Rachel Cruze: 14-Day Money Finder [Day 11-14]

Day 11 - Housing Fees

Write down how much you spend on Mortgage/Rent, HOA, Water, Electric, Gas, Cable, Phone, Cable, Lawn, etc.

Day 12 - Find ways to cut household expenses

cut cable, ditch landline, mow your own lawn....

Well, since we have no choice but to keep our landline, we can't cut back there (although we are grandfathered into a bundle with Directv and we still only pay $42 a month to Verizon). I would love to cut back on our satellite bill...am I the only one who has 250+ channels and can NEVER find anything to watch??? I did call to go over our account and they gave us another $5 credit per month for 24 months and we dropped the $8.99 a month protection plan (you can add it at the time of repair service if needed so this has been a waste of money!!) Our bill is still over $100 a month so this one is a work in progress.

Savings on satellite = $156 per year


Day 13 - Shop around for new insurance!

This one was our hugest savings!!! Long story short our rates kept going up with Hartford (AARP) and after adding the new SUV to our policy, we decided to shop around. Nathan is still on our insurance (he pays us), so it is higher than it was with just our vehicle. We switched to Progressive and saved $1400 a year!!!!! That is sooooooo crazy!!!!

Savings on insurance = $1400.00



Day 14 - GRAND TOTAL OF SAVINGS.....

Day 6 $460.00

+

Day 8 $ (food costs ---varies)

+

Day 12 $156.00

+ 
Day 7 $ (gas/car costs ---varies)

+ 

Day 13 $1400.00


= $2,016.00

WOW!! Over $2,000!! 
I know I am saving more but these are just a few areas that I focused on.
We are only 3 months into the New Year and I'm still staying on budget and looking for even more ways to FIND MORE MONEY! :O)

Give Rachel Cruze's 14-Day Money Finder a try!

Rowen {6 months}

Rowen is 6 months old today! ❤ 

(03.30.18 -coming home on the boat after doctor's visit)

• happy & pleasant
• 2 teeth
• 20 1/2 lbs
• 27 inches

Likes:

• pretty much all fruits and vegetables
• bath time
• playing with his toys, hands, and feet
• being sung to
• having his ears cleaned 😂
• CARTOONS
• being undressed

Dislikes:
• getting dressed
• waiting for his "ninny" 

Oh, and happy opening day!

Our 2018 Disney Vacation - Day 3 [Animal Kingdom part 2]

Friday, March 16, 2018

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom [part two]

After my ride on Everest, we got frappes from Joffrey's.

$12.00 [or *2 SC]

Our fast passes for Festival of the Lion King were now ripe, so we headed that way to get in line for the show. We have seen this many times, but it never disappoints.

Next on my agenda, ride Flight of Passage!!!!

Only problem.....the wait time was 180 minutes!!!!! Never have I ever waited in line that long in my life! BUTTTTTT......I just had to ride! Peter on the other hand would not wait that long, plus our phone was dead, so he went back to the resort. I have no pictures as I didn't have his phone (mine is a tracfone LOL so it isn't great with pictures).

The wait time was actually 2 hours and 20 minutes which is still a long time to wait, but Flight of Passage was worth every minute I waited!!!!!

(I also think Peter would have gotten motion sick. He loves Soarin' and while FoP is similar in it's like you are flying, FoP is much more real and more extreme.)

By the time I got off the ride, we were very close to our ADR time at Homecoming at Disney Springs. So instead of going back to the resort to meet up with Peter, I called and told him I'd just catch the bus directly to Disney Springs (you can do this from the parks after 4 p.m.) and he could get the bus from the resort.

We were only a few minutes late for our ADR, and were soon seated.
This meal would be one of our favorites!!!

Chef Art Smith's Homecoming restaurant review {HERE}

After dinner, I wanted to go back to the park for a few hours to ride a few more rides since the park would be open until 10:00. Peter isn't a rider, so he decided to ride out to Dick's to get some shoes, but by the time he got back to the resort it was getting late due to the slowest bus ride of the trip! 

I had gotten a fast pass for Dinosaur so I rode that first, then hurried over for one last ride on Expedition Everest! The single rider line was closed for the day, but they let me pass through in the fast pass line!! This was my first time riding in the dark! It was AWESOME!!!

By now, the park was nearing closing time and Rivers of Light Show was starting. I stopped to watch a little before getting on the bus.

What a first park great day!!!!! :O) :O) :O)

Disney Dining: Chef Art Smith's Homecoming

Chef Art Smith's Homecoming Restaurant

@ Disney Springs

Appetizer: Bee Haven Bay Fried Green Tomatoes 

- with shaved ham, remoulade sauce, & dressed local greens

We both chose Art's Fabulous Fried Chicken (and it was fabulous!)

Chef Art Smith's signature dish! Buttermilk-brined for 24 hours then perfectly fried and served with creamy mashed potatoes, cheddar drop biscuit and love

We also got the Cucumber Salad and Collard Greens. 

[The collard greens were some of the best we've ever had!]

Dessert

Now, while planning our ADRs, I had seen that Hummingbird Cake was on the menu. I really love Hummingbird Cake and fully intended to get this for dessert.....but....I was soooooo full, and when I saw the size of the cake slices!

and it was served with vanilla bean ice cream & fruit gastrique 

I opted for the Homemade Mini Sugar Donuts to go instead!

Peter chose the Shine Cake - Chef Art's signature dessert. An adult-only butter cake soaked with moonshine syrup, served with seasonal fruit gastrique and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

This was amazing!!

This meal was true Southern cooking at it's best! 

I highly recommend Chef Art Smith's Homecoming restaurant!!!

*****

Our 2018 Disney Vacation - Day 3 [Animal Kingdom part 1]

Friday, March 16, 2018

 Day 3 - Animal Kingdom Day [part one]

We had fast passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari so we headed straight over to Africa.
We had a great guide and there were lots of animals out this morning.

Next, we rode Na'vi River Journey, which was our second fast pass of the day. Pandora section of the park has been added to Animal Kingdom since our last visit, so everything there was new to us.

I really loved the theming and enjoyed the River Journey. I wasn't able to get fast passes for the popular Flight of Passage ride, but hoped to ride before the day was over. :O)

We were ready for something to eat, and normally it would have been Flame Tree BBQ, but since we had ribs last night, we decided to try something else. I had read that the Mac & Cheese from Eight Spoon Cafe was a must try, so I got it with the pulled pork....yummmmmm!!!

$6.29 [or *1 SC]

Peter got the Honey Chicken w/ rice, an egg roll, and a coke from Yak & Yeti.

$15.64 [or *1CS +1SC]

Next, I rode Expedition Everest using the single-rider line. Peter doesn't do many rides, so he watched the monkeys while I rode.

Our Disney Vacation 2018 - Day 2 [Disney Springs]

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Day 2 - continued

[Disney Springs]

Check in was easy as I had done online check-in. We were in JAZZ section again, this time on the second floor facing the courtyard in room 2503, only one section from the buses, pool, and food court. A few things had changed since we were there in 2016, one thing being they offered opting out of daily "mousekeeping" and getting a $50 Disney gift card instead....um, sure! You could still call for towels and shampoo, etc when needed and have your wet towels picked up. We aren't messy people when traveling and I sure don't mind making my own bed--which btw, was once again the most comfortable king size bed you ever slept in!!!! 

We parked the SUV and took our luggage to our room. We hadn't made a dinner reservation as we weren't sure what time we'd arrive, so I had a great place in mind that was counter service credits but table service quality (or so I had read). :O) 

We officially started our vacation as we got in line for our first bus ride! I can't tell you how exciting that feeling is. The weather was amazing, the perfect night to roam around Disney Springs!

Peter is always game for anything, which I love, because I read so many reviews and I like trying out new things.

I had read excellent reviews about The Polite Pig and it definitely lived up to every word! 

This is a counter service restaurant with table service quality food. We both chose the Baby Back Ribs which came with jalapeño corn bread, slaw, and one side. I picked the sweet potato tots w/parmesan cheese, and Peter chose the Mac & Cheese, and crispy Brussels sprouts (which were delish!) Peter got a Coke, I got lemonade. 

Total= $49.76 (or *2 CS credits)

This was an excellent value and was absolutely delicious! We will definitely return in the future.

We browsed through some shops for some future purchases, then I wanted to find another to-do on my list.

Sprinkles Cupcakes ATM

This was so cool!! :O)

Peter got the coconut and I tried the Red Velvet. YUMMMMM!!!!!

Total: $11.00 +tax /OOP

As we made our way to the bus stop, we stopped to listen to the DJ and watch everyone dance. 

We love Disney Springs and went back several times during our stay to dine, shop, and enjoy some of the entertainment offered there. 

What a great start to our trip!!!