Tips For Staying On Budget This Christmas Shopping Season

The holiday shopping season is in full swing. The stores are full of Christmas music, shiny decorations, and bling of every kind at the endcaps….all with the goal of getting you to spend, spend, spend. It’s so easy to give into temptation! While I’m not perfect when resisting temptations (who is?) there are a few little tricks I use to keep myself on track with my budget:

Shop on a Full Stomach
I’ve noticed if I go shopping when I’m hungry I can be more easily swayed by budget temptations. At my SuperTarget, the smell of the Starbucks Coffee usually beckons me and if that doesn’t get me the freshly popped popcorn will. Anyway, I make sure to have a snack before I head out and hit the stores.

Leave the Kids at Home
Likewise, the kids are huge budget distractors! They usually do not accompany me when I am Christmas shopping unless I am shopping for Mr. Not Made of Money. Then we go with a list in hand, they help me hunt for the items on the list, and they know the budget amount we are aiming for.

Set A Christmas Budget Amount
We decide in advance how much money we are going to spend for the holiday season and then we stick to it. Part of this involves tracking our money as we spend it, so we know how much there is left.

Avoid The Credit Card Trap
I use my credit card but keep track of how much we’ve spent so I don’t go over budget. When the bill arrives, it is paid in full. If you don’t trust yourself to keep your credit card purchases in budget, then switch to cash. Don’t let yourself go into the new year with additional debt.

Book in Advance
We don’t usually travel far during the holidays but if we did we would book our reservations well in advance. Shop around online and compare airfares and hotel room fees.

Compile A List Of Prospective Gifts
I always go Christmas shopping with a list in hand…it gives me a sense of direction. Even if I don’t have a specific item on the list, I have people’s names and a budgeted amount listed.

Shop Online
Especially for the children’s gifts, I’ve found that I scored the best prices online this year. Nearly everything had free shipping because it was either a special being offered, or I searched for a promotional code before I purchased.

Plan for The Unexpected
Invariably, there is bound to be one or two gifts we neglected to purchase. I always make sure to have a few generic gifts on hand (homemade jar gifts, inexpensive kid’s game, etc.) to cover those last minute gifts.

How to Stop Spending and Start Saving

Everyone wants to save more money. But in today’s tough economy, that can be difficult – especially if it seems that every dollar is already accounted for due to expenses. The truth is, though, even if you feel that you don’t make enough income, when you really track your expenses, you may find that there are areas where you can cut back or even eliminate some costs.

Live Below Your Means
In some ways, your personal finances could be thought of as a business. What this means is that most successful businesses know exactly what they have coming in, and therefore they know just how much they can spend. For these businesses, the money that is left over is what’s referred to as profit. In your personal situation, the funds that are left over can become your savings.

Create a Budget
One way to help you determine just exactly how much money you have coming in and going out is to create a budget. Budgets do not have to be fancy, but rather you can simply begin by writing down on a piece of paper the amount of income you have coming in on one side, and the amount of outgoing expenses that you have on the other. Sometimes it helps to take a month and write down everything you spend money on – even if it’s just a dollar. Then, at the end of the month you will be able to see everything that you’ve spent. This can be a real eye opener! In doing so, you may also find that you can actually trim some expenses by eliminating the things you don’t need. For example, if you stop on your way to work each day to purchase a $3 cup of coffee, you could save a great deal of money by simply brewing your coffee at home and taking it with you to work. Likewise, if you tend to go out for lunch each day, consider bringing in leftovers and having that for lunch instead. You’d be surprised at just how quickly the savings can add up!

Make Some Lifestyle Changes
For those who truly want to stop spending and start saving, it may require some major changes in your lifestyle – at least temporarily. This could include renting movies or watching sporting events at home rather than going out, staying in town rather than taking an expensive vacation, and carpooling to work rather than driving yourself each day.

The Bottom Line
There are numerous ways that you can stop spending on needless items and in turn, use that money to put towards your savings. It all starts with having an in-depth knowledge of where your money is going in the first place and then eliminating your spending on items that you truly do not need. By doing so, you will be able to free up the cash that you need to put towards the savings that you require for a more comfortable retirement in the future.

10 Minute Frosted Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Note: This is not a sponsored post but does contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement.

It is hard to believe that Halloween is right around the corner. Our church is having a trunk or treat next week and the kids will have parties at school. I needed to come up with a quick treat for a school party. I wanted to do something special for kids with allergies, since I have one child who has food sensitivities. We have been using Enjoy Life Soft Baked Cookies and have been very pleased with them. They have a great variety of treats which are dairy free, egg free, nut free, and gluten free. One of the favorites in our household has been Enjoy Life’s soft baked cookie in the double chocolate brownie flavor. I chose to frost a batch of the cookies with cream cheese frosting and Halloween sprinkles.

First, I spread out the cookies onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. The cookies come 12 to a box.

Next, I frosted the cookies with the cream cheese frosting. The Pillsbury Supreme cream cheese frosting tastes yummy with these chocolate brownie cookies.

Then I added the Halloween sprinkles. I preferred the multicolored ones versus the single color sugar.

This is a really simple and fast way to dress up store bought cookies into something special. An added plus is that Enjoy Life Soft Baked Cookies are dairy free, nut free, and egg free. The cookies themselves are gluten free but you would need to be sure that the frosting and sprinkles are gluten free as well. You could use other gluten free cookies too, either store bought or made from scratch. As I mentioned above, the cream cheese icing paired really well with the chocolate but you could use vanilla frosting on a vanilla cookie or vanilla on a chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients:
Enjoy Life soft baked cookies double chocolate brownie
Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Cream Cheese frosting
Halloween Sprinkles

Directions: Place cookies on baking sheet which has been lined with parchment paper. Frost cookies. Decorate with sprinkles. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Spanish Rice Bowl With Bacon And Cheese

My family has been getting really bored with the plain white rice I’ve been serving. In an attempt to keep peace in the household, I’ve been looking for some new recipes for rice. I thought I would experiment with layering some traditional flavors of onion and green pepper and bacon. While searching through some recipes I found a few that had the basic ingredients I was looking for. After a few modifications, I came up with this recipe which turned out way better than I had expected and was a big hit at my household this week. I served this as a side dish with baked chicken. However, since it is such a substantial dish, it can really serve as a main course if you just add a protein to it (either shredded chicken and/or black beans).

Below are the steps I took in making the spanish rice bowl. (I’ve listed the ingredients at the bottom of the post).

First, I sauteed bacon in a frying pan. While the bacon was cooking, I chopped up the green pepper and then the onion.

Once the bacon was done cooking, I drained it on a paper towel and set it aside. I discarded all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings and added the chopped green pepper and onion to the skillet. I cooked them over medium heat until they were tender.

Next I added a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes to the skillet along with the black pepper and cayenne pepper. I did not drain the tomatoes. I let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes. At this point the kitchen was really smelling nice!

While the skillet mixture was simmering, I made a batch of long grain rice. (I combined 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, brought it to a boil, and then simmered it for 15 minutes.)

Once the skillet mixture had simmered for 20 minutes and the rice was completely cooked, I added the bacon and the rice to the skillet and combined all the ingredients thoroughly.

I served the rice in individual serving bowls, and added shredded cheddar cheese to the top.

Quick & Easy Spanish Style Rice

Ingredients:

3 Pieces Bacon
1 small white onion
1 small green pepper
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups water
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional
2 cups shredded chicken
1 cup black beans

Car With the Best Mileage For Families

The following is a sponsored post. Please see my disclosure statement.

When you’re single, taking the bus or riding your bike to work is fine. But once you have a family, everything changes. Sure, you can take your children on a bus ride but imagine the discomfort it brings them, not to mention the trouble you’ll be causing for other passengers. Not only that, children often need their own baby bag of supplies every time you go out. it’s a lot of hassle that can easily be avoided, if you had your own family car. But what kind of car is best used for families? It has to meet these criteria: Enough space in the seats and compartment, great gas mileage, and of course, safe for your children.

Before, minivans were a popular choice for families. But in recent years, SUVs have taken the stage with its more modern look. But aside from these two vehicles, what other cars are best for the entire family?

Family Cars
Below are vehicles described to be a perfect match for any family. Let this be your guide to choosing the best vehicle that can meet your family’s need:

Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

Designed by one of the most popular car manufacturers in the world, the Toyota Camry Hybrid is available in two designs: the LE and XLE models. Their main difference is mostly cosmetic, but the LE is best for those looking for an everyday car with good mileage.

Driving: the Camry comes with a CVT transmission. It drives well and thanks to its suspension tuning, you won’t be feeling those bumps along the road, perfect for when you have a sleeping child onboard.

Seating/Compartment: The Camry easily fits five passengers, and the compartment has ample space for families looking to pack more in the back of their vehicle for activities like road trips and camping.

Mileage: 65kpg

Safety: Overall, the Camry Hybrid is very safe and was even the Top Safety Pick by the Institute for Highway Safety.

Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid (2014)

The 2014 Accord Plug-in Hybrid is the first in its line, and it has the same look and feel as a regular Honda Accord. As the name implies, the Plug-in can be plugged into a regular outlet and takes 3 hours to fully charge. It also comes with all the standard trims that you’ve come to love on the regular Accord including rear-view cameras, Bluetooth connectivity and LED headlights.

Driving: The Accord Hybrid has a Continuously Variable Transmission that can let you drive on pure electricity for a short range. When battery power becomes insufficient, it automatically switches to hybrid mode. It handles so well that it’s almost no different from a regular Accord sedan.

Seating/Compartment: With a seating capacity of five, the Accord is perfect for families as it also has generous leg space at the back. The seats are covered in what Honda calls a Bio Fabric and is made in part from sugar cane. Unfortunately, the compartment is halved thanks to the car’s battery pack which takes up half the trunk space.

Mileage: Overall, the Accord Plug-in gets great mileage with its EV able to travel up to 15kpg, and with the hybrid it can travel a total of 185KPGe

Safety: Part of what makes the Plug-in Accord a family vehicle, is its array of safety features including antilock disc brakes, stability and traction control, as well as front seat and side airbags.

Hyundai Sonata (2016)

The Sonata is truly a family sedan. It’s got one of the biggest cabins for its class and the tech inside is quite handy with Bluetooth connectivity and an optional-zone automatic climate control. And of the best features of the 2016 Sonata is its Smart Trunk Opener fob that automatically unlocks the trunk of the vehicle when someone with the key stands behind the car for at least 3 seconds.

Driving: The vehicle comes with an automatic transmission and handles fairly well, with a relatively silent engine and taking on turns with ease. When you get in a Hyundai Sonata, you are always promised a comfortable ride.

Seating/Compartment: The Sonata can easily fit four passengers with enough leg space in the back seat, and a well-padded front seat. The compartment gives a generous amount of space for everything you and your family need to take with them.

Mileage: If you’re looking for a car with great mileage without all the fancy tech, then the Sonata is a great choice with 101kpg.

Safety: Safety doesn’t take a backseat on the Sonata as it features front-seat side airbags, full-length side airbags and even a driver knee airbag. It also comes with a rear-view camera and Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

When it comes to family, safety and economy are always top priority. Unfortunately, a lot of people can’t afford to get a car because of bad credit. If you have a bad credit car loan, get in touch with finance companies that can provide assistance and you can be well on your way to getting that new car for the family.

Quick Oven Baked Chicken Alfredo Pot Pie

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of RAGÚ® Pasta Sauce. All opinions are entirely my own.

I’m always looking for ways to streamline my mealtime. Like most of you, my week has been filled with afterschool events, parent teacher conferences, and morning and afternoon drop-offs and pick-ups. That does not leave much time for cooking. Yet, I know that I will have a houseful of hungry kids at dinner time. For busy weeks like this, I rely on some easy fix recipes to get a meal on the table quickly.

Publix is having a RAGÚ® BOGO event which starts now and runs through Wednesday, October 11th. One of my favorite ways to save money is by using BOGO sales.

Since time is really short this week and I needed a quick go-to meal, I purchased the large RAGÚ Cheese Creations Classic Alfredo Pasta Sauce (Family Size, 21.5 oz.), and because of the BOGO sale I received another one free. Win, Win! RAGÚ Pasta Sauce can easily be found in the pasta sauce aisle at Publix.

We are a cheese loving family and the RAGÚ Classic Alfredo Sauce is packed full of Parmesan and Romano cheeses. It is thick and creamy and wonderful in Chicken Fettucine and Chicken Alfredo. Made with real cheese and fresh cream, this classic Alfredo Sauce is just bursting with cheese flavor. The sauce is available in 16oz and 21.5oz jars (which is the perfect size for feeding a large family like ours).

Here is a quick recipe I developed using RAGÚ Alfredo Sauce. I hope you enjoy!

Quick Oven Baked Chicken Alfredo Pot Pie

Ingredients:
4 Cups shredded rotisserie chicken
2 Cups frozen broccoli, carrots, cauliflower mix
1 21.5 oz jar RAGÚ Family Size Cheese Creations Classic Alfredo Pasta Sauce
2 Cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Container refrigerator biscuits

Directions:
Spray a 9 x 12 baking dish with cooking spray.
Place the cooked rotisserie chicken and broccoli/carrot/cauliflower mixture into the dish and stir to mix. Pour the RAGÚ Classic Alfredo Sauce across the mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly across the mixture. Separate the biscuits and cut them into fourths. Layer them on the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes to 40 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and are thoroughly cooked.