Living Well, Without the Spending

Many believe that to live well, they have to spend big. So, what do they do? They spend, and they spend, and they spend some more. Yes, they live well, but for ten times the amount they needed to spend to do so. They need not spend that much. You need not spend that much, either. You need not break the bank or burn a hole in your pocket to live well. Want to know how? Well, make sure to read on.

  

Don’t miss a deal

To live well without spending, you have to know how to spot the latest deals. You have to be able to get the item you want or need for half the price you would usually pay for it, and you have to spot deals to do it.

When it comes to deal spotting, you should always look for retailers that pride themselves on offering you the chance to find the best price. You should also look out for those that are willing to price match, or even beat, their competitors. These are the retailers that offer the best deals, and they should be the ones you look to take your business to. Deals are always out there; a quick Google search will tell you that. They’re out there and waiting, and it’s down to you to find them and then take advantage of them.

Save your bonuses

The bonuses you get on top of your paycheck, whether accumulated through extra hours or gifted for hard work, should be saved if you want to live well but spend less. You should save them because they are not a part of the monetary package you need to get by in life. Thus, there is no need to spend them. When you don’t spend your bonuses, and you instead stash them away, you build for yourself a healthy ‘rainy day’ fund, and that fund will prove pivotal in you saving money in the long run.

Make sure there is a use for every inch in your house

You may believe that you need a big house to live well. Well, you don’t. You don’t need to have a big, fancy mansion to be living well, and don’t you ever forget it. If you were to live in a big house and were then guilty of not making use of every inch the house offered, then you would be wasting money. And, wasting money is the enemy of spending well! So, if you need to downsize to pay for a house that you can afford with comfort, and thus not waste any money on, then do it. When you do, you’ll have less to clean, as well, so it’s a win-win!

  

Living well does not have to equate to spending big. You can live your life, and you can be happy and comfortable when you do, by spending way less than you think you need to. So, start tightening those purse strings of yours and start living without the spending.

Modern Kitchen Design: What are the Best Kitchen Gadgets for a Healthier Lifestyle?

Eating healthy may not be the easiest task, but it is very rewarding. If you want to eat healthy foods, you should make a habit of preparing your own food at home. Think about it: if you don’t prepare your own food, aren’t you more likely to eat out or order food in? And isn’t that food likely to be highly processed or fat- filled? Over the long haul, how close will you be to attaining your goal of eating healthy?

If you are to prepare more foods at home, you should have gadgets that make cooking easy. There are countless gadgets that can do amazing things in your kitchen. Some will even make you look forward to making your own meals.

 Here are a few kitchen gadgets that you should consider investing in if you are to have a healthy lifestyle:

1.       Vitamix Blenders

Fruit juices and green smoothies are the epitome of healthy living. Not only are they full of nutrients, but using them as a meal replacement can work wonders for your weight loss goals. Vitamix blenders will prove to be invaluable in helping you make smoothies and other juices. The blenders are powerful and extremely easy to use. Better still, they can be used to make anything, from salad dressings to pesto to dips to even nut butters. You can even use the blender to prepare your vegetable- based soups. Amazing, isn’t it?

The blenders are some of the most durable kitchen gadgets. They will serve you for years. Additionally, they are exceptionally reliable. On the downside, they are a bit too pricey. But you can rest assured that they are worth every last coin you spend on them.

2.       Knife Sets

Knives are indispensable in any kitchen. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to prepare any one meal without using a knife? And because they are so important, it is important that you have a quality set of knives in your kitchen at all times.

But what exactly defines quality in a knife? First, a good knife should have a good handle. This means that the handle should provide a firm grip for users. The knife should also feel balanced when held. The knife should also be sharp enough to cut nearly anything. Of course you will have to sharpen even the sharpest knives at some point, but they should be reasonably sharp when you buy them.

The best kitchen knife set should also be versatile. Can the knives be used to chop and dice vegetables as well as to cut meat? Can they be used by left- handed people just as they can be used by right- handed people? How durable are they? Do they come with a warranty? If the answers to these questions are yes, then by all means go ahead and acquire the knife set. It will prove to be a worthwhile investment.

3.       Instant Pot

Ever since they were launched, instant pots have been all the rage. Many people rave on and on about the benefits of these pots. You should try them yourself to experience their magic. Instant pots are virtually multi-purpose pots that can work as a steamer, rice cooker, pressure cooker or even a slow cooker.

For those who are always busy and short on time, these pots are a godsend. All you have to do is toss your ingredients in the pot and wait for them to get cooked. You will be alerted once your meals are ready, so you can do other things while your food is cooking. The pots also cook food faster than ordinary cookers, which saves you plenty of money over time.

4.       Mini-stand Mixers

If you don’t yet own a mixer because of lack of space, mini-stand mixers are a perfect solution to your problem. As the name implies, these are extremely small and exceedingly powerful. In fact, besides their compactness, they are really no different from ordinary mixers.

If you wish to make cooking easy, you should invest in good, quality, time-saving gadgets. An instant pot for instance will make it extremely easy to prepare healthy meals. Good, quality knives make cooking a breeze, while a good blender encourages you to eat healthy. If your kitchen is not particularly big, then a mini-stand mixer will come in handy as it is extremely small. Be sure to try out these gadgets. You will not regret it.

Nail Art for Kids

Nail art has gained global prominence and it is common among all age groups. As attractive as it is to see a woman’s nails painted in beautiful colors, so it is to see a baby with its tiny fingers and toes beam with sweeter colors.

We all know those super-cool moms who put in extra effort to create a lovely masterpiece on their kids’ fingernails.

Image credit: Pinterest

Some would rather stay away from beautifying their kids because of the possibility of hurting them. But who said you can’t keep the little ones stylish without harming them? Children, babies most especially, are used to putting whatever comes their way into the mouth. If you’ve never had a baby, you must have noticed one. Ever tried holding a baby’s hand? The next thing you see is a little hand trying to pull yours into its mouth. Their flexibility even allows them pull their toes towards the oral region. This is not strange at all; babies are just programmed that way.

How about kids who are a bit grown? They also fall victim to ingesting these harmful substances while eating their favorite snacks or licking chocolate off their fingers. So, it is absolutely unavoidable to keep nail polish from getting into your kids’ gastrointestinal system. To do things the right way, check out this list which contains nontoxic nail polish for babies. Now we can look at the various fun and cool nail art options your kids can wear.

·         Superheroes

Image credit: Pinterest

This totally depends on which superheroes your kids love to watch. Are they Marvel fans or DC’s or even both? The Avengers is a legion of heroes who are indomitable and DC is filled with amazing characters. This would help your kids identify their strengths in an absolutely fun way.

·         Cartoon Characters

Kids would flip for these endless list of designs. SpongeBob and Patrick? Smurfs? Minions? Pokemon Pikachu? Angry Birds? Frog Prince? I told you the list is endless.

·         Emojis

Wouldn’t it be great to put a smile on your little boys’ and girls’ faces with a smiley face? There are a number of hilarious emojis you can explore too. Good luck!

·         The Animal Kingdom

If you are lucky to have an animal loving family and you don’t want to stop at visiting the zoo on weekends, then this is just right for your kids. You never know how much fun it would be for them to have it at their fingertips. This nail art idea is very astonishing and is sure to make your kids happy.

·         Fruities

Fresh fruits nail designs are never out of season, for kids most especially. You can design those tiny nails with fruits that match the season. For instance, red apples and watermelons for summer and the likes. It is cute to stick to a particular fruit while painting the nails, however, creating some kind of fruit salad is cuter.

We hope you make your children happier with these ideas you’ve just learned.

Summer of Productivity and Organization #1: Hand-me-Down Clothing Boxes

Welcome to the Summer of Productivity and Organization!

Your first assignment is to knock out the hand-me-down monster!*

I don't know about you, but I LOVE hand-me-downs. I love the money it has saved me over the years! With three boys and two girls, passing clothing down from older to younger is just smart. And whenever my sister-in-law asks me if I'd like the clothing from her kids (both older than mine), I always jump at the offer!

Also over the years since my kids were very little, I have always said yes to any clothing anyone wanted to bestow upon me. Everyone is always so gracious and they say, "If you sort through and don't want something, just pass it on to the next person or donate it to a thrift store." And I have.

The problem:

1. Too many hand-me-downs that I don't want to process because thinking of what sizes my kids might be in the future makes my brain shut down. 
2. Wasting time digging through things, never remembering what was in which box.
3. Not being able to find what I wanted and giving up and just buying new stuff.
4. The result was wasted money.

The solution:
The Hand-Me-Down Clothing box.

You might say, "Big deal. I always toss our hand-me-downs in a box in the basement or storage room." Well, it IS a big deal because I took the time to actually sort through every piece of clothing, decided what to keep (Sam is a slim guy so I got rid of all the baggy pants I knew he'd hate), and then typed up a list and printed it out. The list contains the brand, color and size and anything special, like if they are cargo pants versus regular pants. Then I put it in a page protector and packing taped it to the box. Then it went on a nice, organized shelf in the storage room of my new home.

Tip: Make sure you don't tape the top of the page protector so you can pull out the page and make changes to it over the years ... or entirely revamp it depending on what you get rid of and acquire and how old your kids are now. My youngest child is 8, so this entire box is pretty much stuff that's saved for him.

The result so far that I've seen in my home is a lot of money and time saved shopping. My middle son needed shorts for a week of camp and had maybe one pair that would work. They would not be doing laundry there. I raided the hand-me-down clothing situation in the storage room and tossed a bunch of shorts at him that his cousin had just sent over via his mom. Several of them fit and he's all set for summer now. When he's done with them, they'll likely go into the box of too-big clothing for his little brother.

*Yes, I do remember what it was like to have tiny ones and to never want to get rid of their clothing. I kept tiny clothes far too long. Your nostalgia fades a little bit each year until you realize you don't need to keep that onesie with yellow stains, that you can make a quilt (or pay to have one made or ask a family member to make you one for Christmas) out of the clothing, that others would love to be blessed with your hand-me-downs, and that ... if you have another baby anyway ... baby clothes will be showered upon you in droves in the form of new and hand-me-down clothing and blankets. Save a few special things for a potential new baby and call it good. Leave some new memories for the new kid ;-)

Your other assignments:
#2 Entertaining Box

Co-op Class Binder and Bag (coming soon!)
Homeschool Binders (coming soon!)
Homeschool Bookshelf (coming soon!)
Homeschool Closet (coming soon!)
Writing Crate (coming soon!)

How to keep your pet away from nicotine and its dangerous effects

Our pet is like a family member, so we only want what’s best for it. We wouldn’t want to harm it intentionally, but sometimes we do it without realizing. One of the biggest threats to our pets’ health and safety is our nicotine addiction. Smoking classical or e-cigarettes near a dog, cat, fish or any other friend from the animal kingdom means actually poisoning that creature.

Nicotine is dangerous for every living being, not just for humans. There are many ways in which the substance can get into our pet’s system, but you should know that every time you use classical or e-cigarettes near it you are one step closer to harming it. Nicotine and pets simply don’t get along and if you are not careful, you might have to choose between your friend and cigarettes.

Alarming symptoms

If you notice that you pet is vomiting, has diarrhea, is trembling, drooling or hyper-salivating, has an unusual behavior, doesn’t want to play with children or has seizures, remember if you smoked or vaped near it. If you did, nicotine intoxication is, most probably the cause, so you should take immediate action unless you don’t want to lose it. You read it well – pets might lose their life as a result of nicotine poisoning.

How can animals be exposed to this hazard

The dangerous substance can get into the animals’ system the same way it gets into a human body. The difference is that the impact is far more severe in what pets are concerned. Next, let’s see how animals can end up intoxicated by nicotine.

• By chewing and snuffing tobacco. In case this happens, you should get professional help from a licensed veterinarian or Animal Poison Control (ASPCA);
• Shisha Tobacco tastes sweet and it can have different flavours. If it leaks somewhere, pets might be tempted to lick it and this would be very harmful for them. If you notice any of the symptoms mentioned before, call a vet immediately;
• Dissolvable tobacco should be kept away from reach of children and pets;
• Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs) mean different products which contain nicotine in various quantities: patches, gum, inhalers, nasal sprays and others. Of course, some of them are flavoured, so if a pet reaches them, it will lick or chew them. If this happens, a vet will tell you what to do;
• Kreteks (also known as Cloves) can kill your pet, so be very careful when you use them. Don’t think that your dog cannot eat a whole clove cigarette;
• Pipe Tobacco or Loose Leaf can be chewed by dogs, ferret or Guinea Pig;
• E-juice or e-liquid for vaping comes in recipients that can be chewed by dogs. Also, if they get a hold of your PV (Personal Vaporizer) that can intoxicate with the liquids found there;
• Second and third hand smoking or vaporising will affect pets in more serious matter. If they inhale the smoke, the intoxication will be severe. Call your vet as soon as you notice any of the described symptoms.

In all cases, don’t induce vomiting, because the process can be even more traumatizing than the intoxication. You should do that only in the extreme case when you cannot reach a vet on time. As we can conclude, smoking is bad for our health, so smokers should protect those around them more unless they decide to quit smoking.