Family and Consumer Sciences

Live Smart Ohio

Ohio State University Extension

Budgeting

Save Money by Lowering Vacation Costs

Lower Vacation Costs While I was growing up my father would sometimes say this about vacations, “It is not what you are doing that makes it a vacation, it is what you are not doing.” While it is true that we never went to “Wally World” we did go on a vacation of sort every […]

WRITTEN BY: Ken Stewart, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Monroe County

REVIEWED BY: Dr. Roseanne Scammahorn, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Darke County

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Photo by Ken Stewart

SOURCES:

  • https://www.kasasa.com/blog/travel/cheap-vacation-ideas "Cheap Vacation Ideas: 11 Tips for More Affordable Summer Travels" March 22, 2022
  • https://www.ramseysolutions.com/saving/cheap-vacation ideas "15 Cheap Vacation Ideas for your Whole Family"- March 9, 2022
  • https://www.travelinspiredliving.com/things-to-see-in-ohio/

REFERENCES:

  • http://www.senic.org/
  • http://www.travelinspiredliving.com/
  • http://www.withintheworld.com/no-money-traveling

Don’t Delay, Start Saving TODAY!

Maybe you missed the boat in starting to save for retirement earlier in life. If so, you are not alone. One in three Baby Boomers (33%), the generation closest to retirement age, only have between $0-$25,000 in retirement savings, while 21% of Americans have no retirement savings at all. The average American spends roughly 20 […]

WRITTEN BY: Dr. Roseanne E. Scammahorn, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension Darke County

REVIEWED BY: Melissa Rupp, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension Fulton County

What is the New Child Tax Credit?

Did you receive a letter this week from the IRS? The letter indicated that your family may be eligible for the new and improved Child Tax Credit. In March, President Biden signed the “American Rescue Plan” (ARP) into law. This bill included a change to the Child Tax Credit, which has been around since the […]

WRITTEN BY: Lauren Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Sciences and Emily Marrison, OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator, Coshocton County

REVIEWED BY: Roseanne Scammahorn, PhD, OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator, Darke County

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • https://pixabay.com/photos/clock-money-growth-grow-time-2696234/

SOURCES:

  • Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021. (2021, May 28). Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved June 8, 2021, from https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021
  • Hooper, S.E. (2020). Start an emergency fund before disaster strikes. University of Minnesota Extension. https://extension.umn.edu/how-prepare/start-emergency-fund-disaster-strikes
  • Marrison, E.G. (2020, March 23). When your financial world is turned upside down. Ohio State University Extension Live Healthy Live Well Blog. https://livehealthyosu.com/2020/03/23/when-your-financial-world-is-turned-upside-down/

REFERENCES:

  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau https://www.consumerfinance.gov/

Stocking Up for When You’re Stuck at Home – Part 2: How $180 in groceries fed 2 people for 20 days ($1.50/meal)

Three weeks ago, I wrote about stocking up for staying at home. I had gone shopping on March 13, after being away for over a week. Because many grocery shelves were bare, I had to make some substitutions and compromises and to shop at three different stores in Columbus to get items that would provide […]

WRITTEN BY: Carol Smathers, MS, MPH, Associate Professor and Extension Field Specialist in Youth Wellness and Nutrition

REVIEWED BY: Roseanne Scammahorn, PhD, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Darke County and Susan Zies, M.Ed., Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Wood County

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Carol Smathers

SOURCES:

  • https://livesmartohio.osu.edu/food/smathers-14osu-edu/stocking-up-for-when-youre-stuck-at-home-healthy-food-for-less-than-2-meal/
  • http://cookingmatters.org/tips/10-tips-stock-your-pantry
  • https://www.choosemyplate.gov/ten-tips-make-better-food-choices
  • https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/media/file/CostofFoodFeb2020.pdf
  • https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/76/6/1207/4689551
  • https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200331-how-to-eat-a-healthy-diet-when-work-from-home-coronavirus
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/04/01/go-grocery-shopping-every-two-weeks-you-can-and-without-hoarding/
  • https://celebrateyourplate.org/tips/shopping

REFERENCES:

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition.

Ditch the Debt in 2020

The holiday decorations have been stowed away, we have sung Auld Lang Syne as we rang in a new year, and now it is time make our 2020 resolution. Rather than picking the same one as in years past, how about trying Debt Dumping? Setting a goal isn’t always easy, it takes commitment and dedication […]

WRITTEN BY: Dr. Roseanne Ellison Scammahorn, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Darke County, scammahorn.5@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Kellie Lemly, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Champaign County, lemly.2@osu.edu

SOURCES:

  • Setting Goals for the New Year (Ohio State University) - https://u.osu.edu/ohwomeninag/tag/smart-goals/
  • Manage You Money (Ohio State University) - https://fcs.osu.edu/programs/major-program-areas/healthy-finances/money-management/manage-your-money
  • Setting Goals for the Agricultural Business (Ohio State University)- https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/u.osu.edu/dist/1/14976/files/2015/11/Goal-Setting-1akh1p7.pdf
  • Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise (Mississippi State University) - http://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/miscellaneous/m1473_0.pdf
  • Budget Apps (Mississippi State University)- https://www.bulldogbudgets.msstate.edu/budget/#budget-app

Healthy Eating for $4.50 a day??? No Fooling!

The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion issues monthly USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food Reports that estimate the current weekly/monthly costs of a nutritious diet at four different levels (thrifty, low-cost, moderate-cost, and liberal). The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the nutritional bases of the Food Plans. Here are some examples from the […]

REVIEWED BY: Dan Remley, PhD, OSU Extension Field Specialist

SOURCES:

  • https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietary-guidelines
  • https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodFeb2019.pdf https://www.choosemyplate.gov/dietary-guidelines
  • https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/fruit-and-vegetable-prices/interactive-chart-costs-per-edible-cup-equivalent/
  • https://celebrateyourplate.org/
  • https://www.choosemyplate.gov/budget

REFERENCES:

  • The Thrifty Food Plan 2006 Report, which details the development and methodology of the TFP (in 64 pages) is available online in PDF format at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/MiscPubs/TFP2006Report.pdf

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