Traveling to the city and afraid of the costs of your hotel room? There are plenty of ways to find inexpensive accommodations, especially if you know the less common strategies. As someone who grew up in the city and travel back to it often, I have first hand experience getting good deals. Here are some of my tips. Go Off the Beaten Path Sometimes just a block or two away from a popular spot will decrease your hotel bill by hundreds. Find a nice place to stay that isn’t on a popular street or area. Most hotels in a city … Continue reading →

Vacation season is almost here, but it isn’t too late to implement the following strategies in order to save money on your next vacation. Image saving hundreds of dollars! There is no excuse not to try the following. It could wind up costing you less and making your vacation that much more restful. 1. Plan Ahead If you can only do one thing to save money on your vacation, then it has to be this one, plan ahead. By planning your vacation months or even years in advance, you can save in a number of ways. First of all, you … Continue reading →

Isn’t it amazing how much craft kits cost these days. A bucket of foam crafts costs about $8 at the regular price. I admit that I do occasionally buy these kits anyway, because they are so convenient. Most of the time, though, I try to prepare my own craft kits ahead of time, especially when I need a bunch of craft kits for a group of kids in school or in church. My own kids enjoy putting crafts together as well. Preparing my own craft kits really has saved me money. This week, I’m sharing some of my favorite ideas … Continue reading →

I admit that if I’m not careful, I can spend a fortune on kid’s craft kits, especially around the holidays. Not only are they fun for my own kids, but they are easy to take to group events, such as the class Christmas party or church group. Fortunately, I’ve learned that I can save money by preparing my own Christmas craft kits for the kids. Yesterday, I shared an idea for creating a craft kit for making an angel ornament. It was one of the biggest hits at our Christmas festival this past weekend. Variety, though is important, so it … Continue reading →

While foam crafts and pre-made Christmas kits are fun, the cost of all of those supplies can really add up. Fortunately, there are many fun Christmas crafts that you prepare ahead of time for kids. These do it yourself kits can be given as gifts, used as group crafts or just enjoyed with your kids at home. I know about preparing kid’s Christmas kits first hand, thanks to our annual Christmas festival at our church. We prepare different craft kits that can be used by the children in the Sunday School, in SuperChurch, in the preschool and during the three … Continue reading →

This summer, we can challenge ourselves to keep the kids (and the whole family actually) entertained with things that don’t cost anything (or at least very little). Here is what we have come up with so far… Because of the holiday, there was a lot to do this weekend. Today, we attended our town’s Fourth of July festivities. First there was the parade. My husband and my oldest son rode their bikes, while the rest of us cheered. The little kids got to catch candy thrown from the parade floats. Afterward, there were games and prizes offered for the kids, … Continue reading →

I enjoy finding new activities for us to do as a family that are low cost or even free. I was recently reminded of a great source of free family activities: school! Your local public and private schools may offer a lot of different fun activities that don’t cost much or even anything at all. For example, in the newsletter that my son brought home from elementary school on Friday, there was a notice about a weeknight concert. A famous author and story teller is giving the community a night of entertainment through his stories. This is a great opportunity … Continue reading →

Tuesday is going to be a big late afternoon/evening for us. Normally, we rush through Tuesday afternoons, but this time we will get to do something special, and our cost will be only $7.99. My husband is going to be working from home that day, so he won’t have the extra time it takes to commute home. Because he starts early in the morning, he’ll be done with work by 4 p.m., the time that the school bus arrives carrying our eldest child. We’ll zip off to the library, where my son and his younger sister can get some free … Continue reading →