family – Page 21 – Luv Saving Money

5 Ways To Save Money On Your Family RV Road Trip

If you’re a frugal person and if you’re planning a family RV road or camping trip, you’ll
probably find this article to be of much use to you.
Even though an RV trip should be cheaper in contrast to other travel options (such as flying and
staying in hotel rooms), that doesn’t mean that it’s an inexpensive endeavor. On the contrary, it
still is expensive.
Fortunately, there are a variety of methods you can use to save money on any RV road or
camping trip, and by using more than just one of these methods your savings can really add up to
a significant amount.

Here are five ways you can save money on your family RV road trip:

1 – Actually Plan Ahead
There’s just no better money saving tip than this one: actually plan ahead. Those who plan ahead
have much greater odds of saving cash versus those who just rent the first RVs or campgrounds
they see.
This means actually doing your research and learning about every RV that is available to rent so
you can compare rates. The same goes for renting campgrounds. A seemingly minuscule
difference of ten or fifteen dollars for daily rent can really add up, especially if your trip is going
to be a long one.

2 – Travel During Shoulder Season
‘Shoulder season’ simply refers to the time of year when travel costs, including rent and fuel,
tend to be much lower. It’s also known as the ‘off season.’ As an added bonus, you’ll also have
to contend with smaller crowds, which can always help make your trip more enjoyable.
Examples of shoulder season include late spring or early fall, when the large crowds are less
likely to travel than they are during the summer. Yes, this means that the weather may not be
quite as nice, through it may be worth to you if it means saving a lot of money.

3 – Avoid RV Parks and Campgrounds
Who says you have to stay at RV parks and campgrounds? Not only are RV parks often very
busy, which means you may not get all the privacy you desire, they also cost money.
A night at a decent RV parks with amenities such as laundry and Wi-Fi should cost between $30
to $50 a night. That’s cheaper than most hotel rooms, but it’s still an expense that can add up. A
week long stay at a RV park priced at $35 a night will cost you $245, for example.

In contrast to this, boon-docking (or parking your RV on public parks outside of RV parks)
doesn’t cost you anything. Sure, you don’t get all of the same luxuries that certain RV parks
come with, but what you do get is more space alone to yourself and possibly several hundred
dollars of saved cash in your wallet. Is it worth it? That’s up to you.

4 – Don’t Eat Out (At Least Not Often)
Eating out constantly is one of those seemingly harmless expenses that can really start to add up.
If you’re serious about saving money on your trip, then bringing your own food and preparing it
in the kitchen your RV provides you with will be a much more cost efficient option.
Not only that, but you can also prepare foods that are already cheaper to make. For example, it’s
probably cheaper to make chili and soup that feeds everyone versus making cheeseburgers for
each individual person.

5 – Compare Fuel Stations
Fuel is one of the largest expenses of any RV trip and you simply can’t avoid the fact that
motorhomes are not the most fuel efficient vehicles on the planet.
But what you can avoid is paying for fuel at a gas station that is priced higher than another gas
station just around the corner.
When the time comes to fuel up, use a fuel app to research all fuel stations within a certain mile
radius. Even if the difference between stations is only one to two cents a gallon, that can really
add up when you consider the fact that RV’s hold a lot of gallons (as in around a hundred and
fifty on average)

Saving Money On Your Family Trip
These are just a handful of the ways you can save money on your RV trip. Using each of these
methods together, you should easily be able to save several hundred dollars, if not over a
thousand, for the trip.

Guest Post by Susan Melony

British Soccer Camp Coupon Code There’s One In Your Area!

British Soccer Camps are the most popular soccer camp in the US. With an innovative curriculum that develops skills, speed and confidence in players ages 3-18, The British Soccer Camp provide boys and girls with the rare opportunity to receive high-level soccer coaching from a team of international expert’s right in the heart of their own community. In addition to teaching new skills and improving game performance, each British Soccer Camp provides lessons in character development, cultural education and is the most fun your child can have learning the sport they love!

Enroll in the most popular soccer camp in North America! British Soccer Camps have programs for all ages and abilities and feature an innovative curriculum full of skills, drills, and thrills! Register now and you will not only get your free British Soccer game jersey (value $34.95) shipped to you for free immediately, but you will also get our brand new skill development App and 20 videos to help your child practice at home. Your soccer ball, T-shirt & poster will be given out at camp. USE CODE BSC18 at check out to get free shipping.
To Enroll: https://www.challengersports.com/british-soccer/

My youngest son is really into soccer. He said to me “Mom I think soccer is my sport”. I’m glad. I played soccer for a few years when I was younger too so I understand the game and feel like I can help him a bit. I think the British Soccer Camp will be an amazing opportunity for my son to hone in some skills. Not to mention getting him active and out of the house over the summer.

PlateJoy is the meal planning service I never knew I needed until now

This post is sponsored by Platejoy. any opinions expressed are my own

I’m a mom of 4 busy kids and I also happen to work outside my home as well. The idea of having a home cooked meal ready everyday was almost alien to me. My typical day starts at 7 am and doesn’t end until about 10 pm. There are days where it’s not quite as hectic so I do make a good home cooked meal. Other days it was usually spaghetti, pizza, chicken nuggets, whatever I could throw together quickly.

Then Platejoy fell in my lap. Honestly, I didn’t expect much. I figured, if nothing else, maybe I’d get a few new meal ideas. I didn’t know that I would use it consistently. Then I registered and got started and my mind changed about meal planning services.

Platejoy customizes your meal plan to you and your family. You can customize by family size and it gives you the right ingredient amount, you can exclude ingredients you know you don’t use, you can choose a specific diet such as gluten-free, diabetic, keto, kosher, etc. You can exclude allergen ingredients, you can even choose how many meals you want Platejoy to plan for a week. Maybe you only want 2 meals because you have the rest covered. Maybe you want a new recipe every day.

Another thing I liked was that you can purposely choose to have a recipe that will make extra for leftovers. I totally chose this option. Because on those crazy days I NEED this option. The recipes are not difficult at all. The first one I made was a batch recipe: Cheesy chicken broccoli quinoa casserole. No it didn’t look exactly like the picture but it was good. And the recipe made A LOT. It made plenty for my family of 6 and a bunch more for leftovers.

There was easy lunch recipes like the avocado, black bean, and rice burrito. So simple but so good. I ended up having it for lunch 2 days in a row. Tonight’s dinner was Greek beef skillet with roasted cauliflower. So good and I can’t wait until my hubby gets home from work to try it.

Not only was I able to customize the amount of portions for my family but I was able to put in there that my hubby and I are trying to lose weight so it gave us healthier recipes. I’m also able to track the recipes I make to my Fitbit which definitely helps with staying accountable. Perfect for those with New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier or lose weight.

To sum up, here are my Top 10 reasons I love Platejoy:

customize my meal plan to my family size
exclude ingredients we don’t/won’t use
printable grocery list to make shopping for your meal plan a breeze
Update your “virtual pantry” so Platejoy knows what ingredients you already have
Search for recipe by ingredient
Can track your meals to your Fitbit to stay on track
Choose recipes portions so you purposely have left overs for those busy days
New recipe ideas every week
Exclude allergens in recipes such as peanuts
Platejoy app makes it easy to look up recipes, change meals at the last minute, and more

If you’d like to try Platejoy there are tons of Platejoy coupons and deals available for Platejoy on Dealpotr including a 10 day free trial!

Blue Apron Family Plan Unboxing

I’ve been dying to try Blue Apron for some time. I had so many questions though: Does it really come with EVERYTHING I need to make the recipes? Is the serving sizes really going to be enough for my family? How can they deliver fresh ingredients and have them still be fresh?

I got my first box. I was so excited to open it up. I got the family plan so I was supposed to get enough to make 2 recipes. When I opened my box it was stuffed full of fresh ingredients.

It’s packed well with dry ice packs and an insulated pack so the food was still cold when I received it. As I pulled all the ingredients out I was surprised to see the big healthy looking beets, fresh chives, and even a cup of plain greek yogurt needed to make one of the recipes. I did a facebook live unboxing video that you can see here:

Everything is labeled. For the record, the recipe “knick knack” bags that I wasn’t sure what they were in the video contained things like: spices, oils, and sauces.

I really do try to cook a decent meal as often as possible for my family. I get into a rut though with what to make. I feel like I’m making the same things over and over again. When I ask my family what they want it’s usually “I don’t care” or the few family faves they request. Blue Apron is a welcome addition to our family meal planning. No running to the store to get ingredients to make these recipes. No wondering if you have the ingredients to make something. And recipes that might be a bit different than what you’re used. For me that’s more than welcome.

When I was making the recipes I found the only things I needed that weren’t included in the box were: salt, pepper, water, and olive oil. Even the salt and pepper is optional though.

Blue Apron has a deal right now to get $80 off your first 4 boxes.

I received a free box to partner with Blue Apron. I will also be compensated for referrals.

Wish You Could Replace Annoying or Inappropriate Commercials? Now You Can With Filtrie

Does anyone else get sick of seeing certain commercials? There are certain commercials that are like nails on a chalkboard to my husband and I. Then there are the commercials, like those ED commercials they seem to play every other commercial break at night or during NFL football games. I swear I sweat it out every time those commercials are on TV wondering if my 7 yr old or 12 yr old is going to ask me what ED is and why there are so many commercials about it. Let’s not forget the lubricant commercials. For a long time, I really wished there was a way to eliminate commercials like that from being played on my tv screen, especially in front of my kids.

censorship-filtrie-collage

Apparently I’m not the only one that wished for that because someone created Filtrie. Filtrie is a Utah-based company that let’s customers set limits on tv ads to reflect their own values and interests.

So what does that mean? If you don’t want to see those ED commercials you can have them filtered and replaced with a more appropriate commercial. If you don’t want to see alcohol commercials, you don’t have to. One of the best parts about all this…it’s FREE and it’s opt-in.

“Filtrie is a new and patented technology that gives viewers unprecedented control over advertising content in protecting their preferences and values,” said Jim Birch, founder and CEO of Filtrie.com. “Our free opt-in services ties in with the viewer’s mobile phone so we know exactly when they’re watching TV and display ads appropriate for them. By connecting that information to existing and new television equipment we are able to assist both viewers and advertisers in providing meaningful content and privacy protection at a level that has not existed before, while also providing deeper and more accurate data to broadcasters and advertisers. This is a technology with the potential to move advertising (and viewer control) into a new generation.”

Filtrie works whether you’re watching cable or satellite, real time or DVR, no matter what provider you use. You can also have Filtrie filter certain ads no matter who is in the room OR automatically show or replace certain ads when certain people are in the room. How smart is that?

Filtrie is currently in beta right now but first customers should have access by the end of the year. You can find more info at Filtrie.com

What ads do you wish you could replace?