and InboxDollars.

Overall, I bring in approximately $350 a month which is essentially enough to cover our cell phone, TV/Internet, water and most of our electric bill for the month.

2. Shop cheap when it comes to groceries

Couponing is an obvious and much easier than people think. 

• First off, you have to know what items are a better price where.  I don't believe there is one store that has everything cheaper than another. Also, some items are worth getting in bulk more than others. For my list of suggestions on what products to get where, check out this link.
• Let the KrazyCouponLady do most of your extreme couponing for you. Everyday they post amazing deals. My favorite is when they find ways to make money off of products (yes, it really is possible and I started experiencing this first hand shopping for Christmas presents this year).
• Download all of the Cashback apps. For a list of all the available apps and what they have to offer, go here.
• Print your coupons! Coupons.com makes it so easy to look for coupons you would want to use. Not only that, but get even more earnings when you get to coupons.com through Swagbucks or MyPoints. They typically give 10 points for each coupon you get through them and use!
• Shopping online? Go to shop.com and download the Shopbuddy widget. Shop.com is great for comparison shopping, to make sure you are getting the best deal, but they also give you 2-50% cashback on all purchases you get through them (on stores you are already planning to use)! The Shopbuddy widget does one even better by pulling up all available coupons for the store you are shopping at, meaning no need to waste time Googling for possible coupons that do not even exist. This is a game changer, especially for shopping for clothes and other retail goods. They are even partnered with Raise.com, which I will be explaining next... For more on extreme shop.com savings, click here.
• Use gift card discount sites like Raise.com. These sites offer gift cards that others are selling because they do not want them. Instead of paying full price, you get a percentage off. This is by go-to for stores like Target where I know I will spend at least $100 when I am there. For instance if they are doing 8% off, I pay $92 for a $100 gift card, money I have to spend anyway. Therefore, I get $8 instant savings. Better, yet buy your Raise gift card through shop.com! You will get an additional 2% cashback!

3. Make money off of a hobby

I love to give advice, therefore I started a blog. The more beautiful thing about it, is that I can make money off of it over time. Is writing not your thing? There are so many options out there. Here are some creative things I have found.

• Photography. Sell random photos you take to stock sites or do session for family and friends that may later expand into a small business.
• The Crafty/Creative type. Sell your works on Etsy. Super easy to use if you have an creative or artistic ability. There is a large multitude of things you can sell from jewelry, to clothes and more!
• Sportsy/Athletic People. Give private skill lessons on the sport you love or motivate people to get their butts in shape by offering workout classes (online or at a gym)!
• Love children? Babysit, there are always locals in need on care.com. You could also tutor!

4. Work part-time.

Although not many people want to do this, I find the easiest thing to do is something you enjoy, or at least work with people that won't stress you out. If you make going to your part-time job, more like your time to yourself, it makes it easier (as much as this is not ideal time to yourself). Coaching has always been my part-time gig, and it is more of a passion than a job for me. Others may have to resort to jobs like retail or food service, but at least there are a lot of choices out there. Try to find one that you will be able to connect with co-workers and make some friends out of it.

5. Start a small business.

I find that many people find this to be a risk, although I cannot understand why. There are many benefits to starting a small business, however you do have to make sure you get started in the right one. One of the greatest benefits are the tax write-offs at the end of the year. There are also many businesses that have the potential to grow into an asset or some serious income. Make sure if you are introduced to one, that they are accredited and have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau. Some major warning signs include if you have to pay just to sell the products. To have start up fees to be placed in a business makes sense, however I would never pay to just be a salesperson, that kind of start up should be free. Also make sure it is something you will enjoy. Being able to get products you love for cheaper is always a plus!

Earning Extra Income from Swagbucks

I cannot express enough how much I love the site Swagbucks. Especially as a stay at home mom, it really comes in handy to bring in extra income without taking my time and attention away from the kids. I have written posts before about how easy it is to earn at least the equivalent of a few dollars a day by spending no more than an hours time. But the more I am on the site, the more I feel like I am completely mastering it. On average, I earn about $250 a month from Swagbucks while only dedicating an hour or two each day (if you even call it that because I hardly pay attention while earning; the multi-taskers dream). The only difference is I spread my time out throughout the day instead of just one half hour straight. Do note that you can only earn gift cards at Swagbucks, however they have many to choose from including Paypal, which is essentially cash when you think about how you can transfer it over to a bank account.

First things first, you have to sign up at Swagbucks. Not only is it free, but they start you off with some SBs, as they call them, and they have easy sign-up tasks that help you start building points right away.

Up next, download the Swagbutton and default the Swagbucks search engine. Google doesn't pay you to search, but Swagbucks does. This is where you can rack up some of the most Swagbucks in a big chunk, however, you do not get paid on every single search. It is still great for looking up things you need to know anyway. The Swagbutton also lets you know whenever they have a code that you can use for extra Swagbucks, so you never miss any bonuses. These two together help me bring in about 80 SBs a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, which is the equivalent of 80 cents. Doesn't sound like much, but neither of these require me to spend any time on the site.

The two things you should always have running on your computer throughout the day are some of the Daily Crave tasks and watching videos. Here is how to maximize these in shorter time periods...

WATCH: These will run and move onto the next video for you if you don't want to keep checking on them. However, you can move onto the next one approximately every 30 seconds (once you get the check for completion). I have these going on while I take surveys, playing with the kids, whatever. About every 30 seconds I just flip back to the page it is running on and move onto the next video. If clicking takes too much effort for you, than sit this one out.

CRAVE: Here is a hint for you, some of the tasks are going to require you to have the actual screen up. My favorite ones are labeled AUTO, they work similar to watching videos and only require a click to move on to the next one about every 30 seconds. The best one gives you 4 SB each time you do it. Sometimes you have to complete a different offer for it to appear again. Some of the other ones like NEWS are good if you don't mind being opened on the page. They need you to click and play the video but it credits in less than 5 seconds if your computer runs at a good speed. Some of the other ones are slideshows that you normally have to click through ten images. This is also easy if you are fast at clicking and if you have a fast computer. I don't waste my time on these since my laptop is slower.

My average bring in for the day from these two is usually about 400 Swagbucks on the day or $4. Some days I do not even bother with these though (days I am out almost all day and weekends). I recommend these for stay at home moms or anyone that is in front of a computer at work.

Swagbucks TV App. Download it to your phone. It is so easy. Get at least 36 Swagbucks a day for letting videos run on your phone or to speed up the process, just like when you watch videos on the site, hit the Done button as soon as it shows to skip watching it (this typically occurs after an ad is done playing). Best times for use, when driving (I let it play on its own so I do not have to look at my phone) or when the phone is charging.

Games. I love the Swagasaurus Run for an easy 10 SB. My routine with this is while cooking dinner. Usually I am following some recipe from online, so I just play it and let the dinosaur run off giving me instant credit in between checking ingredients. Sounds ridiculous, but once again, an easy habit for a multi-tasker.

Surveys. This is where you get the bigger bucks. I am so used to taking surveys that I can breeze through them in way less time than it says. This is about the only time I actually spend on the site. Some days I get approved for close to $10 worth on the day while other days are not as good or literally don't offer as many to even attempt. Those days I only bring in $1-$2. The best times I have noticed to get good surveys are first thing in the morning, in the afternoon until dinner time, and late night. Perfect for me because the kids are the easiest in the morning. Late night surveys are only done when we are watching shows, which is not always common because of our schedule, but I know it is for most people. Once again, if you are a multi-tasker like myself, just watching TV alone makes you lose your mind, so surveys fit in perfectly. I am so used to squeezing in a quick 5 minute survey or 2 right as I am prepping to make dinner. That tends to come with practice though, as you start being able to answer questions without really needing to read, hence filling them out much faster.

Coupons. I never go shopping without coupons and instead of paying for a newspaper, I would rather get my coupons for free online. The best site to look for these are coupons.com, which Swagbucks just so happens to be partnered with. If you go to shop (another great way to get SBs/cashback on online purchases) then hit coupons on the side bar and printable at the top of that page. Print out all of the coupons you need and once you use them in the store, Swagbucks will give you 10 SBs for each one redeemed! Talk about super savings!

Don't forget the easy daily tasks on the sidebar like NOSO's and the daily poll. It literally takes a second of your time.

BONUSES. My favorite part about Swagbucks that stand out from all other survey sites. They are kind enough to give bonuses for numerous things across the site. The most basic is a daily goal meter. You have a smaller goal meter, that keeps the day to day tab running and a larger one for any heavy hitters, like myself. Hitting the small goal is simple, so I guarantee myself a 300 SB bonus every month. But then you have the additional bonuses from each day, which typically adds up to an extra 700-900 SBs a month for me.
The other easy way to get bonuses is by doing their promotional events. The most common are normally where you just have to "join a team." While you probably do not have the ability to be a hero for your team and make sure they win each time you do one of these, you still get SBs for joining and doing your daily routine. Pay close attention to if they are offering Swagups (rebates when you go to cash out). I always make sure to achieve these and since I cash out bi-weekly and it is always nice to get rewarded for cashing out.

A special bonus going on right now is with Swagbucks new partner store, mygiftcardsplus. You have to pay for giftcards, but you get a significant amount of Swagbucks back in return (like getting cashback). They often do promotional periods where you could get an extra 100 SBs on top of your order and additional percentages back. I have seen as high as 44% back (4400 SBs or $44 back on a purchase of a $100 gift card). Pretty significant if you ask me.

The other magnificent thing about Swagbucks is the payout is always in gift cards. So even though Paypal works like cash essentially, you do not have to worry about taxes at the end of the year. Other survey sites you may have to write off when you do your taxes if you make anywhere around $300+ on the year. With Swagbucks, I make well over that each year and it just gets dished back into everything we need for the year.

Hopefully this gave you some useful tips to bring some decent income in through Swagbucks. Good luck and happy Swaggin' everyone!

Philadelphia Bucket List

Philadelphia has a lot more to offer than most of us even realize. Here is a list of my favorite things to see and do or what I would still like to do in Philly and its surrounding areas.

1. Attend a Phillies game (double header on a beautiful spring day if you can). The atmosphere is perfect and you especially have to love those Dollar Dog Nights!

2. Experience a full Eagles tailgate before attending a huge rival game. Don't forget the grill!

3. Bike the Schuykill Valley Bike Trail. Miles of flat pavement with plenty of places to stop off for a picnic break.

4. Relax at Spruce Street Harbor Park. Lay on the awesome hammocks, enjoy a breezy evening, under the lights, and just relax for FREE.

5. Ice Skate the BlueCross River Rink. A great way to get outside during the winter.

6. Visit LOVE Park. You know you want a picture with that statue.

7. Explore the Philadelpia Art Museum, Be a typical tourist and act like Rocky, or just enjoy the great views of the city. Boathouse row is also right around the corner.

8. Grab a drink from Morgan's Pier. Outdoor bars are great, especially when they have great waterfront views of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

9. Eat at Hibachi (Penn's Landing). Hibachi is already a fun experience, but it is even better when you are a few stories up with perfect views of the sun setting.

10. Spend the day at Philadelphia Zoo. Experience history at America's first zoo. With their newly added zoo 360 concept, it is much easier to find your favorite animals. Also, take a ride on the zoo balloon. Great for people afraid to take a ride on a real hot air balloon because this one stays tethered!

11. Marvel at Longwood Gardens. It is too hard to say what season is best to visit. Their Christmas displays are so beautiful in the winter, flowers are exquisite in the Spring, yet who can resist amazing fall foliage?

12. See a concert outdoors at Festival Pier or Susquehanna Bank Center. Beware that they are normally packed with under-aged kids, but the ambiance is great!

13. Compete in a race. The beauty of being in a big city is we host all of the great ones ... Broadstreet Run, Spartan Run, Wipeout Run, Color Run, you name it...

14. Find your inner child at Magic Gardens. This little gem can even entertain those who do not have a deep appreciation for art. It's unique, high walls allow you to get lost in a dream-like place.

15. Explore Adventure Aquarium. Although located in Camden, it is just a short trip over the bridge, or by ferry. Adventure Aquarium stands out from other aquariums because of its large picture-worthy tanks and their exhibits that allow you to touch some animals.

16. Visit Linvilla Orchards. Particularly special during the fall months, you can grab the best pumpkins for carving, caramel apples, get lost in a corn maze, and feed some farm animals.

17. Hike Hawk Mountain. Located a little over an hour outside of Philadelphia, Hawk Mountain is a great area for hiking, whether you are a beginner or experienced. The River of Rocks is particularly unique.

18. Visit one of the many ski resorts in the area. Tubing, skiing and snowboarding, they have it all.

19. Experience a great cheesesteak. Geno's, Pat's, who cares? Philadelphia offers the best cheesesteaks no matter where you go.

20. Experience Historic Philadelphia. I have no pictures because I honestly have not been there in a long time, but there is a lot to see. From Elfreth's Alley to the Liberty Bell, they don't call it history for just any reason.

The Runner-ups

• Eat at R2L
• Swim down a natural waterslide/swimming hole. Look it up on Youtube!
• Go to the top of City Hall Tower Observation Deck.
• Wine Tasting. We have a few great wineries in the area.

If you feel like I am missing anything, feel free to comment!

Best Way to Earn on CashCrate

CashCrate is another site the offers you actual checks for earning money. It is not hard to do, although CashCrate does take slightly more time to build up. One thing that is unique to CashCrate is they pull checks at a specific time. For instance mine is set to the last day of the month. If you do not earn your intended goal that month, you do not receive a check, but the money does roll over to the next month. Here are the most efficient ways to earn in little time...

1. Check in. You get 3 cents just for checking in every day. That means in one year you could do nothing but go to cashcrate.com and click check in and earn almost $11 each year. Not a bad pay considering it takes literally two seconds of your time and how many times do you find yourself just staring at a computer screen for longer than that?

2. Videos and more.

• Videos. During certain times of the year Cashcrate has very generous videos. Most of them are only about 15 seconds long and pay you 2 cents for each one. Depending on the day, this can get you up to 5 bucks in one day or sometimes they give you absolutely no videos (disappointing days).
• Persona.ly. They have your typical offers where you can sign up for things through a junk email and receive decent amounts of change. I also like taking surveys through here as I find a very high ratio of being approved. They definitely do not pay nearly as much as other sites though, so I tend to stick to really short ones (under the 15 minute range).
• Encrave. Similar to Swagbucks Encrave. Only certain offers are worth your time. Explore which ones you like. Some allow you to just have videos playing in the background so you can still use the computer for other things while others require you to be on the page (actually requiring your time).
• RadiumOne. Only really worth doing the slideshows, as they are quick to do if you have a fast computer. Although, you do have to stay on the page. I don't typically waste my time here.

3. Top Surveys and Surveys. I find it fairly difficult to get approved for these, although some of them have big payouts. It definitely worth checking out if they have any for big pays, if you get approved it is worth it, if not, just move on.

4. Offers. Same as all other sites, make sure you use a junk email.

Overall, I spend some of my shortest time on Cashcrate. I fight to get a $20 minimal payment each month because it is harder to be accepted for most of their payouts. However, by following the first two suggestions and getting approved for a few surveys, I am able to get this amount without spending hardly any time on the site each day.

Earning on Inbox Dollars

Inbox Dollars is another great online resource that allows us to take in extra income. I strongly suggest it for any stay at home parents, anyone struggling to make ends meet or if you just want some extra spending cash. The following are my tips for earning money in the quickest amount of time.

1. Paid Emails. The easiest way to earn on InboxDollars. You don't even have to sign up to have them sent directly to your email (I strongly suggest you do not do this as it will junk it up quickly). As long as you log on to your InboxDollars account, it will show if you have any emails available at the top of the page. Even though it is only 2 cents, they send a good bit of them each day and all you have to do is click. It literally takes a second.

2. Surveys. Not everyone likes taking surveys, nor has the time. I find once you get used to taking them, they are a breeze. When the largest portion of them is filling out my information, it only takes a few seconds considering I don't even have to read the questions, I just know what they are asking. InboxDollars pays pretty decently for surveys, they are usually about 50 cents for 15 minutes of your time (less if you're quick) and you can get bonuses, which I will explain later.

3. Searching. Although many sites use searching, I do not use InboxDollars as my main search bar, however I do make sure to max out on it each day because it is guaranteed money. They will pay you for every 4 searches you perform and I believe the max out is 15 cents. I usually just perform really random searches of things that pop into my mind consecutively. You just have to use fairly different words or it will not credit you for repeating. Like I said, random searches. It should take you no more than 2 minutes to max out.

4. Checklist. Easy to complete, easy for bonuses, just do it.

5. Videos. These used to be easier to get through quicker and more useful. I only spend time here if I am really bored these days.

6. Offers. Worth checking out every once in awhile. I went through InboxDollars to sign up for Similac Moms, which I was doing regardless for formula coupons. By going through them I got paid $2 for a service that was already giving me something anyway. My biggest suggestion. Sign up for a ton of things, even if you won't use it. Just make sure they are free offers and you are using a junk email that you never use for personal reasons.

7. Bonuses. I love InboxDollars for their bonus wheel. Every time you don't get approved for a survey, which will happen often because they offer you so many, you get a chance to spin the wheel. Most of the time you will just win sweeps, but I often win 5 cents or a 25 cent token to be used the next time I complete a survey. So if I get approved for a 50 cent survey, I actually take in 75 cents. The sweeps aren't terrible either. I once won the $2 sweepstakes. They have them up to $500, but I have not had any luck there, yet. Someone has to win though, so who knows. That would be a nice little payout...

Overall, I don't like to spend much time on InboxDollars. I don't find that I make significantly more by spending extra time on it each day, although I do know others can. My average take home is $30 a month, which is perfect because that is enough to cover my cell phone bill for the month.

French Toast Bake

The most simple way to make French Toast, in my opinion. Creates the perfect texture and the sugar on the bottom is to die for!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup either brown sugar or cinnamon sugar (look below for what the difference is)
• 1 stick melted butter
• loaf of Texas Toast (any bread works, but Texas Toast gives it that thick French Toast appeal)
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Melt butter then mix in the sugar
• Spread butter/sugar mix in a 9x13 pan
• Place a single layer of bread on top of butter mix
• Mix eggs, milk, and vanilla
• Spoon half of the mix on top of the bread
• Add another layer of bread
• Pour on the remaining egg mix
• Cover and refrigerate overnight
• Bake at 350 the next morning, covered for the first half hour and then uncovered for another 15 minutes
• Add any additional toppings you prefer. Lauren likes to use maple syrup as there is enough sugar on the bottom. Dan likes to add powdered sugar.

Cinnamon Sugar vs. Brown Sugar

The difference is the way the two crystallize. Lauren prefers cinnamon sugar because I like it to add a moistness to the toast. Dan prefers brown sugar because it creates a sticky coating, like a taffy to the bottom.

Ham and Cheese Bake

Perfect for Christmas or New Years morning, this breakfast is a must try!

Note: needs to be prepared the night before.

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• Sliced cooked ham (1/4 pound)
• Swiss Cheese (1/4 pound)
• Cheddar Cheese (1/4 pound)
• Load of English muffins
• 2.5 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp of dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 2 cups of cornflakes
• 4 tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

• Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish
• Layer the bottom of the dish with English muffins that are sliced open
• Layer each of the cheeses on top
• Cut ham into tiny pieces and layer on top of cheese
• Add another layer of both cheeses
• Top everything with another layer of English muffin halves
• Mix together eggs, milk, and seasonings and pour over entire dish
• Refrigerate overnight
• When ready to make the next morning, mix together melted butter and cornflakes and sprinkle on top
• Bake at 350 for 1 hour

4th of July Cake

This cake is super easy to make and low in calories! Not to mention it is adorable to make for the 4th of July!

Ingredients:

• Cool Whip
• Angel Food Cake
• Red Jello Package (strawberry, cherry, raspberry.. whichever you prefer)
• Blue Jello Package (blueberry or blue raspberry)
• Blueberries
• Strawberries

Instructions:

• Make all of the Jello first, by following the box instructions.  Keep in mind that it may need to chill overnight. Once the Jello has settled, cut into cubes.
• Cut your angel food cake in half (horizontally not vertically so that you you know have two thinner cakes), placing one half in the bottom of your bowl.
• Add a layer of Cool Whip on top
• Layer both red and blue jello cubes on top of the Cool Whip
• Add the other half of the angel food cake
• Fill in again with another layer of Cool Whip and jello cubes
• Finish off with a solid layer of Cool Whip on the top
• Right before you are about to serve use strawberries and blueberries to create and American flag. Do note that if you put on the fruit too soon, it will start to sink into the Cool Whip before you are able to present it!

Holiday Sparkling Punch

Looking for a punch to serve at a party? This one tastes great and looks awesome

Ingredients:

• 1 container of rainbow sherbet
• 2 liters of ginger ale (any lemon lime soda works as well)
• 1 bottle of your favorite champagne
• (optional) some of your favorite frozen fruit, although I would not add a lot
• (optional) flavored liquor of choice

Mix all of the liquids together. Wait to put the sherbet in right as you are ready to serve. What the colors fizz right off the sherbet like magic! Make sure when you serve you get a chunk of the ice cream as well!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Who doesn't love buffalo chicken dip? At our house, we are so hooked on it that we even eat it for dinner. However, having just chips and dip isn't that great of a dinner. That is why we came up with this recipe that is more filling and even better on calories, all while still having the great taste of our favorite buffalo chicken dip.

Ingredients (lowest cal version)

• 8 oz. cream cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
• 1/2 cup of your favorite hot sauce
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (reduced fat)
• 1/2 cup ranch of blue cheese dressing (I prefer ranch-Hidden Valley light)
• one pack of chicken breasts (Perdue thin cut is the best quality)

Crock pot vs. Oven

The picture is how it looks if you bake it in the oven. Lauren personally likes it better in the crock pot because it is easier to contain the extra dip you are going to have. Also,  the chicken is more tender, and the flavor seems to soak in more. Dan prefers the oven because he likes his chicken more on the dried-out side. Both are great though.

Crock pot steps: 

Super easy. Mix all of the ingredients minus the chicken. Put the mix in the crock pot, then place the chicken in, really letting it soak in the mix. Set the crock pot on low, and let everything cook for about 4-5 hours, pending on the thickness of the chicken.

Oven steps:

Preheat the oven to 375. Place the chicken on a tinfoil covered pan. We let the chicken bake for 2 minutes on its own and then flip them over. Mix all the ingredients together while the chicken is getting started. Spoon everything over the one side of the chicken, we really cover them. Bake for approximately 10 more minutes, once again depending on the thickness of the chicken. There will be a lot of extra dip this way, so feel free to put in a separate baking dish and cook alongside the chicken. Feel free to eat as dip with dinner or put it in the refrigerator for another day.

Our special touch...

We break up some tortilla chips and sprinkle it on top of the chicken. It gives an extra crunch and a salty taste that really ads to it.

Disney World for Almost Nothing

Yes, you read the title correctly. We are going to Disney World this March, for almost nothing. We will be spending one glorious week in the Florida sunshine and get to enjoy two days in the park with our Disney obsessed kids. Here is how we worked everything out financially.

Traveling Expenses: We are driving, mostly because we are not big plane people, but also because I find it to be cheaper. The drive is about 18 hours, and we are driving straight through, mostly at night, so that kids will be asleep for it. Some people don't like to put the miles on their cars, so renting would add extra expenses, but we are not one of those people. The last time we drove to Orlando, we had to stop only a total of 5 times to fill up gas (there and back). Including the initial fill up, it would be 6 times. Surprisingly enough gas is actually cheaper now than it was when we went 5 years ago, so we will be spending even less there. We are estimating that we will probably be spending less than $250 in gas. This will of course all be going on a rewards credit card where we get at least 2% back on gas purchases.

When to go: We are going this year with a 9 month old and 2.5 year old. Why you ask, especially considering they will not remember a thing? They are free. They are still old enough to enjoy the characters and some rides and they get to do it at no additional cost. Plus, we realized there are some things we want to do that we never experienced when we were ride obsessed kids ourselves. Since the kids are not tall enough to go on a lot of rides, we are skipping those experiences, this time around, to get to spend more time doing things that will entertain us more now, as adults. Take Epcot's world showcase for example.

Where we are staying: I am blessed to have grandparents with an awesome timeshare 5 minutes away from the parks. So our stay is free. I know this is not an option for many people, but staying with actual family members or friends may be. Even though the resorts are loads of fun, it is definitely worth staying anywhere for free when you are on a budget. Most likely you will still have access to swimming and all the other fun things that are non-park related.

Park tickets: We decided that the two-day park hopper was the best option for our family. We know we want to spend most of our time at Epcot and Magic Kingdom with no more than a few hours at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We also only really care to see Wishes and Fantasmic at night. So, it works out perfectly to split our time between Magic and Animal Kingdom one day and Epcot and Hollywood another. As much as the park hopper is more expensive, it saves us money on having to do more than two days.

Our ticket total came out to $515. Pretty pricey, especially considering it is only taking up 2 of our 7 days. Here is how we are ultimately getting the tickets for free:

• We signed up for the Disney credit card. Yes, yes they totally sold us on it. Even though there is a $49 yearly fee, I know we will use this card in the future as we are avid Disney store shoppers and we would like to do a Disney cruise in the near future. The credit card has great benefits for both. But most importantly, you also get a $200 credit when you spend $500 or more. Well, since our tickets cost $515, we qualified right away. Thanks to the credit card, our tickets now only cost us $315.
• To cover the rest, I used rewards that I had saved up from survey sites and cashback apps. I had well over $350 saved up in my Paypal account thanks to mostly Swagbucks and Ibotta, but a few other sites as well. The best part is, it was money earned within one month before our trip.

Food and the have to have merchandise: We know we are going to spend a lot here, as we already have two character meals planned and we will be Drinking/Snacking Around the World at Epcot. All of these extra expenses are going to be paid using a Disney Gift Card. We are loading up on gift cards from Target, because we are able to get the extra 5% from our Red Card. This essentially means we are saving an extra 5% on all purchases we make in the park.

Other considerations:

• If you are going around the time of a holiday or your birthday, request gift cards that can be used on your trip (think Disney or gas cards).
• Save your change. We have been saving change over the last year, which we plan to turn to dollar bills the week before we go.
• Eat out less. Eating out is expensive, end of story.
• Hit up the dollar store before you go. The dollar store has some of the most surprisingly useful things when you are going on a Disney trip. Stock up on everything from sunscreen to glow lights so the kids are not begging you to buy the over-priced ones at the park.

Absolute Musts for a Successful Relationship

Although we are only going on our 4th year of marriage, we can confidently say we will stay that way for eternity. There are no doubts in our minds that our relationship will ever end in divorce. Now many people think, well you don't know what is going to happen down the road... and they are right! However, I do know that there a few things that are so crucial in a relationship that we have to prevent us from having any doubts.

It all starts off with knowing your partner. It's the little things that really matter. For instance, one thing that causes a lot of arguments for couples is when they are forced into things. This of course is often unavoidable. Let's take shopping trips for example. If it is a big stock up trip, with a lot of heavy items, it takes both of us going. I know Dan naturally will dread this trip because he just wants to relax for the night after work. I find that Dan is much less moody when I text him gentle reminders throughout the day. It is natural to forget when you are busy at work and no one wants to be surprised with chores right when they come home. By knowing what puts his mind at ease, I am able to help make the trip more enjoyable and avoid what could have possibly turned into an argument.

Have time for just the two of you. This becomes increasingly challenging as time goes on, especially when you start adding children into the equation, but you have to find time for just the two of you. It is truly amazing how fast time goes by and how all of a sudden two years go by without you having a night to just yourselves. One thing that I find helps us is finding a Groupon deal. By having something scheduled, it makes us put more effort into getting there without excuses. As soon as you get the pesky details worked out, like who is watching the kids, you can have an awesome night that helps rekindle the romance. It is definitely important to experience that at least once a month.

Dream together. We know things we want to do or achieve in the future, and are able to relate on a lot of them. It is so important to know and understand each others goals so that you can go through life helping one another achieve them. Once you are in a relationship, it is not just about you anymore. You have to care for your partners dreams too. The greatest thing about dreams is the feeling of achieving them together, making your bond so much stronger.

Most importantly, COMMUNICATE. If you are consistently communicating, arguments should rarely occur. Of course you have to compromise and surprisingly it does not have to be 50-50, however it does need to equal 100%! Chances are one spouse will be slightly more stubborn. In our case, it is me, but luckily, Dan giving in that extra 10% comes naturally. For others it may take more work, 50-50 may be the only way to compromise. The other key component to effective communication is making sure you communicate about things before they actually happen. It surprises me how often couples will wait for something to happen before they start discussing options. Talk about it before it happens, that way there are no last-minute regrettable decisions being made.

This is honestly just the short list. Of course there are other things that can cause a relationship to fail, but usually that has to do with one of the partners traits. Evaluate the person you are with, are they actually the right person and why? If they are and you can follow these simple steps, there are no reasons why your relationship should ever fail.