Author: Rebecca Alston

Does your spending ever go off course? You aren’t the only one. Although it isn’t ideal to go over budget, every family does it every once in a while.

Maybe there’s a big sale on diapers that cost more upfront but promises big long-term savings, so you sink a little more money than usual on this household essential. Or perhaps you have to call a late-night plumber to deal with an emergency leak and get stuck with a shocking invoice.

Overspending only becomes a problem when the months you overspend start to outnumber the months you follow your budget. Chronic overspending can stretch your paycheck thin and leave you unprepared for emergencies or future goals.

So how do you fix an underperforming budget and get your spending back on course? Check out these no-nonsense tips to help you save more.

Plan for Emergencies

Nobody plans to take their kid to the walk-in clinic or emergency dentist, but things happen. Your son might chip his tooth on a jawbreaker, or your daughter may hurt herself climbing a tree.

Unexpected medical expenses are one of the worst culprits for going over your budget, even if you have insurance. Between deductibles, copays, and other out-of-pocket costs, they can wrack up a big bill.

You should set aside some money each month for these unpredictable expenses. If you’re short of what you need, you can apply for a cash advance to help you out. You can find a short term small dollar loan that works in a pinch if you get approved. But it’s helpful to know that cash advances come in different shapes and sizes.

Calculate Irregular Purchases

Irregular expenses are your budget’s worst enemy. It’s easy to forget about these expenses until they crash-land in your budget. You might not have the wiggle room to pay for them on such short notice.

That’s why you should sit down and make a list of all those expenses that come once or twice a year. Here are some to help you brainstorm:

•         Toiletries
•         Clothes
•         Dental check-ups
•         Vehicle tune-ups
•         Birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays
•         Income and/or property tax
•         Union dues

Try out Different Budgets

Yep, you read that right. There are different kinds of budgets! While the financial world talks in a single “budget,” they use it to describe any deliberate spending plan.

Perhaps the most common budgeting method is the percentage budget. It splits your spending into three major categories and assigns them a percentage of your income. According to this method, you should spend 50% of your money on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings.

While this breakdown might make sense to you, it might not! There are tons of other budgeting methods out there for you to explore. Here are two of them:

•         The Envelope System: This method splits your month’s income into envelopes for each major spending category, like rent and groceries. Once these envelopes are empty, you can’t spend any more in that category until the next month. Although typically a cash-based system, there’s a way to do it digitally, too.
•         Zero-Based Budget: Also known as the zero-sum budget, this method means you give a job to every last penny you earn. By assigning tasks, you’ll be encouraged to use your money responsibly. It also prevents cash from sitting in your accounts, begging to be spent on splurges.

Bottom Line

If you’ve been spending more money than you should, these tips help you budget with intention. Try them out to give yourself a better chance at following your plan!

 

Not all dog foods are created equal. In fact, there are dog foods specifically formulated for puppies, senior dogs, and small breeds. But what do you do if you have a large dog? And, do big breeds eat a lot more? And, how do you know what and how much to feed them? Here’s what you need to know to make the perfect diet plan for your pup. 

 

Talk To Your Veterinarian 

First, you should always talk to your dog’s veterinarian before deciding on your dog’s diet. Why? For one, their veterinarian can help you find the correct food for them. But also, you’ll learn if your dog has any specific dietary needs, has allergies, or needs a certain serving size. 

 

For example, some experts and veterinarians recommend a low fat diet for large dog breeds, especially if they have a higher opportunity at becoming overweight or obese. But that doesn’t mean that every large dog needs to be fed a low fat diet. However, a larger dog, especially if more active, will need more calories than a smaller dog. A veterinarian will tell you where to keep your dog’s daily caloric intake. 

 

Last but not least, it’s important to know the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that your big breed will need. Many large breeds have joint and bone problems throughout their life. A diet higher in Calcium, Iron, and Vitamin D can help keep your dog from being deficient and making those joint and bone problems worse. 

 

Use The Proper Food During Each Stage Of Life

Even with dog food formulas made for big dogs, there are still differences in the recipes for puppies, adults, and seniors. And, if your dog has allergies, digestive issues, or needs a special diet, that will affect the type of food they need as well. This all leads to choosing the best dog food based on your dog’s current needs. 

 

Did you know that large and giant breeds typically don’t reach adulthood until about 18 months? Unlike smaller dogs, they need a little more extra time to grow. So, instead of switching your puppy to adult dog food right at 12 months like you would a smaller breed, you’ll need to keep them on puppy food for a while longer. 

 

And of course, larger dogs also tend to reach their senior years faster than small dogs. In fact, many bigger dogs have a lifespan of only 7 to 12 years. So you’ll need to switch to senior dog food faster than you would with a smaller dog. 

 

Look At The Size Of The Food

Have you ever seen kibble from different brands or formulas? Some dog food is small and round, while others are larger disks. And yes, size really does matter when it comes to your dog’s food. 

 

Your dog will enjoy their food more when their food fits in their mouth properly. Plus, for large breeds, the larger food pellets allow them to chew their food versus just swallowing it whole. Thus, this helps your dog eat their food slower and could help keep them from eating too fast and overeating. 

 

When your dog is a puppy, you may be able to get away with smaller sized kibble. Just be sure that if your pup is eating too fast, that you adjust their portions or get dog food with larger pieces. Puppies can choke if they swallow too much kibble at once, even if the food is small. 

 

Another way to keep your big breed from overeating or wolfing down their food is to focus on the container that their food is in. While the size of the food matters, so does the container that holds the food. If your dog has a habit of eating too fast or choking on food, try a slow feeding food bowl. 

 

Always Measure Out Their Food 

Last but not least, you’ll need to measure out the proper serving size for your dog. Just because they are a bigger breed, it doesn’t mean that they can eat food all day, every day. On almost all bags of commercial dog food, you’ll even find their recommended serving size for your dog. 

 

If making homemade food, feeding canned food, or if the food you purchase for your dog doesn’t have a recommended serving size, talk to your vet. They can help you come up with a diet plan and the proper serving size of food for your dog. 

 

You’ll also need to update how much you feed your dog and how often as they grow. While a pup may only need 2 cups of food, an adult that’s 100 pounds may need 4 cups or more of dog food a day. Also, if your dog is highly active, they may need more food as well. These are all questions to ask your veterinarian when creating the perfect diet plan for your dog. 

 

Here are some of the recommended serving sizes for popular big breeds: 

 

• English Mastiff (120 to 130 pounds): 6 to 10 cups of food a day
• Great Dane (110 to 175 pounds): 5 to 10 cups of food a day
• Saint Bernard (120 to 180 pounds): 6 to 7 cups of food a day
• Bernese Mountain Dog (70 to 115 pounds): 3 to 6 cups of food a day
• German Shepherd (70 to 100 pounds): 3 to 5 cups of food a day 

Do Big Breeds Eat A Lot? The Perfect Diet 

As you can see, most larger dogs do in fact need a lot more food than their smaller counterparts. While talking to your veterinarian will help you decide on the type of food and serving sizes, it’s important to remember that your large breed will eat more. 

 

This can seem like a lot of you’re not used to large dog breeds, or if your dog is highly active and always seems hungry. But trust that their bodies were made to eat more, and as long as you’re feeding them nutritious and appropriate dog food, they should be just fine. 

Wellness, Sustainability, Self-Love, while all of these have become a bit of buzzwords over the last few years, it’s with good reason. All of these concepts are things that we should be living our truths with gusto. If we want to pass down a more sustainable and safe planet for our children, we as the gatekeepers of their futures need to show them the way by living this way ourselves. We show them self-love by taking the time we need as parents to do the things that we love, and sometimes we include the children in those activities. We show them about wellness by feeding them healthy foods, involving them in physical activities and mindfulness practices. And, we show them sustainability by choosing not to use single-use items. By packing their lunches in “different” bags and boxes than some of their peers. By giving them the chore of helping with recycling. But, what about when it comes to one essential thing that we as humans do every single day – get dressed. It’s time we start not only dressing ourselves sustainably but imparting the importance of doing so on our children as well. Here’s how we can get that done. 

 

Start With Ourselves 

If you’re like most of us this past year, you’ve been basically living in loungewear. Heck, if you’re like most mothers, you’ve been living in some form of athleisure or loungewear since you had your children. But where are those made? What was the actual cost of that twenty-dollar pair of leggings? Instead of buying quantity, choose quality. Purchase a sustainable pair of bamboo yoga pants and buy a pair for your mini as well. You can explain how they feel so much softer and more comfortable. Let them know the reasons why. You can also use this moment to teach them about the unfortunate and horrible conditions some people are forced to work in to create the clothing that we see mass-produced in so many big box stores. It may seem like a heavy topic, but no one knows your child better than you. If it’s a conversation you feel comfortable having with them, it’s essential to have it. 

 

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 

Gosh, how long has this phrase been around? You would think after decades of hearing it, we would have applied it to the way we consume fashion. Unfortunately, many, if not most of us, have not. The way it’s meant in terms of our clothing is to reduce the amount of clothing you buy. Simple. With so many people moving towards minimalism in a lot of areas of their lives, reducing clothing consumption is a natural step. Reuse what you already own. Do you have things that you’d wear more or again if you took them to the tailor? Stop procrastinating and do it. Breathe new life into that favorite garment you’ve cast aside because you didn’t feel like taking it to get altered. Reuse is also applicable to second-hand shopping. When you buy second-hand, you’re keeping clothing out of the landfill and giving it a new loving home. As a mother, shopping second-hand makes incredible sense as our kids are growing so quickly; why spend a ton of money for them only to wear it a month or two? And, trust me, your child can absolutely stay on-trend wearing second-hand clothing because parents are donating their kids outgrown clothing every day. You won’t have a hard time finding current pieces shopping this way. Lastly, recycling simply means to either donate your preloved clothing to a donation center or to friends and family you know could use it. 

 

Buy From Sustainable Brands 

You may find this is alarming, but did you know that most of the clothes you’ll discover mass-produced contain plastic? And you wonder how microplastics are even found in falling snow. Purchase your clothing from sustainable brands that are ethically sourced and manufactured. You want to make sure your clothing is made of natural fabrics like cotton, silk, bamboo, or linen. You’ll not feel better wearing it, and you’ll look better too. It also has the added health benefit of allowing your skin to breathe and not exposing you to harmful dyes in your fabrics. 

This list isn’t all-inclusive. But, it is a jumpstart on things you can do to start living a greener life for yourself and your family. The idea of including your children in these types of choices is yours to make but certainly sets them up for making important decisions as they age. We have one life on this planet, so let’s make it a better one than we found it, for our children and our own consciences.

In the wake of numerous research and studies on vaping being safer than smoking, more and more people are getting into vaping. Aside from helping them quit smoking, vaping also helps reduce many risks, including health ones, associated with smoking cigarettes.

However, the perks of vaping top vape juices don’t end there. We’ve decided to create a list of the five incredible benefits of vaping e-juice that largely influence people’s decision to come to the vape side. If you’re ready to leave traditional smoking behind and venture into something new, here are some advantages of vape juice.

A ton of flavor options

Vaping brands offer an extensive selection of top vape juice products to choose from. If you have a favorite food, drink, candy, beverage, or something entirely else, the chances are that there’s a vape juice in that particular flavor.

The best comparison to how wide your choice really can be is to think about the many bottled water brands you can find in your local store. Imagine having 50 or more flavor options to tap into whenever you want. If you’ve never tried the Holy Cannoli ejuice, you don’t know what you’re missing. At the moment, sweet and fruity are the most popular flavors around.

No discoloration on your fingers

Smokers have yellow and brown stains on their teeth, mouth, nose, and fingers – that’s how you can easily recognize them. These stains are caused by nicotine build-up, and they make your hands, hair, and breath smell awful.

Since this is nothing but disgusting, you can get rid of such a problem by simply switching to vaping. Instead of a smelly breath, you can leave a cloud of citrusy goodness behind you.

Vaping allows you to control your nicotine intake

Vape juices are an excellent way to gain control over your nicotine intake daily. Many smokers lose track of how much they smoke every day. Before they know it, they end up needing more and more.

That’s not the case with e-juices. They allow you to control how much nicotine you consume daily. It’s one of the biggest reasons why so many smokers shift to vaping products. More importantly, there are vape juices available without any nicotine at all, as well as an array of different nicotine strengths.

Instant satisfaction

Vape juices provide users with 100% satisfaction in an instant. The moment your vape is ready, you can take a puff whenever you feel like it. Smokers have to smoke an entire cigarette to get the same satisfaction and effect. Vaping allows you to enjoy it in a moment without any of the adverse health effects.

An effective way to cease smoking

Finally, the most significant advantage of vaping e-liquids is helping you quit your smoking habit. It will also help you save money by getting rid of the nasty habit. Switch to a much healthier and tastier alternative to tobacco and join the cigarette-free world.

Conclusion

Vape juices come in so many different flavors and shapes. They help people quit smoking and discover new ways of having so much fun without the risk associated with smoking.