coronavirus

Yes, this is a bargain hunting blog. However, I would be remiss to pretend like the entire world wasn't in crisis. I would love to be able to share this post with my kids in 5-10 years as they learn about our pandemic in history class (my youngest likely won't remember this time) to give them an idea of what our family unit is currently doing.

My husband had been in school full-time at a university in the city we live outside of. They extended his spring break to last two weeks then switched entirely to online learning. Today is his first day of that. He is supposed to begin his Master's program in May, but it is for teaching. If schools remain closed into the next school year, we do not know what this means for his program due to student teaching requirements. For now we are operating under the assumption he will be a student again come May.

Yesterday, Ohio's governor issued a stay at home order. Our family had already been practicing social distancing. We used to all go shopping together, but from the time I got home from a business trip on March 12th, we modified our routines so only one of us would go get supplies when absolutely necessary. We also religiously use hand sanitizer every time we got into the car. We also wash our hands after unloading items. Our schools announced they would be closing until at least early April on 3/12 and we immediately bought a chest freezer. We had been discussing it for over a year (our kitchen was poorly designed so our fridge is unusually small--the freezer is exceptionally tiny) and decided now was the time to pull the trigger. We didn't fill it up but we definitely bought way more frozen items than we normally do to help spread out our grocery trips.

My work encouraged those of us who were not needed in the lab to start working remotely last week. As such, I have shifted to entirely working from home. My husband's mom previously watched the kids while he was in class and I was at work. We made the decision that for her safety (ours also), we should maintain social distance. As such, my husband and I are working out the balance of entertaining and caring for our children while also getting our work accomplished. I work for an incredibly understanding employer (thank goodness) and they have been more than accommodating given the circumstances.

If push came to shove, we could probably survive on the items in our pantry for a solid 3-4 weeks. Ironically enough, a lot of these items are due to my bargain hunting and not the pandemic. I have not bought any paper products since February because I had a stockpile from when the items hit my buy price. I did see the writing on the wall in February in terms of food, so I finally made an emergency food tote (we do get tornadoes here, so it is probably wise to have anyway). Otherwise I have not cleared shelves or gone crazy. In fact, we should be under budget on groceries this month.

Our kids are adapting. Our 5-year-old sobbed when she watched the video her preschool teacher sent out saying hi. She misses her teacher and her friends. Our 7-year-old is doing okay. He is bummed about missing various activities in school and he definitely misses playing with friends, but he is okay. The youngest has no frame of reference and is loving that the 5 of us are here all day, every day. I will admit this extra time together has been lovely. We wish we could spend time with our extended families, but that is not wise at this moment. Now that the weather is starting to break we are able to spend a lot more time in our backyard which definitely helps.

I did not vote for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, but I have been so impressed by his leadership. He had appointed qualified individuals and (arguably more importantly) listens to their advice. He has been making very difficult decisions given the ramifications on the economy, but I genuinely believe he is doing so in the interest of saving lives. He is also working closely with individuals in the sectors most affected by this to try to provide them financial relief. I don't agree with all his policies, but his leadership in a time of crisis has left me inclined to vote for him should he run for reelection. Of a greater note is Dr. Amy Acton. DeWine appointed her to be the director for the Ohio Department of Health. LET ME TELL YOU: she is a QUEEN. She is calm. She is collected. Her story is inspirational. She has been the calm and wise medical expert Ohio needed. I am personally pushing for her to run for president. I haven't told her that, but I think she should.

Overall, we will endure. We are praying for health and safety of all those who continue to work to keep life moving. We are praying that this will be over soon. We are praying for all those who have lost jobs. I have witnessed a whole lot of kindness in my community (supplying food to those who lost work, rallying to keep free/reduced lunches supplied to the kids who need it, etc.) that has restored my faith in humanity. Here is to hoping that by June things will be somewhat normal again...

cheap kids clothes round up

I have been scouring Amazon the last few days for affordable clothing for future seasons. I've found some amazing deals along the way! We are talking $2-$3 per item. I figured this would be the easiest way to share them. Please note these are affiliate links. Not all sizes/patterns are cheap but here are a few:

GIRLS
XS fit and flare dress in skate/blue - 2 pack for $9.32
L fit and flare dress in skate/blue - 2 pack for $7.10
2T leggings in skate- 4 pack for $12.10
2T twirl scooter skirts in elephants/pink - 2 pack for $6.97
XS short-sleeve ruffle tops in kitty ninjas - 3 pack for $9.16
XS knit dolphin hem shorts in fruit/red - 2 pack for $7.06
XXL leggings in math - 3 pack for $8.98
2T Disney leggings in Star Wars Rebel - 4 pack for $13.93
4 active tank and short set in pink love - 2 pieces for $4.79
S sleeveless tank tops in sports - 3 pack for $5.63
2T sleeveless tank tops in sports - 3 pack for $5.81
3T sleeveless tank tops in sports - 3 pack for $5.44
XS sleeveless tank tops in sports - 3 pack for $4.84
3T long-sleeve thermal tops in gamer girl - 2 pack for $7.42
M sleeveless tank tops in floral - 4 pack for $9.14
L sleeveless tank tops in floral - 4 pack for $9.14
XL sleeveless tank tops in floral or cat/bird - 4 pack for $9.14
XS sleeveless tank tops in shine bright - 4 pack for $9.14
S sleeveless tank tops in floral - 4 pack for $9.14
M sleeveless tank tops in floral - 4 pack for $9.14
2T terry knit shorts in skate - 2 pack for $6.02
3T terry knit shorts in skate - 2 pack for $5.46
4T terry knit shorts in skate - 2 pack for $6.15
XS terry knit shorts in skate - 2 pack for $5.91
S terry knit shorts in skate - 2 pack for $6.65
L terry knit shorts in skate - 2 pack for $6.61
2T bike shorts in unicorn - 3 pack for $7.41
L bike shorts in coral star - 3 pack for $9.73
XL bike shorts in unicorn - 3 pack for $7.56
XXL bike shorts in unicorn - 3 pack for $9.09
XS capri leggings in outside - 3 pack for $8.66
S capri leggings in outside - 3 pack for $6.73
M capri leggings in outside - 3 pack for $6.69
L capri leggings in outside - 3 pack for $6.57
3T capri leggings in outside - 3 pack for $8.19
4T capri leggings in outside - 3 pack for $6.83
3T knit short-sleeve a-line t-shirt dresses in rainbows - 2 pack for $8.02
4T cartwheel short in camo/pink/blue - 3 pack for $7.93
XS cartwheel short in camo/pink/blue - 3 pack for $6.47
M cartwheel short in camo/pink/blue - 3 pack for $6.25
L cartwheel short in camo/pink/blue - 3 pack for $6.75
XL capri leggings in feathers - 4 pack for $10.97
XL capri leggings in tossed fruit - 4 pack for $10.17
XXL capri leggings in feathers - 4 pack for $9.92
2T capri leggings in feathers  - 4 pack for $9.98
XS tank top in cyan/fuschia/heather gray - 3 pack for $8.52
XS tank top in bright white/even stripe navy/cherry blossom - 3 pack for $5.77
XS pull-on woven shorts in olive/chambray - 2 pack for $7.67
2T long-sleeve tees in grey camo/coral - 2 pack for $6.53

BOYS
6-12M cotton pajama set in skate dogs - 4 pieces for $6.70
XS active tank and shorts set in red/grey - 2 pieces for $3.26
L active tank and shorts set in white/blue - 2 pieces for $4.12
XL active tank and shorts set in red/grey - 2 pieces for $4.06
S short-sleeve t-shirts in chompers - 5 pack for $13.85
XS active mesh shorts in yellow/blue - 2 pack for $7.69
S short-sleeve t-shirt in kung fu kid - 3 pack for $6.95
S short-sleeve t-shirt in moto yeti - 3 pack for $6.71
M short-sleeve t-shirt in moto yeti - 3 pack for $7.02
L short-sleeve t-shirt in moto yeti - 3 pack for $6.71
M short-sleeve t-shirt in neon dino  - 3 pack for $6.52
2T active muscle tank tops - 2 pack for $4.06
4T active muscle tank tops - 2 pack for $3.98
XS active muscle tank tops - 2 pack for $4.79
XS sleeveless tank tops in go banana - 3 pack for $7.62
S sleeveless tank tops in go banana - 3 pack for $9.81
M sleeveless tank tops in go banana - 3 pack for $8.12
M sleeveless tank tops in sports - 3 pack for $7.66
L sleeveless tank tops in where's the beach - 3 pack for $7.84
XL sleeveless tank tops in globe respect - 3 pack for $6.62
XL sleeveless tank tops in where's the beach - 3 pack for $6.60
XXL sleeveless tank tops in where's the beach - 3 pack for $7.60

disney world vacation cost breakdown

One question I see posed a lot on the Disney boards is how much to budget for a trip. I thought it might be helpful to share my family's cost breakdown for those in the planning stages. For reference, we could have done this trip for a lot less than we did. However, we knew this would likely be the biggest (and potentially only) Disney trip we ever took, so we opted to do things a bit "bigger."

We traveled from September 28-October 5, 2019. Our tickets were for 2 adults + 2 children (my youngest was under 3 and therefore everything she did - from park tickets to character meals - was free). We flew from Cleveland to Tampa and stayed overnight at this Airbnb the night of 9/28. We had decided to rent a van and drove it to Orlando from 9/29-10/5 where we stayed at this Airbnb with my parents + my husband's parents (so we split the cost). The day we arrived in Tampa we visited the Florida Aquarium which I highly recommend. It had a jellyfish touch pool (the big sell for our kids) as well as an outdoor splash pad! During our time in Orlando, we did 2 full park days (Magic Kingdom and Epcot) and one night at the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP). Jon and I agreed we'd skip the party next time--there wasn't nearly as much open as we expected and it was a sold out night so it was crazy crowded.

Transportation
+Flights: We used Southwest Chase Visa credit card points, so all we had to pay was taxes + fees, which came out to $28 to fly to Tampa and $28 to fly to Cleveland. We did buy tickets for everyone, so this was for 5 round-trip flights.
+Rental Van: We rented the car through Costco Travel. I kept rebooking it as the price dropped leading up to the trip (this saved me over $200). It ended up being $321.87 for a minivan for 8 days. This was slightly more expensive than it could have been because we picked up at Tampa airport and returned to Orlando airport so it was at least $50-$100 more than if we had the same pick-up/drop-off location.
+*Parking: We decided to drive to the parks. At the time of our trip, regular parking was $25 per day. 3 days x $25 meant our parking cost was $75.
Total Cost: $452.87

Lodging
+Tampa Airbnb: $145.37
+Our portion of Orlando Airbnb: $614.52
Total Cost: $759.89 for 7 nights or $108.56/night

Disney Tickets
+*2 Park days: $437
+*MNSSHP: $266.26
+*Memory Maker: $169 (but family chipped in so we ended up paying about $115 of it)
Total Cost: $818.26

Character Meals
Note: I HIGHLY recommend doing these, especially if you don't want to stand in outrageous lines in the parks. They are definitely expensive, but for us the cost was proportionate to the experience we had. All the costs I listed here include the local taxes + a 20% tip.
+*Ohana (breakfast): $155.93
+*Chef Mickey's (brunch): $189.14
+*1900 Park Fare (dinner): $224.95
Total Cost: $570.02

Souvenirs
This out of pocket cost for us was actually $0. Since our families knew we'd be going, they had been giving our kids Disney gift cards to use in the parks at holidays and birthdays. Each child had $100 to spend which was MORE than enough and it worked out great because they knew they had $100 and once it was gone it was gone. Not once did they ask us to buy them something!

Food
I didn't track it religiously at the time, so I just looked at our bank accounts to determine what we spent on eating out (both at restaurants and within Disney) the entire trip. The total came out to $273.98 on dining out, or $34.25 a day. One of the huge perks to having stayed at houses with full kitchens meant we did a big grocery run the day we drove into Orlando and cooked our own food. This undoubtedly saved us a ton of money. I didn't include grocery costs here because that would be part of a normal budget for a week on vacation or not.
Total Cost: $273.98

Florida Aquarium
+5 tickets: $121.30

TOTAL COST: $2996.32

*Paid for with Disney gift cards that I bought at a 5% discount at Target / reimbursed the expense through Swagbucks or other money-making apps. Based on this 5% discount I managed to save an additional $104.58 by doing it this way.

Things of note:

• We did the character meals on our non-park days. This helped us get more "Disney" for less money. Our kids were almost 3, almost 5 and newly 7 at the time of the trip and 2.5 park days was a lot. You know your family best - some families can go every day for two weeks straight. I knew we were not that family and I am glad I didn't let the peer pressure of "you have to do every single park!" change my mind.
• I've heard a lot of people say to skip Epcot if you can't do all 4 parks and have young kids. Epcot was actually our 7YO's favorite park! We loved it too--my husband is vegan and we were there during the Food & Wine Festival and he went crazy sampling all the great vegan foods around the world. My girls seemed indifferent to it though I think Frozen was their favorite ride. Definitely glad we did this park.
• Memory Maker was worth it for us. To not feel like I had to constantly snap pictures at different experiences was great.
• I've heard so many people say that it's way cheaper/better to stay onsite. This was not the case for us. Our Orlando Airbnb gave us so much room to spread out, a private pool, and access to the resort pool (which had water slides, a lazy river, etc.) and the ability to cook many of our own meals. We liked being able to come and go as we needed (without having to wait for buses!) and the cost to park at the parks was nominal. 
• If you have dietary restrictions, Disney is incredible. Jon (vegan) never had issues finding something good he could eat. My youngest had a dairy allergy and Disney has allergen menus available if you ask. It was a great experience--something our local amusement park could learn from!
• Download the My Disney Experience app. We ordered a lot of food ahead in the parks so we didn't have to wait in line. Along the same vein, familiarize yourself with how Fast Passes work! Our Magic Kingdom day we never waited in line for more than 10 minutes because of the Fast Passes and by 3:30 pm when the kids were super hot and exhausted we felt like we had seen all we really cared to see and didn't have any qualms calling it a day.
• Be there for rope drop (park opening). We got so much done in the first 2 hours each day before it started to get crowded.
• Be flexible but have a general plan. I had extensively researched ride height requirements and studied the map of Magic Kingdom prior to our trip. I wanted to avoid zig-zagging all across the park so I had a general list of what rides I thought the kids would love the most and which "land" in the park they were in. This made our MK day so much smoother without the stress of a rigid schedule. 

If you have any questions or want me to share more specifics about anything, please don't hesitate to comment!

how i continue to save my family money

Please note- there may be some referral links in here. I tried to specify where!

We did our big Disney trip back at the end of September! I funded this entire trip through money-making apps, Swagbucks, and selling stuff we had no use for at garage sales. There was no greater feeling than returning home after an amazing vacation and not worrying about the impending credit card bill! If anyone is interested, I can do a breakdown of our expenses to help you plan for/budget your own Disney World vacation.

Anyway, since that trip, my husband returned to school full-time to become a teacher. That means were are solidly in the one-income family camp. I budgeted diligently in 2019 and used that / the lack of substitute teaching income he would now be bringing in to make our 2020 budget more realistic. And let me tell you: thinks are tight. Granted, our monthly budget includes squirreling away savings earmarked for specific funds--such as unexpected car repairs, local day camps, a small amount for travel, etc. In any case, I knew we would have to watch every single cent this year. While I haven't been as religious about using Swagbucks as I did when I had a savings goal (Disney) in mind, I like knowing I had a little bit of an extra buffer outside of our savings account. We do hope to take another big vacation (my 7-year-old has read all 7 Harry Potter books since Christmas, so we are thinking a split stay between Universal/a few days at Disney) eventually, but between my husband's school and ultimately (hopefully) him finding a full-time teaching job right after, the earliest we could do it would be summer 2022. So if I can even slowly start saving for the prospect of that, it would just be a bonus.

So what do I do now? Swagbucks can absolutely be time consuming. I'm not nearly as obsessed with hitting my daily goal each day so I dabble where I am able. That being said, I've already cashed out $180 just from Swagbucks in 2020. As far as much less time consuming apps, these are what I have been using regularly:

1. Achievement. This is an app that you sync with your Fitbit (or other similar fitness tracker) app and it passively earns points which can be cashed out to $10 in PayPal once you hit 10,000. It is a slow earner, but you don't really have to do anything specific with it. If you open it periodically there are short bonus surveys which can lead to more lucrative offerings. For instance, I was offered a spot in a clinical study about the flu in 2020. Just by answering brief surveys through an Achievement portal, my flu study could net me up to $106 depending on how diligently I participate this year. 

2. Ibotta (referral link if you use code beavlaf at registration). To use Ibotta, you search for stores you normally shop at (mostly grocery stores) and clip coupons in the app for products you plan to buy. When you complete your purchase you upload a snap of your receipt and receive credit back. This can be cashed out once you hit $20 to PayPal, Venmo, or a variety of gift cards. So far I've earned $667.42 just by using it!

3. ReceiptHog. This is an app that you just snap a picture of any receipt you receive and it uploads to the app. You earn coins for receipts and you can also earn bonus surveys for extra coins. These coins can be cashed out to Amazon or Visa gift cards or PayPal. Since I began using this app I have earned $80 and I am on the cusp of earning another $25. 

4. Fetch Rewards (referral link, use code FB2WH during sign-up to get a bonus $2). This is similar to ReceiptHog except it's only for stores that sell groceries. You cash out to a variety of gift cards ranging from Amazon to Dunkin to Target (and a lot more). So far I've earned $53 and I am almost to another $10 reward.

5. ReceiptPal (referral link, we both get bonus points if you use it to sign up). This is just like ReceiptHog except you are limited to how many receipts you can upload per week. You can cash out to Amazon or other retail gift cards. I couldn't quickly figure out how much I have earned from this app since I began using it, but I currently have enough for a $10 reward (I am saving until I hit $50) and I believe I earned over $25 last year.

6. Coinout. Same idea as ReceiptPal. Snap pics of any receipt and get coins which can be cashed out to PayPal, your bank or a gift card. So far I have over $5 in it and I cashed out $15 last year. 

7. Rakuten (formerly ebates. Referral link - you'll get a $10 welcome bonus if you use it and spend $25). I installed the Rakuten button for my browser and it alerts me whenever a site has a cashback option. You simply click to activate the cash back and then do your online shopping. Once a quarter they either cut you a check or send it to your PayPal. My lifetime earnings are $457.41 and that's just for doing online shopping like I normally would.

8. Shopkick (referral link, use code KIND845803 to get bonus kicks when you sign up). You open this app before walking into stores to get walk-in kicks and you can scan specified barcodes in stores to earn kicks also. These can be cashed out to PayPal or gift cards. I haven't been nearly as diligent using this since we did Disney but I do still open it when I walk into stores that have kicks available. I've cashed out $85 since I began using this app.

9. Drop (referral link, use code xc2te to get $5 in credit). I have been using this app way more since we came back from Disney. The reason is because I do a ton of Walmart Grocery pickup. If you place the pickup order through Drop, you earn 3000 points ($3) each time! These points can be cashed out to gift cards like Gap, Macy's, Domino's, etc. I have found the easiest way to use it is to build my grocery pickup order on my computer (while logged into my Walmart account) and then just submitting the order through Drop. I've earned $30 already and I am $2 away from an additional $30. You do have to link a credit card to this app for it to work, but I have had zero issues with security since I began using it early last year.

I know this seems like a lot of work, but snapping receipts takes me less than a minute total across all the apps. When you are living close to paycheck to paycheck, it is easy enough to get in the habit of using these. The pay-off has been worth it for me and it's a great way to make a little extra money.

recent amazon buys

My youngest is obsessed with Pinkalicious, so when I saw this Halloween book on sale for $2.76 I couldn't pass it up!

I'm by no means a 'crunchy mom' but I am pretty obsessed with trying to only buy super safe personal care items like sunscreen, laundry detergent and dish soap. I use EWG as a handy reference to determine what products are safest. So when I found this highly rated (per EWG) sunscreen on sale for just over $5 I snatched it up for our upcoming vacation.

Speaking of deals, I was able to snag this Builder Bot Toy for the toy closer for a mere $5!

My littlest is getting ready to start gymnastics so I snagged this cute leotard for about $12.

Note: affiliate links used. Linking up with Tanya. 

how to get round-trip airfare for a family of 5 for free

As we prepare for our upcoming Disney vacation, one cost I did not have to worry about was airfare. We signed up for the Southwest Chase Visa* where every dollar we spend earns us points we can use on airfare. The best part? If you charge $1000 on your new Southwest Rapid Rewards card within the first three months of opening it, you earn 40,000 points.

When we signed up for the card we easily hit our charge requirement in the first month by charging our groceries, utilities, and gas for our cars. Those 40k miles go a long way if you book the most affordable Wanna Get Away fare. You also earn 3000 points on the anniversary of opening your card and 1 point per $1 charged to your card. Our Southwest Visa is our primary card (we pay it off in full each month) and those points really do add up fast. There is a $69 annual fee, but considering we would have spent close to $1000 in airfare for the five of us, the annual fee is worth it.

Even better? If you book a flight and notice your fare drops in points after you've booked, you can easily rebook the same flight and get refunded the point difference! Simply login to your account on Southwest's website, click My Account at the top, and scroll down to the flight information for the flight you want to change. There is a Change link right beneath that - if you click it you can re-select your original flight and it will tell you what your credit is. I actually just rebooked our flights to Florida this morning because they had dropped in point value from about 8000 points per person to 4186 points per person!

What's even better is you can use your points for more than just airfare--Southwest has a rewards store that includes products ranging from designer clothes and bags to lawn equipment to gift cards for retailers such as Disney, Alamo and Amazon. The 14,875 points I saved by checking the flights daily and rebooking is almost enough for $125 in Disney gift cards. You can roll your savings from rebooking to make your vacation even more affordable! If you travel even once per year, this reward card is definitely worth it, especially since it's been our experience that Southwest is the most family-friendly airline.

*Affiliate link used. Thank you for supporting BMB!

prime purchases: disney must-have shopping list{clear

I always love seeing what people are buying these days! Thought I'd join a link-up and share what I've bought for Disney because we moved our trip up to this fall! We hoped to squeak it in right before Star Wars Land opened, but of course they are moving ahead of schedule so now it is opening around a month before we leave! Anyway, after extensive research, here are a few things we've bought this month:

{cooling towels for that hot Florida sun}

{silicone fasteners so our Magic Bands don't fall off}

{clear bags for the stroller to expedite time in security lines}

{misting fan because Florida}

{phone charger bank since you use for phone to check wait times, schedule fast passes, etc.}

{disposable rain ponchos, because unexpected rain storms and who wants to carry around a wet poncho?}

{water filter bottles because rumor has it the fountain water from Disney does not taste great and these can be filled then squired into respective Contigo cups}

{this belt because I can't bring myself to do a bonafide fanny pack and I don't want to carry a purse!}

Other items we are planning on taking into the park include: hand sanitizer, baby wipes/diapers, sunscreen, bug repellent, snacks (granola bars, fruit pouches, etc.), some bottled water (for when we aren't near a fountain), a change of clothes for each kiddo/an extra pair of shoes in case one pair gets really wet, first aid kit and lip balm.

Linking up with Tanya