Families with newborns quickly learn that diapers are expensive. Many families struggle to be able to afford enough diapers for their babies. This leads to difficult choices like whether to spend money on food, diapers, or utility bills. The Obama administration has a plan that utilizes technology to help solve this problem. Nearly one in three Americans cannot afford to purchase enough diapers for their babies. In some cases, parents cope by stretching the length of time between diaper changes. This can lead to serious health problems for babies and parents. Babies can end up with urinary tract or staph … Continue reading →
There are many people who choose to celebrate St. Patricks’ Day by enjoying some alcoholic beverages. Families, however, can find plenty of family-friendly ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with their kids. Here’s a list of idea for parents who want to give their kids something fun to do this St. Patrick’s Day. Wear Green It has been said that a person must wear green on St. Patrick’s Day in order to avoid getting pinched. It might not be a great idea to introduce that part of the holiday to your kids. There are also a lot of people who … Continue reading →
There is a quick and easy way to entertain your preschooler for at least half an hour or so. Let him or her play dress up! Preschoolers tend to love this activity because it lets them “become” someone else for a while. Dress up is a great opportunity for using one’s imagination. Here are some frugal ideas for dress up play. Frugal Dress Up Ideas for Preschoolers Old Costumes Previously worn Halloween costumes are great for playing dress up in. Your child can become a princess, a superhero, or both in the same day. Reuse the Halloween costumes that your … Continue reading →
Disney’s always looking for a way to get ahead in its parks, including providing the best customer service around. Its constant raising of prices might seem counter intuitive to that, but at least it keeps upgrading its services. The New York Times has a fascinating new report on the Disney Parks’ latest effort: MyMagic+. MyMagic+ takes the physical form of a wristband park guests wear in place of tickets. Guests won’t have to trade in paper tickets anymore, instead waving their bands in front of the new FastPass monitors (even if they didn’t purchase a FastPass, those Mickey monitors are used). MyMagic+ … Continue reading →
Going to the gym is not my thing. And I always crack up whenever I drive past the clubs with the large windows, where you can see people walking on treadmills. For some reason, sweating seems like something that should be done in private. But maybe that’s just me. At the same time, I’m not the type of person to fork out a lot of money on gym equipment. Especially if there is the chance I won’t stick to it. But a few years ago I made a worthwhile investment when I purchased a treadmill. Notice that I didn’t say … Continue reading →
New Year’s Eve celebrations don’t have to include alcohol, loud music, revealing outfits and colorful language to be fun and exciting. If you are a parent, tomorrow night’s festivities will likely be G-rated, especially if you are partying with a young crew. To ensure your last shindig of the year features good, clean fun, consider the following kid-friendly activities: New Year’s Word Scramble: This game can be tailored for kids of varying ages. All you need to do is come up with a list of words associated with New Year’s. Possible choices include: December, January, resolution, fireworks, balloons, noisemakers, confetti. … Continue reading →
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The Department of Health and Human Services recently revealed details about new laws for health insurers. In a previous blog, pointed out how those laws help you and your family. In this blog, I go over more new rules, and how those are going to help your family with health insurance. The new rules make it clear that health insurance plans must cover items and services in a minimum of 10 categories that were defined by the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Each category is defined as “essential health benefits”. Those categories include: ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity … Continue reading →
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I feel that it is important that I share how grateful I am that I work from home. Owning my two part time home – based businesses has enabled me to do something that I always knew that I wanted to do – stay home with my kids. While my husband and I have made and continue to make many adjustments and sacrifices along the way to ensure that only one of us works outside of the home, I would not trade my current lifestyle for that which I could have if I were employed … Continue reading →
I woke up this morning in a good mood. I had been fighting off allergies or a cold, but I slept well last night. I happily came into work, looking forward to the weekend, the short workweek, and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Then, the unimaginable happened. I logged into Facebook and saw that Hostess is shutting down. In case you aren’t aware, Hostess Brands, Inc. is the largest wholesale distributor of bakery goods in the U.S. They are the makers of Wonder Bread, Ding Dongs, Nature’s Pride (I love that bread!), Ho Ho’s, Sno Balls (which I never liked – … Continue reading →
