All Ready To Go Camping!

As a parent living on a low budget and until recently without a car, there were many experiences from my childhood that I wished I could give to my kids, but were untenable. However, we went camping every summer, and often twice, and that was something that I knew could be done frugally with my kids. But first we needed to figure out how to do it without a car.

When my kids were very little we borrowed someone's tent and went camping in the forest/field right outside my community and we were able to walk there. The kids had a terrific time.

Then we figured out a place that was free to camp and bus accessible. The first time we went there, we took a bus to my ex's relatives and then they drove some of us and the rest of us bussed to the beach campground a few miles from their house.

Since then, we've gone camping pretty much every single year. We figured out how to go to that campground entirely by bus and had a wonderful time and implemented lessons learned from our previous years to make it better.

Eight Reasons Why Accreditation Matters in Higher Education

If you are considering going to college or sending your kids to college, you may be contemplating where to send them. There are some colleges that aren't accredited and while some things may draw you to one of those places, there are some big potential downfalls with sending to such a school. Here are some reasons why you should make sure that you send your kids or go yourself to an accredited school.

As you embark on your journey through higher education, making the right choice of college or university, you might stumble upon the term "accreditation."

You may wonder what does it entail and, more significantly, why should it concern you? In simple terms, accreditation is a validation process that educational institutions undergo to certify that they conform to a set of stringent quality benchmarks defined by an external authority.

However, the role of accreditation stretches far beyond merely assuring quality. It catalyzes improvement, inspiring educational institutions to continually explore better methods to serve their students and substantially contribute to the broader academic realm.

This article will illuminate the crucial role accreditation plays in higher education.

Teaching Children The Importance Of Financial Planning

As a money-conscious parent who grew up in a money conscious home, it is important for me for my kids to develop good financial skills and habits, among them planning for their future. It seems to be working well so far. My older two kids have worked small jobs from time to time and save up money for things that are important to them; for example this summer and last summer my son advertised expertise in the computer field and so far has gotten quite a few data recovery jobs, among other things, and he'll be using that to pay for things that I consider extra but are important to him such as a monthly gym membership.

Are you concerned about your child’s financial future? Do you want to ensure they have the tools and knowledge to make informed financial decisions as they grow up? One of the most important skills you can teach your child is the value of long-term financial planning.

Financial planning is not something that is typically taught in schools, so it is up to parents to take the initiative and educate their children. By teaching your child about money management from a young age, you can help them become financially stable adults.

In this article, we will discuss:

• The importance of teaching kids about the value of long-term financial planning
  
  
• The benefits of investing in precious metals as a way to secure their financial future
  
  
• Important financial concepts to teach children
  
  
• How to introduce children to precious metals
  
  
• Tips for teaching children about investing in precious metals. ( The Gold Information Network is a great site to gain more information about investing in gold and precious metals.)

What I Did With a Huge Amount of Scallions and Other Free Produce

I live in a community with an overall low socioeconomic status, and because of that, I'm lucky in that there are charities that deliver food that either is close to the expiration date, banged up, otherwise look bad, or are mixed with spoiled produce, so you need to pick through them to find the good stuff. A few blocks away from me there is a distribution point, and a friend of mine posts in our community group if they have any leftover food once they finished their distribution to their regular recipients; after that, it is a free-for-all for whoever wants to come to take because otherwise, it'll end up in the trash. Now that I have a car, hopping over to pick up what is left over, often at 10 pm, is not a big deal, and I have been able to really benefit there.

Recently I got some great stuff from there, and I wanted to show you what I did with it all. I was very proud of how much goodness I was able to make from what was available, together with what I already had at home. I made this for a nice dinner, with the intention of having lots of leftovers- it's easier for me to cook all at once and then have what to eat later.

Exploring Gold and Precious Metals for College Savings

Starting off adulthood saddled with debt makes for a very challenging adulthood, yet college debt is so normalized. There are ways to prevent this from happening to your children, one of which is saving up for their college years in advance. Investing in gold and other precious metals is one way to do that; here is why it is a safe investment that many are choosing.

Do you want to ensure your child has enough money to pay for college? With tuition costs on the rise and investment yields shrinking, saving enough to cover all expenses can be difficult.

However, investing in gold and other precious metals can be smart for parents looking to grow their college savings. Gold is known for outperforming other investments and can act as a valuable hedge against inflation and a devalued US dollar. For more information on precious metals investing, visit https://barcodeoflife.org/

Adding gold to your investment portfolio can potentially increase your returns and reduce your risk. In this article, we will explore the benefits of investing in gold and other precious metals for college funds and the various ways to invest in these assets.

Whether you are just starting your college savings journey or looking to diversify your existing portfolio, incorporating gold and precious metals can be a wise choice.

The 4 Steps To Taking Care Of Your Sore Feet

This post might be submitted by a long time contributor, but, oh boy, do I have a lot to say on this topic. Sore feet is something that I've lived with my entire life. I sprained my ankles regularly since I was 4 years old, because my ankle joints are wonky and extra wobbly because of my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. In addition to the sprains, the wobbly ankles make my feet roll outward, which means that I wear the outside of my shoes faster than the inside, which makes my feet roll even more outward, which ends up causing me calf pain. And lastly, my feet used to burn, feeling like something in my feet was ripping apart, if I walked too much.

I went to a podiatrist a few years back who diagnosed me with achiles tendonitis and plantar fascitis, and he recommended getting insoles for my shoes for those, and they made a huge difference for my feet. And then after I was "yelled at" by my physical therapist for wearing such terrible shoes, I started buying shoes meant for people whose feet roll outwards (it's called supination) and my feet feel so much better! Now, unless they get sprained (which happens regularly), my feet are mostly pain free. I'm still supposed to get orthotics because they can affect other parts of my body, but at least I don't usually hurt in my feet anymore.

My teenaged son decided to start running but his feet started to hurt him when running because of the stress it puts on the joints. He was already wearing a good company's shoes, but they weren't specifically running shoes, so we looked on Amazon for reviews for good running shoes, and now that we invested in them he is able to run without pain.

With that lengthy introduction, here are some ways to help take care of your sore feet.

My Really Awesome Scratch and Dent Store Haul

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while. Been a bit down lately, low energy and not feeling so great, so I apologize for not posting as often as I should. I have a bunch of good posts planned, and hope to get them written and posted very soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to share this haul from the scratch and dent store last week. 

I haven't been to a scratch and dent store in some time because it isn't convenient with a car, since there's no parking on the street where the store is, and it is just a two lane street. Last week my daughter was with me and we shopped together, and then she waited in the store while I went to get the car and drove there, and quickly so as to not bug the people in the street behind me, she and one of the store workers there threw the groceries into the car and then she hopped in so we could stop disrupting the flow of traffic.

But that, while a ridiculous way to shop, was still a worthwhile shopping trip, since I was able to get so  many goodies for a fraction of their regular price, and many times quite cheaper than the alternative I generally would buy. For example, most of the products were from an organic grocery line, which is much pricier than usual. These products were generally much cheaper than the non organic versions. Best of all, much of these are items I usually buy anyhow, so it wasn't just "ooh, that's a good price for that item, let's buy a bunch of things that I don't usually buy, because they're cheaper than they usually are" when they aren't cheap products even when discounted, and/or since they aren't items you generally use they'll just sit in your house unused. There were three exceptions to this, which I'll mention below.