money saving tips

Low-Cost Family Time

September 2, 2022 by Rachel 2 Comments

Since we became parents, Chad and I have made it a point to take the kids on solo adventures with us. With the big kids (finally) going back to school last week, we’ve taken full advantage of spending a little bit of solo time with our littlest one. With three kids, dining out can easily break the bank. But it doesn’t have to! We have low-cost family time thanks to Bob Evans Restaurants.

Be Sunrise Savers

Although Bob Evans offers lunch and dinner items, we really love their breakfast foods. As hard as I try, I cannot master an over-medium egg the way that the kitchen team at Bob Evans can. Trust me, I’ve tried (and failed)!

Taking Mila to Bob Evans was the natural choice when we decided to take her to breakfast. The new Sunrise Savers menu features items like their famous Buttermilk Hotcakes, Sausage Gravy & Biscuits, Banana Berry Oatmeal, and The Classic Breakfast (and more!) ranging from $4.99 to $7.99. It helps us put more on our table for less! Which is a great thing for families, big and small.

We were able to fill our plates (and our bellies) for so much less than we would elsewhere. And the food was incredible, as usual.**

So when a picky little eater (Miss Mila) decided she didn’t want her original order, I knew it wouldn’t break the bank to order her something else. And, heck! Her Sausage Gravy and Biscuits didn’t go to waste (thank you, leftovers!).

Low-Cost, Big Memories

I sometimes question if these little moments make a difference. But Mila talked about our breakfast at her favorite restaurant all week. She made her siblings a little jealous, but with such great prices, we will be able to take the other two out on their family dates soon enough.

I know the importance of these little moments. They turn into big memories. And I’m so happy we’re creating them with our kids.

Head to this link to see the full lineup of Sunrise Savers menu items. And tell me — what do you like to do with your kids to make them feel special?!

**Note: Strawberries on top of pancakes are an extra charge.

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Investing in their future on 5/29 Day

May 25, 2021 by Rachel 18 Comments

If the last year and a half has taught us anything, it’s taught us that education and educators are a completely undervalued resource. In the last year, I went from being a preschool gymnastic instructor and heavily involved in our schools PTA; to being the sole educator for my children. And I’m not alone. As we approach the end of another school year, I want to reflect on how far we have come. But also, how we can look ahead by investing in their future on 529 Day (May 29!).

Education is multi-faceted

Education happens in so many ways. During this crazy time I’ve come to realize that our children are so resilient. Not only does their education come in so many forms, but they are able to learn even in the hardest of times. Playing outdoors, making kitchen science experiments, and even planting a garden are incredible ways of learning. My 8-year-old is even using digital ‘camps’ to learn new skills, like coding.

We’ve also gone way outside of the box by scheduling at-home animal visits! Regardless of how your children are learning, their education doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, many of those hands-on learning skills will be incredibly helpful in their higher education.

Two-Year, Four-Year, or technical school?

My kids are still relatively young. My 8-year-old still wants to code for a job. But my 5-year-old wants to be a princess. I know that as their schooling continues, they will develop new interests. And, whether they choose a 4-year, 2-year, or technical school, they will be set because we invested in Ohio’s 529 Plan for each of them.

A 529 Savings Plan is a lot like a 401k. It’s an easy, tax-friendly way to save for your children’s higher education. Ohio’s 529 Plan can be used across the country for 2-year and 4-year programs as well as technical schools. Fun fact: Ohio’s 529 Plans can be used to fund your education nationwide — not just in the state of Ohio. And withdrawals from your plan are tax free when used for eligible education expenses.

INVEST IN YOUR CHILD’S FUTURE WITH OHIO’S 529 PLAN on 529 Day

May 29th, or “529 Day,” is a day to highlight the importance of higher education. Regardless of your child’s age, opening an account with Ohio’s 529 Plan right now is the perfect way to invest in their future education. And there are so many reasons not to wait.

Using the College Saving Planner you can see how an investment of any amount today can truly help cover the cost of schooling later! Additionally, the Cost of Waiting Tool will help you figure out how much money you’ll need to save the longer you wait to start. So whether or not they still want to go into coding or become a lawyer, you’ll be in a much better financial position to help them succeed with higher education.

IT’S SO EASY TO GET STARTED

There are only a few things you truly need to start Ohio’s 529 plan.

Your ID, social security number, telephone number, address, your date of birth, and your mothers maiden name.
The telephone number, social security number, address, and date of birth of your successor (someone to take over the account should something happen to you).
And lastly, the date of birth, telephone number, address, and social security number of the person you’re saving for.

That’s it. Easy peasy, right? Exactly.

So why not take this change in season to reevaluate the future of your children’s education. Open an Ohio 529 Plan today!

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Flexitarian Meals are simple with Marie Callender’s from Walmart

October 20, 2020 by Rachel 19 Comments

My husband and I have made responsible choices for our purchases and would often make vegetarian dishes to reduce meat consumption. But, upon having kids, something changed. Our dedication to make flexitarian choices seemed even more important because our decisions directly impact our kids. But life gets busy. And meals from scratch get more difficult (especially on the weeknights). But flexitarian meals are simple with Marie Callender’s Chick’n Pot Pie made with Gardein Plant-Based Chick’n from Walmart.

Flexitarian Meals are simple with Marie Callender's from Walmart

What is Flexitarian?

A flexitarian is considered someone who follows a less-strict form of vegetarianism. Personally, I just really enjoy meat-free meals!

Why Marie Callender’s?

I grew up eating Marie Callender’s Pot Pies. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. And Marie Callender’s Chick’n Pot Pie made with Gardein Plant-Based Chick’n is my go-to for that comfort food feeling. It’s made with the same golden, flaky, crust you know and love. But with Gardein Plant-Based Chick’n!

Flexitarian Meals are simple with Marie Callender's

Marie Callender’s Chick’n Pot Pie made with Gardein Plant-Based Chick’n is a regular family favorite in our house. My kids have no idea they are eating Gardein Plant-Based Chick’n. Plus they’re getting all of the veggies they need.

Flexitarian on a budget?

With three kids and two adults to feed, a flexitarian meal plan can easily go over budget. But it doesn’t have to. In fact, I work our flexitarian meals into our regular shopping from Walmart Grocery Pickup and we stay well within our grocery budget. It’s true! The Walmart frozen section is actually full of vegetarian, dairy-free, and flexitarian meals to satisfy the whole family.

Tips for Specialty Diet Shopping at Walmart

If you’re on the fence, add a couple of these to your next Walmart grocery pick up order and try them for yourself. I think you’ll be surprised at how much it tastes like the ‘real’ thing. And who knows! Perhaps you’ll be ready to try out the flexitarian lifestyle, too!

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Tips for Specialty Diet Shopping at Walmart

October 8, 2020 by Rachel 8 Comments

bit.ly/3kSzTsOWhen I first became I mom I truly thought I was prepared for everything. I naively thought that sleep issues would be the hardest. Sure, sleep issues were (and are still) difficult. But what really threw me off was finding out that all three of them had dairy intolerances. I had to get inventive with the food we were all eating. I’m going to share all of my tips for specialty diet shopping at Walmart.

Yep, believe it or not, you can do all of your regular shopping and specialty food shopping at Walmart. Here’s how to save money and find all of your favorites at Walmart.

Do your research

I know so many people who think to themselves, “I could never be dairy free / vegan / flexitarian because I’m too busy to make meals from scratch.” Newsflash: there are plenty of ready-made options for you to choose from. Companies like Marie Callender’s, Amy’s Kitchen, Good Food Made Simple, and So Delicious make it easy to grab-and-go for the whole family. And, yep — they can all be found in your Walmart freezer section.

Don’t get overwhelmed

For many people, trying to dive into a specialty diet can seem overwhelming. Want to try and cut out meat? Do it! But that doesn’t mean you have to eat only raw veggies. Meat free options have come a long way in recent years. For instance, Marie Callender’s famous pot pies are now available with Gardein Plant-Based Chick’n! So you’ll get the same flavors you know and love, with the perfect meat substitute. Of course having veggies as a side is always a good idea. But, at least with these feel-good and convenient items, you can feel less overwhelmed about the changes you’re making in your food choices.

My kids don’t even know that their Good Food Made Simple French Toast is whole-grain. They just love the flavors! The Cauliflower Kung Pao is also gluten-free. And don’t even tell them my secret about Amy’s Kitchen Pizza (shhh — it’s made with a veggie crust!) or Amy’s Mac N 3 Cheese with Cauliflower!

Enjoy a stress-free dessert

Once you start looking at food labels, you’ll find that many of the items you *thought* were off limits actually are not. When the kids and I went dairy-free, I was really worried about dessert options. Ice cream is a go-to for most kids (and adults). These days the options for dairy-free desserts are endless. Our go-to frozen snack are the So Delicious® Dairy Free Salted Caramel Frozen Dessert Bars from Walmart. Super creamy, flavorful, and you would never even guess they don’t contain dairy!

Save money whenever possible

Going vegan, dairy free, or even as meat-free doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, I do all of our weekly shopping with Walmart.com and use their convenient pickup options. That way we always have our favorite pizza’s, snacks, and dinners without breaking the bank.

Tell me — what’s your favorite way to save money with Walmart on your specialty food items?

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PIN ME - I'm going to share all of my tips for specialty diet shopping at Walmart. Yep all of these are from Walmart! #ad #meatless #amyskitchen

Back to school with an Ohio 529 Plan

October 5, 2020 by Rachel 24 Comments

Back to school season is in full swing across the country. Things may look a little different this year, but some things will always stay the same. One of those things that is always the same is this: we can prepare our children for the future starting now. This back to school season I’m doing what we always do — investing in an Ohio 529 Plan.

What is an Ohio 529 Plan?

Why now?

I used to be one of those people who would only (and could only) think about the here and now. But having kids changes a person. Now I can barely make it through a day without thinking about their futures and how I want to do everything in my power to set them up for success.

Whether your child is sixteen or 1, you can take steps today to prepare for their future education — even if you have no idea what that higher education may look like! By using this, you can calculate see how inaction can negatively impact your higher education finances. You don’t need to have a massive amount of money to get yourself started, so why wait?

How to get started

It’s honestly super easy to get started to open an Ohio 529 Plan. Here’s what you’ll need:

Your ID, social security number, telephone number, address, your date of birth, and your mothers maiden name.
The telephone number, social security number, address, and date of birth of your successor (someone to take over the account should something happen to you).
And lastly, the date of birth, telephone number, address, and social security number of the person you’re saving for.

So why not take this change in season to reevaluate the future of your children’s education. Open an Ohio 529 Plan today!

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How Lexington Law is Helping Me Recover My Credit

September 30, 2020 by Rachel 20 Comments

I remember my Senior Year of high school like it was yesterday. The excitement and anticipation of what was to come was a total rush! At the time, every impressionable adult in my life urged me to go to college, despite being ‘undecided’ on a major. My guidance counselor urged me and my parents to take out student loans because, in her words, the return on the investment would be worth it. And interest rates were so low, right?! Well, that’s not exactly true. But even years after my college graduation, Lexington Law is helping recover my credit from student loan debt.

ABOUT LEXINGTON LAW

I’ve talked in great detail about my credit journey. Well, I’ve been a college graduate for nearly 14 years, and I am embarrassed by the amount of student loan debt still looming over me. Despite making monthly payments on all of my student loans, I could never seem to get ahead. Did you know that despite the ‘low interest rates’ your actual amount due over the principal will grow and grow and grow?! It’s honestly insane how much money I was throwing away towards interest.

How Lexington Law is Helping Me Recover My Credit

That’s where Lexington Law comes in. As a law firm, they have actual lawyers to drive the credit repair process and intervene as needed. They take questionable negative items, which are things in your credit history that could lower your score, and they challenge them.

Lexington Law are trusted leaders in credit repair for a reason. They use a three-step process which is proven to help repair credit. The first step is to analyze your report to identify any questionable negatives impacting your score. The second step is to address these items by challenging them with creditors. And the third step is to accelerate by keeping the process going to get individual clients to their goals!

HOW TO GET STARTED

When you first call Lexington Law, a credit advisor will pull a TransUnion Summary Report and FICO Score for free. While it only shows the first 5 of your negative items, it’s enough to get an idea of where you stand credit-wise and how it’s impacting your current situation.

From there, should you decide to use Lexington Laws services, you’ll be charged a one-time fee of $14.99 to pull all of your reports and histories. From there you’ll be charged a “First Work Fee”. This First Work Fee helps get your case started. Their advisors will start analyzing reports and start the credit repair process.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO USE LEXINGTON LAW

As a young 17-year-old headed off to college, I had no idea how those massive student loans would haunt me for years to come. But calling Lexington Law has helped me go from feeling defeated to feeling hopeful. Now there’s a plan in place and I have trusted leaders on my side. And now I spend less time worrying, and more time with my family.

So call Lexington Law today and kickstart your credit repair journey. Because your credit is not written in stone!

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