finance
Tips to Increase Your Blog Traffic
June 10, 2020

Tips to Increase Your Blog Traffic

Tips to Increase Your Blog Traffic including participating in a 30-day challenge, being authentic, sharing seasonal content and more! This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Like any other blogger, I want my blog posts that I work so hard on to be seen by my readers. The way to get eyes on your blog posts that you spend so much time on is to increase your blog traffic which is what I want to share tips on today! I am no expert but I have been blogging for 10 years and have increased my traffic enough to make a full-time income from my site for about the last 5 years and want to share any tips that I have with you. When I share a healthy recipe that I know is delicious and that people will love, I want it to get plenty of traction so that people can see the recipe and make it for their families. When I share nutrition advice using my nutrition knowledge from having a Master's degree in dietetics, I want people to be able to read that article. When I share a post abo...

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How to Save For Your Kid's College
November 21, 2019

How to Save For Your Kid's College

One of the topics that I am most passionate about is saving for my kids to go to college. Today, I want to share with you exactly how we contribute to our kids’ college savings account, when we set it up and even how much we contribute each month. 

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How QUID Can Be Your Payment Solution
July 03, 2019

How QUID Can Be Your Payment Solution

If you own your own website, you may charge for different services that you offer. I currently provide all of my recipes, parenting posts and more for free but some sites do require a subscription. I recently learned about a service called QUID where you can accept payments right on your website. It is easy to use and helpful for those requiring payments on their site.

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How to Access Your Cash Quickly and Easily
November 21, 2018

How to Access Your Cash Quickly and Easily

Thank you PayPal and Walmart for sponsoring this post. Introducing PayPal cash in and cash out money services, the financial services alternative which allows you to manage your PayPal account and cash flow needs on your own terms! I don't know about you but I rarely carry cash. I do everything with my credit card because it is easier and saves us money. We pay it off each month plus we earn 2% back on all purchases. A lot of times though, I do need cash for different things. I need to have cash on hand for going to my local farmer's market, when we split the bill with someone at a restaurant and need to add in our share and for Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace pickups for example.

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Earning Cash Back on Online Purchases
September 27, 2018

Earning Cash Back on Online Purchases

If you know me, you know that I love a good deal. Not much makes me happier than getting a great deal on something that my family needs (or wants). Over the years, I've learned a lot of little ways to save money on different things so that we can buy what we need and want. Cash back on online shopping is one of the ways that I have saved through the years.

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5 Easy Ways to Save Money on Health and Wellness
February 13, 2018

5 Easy Ways to Save Money on Health and Wellness

Something that you may only know a bit about me is that I really love to save money. I am a self-proclaimed deal queen and I feel amazing when I find a great deal that saves my family money. Though I often write about food and parenting, I know that most people like to save money where they can and when I see one of these posts, I always read it for new tips. All of these tips are things that I use personally to save money for my family on health and wellness type purchases. I know that sometimes, it seems like it is difficult to be healthy because it can be expensive. I totally get it! I have found ways to live healthily affordably. Keep reading for how to save on prescriptions and doctors visits with  SingleCare  and how to save money on healthy foods. Hope you learn something new!

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Staying Organized While Running an At-Home Business
November 15, 2017

Staying Organized While Running an At-Home Business

This post was sponsored by AT-A-GLANCE as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. Life is busy! Running a business at home and taking care of two little kids while trying to keep the house clean keeps me busy pretty much 24/7. Add in a full social calendar and we have our days filled to the brim. Staying organized can be difficult and I want to share some of my best tips with you on how to stay organized while running a business at home. For me, this is my blog but most of these will pertain to any mom who is trying to run an organized household.

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How to Earn Rewards on Everyday Purchases
September 13, 2017

How to Earn Rewards on Everyday Purchases

Thank you CreditCards.com for sponsoring this post. Visit CreditCards.com today to find the right card for you. I was 16 when I got my first credit card. It was linked to my dad's account but I had to pay the bill with the exception of things like medical bills and a light allowance for clothes twice a year. My parents taught me about money and saving when I was little and by the time I was old enough to have my own credit card, I was mature enough to know how to save money and not go crazy spending.

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10 Tips to Save Money on Grocery Items
June 10, 2016

10 Tips to Save Money on Grocery Items

I absolutely love to save money while providing my family with quality food and other groceries. I used to coupon a ton but I barely do it anymore because I feel like my time is better spent elsewhere such as with my daughter and husband, blogging or taking care of my home. Instead, I have found a bunch of other ways to keep our grocery bill low and still have money in my budget for fun foods such as cashew butter and mango fruit roll-ups. Here are some of my best tips for saving money on grocery items: 1. Save on non food items We buy our toiletries on sale always. We are not brand specific to deodorant, shampoo, face wash, toothpaste, etc. so when an item we need goes on sale, we do not have an issue using that brand. We often buy toilet paper in quantity. We rarely use paper towel and use reusable kitchen towels instead. We like the  Hefty Ultra Strong  trash bags best because they are affordable and do not break. There is nothing worse than your garbage bags...

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How We Are Saving For Our Next Cars
May 10, 2016

How We Are Saving For Our Next Cars

Troy and I's cars are both older (~10 years old) and have well over 100,000 miles each on them. They are starting to get more and more issues that sneak up on us. We know that sometime in the next 2 years or so, we will both need new cars. Cars are so expensive and the idea of buying two cars is pretty overwhelming to me. Therefore, we are doing certain things to help us save for our next cars so that we have a lot of the money that we need to buy them.

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Research Your Benefits During Open Enrollment with Aflac
October 28, 2015

Research Your Benefits During Open Enrollment with Aflac

This post is sponsored by Aflac. I was compensated for writing it, but all opinions are 100% mine. Do you know what Aflac is? I learned all about it at my last job where many of my co-workers used Aflac. They would talk about it often so I ended up researching it myself. Aflac is a company that gives you insurance for health care. You pay a certain amount of money into it from your paycheck and then if you have a health issue such as a hospital stay, you can get money back to help pay for your medical bills. Since health care is very expensive, this can be a great option.

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How to Save Money on Clothing
August 22, 2015

How to Save Money on Clothing

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I love to save money. I shop second hand for a lot of items, use coupons and rebates and shop for sales. My favorite grocery store is Aldi which has great prices. I shop at a fruit and vegetable market that has better deals than any other I know, etc. I love to save money on bills too. We don't have cable. We have our car insurance at the lowest cost we could find with still decent coverage. We turn off the lights and use energy efficient products. These are just some examples of the ways that we save money. Something that you may not know about me is that I love to shop. Although I like to save money, I also love clothes, shoes, home decor and more. To be able to regularly fit these items in my budget, I use a couple techniques that save me money. 1. Shop the sales - I pretty much never look at items that are full priced so that I do not tempt myself. I love browsing clearance racks and have found most of my clot...

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How to Save Money This Summer
July 01, 2015

How to Save Money This Summer

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #Save4Summer #CollectiveBias Ahh the summer. My favorite time of year. The weather is gorgeous and there is so much to do. The problem with that is a lot of these things to do can cost a lot of money. I love to save money. It is one of my passions and I have a zillion tips and tricks that I use to save money so that I can spend money on the things that I want to spend my money on. Here are some of my favorite tips and tricks to save money this summer: 1. Find free things to do We have a local riverwalk, pool, and different places to go that are absolutely free but still a great time. Find beaches to walk on, free summer concerts, inexpensive festivals, etc. For the 4th of July, we are going to free fireworks and a free Tim McGraw impersonator concert. I suggest searching for free things to do in your area for some ideas. If you are local to Michigan, I highly sugg...

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Tips to Save for Your First Home
May 25, 2015

Tips to Save for Your First Home

Right after I turned 22 and Troy was 27, we purchased our first home. The market was right, it was time for us to move across the state and we found the perfect house. Buying a home takes planning, budgeting and saving. We saved for years before we purchased our first home. Here are some of our tips of how we saved for our first home : 1. Keep monthly costs low I recently posted about " How to Lower Your Monthly Costs " which included many of our tips. When you are spending more than you should on something like cable and do not get full use out of it, it is like throwing money away. Do what you can to reduce these costs and you will automatically have more money to save for a down payment on a home. Spot the baby! 2. Don't buy all new furniture When many people buy a home, they go out right away and purchase new furniture for the whole house. This either eats away at the amount of money that can be used for a down payment for a home or racks...

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How to Increase Financial Literacy + Reduce Debt
April 28, 2015

How to Increase Financial Literacy + Reduce Debt

"Financial literacy  is the ability to understand how money works in the world: how someone manages to earn or make it, how that person manages it, how he/she invests it (turn it into more) and how that person donates it to help others"- via Wikipedia. Financial literacy is something that is very important to me. From an early age, my parents taught me to be money savvy. I was given an allowance, taught to save, taught to shop deals, etc. This is something that I use in my everyday life and am so happy to know.  Due to being financially savvy, we have been able to pay off all of our outstanding student loan debt ($34,000!) which we are so proud of.  This money did not come from earning a ton- in fact, not at all. This money came from limiting unnecessary expenses such as expensive dinners out, salon appointments, spending on designer clothes, etc.  We were able to pay off our debt quickly by focusing on our overall goal which was to pay off our debt....

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16 Easy Ways to Start Being Green
April 06, 2015

16 Easy Ways to Start Being Green

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NaturalGoodness #CollectiveBias April is Earth Month and Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd. As the wife of an Earth Science teacher, this day is something that is much talked about and is something that my husband gets excited for. We are always trying new ways to be green- partially to help out the environment and partially to help save money and be healthier. Here are some of our easy tips to start being green: 1. Buy reusable beverage cups - Buying a reusable coffee mug and water bottle can help you save money and stop a lot of waste. When you drink a few water bottles per day, this savings can add up. When you throw a bunch of water bottles or coffee cups away, this creates a lot of unnecessary waste. 2.  Use simple household cleaners - I am pretty new to this one but so far, we love using vinegar for cleaning. My tip is to clean the microwave,...

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