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.
If you know me in real life, than you know I have a serious addiction to online shopping. Seriously, shopping online just makes my life easier. I don’t have to load everyone into the van and head to the store and deal with a bunch of kids asking me if they can have something. With online shopping, I can shop from the comfort of my own home, day or night, and have it all delivered right to my door.
Another reason I like to shop online is because I can usually find a better deal online than in-store and that is where Groupon comes in.
Groupon Coupons has over 9,000 retailers and loads of coupons to my favorite online retailers, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot, and more.
Of course, Amazon is easily my biggest addiction when it comes to shopping online and I think that is mainly because of their amazing shipping time frames as an Amazon Prime member.
Between the already great prices on Amazon and some of the great coupons from Groupon, I am always sure to score a great deal!
Be sure to check out Groupon Coupon before you make your next online purchase!
Do you ever experience that guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach when you say goodbye to your dog as you leave for work? What will they do while you are gone? Will they feel lonely? Will they be bored? Hopefully they won’t get into any mischief.
If you are an anxious pet owner (or the owner of an anxious pet), you might want to invest in brain teaser toys for your dog. What is a dog brain teaser? It’s a game or toy that dispenses treats as your dog plays with it. By combining your dog’s two favorite things (treats and playtime), you can remedy the guilt you feel leaving the house.
Below are a few examples of the hottest toys on the market.
Peanut Butter Bone
It’s no secret that dogs LOVE peanut butter. In fact, there are dozens of YouTube videos documenting the silly ways dogs eat peanut butter – always trying to lap up the last savory slurp.
One affordable way to keep Fido appeased is to buy a peanut butter-filled bone. Pups will gnaw at these for hours, trying to lick up all the peanut butter they can. Not to mention these bones are long lasting and incredibly tough, meaning they are good for building strong teeth. Even after the creamy filling has been eaten, dogs will still enjoy carrying this sturdy bone around the house.
Treat Ball
What’s a treat ball you ask? Well, it’s toy fitted with a small hole that a pet owner can fill with treats or kibble. Since the hole is so small, food only falls out sometimes, which encourages the dog to continue rolling it around until the next piece of food falls out. Since the toy is specially crafted, it will prevent your dog from overeating too quickly.
An apt comparison might be a piggy bank. Even after the bottom has been opened, it takes humans a few extra shakes to get all the money out.
These toys can be found from a number of suppliers. For example, Hot Dog Collars sells dog accessories, collars and food-dispensing toys such as the Nose-It Treat Dispensing Dog Toy.
Treat Dispenser & Toy Laser
Looking for something a little more high tech? Then you might like the FunPaw Q Cat & Dog Treat Dispenser with Toy Laser.
This toy is truly unique. Not only does it dispense treats, it actually connects to your mobile device so you can deliver treats to your fluffy friend while you are out and about. Even more entertaining is the live pet monitoring system which records your pet in 720p. Pretty crazy, right?
This pricey toy is ideal for folks who can’t stand to be away from their dog. You can even talk to your dog over the two-way audio system, or engage in playtime with the interactive laser pointer.
Memory Games
Another way to keep your pet occupied is with memory games. Take for instance the Nina Ottosson dog puzzles. These are plastic toys that hide food and treats inside, and generally require the pup to push, spin or lift some portion of the toy to find the reward. Each puzzle has its own degree of difficulty.
The inventor claims that these memory puzzles improve your dog’s memory and physical health as well as foster a healthy bond between you and your pet. While we cannot confirm or deny these claims, we can tell you that these toys are durable and easy to clean.
So, there you have it: a few suggestions on how to keep your favorite critter occupied and happy. All you have to do now is buy that perfect toy for Fido!
Accounting and bookkeeping have long been jobs available to those who want to work from home, work part-time, or work seasonally. Accountants who work for only a few clients or book keepers for one or two small businesses can work part-time year-round, and technology is making it infinitely easier to work from home. Here are the steps to becoming a work at home accountant or book keeper.
Get Educated and Certified
There is far more to bookkeeping than learning generally accepted accounting practices, though it is a start. The literal cost of bookkeeping mistakes cannot be understated. If someone fails to file the necessary tax paperwork for your business, it will receive fines or worse from the IRS.
A bookkeeper who makes a few major mistakes or continually makes the same minor ones literally costs the client money, and once they find out, the negative word of mouth will prevent you from finding any new clients. This is why any aspiring bookkeeper must be properly educated to even have a chance at working in the field.
The minimum you need to work as a bookkeeper is an associate’s degree in accounting, though most clients want a bachelor’s degree or higher. If you are qualified to fill out tax forms for the business, you’ll earn more. Whether you earn an online master in taxation degree from an online master in taxation program or tax preparation certifications from various schools, any certification recognized by your clients will result in higher pay and acceptance by more clients.
A Certified Public Accountant license is required for some positions, such as submitting any paperwork to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Get the Right Software
If you’re going to work as a bookkeeper, you need to have the software your clients use. Quickbooks is one of the leading software applications for accountants, but Freshbooks, Xero, and Capterra are catching up. If you want to work with major companies, Netsuite is an important tool to learn and have at hand.
Find Clients
One way to find clients is to advertise your services. If you start by contacting small businesses in your area, you may find work this way. However, the more likely solution is asking for word of mouth referrals since people are reluctant to hand over their financial information to a stranger.
One option is checking gig websites for people searching for accounting services, such as generating their first financial reports or closing their private books. These experiences can turn into long-term arrangements or provide referrals to other customers. There are online job sites that list work from home accounting positions in addition to standard office accounting jobs. Working for a tax preparation service during the spring and networking with these customers to become bookkeepers for them is an option if it doesn’t violate a non-compete clause in the firm’s employment contract.
The first step in becoming a work at home accountant or bookkeeper is learning the rules, regulations and actual work of bookkeeping and accounting. Earning a widely recognized certification is invaluable. You need to have access to the software your clients use. Then you need to drum up a few clients. Leverage relationships and public positions to find them.
Even if you consider yourself to be a reasonably confident DIY enthusiast there are always going to be certain tasks around your home that are best left to a professional.
You can’t expect to acquire all the skill and experience that is often required to tackle certain repair and maintenance jobs when it is not your usual job, so in order to avoid a potential DIY disaster, it would be good to know your limitations.
Here is a look at some DIY projects that you should think twice about before picking up your tools, including which plumbing jobs need a professional and when to think twice about performing a DIY electrical task.
Be wary of water
There are too many homeowners around who can tell you a tale related to a plumbing job that went horribly wrong and while they might be able to laugh about the ensuing water-based disaster now, it should serve as a warning that some plumbing tasks are too risky for the average DIYer.
Replacing faucets and shower-heads has the potential to go wrong but if you follow instructions and turn off the water supply before you start you should be ok to do this sort of work by yourself.
Where you should draw the line is when you are wanting to alter or expand the water supply lines in your home. This is the sort of job where you might want to get help at www.maplewoodplumbing.com/residential-plumbing/drain-cleaning/, for instance, as you could easily do a lot of damage in a short space of time and flood your home.
As a general rule when it comes to plumbing jobs, don’t attempt repairs or modifications when pipes are concealed behind walls and ceilings and avoid making any adjustments to the original pipework that carries the water around your property.
Let there be light
Another type of DIY job where a warning siren should be going off in your head before taking on a project that is going to stretch your skills and knowledge to the max is electrical work.
Again, like plumbing, there are certain regular electrical tasks that you can do yourself without too many issues as long as you are sensible and isolate the power before starting anything.
If you want to install a dimmer switch or maybe replace a ceiling light, those are the sort of DIY projects that should be well within your abilities, but if you are considering extending an existing electrical circuit or installing some new cables, do you really know how to do that safely and properly?
It is not just your personal safety that could be at stake when you make a mistake with electrical installation work, you will probably be risking violating building codes and you could even be heightening the risk of a fire in your home.
Keep it simple with electrical jobs and call in a professional for anything more complex.
Tree terrors
If one of the trees on your property has become overgrown and needs cutting back or down completely you might be tempted to dig out the chainsaw and set to work.
The bottom line is that tree cutting can come with huge risks attached and has the ability to be very dangerous when things go wrong, resulting in a potential personal injury and damage to your property.
The problem with tree cutting is that it looks inherently simple and that is what draws many DIYers into thinking that very little can go wrong when all they are doing is cutting through a chunk of wood with a chainsaw.
If you don’t know what angle and where to cut the tree you are running the risk of it falling onto you or your property. Using your chainsaw on a ladder or halfway up a tree is definitely ill-advised, so go ahead and do some minor pruning, but major tree cutting is often best left to a professional.
Working on your roof
When it comes to risky DIY jobs roofing is right up there as one of the most common ways to injure yourself and cause more damage to your home than there was before.
Roofers make it look so easy when they walk across the roof but that is because they are professionals and the combination of working at heights and on a slippery surface should give you enough of a clue that you might be better leaving it to a pro.
Knowing when not to do it yourself is a skill that every homeowner should have if they want to stay safe and avoid causing further damage to their home.
Benjamin Coles is a keen handyman and DIYer but he’s not daft and knows when to call in the professionals. He writes about how to know what you can do, and what you should leave well alone.
If you are lucky to experience the luxury of a Lexus, be warned, I am a little jealous. It is my goal to own one at some point in my adult life. I do hope to make it a reality once the kids are all out of the house and I have some extra money to spend. Until then, I will continue to dream (and drive my mini-van).
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