This Freezer Cooking for Two Months post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting Pennies Into Pearls by using my links!
We are deep into holiday territory with Christmas right around the corner!! Planning, cooking, and staying in budget at this time of year can get really tricky! Adding meal planning on top of all the craziness can be overwhelming.
You know I got you Pearl! I have come to your rescue with the meal plan my family and I are following. I have created allowances for events, having family over and more. As long as you plan ahead and anticipate, your meal plan can be smooth sailing into the new year! Check out how I am going to be Freezer Cooking for Two months on my Instagram Stories!
This month, I am committed to sharing with you how my family deals with all of these “unforeseen” events and plans for them as much as possible.
This Gift Guide for Guys contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Pennies Into Pearls by using my links at no additional cost to you.
I need you to know that a lot of thought has gone into this gift guide. I have been keeping a running list of gift ideas in my phone over the past 365 days!
Last year I was frantically searching the internet 72 hours before Christmas (thank goodness for Amazon Prime free 2-day shipping!!), trying to find something worthwhile and within budget for hubby. Only to end up buying something he courteously acted excited to recieve. But we both knew it was a flop…
I made it my mission to give him a gift this year that had thought behind it and I could be sure it was something he would actually be stocked to get!
You’re not going to find “Ties” or “Socks” on this gift guide for guys!
What’s more is that I LOVE that I got input from our Pearls for these gift ideas! I put it out there on Instagram last week asking for your best gifts ever given to the men in your life. Dads, hubbies, brothers, uncles, or whoever. If it was a win, I wanted to hear about it!
You guys had some brilliant ideas and I’m excited to have included them in this roundup to share with everyone! So thank you so much!
It’s time for another Family Budget update! In these updates is where I share the nitty gritty details of our real life family finances. All the details of what has happened in our bank account over the last few weeks.
I have been doing these budget update videos for over TWO YEARS! It’s crazy to see how far we have come!
When we started we were in over $20,000 in debt and living off one income. We figured out how to start and maintain a budget that was based off our goals. This way KEY in keeping motivated to keep going!
If you don’t know where you want your money to take you, then you most definitely will end up walking in circles. Or in other words, living that paycheck-to-paycheck life. The life that we are all trying to escape!
Intentional goal based family budgeting is a major topic that I cover in depth in my online course, 30 Day Family Finance Rescue! I want you to get excited every time you work on your budget. You’re going to get pumped because you know that your budget is helping you reach your goals!
Enrollment is currently not open yet, Coming January 2019, but you can sign up for my free email newsletter to be the first to find out more info when it’s ready for ya! I’ll leave a link for in the description box.
Comin at ya with another super easy and crazy fast dinner idea! Plus, you can feel great about feeding this pesto tortellini dinner to your family because it is fresh and full of veggies (if you want!)
Tonight its a 5 ingredient dinner that will be on the table in under 20 minutes!
I would love to see how your family likes your dinner! Share a picture of how your easy cesar pasta salad recipe turns out and tag me on Instagram @PenniesIntoPearls.
Thanks so much for stopping in and I will talk to ya soon! Xoxo
There is a lot of costs to consider when planning your family Disneyland vacation. The good news is there is always a way to save on every single part of the trip! Today let’s dive into 8 Disneyland tips for saving money on your hotel!
Figuring out where and how to get the best deal on your hotel can be more complicated than you think. It’s not as simple as pulling up a price comparison website because they don’t take into account all the “small” things that can actually save you major cash!
To make sure you are absolutely saving the most money possible on your Disneyland vacation, follow these 8 easy tips!
There are always new hotels popping up around Disneyland and the prices are always changing. So instead of telling you exactly where to stay I want to equip you with the Pearl tools necessary to find the best prices on somewhere to stay during your Disneyland vacation!
1. Visit in the off season.
This is probably going to be a major factor into many expenses of your Disneyland vacation but has the highest impact on the cost of you hotel.
To take advantage of the lower hotel prices, shoot to schedule your family vacation sometime between January and Mid March or end of August through September. I know! That’s doesn’t leave many options but it can make a huge difference in the cost of your hotel!
It’s a great idea to always like to look at a Disneyland Crowd Forecaster like IsItPacked.com.
2. Make sure breakfast is included
It is really easy to find a hotel that includes breakfast. If you look at the cost of eating out for breakfast, having it included in your stay could save $10-$20 PER PERSON per day! That could save you around $50-$100 per day for a family of five!
There is always the option of packing your own hotel friendly breakfast food like milk, cereal, and fruit. That’s always a pretty cheap option!
3. You need a refrigerator and a microwave
Speaking of bringing your own food from home. Make sure that wherever you stay has a fridge or mini fridge! Especially if you are traveling with kids, you will want to keep some essentials on hand that you bring from home or grab at a nearby grocery store.
Buying items like milk, juices, string cheese, fruit, or applesauce pouches before you go into the park can save you over 50%!
4. Parking included
Another one of my key Disneyland tips for saving money is to make sure that your hotel stay includes the cost of parking. Sometimes if you book your hotel through a travel agency like Get Away Today you parking will be included but it might not be if you book directly through the hotel.
Hotel parking and even street parking in Anaheim can cost you upwards of $20 a night. If you’re staying an entire week, that’s another $100 that you are saving!
5. Free nights stay
Another great way to stack the savings is to find an offer to get a free nights stay. I see this all the time with Get Away Today! There is always several options of hotels that offer a third or fourth nights stay for free!
6. Book early
The closer you get to your travel dates, the more likely it will be that the cost of each night’s stay will go up. So book your trip as soon as you have the cash!
7. Share a house airbnb
Yes, technically it’s not a hotel but it’s a lot easier to say “save money on hotels” rather than “save money on your place of lodging”. So… ya get me!
If you are able to share a vacation rental and split the cost with another family, this has to be one of the best Disneyland tips for saving money! Or if you have a large family and would need to rent two or more hotel rooms, this might be an excellent option as well. We are talking savings in the hundreds!!!
When considering vacation rental there are a few things you need to consider when comparing the price.
The cost of breakfast that would have otherwise been included in your hotel stay
Cleaning fee (Usually $150-$300)
Service Fee (Usually $150-$180)
Distance to Disneyland (Disneyland parking is currently $20 per car per day)
8. Distance to park to save on shuttle and/or parking
The entire reason you are looking for a place to stay is so you can go enjoy your time at the happiest place on earth! So a another one of my Disneyland tips to save money is to take into consideration for your vacation budget is the cost of parking, shuttle, uber, or however you plan to get there.
The very best option is to find a hotel that is close enough to the park that you can walk. This could save you the cost of parking at the park or taking a shuttle from the hotel.
If a close hotel isn’t a budget friendly option, look into the cost per person of using the hotel shuttle versus ordering an Uber. (I have to give credit to my hubby for this idea!)
If there are just a couple of you in your party then the shuttle is probably the way to go since the cost is usually around $5-$8 per person each day. BUT if you have a party of three or more an Uber might work out to be cheaper since a ride from a hotel within 2 miles of the park will cost you about $8 each way and that cost can cover several people!
If you haven’t used Uber before, you can use my Uber CODE: brittanyc16157ue and you can get your first ride for FREE! (value amounts vary by location)
BONUS! Mock Scenario – Hotel Cost Breakdown vs. Vacation Rental Cost Breakdown
To help give you a better visual of what the cost break down of hotel costs versus AirBnB costs, I created this worksheet for you to take a look at.
Make sure to watch the video to get a better explanation of how I got the numbers for the cost comparison.
This post about our family budget meal plan contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting Pennies Into Pearls by using my links!
November is the start of the holiday season! It’s the time when things can get out of control with your meal plan and food budget if you’re not careful. Family gatherings, treats at the kids school, or parties with friends, it can all add up!
This month, I am committed to sharing with you how my family deals with all of these “unforeseen” events and plans for them as much as possible.
Going into debt for Christmas is not an option for us Pearls! Christmas on a budget is the opposite of a bad thing! It means that you will have strategically told your money what you want it do this Christmas rather than wondering where it went.
CNBC.com reported last January that on average most Americans went into over $1,000 in debt for Christmas alone. It will take those families month’s to pay it off and will end up paying a ridiculous amount in interest. So much for that “black friday sale”!
If only they took 30 minutes to sit down and write out their Christmas budget…
You know those times in life when you have to take a chance?
When there are a million reasons why you shouldn’t do something but it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, you close your eyes, hold your breath, and jump in!
That’s what I’m doing this Thursday! Yikes!!! I am crazy nervous but out of my mind excited!
I am one of five racers in The Payments Race 2018 USA! Racing from NYC starting THIS THURSDAY and ending in Vegas on Tuesday. The racer with the most points wins!
Racers earn points by completing different challenges each day as they journey from state to state using only one form of payment each!
Did you know that your savings goals could be pointless if you don’t have more than one savings accounts? Mass financial destruction is caused by unorganized savings accounts!
This doesn’t have to be you! There is a simple solution to help you start reaching your financial goals! It’s as simple as separating your savings into multiple savings accounts!
