All posts by Anne Younger

Anne is a 30-something full-time SAHM mom of 5 ranging from 3 to 17 and grandma of 1 who resides in Ashwaubenon (Green Bay) Wisconsin. She started blogging in 2008 as a way to regain her sanity. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, cheeseburgers and vodka along with spending time with her husband and kids.

4 Ways Stay-at-Home Moms Can Fund Going Back to School

Getting a good higher education is at the core of everyone’s interest. Even stay-at-home mothers who may wish to advance their education may do so, provided they have access to credit funding for their desired educational programs in college or university. At the core of every mother’s worries is the issue of how to garner sufficient financing to complete their studies successfully. There are numerous financing options available out there which one can harness. Here are four of the most suitable ways that such mothers can fund their bid to go back to school.

Seeking college aid

Most colleges offer some tailored internal student sponsorship programs where special groups are given privileges. Depending on the college, stay-at-home mothers can also qualify for sponsorship. Although one can rarely get a full scholarship through such a program, the little aid that one can get through the program would offer a reprieve on one’s budget. The aid programs are run through a special dedicated office which one can visit and seek the qualification criteria to determine if they can qualify for the same. Other viable aid options that one can seek include funding from friends and family members who may contribute towards the education program.

Working and studying in part-time

The option of working and studying in part-time is particularly sought-after by many stay-at-home mothers who have access to good-paying jobs. This arrangement can be sought depending on the course that one is studying. College degrees nowadays have been tailored to offer studying options such as evening or weekend classes. This offers students with the possibility of working to finance their education. The option of working part-time gives students additional funds that they can use to either finance their education or obtain money for self-upkeep, commuting and payments for educational resources.

Securing student loans

Finding an appropriate and affordable student loan to finance their education is the primary and most sought-after option. At the worry of every loan-seeker, however, is on the issue of the relatively high-interest rates that students may be exposed to. With there being numerous financial institutions offering lending services to students, it is easy to find yourself paying high interests after your education program. There are, however, options one can pursue to lower their loan interests rates. One of this is establishing a long credit history with a particular financial institution of one’s choice. Having a good credit history would be a sign of the loan seeker’s capability to repay the loan as the creditors check on a number of issues when lending, the primary of which is the saving history.

Seeking government grants

The government has a dedicated funding option for students seeking higher education. Often offered at a relatively low interest rate, the grant option is viable as it gives students additional relief by paying part of their college tuition fees. The flexible grant-repayment option whereby students are spared from repayment until they secure a job would offer a stay-at-home mother with a very suitable financial option for their education.

With these options, securing funding for one’s education can never be too hard to achieve. It is important to evaluate the options available and go for the one that suits best.

 

Meet the All-New 2020 Jeep Gladiator

There’s never been anything quite like the All-New Jeep® Gladiator, engineered from the ground up to be a true pickup truck. Backed by legendary Jeep Brand 4×4 capability, Gladiator is ready to carry you and your gear around the corner or to the far corners of the earth.

100% Truck, 100% Jeep® 4×4

Yes, you read that correctly. The All-New 2020 Jeep Gladiator is indeed 100% Truck, 100% Jeep® 4×4!

There’s never been anything quite like the All-New Jeep® Gladiator, engineered from the ground up to be a true pickup truck. Backed by legendary Jeep Brand 4×4 capability, Gladiator is ready to carry you and your gear around the corner or to the far corners of the earth.

With the Jeep Gladiator, you can take it all with you and bring more on every adventure thanks to a Best-in-Class available 7,650-pound towing capacity, a Best-in-Class available 1,700-pound payload and multiple ways to help keep it all secure. 

Safety On Your Side

With over 80 standard and available safety and security features, Gladiator uses innovation to help you journey with confidence.

With the Gladiator you will find all of this:

  • Blind Spot Monitoring uses radar-based sensors to detect other vehicles and will alert you if one is traveling in your blind spot zones.
  • ParkSense® Rear Park Assist System uses sonar sensors located in the rear bumper to detect obstacles behind you. It will sound an alert when you get close to a potential hazard when parallel parking or backing into a parking spot.
  • A Tire Pressure Monitoring system will warn you if tire pressure drops below or rises above recommended levels. Great for safe and secure driving and efficiency.
  • Never take your key out of your pocket. The passive entry available Keyless Enter ’n Go™ system automatically unlocks the door upon grabbing the handle, provided the key fob is within 5 feet of your truck.
  • Bluetooth® connectivity means you can easily make calls or stream music or podcasts wirelessly from your compatible smartphone or media device.
  • AND MORE!

This is just a handful of what the All-New 2020 Jeep Gladiator has to offer you. You can customize it to meet your needs and truly make it one of a kind.

To learn more about the All-New 2020 Jeep Gladiator, visit your local Jeep dealer, like Akins Jeep Ram.

Halloween Fun at Home

At the end of the week, thousands of kids across the country will put on their costumes and go door-to-door with family and friends to enjoy the fun of Trick or Treating. 

Trick or Treat has always been a family favorite for us and of course, the kids cannot wait for Friday to get here.  To keep them entertained until then, I’ve put together a few fun things for them to do this week in preparation for the big day.

First, we are going to decorate pumpkins!  We opted out of carving pumpkins this year because they are usually filled with mold by Halloween, get eaten by an animal or worse, someone smashes them all over the street.  So, instead of carving, we are planning on decorating them using some of these great No-Carve ideas.

 

On top of pumpkin decorating, we will also be doing some fun crafts to decorate the main windown and door of our home.  These are some of our favorite crafts on the agenda.

 

In addition to decorating and crafting, we will also be watching some of our favorite Halloween movies on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime . Some of our favorite family friendly flicks are:

  • Curious George – A Halloween Boofest
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas
  • It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
  • Simpson’s Tree House of Terror episodes
  • Much, MUCH MORE!

What are plans for this week, other than Trick or Treating?

 

 

 

Ways to Save on Your Next Car

Buying a new or used car usually brings some type of financial burden, I know for our family it has always put a dent in the budget for a bit. Since we have purchased two used cars in the last year, we are already looking into ways to save on our next purchase. 

There are multiple ways you can save money when shopping for a new or used car and we are now prepared when we are on the hunt next time.

Credit Card Points

Look into opening a credit card that offers you are rewards or points when you use it towards your next vehicle purchase. 

Dealership Promotions

Visit dealership sites in your area and see if they are currently running any promotions. I recently learned that holiday weekends are often the best time to purchase a new or used car, so watch websites for those types of sales.

Special Programs

Check if the dealership you are working with offers discounts to any special programs like a military and veteran discount, National Association of Realtors Employee Program & Members Program, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Women Business Owners, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Snow and Ice Management Association, or any other programs they may offer like the programs listed here that Cerritos Dodge offers.

Trade In Vehicle

If you have a vehicle that you can trade in towards the purchase of your new vehicle, see how much the dealership will give you for it. 

Featured Inventory

Check if the dealership has any featured inventory that they are selling at a reduced price. These types of discounts can save you thousands.

Coupons

Believe it or not, there are dealerships that have coupons available on their website that you can use towards a new car purchase. Most coupons are only for $500 or less off your vehicle purchase however that often will cover the title and licensing as well as part of the taxes.

Of course, in addition to these ideas, you can also sit down with your dealer and check for any manufacturer offers or dealership specials they may have as well. 

 

Halloween Cobweb Cookie {Recipe}

For me, October is the beginning of the crazy holiday season.  First comes Halloween, then Thanksgiving and then December is just jam packed with holiday celebrations.  This time of year is when I love to craft and create with the kids and also entertain guests.  With Halloween fast approaching, I felt it was only appropriate to create a fun Halloween treat for us to enjoy.

 

To create this delicious masterpiece, you will need:

Ingredients
– 1 tube of sugar cookie dough
– 1 apple diced
– 1/3 c creamy peanut butter
– 15-20 pretzel twists
– 1 bag of M&M’s
– 1 bag of candy corn
– 1 cup of white chocolate chips
– 3 tbsp orange frosting
– 3 tbsp black frosting

Directions:

1. Roll out cookie dough on a pizza pan, pizza stone or other pan of choice. (I used a greased pizza stone).

2. Bake cookie dough at 350* for 12-15 minutes and remove from over.

3. While cookie is baking, mix the diced apples with the peanut butter until it is mixed well.

4. After removing cookie from oven, spread apple peanut butter mixture onto cookie allowing it to melt and spread easier this becomes the glue for the goodies!).

5. Once apple peanut butter mixture is on, place pretzels, candy corn and M&M’s however you would like on the cookie.

6. Take your 3 tbsp of orange frosting and place it in a ziploc bag, cut a small hole in the corner and pipe frosting on in desired pattern. Repeat this step with the black frosting.

7. After frosting is on, melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave following instructions on the back of the package. Once melted, place white chocolate in a ziploc bag, cut a small hole in the corner and pipe chocolate on in the desired pattern.

8. Allow the cookie to cool and frosting/chocolate to harden and then cut and serve!

Enjoy!!

Everyone in our house really enjoyed this treat and the kids are already asking me to make it again!