If you have many mouths at home to feed, you’ll understand how difficult it can be to cook for a family on a budget. There’s a fine balance between cooking foods that will make your kids say “yum” but don’t add up to a supermarket bill that makes you say “yikes.” When you add the fact that each meal needs to be nutritionally balanced and healthy, the challenge can sometimes be overwhelming. However, don’t give up! Cooking for your family on a budget is possible, and it can even be fun and tasty when you get into the swing of things.

Here are a few ideas for money-saving dishes that everyone young and old will enjoy:

Make-Your-Own Pizza

What child doesn’t love eating pizza? The homemade version is a lot healthier, cheaper and more fun than eating it in a restaurant because everyone can be involved. If you have time, you can make the dough from scratch the night before which will save you even more money. If you don’t want to buy a pricey jar of sauce from the store, just find a cheap tin of tomato sauce and jazz it up with salt, oregano, black pepper, and any other spices that you enjoy. Buy some cheap mozzarella cheese, green peppers, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, and anything else that you and your kids like on your pizzas. Separate the dough into individual pizza sizes, and cook it for a short time in the oven to prevent it from becoming soggy. Now for the fun part, as your little ones get to assemble their own pizzas by hand!

Casseroles

A delicious and hearty casserole should be on your menu for cold winter nights, as these healthy dishes are easy to cook, well loved, and save you money because they allow you to use some of the cheaper and tougher cuts of meat at the supermarket. These tough cuts will soften after being simmered in the oven for several hours, and become juicy and flavourful. Casseroles should be cooked for most of the day, so plan your ingredients in advance and prepare them in the morning. Simply combine your ingredients such as meat, vegetables, beans, and pasta or rice in a casserole dish and place in the oven to cook. By the time dinner rolls around, the house will be filled with a delicious smell and you will have a nutritious and delicious one-dish meal waiting for you!

Soups

Soup is very easy to make and a hearty homemade soup from leftover vegetables can feed a family for next to nothing. If you grow your own vegetables, soup is even cheaper! Kids love the comforting warmth of soup, but you might have to remind them not to slurp! There are no rules when it comes to making soup. Start with a hearty stock which can be homemade with leftover meat or created with soup stock cubes. Next, add anything you desire including vegetables, barley, rice, pasta, and spices. Serve it with some nice bread or dinner rolls, and you will have a happy and well fed family!

These are just a few ways that you can treat your family to healthy and hearty meals for much less money. There are many possibilities when it comes to cheap meals, so use these suggestions as a jumping-off point to experimenting with your own ideas and creating your own recipes!

Barry Hardcastle writes about money matters on Devon Money Man, and has worked on behalf of such financial brands clients as business banking specialists Ulster Bank.

The exterior of your home is like a shell. By merely improving the insulation, you can make your home much more energy efficient. By sealing leaks, you can make your home cozier and reduce your energy expenditure for space heating and cooling. Your home needs energy day in and day out to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It uses this energy to provide you with hot water and to run electric appliances like your refrigerator, oven, washing machine and other amenities. A handyman can be of use in making these changes if you’re not up to the task yourself.

Space heating and cooling account for maximum energy use and is the largest energy expense for most homes. Here are a few ideas that you can implement to make your home more cost-effective:

Replace old windows

Replacing old and leaky windows with weatherstripping and storm windows, so that you save on your heating and air-conditioning bills is a great idea. The heat conduction of the walls can be reduced by installing fiberglass, cellulose, and foam insulation materials.

Plant trees around your home

The most economic way to make your home energy efficient is to plant trees in your backyard and front garden. Even if your home is old, a good plantation can save on electricity bills. Landscaping will help prevent the exterior of your home from getting much warmer or colder in extreme weathers.

Install Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Fluorescent lamps are energy efficient. You will be astonished to know that electricity to run a light bulb costs way more than the bulb itself. Turn off the light if you leave a room, even if for a while. Make sure that your devices are not plugged in when not in use. If you are not charging your phone, then remove the plug, or else the power will continue to flow to the device.

Some people find that getting the exterior of their home painted makes their home more warmer inside. Get the cracks, gaps, and other holes in the home’s exterior repaired and you will feel the difference.

Mathew Leonard is a writer for Handyman London.

The world has gone green on a lot of things, and vehicle production and assembly has not been left behind. With state incentives, federal tax credits and affordable insurance now available for eco-friendly car owners, more and more people are switching to them. Also referred to as eco-friendly cars, green cars operate on alternative fuels rather than petroleum.

Each alternative fuel type has a number of unique benefits and challenges. But they all share the eco-friendly factor, in that they emit less pollutants and gas emissions. This factor alone makes the cars special and affects their value, cost and insurance.

The most common types of eco-friendly cars are:

1. Hybrid Vehicles – These are the most common eco-friendly cars on the roads. They use both gas and battery power for propulsion. They are the most affordable eco-friendly cars and attract the highest auto insurance discounts. Their only disadvantage is that they still give gas emissions, since half the time they are in operation gasoline is used.

2. Electric Vehicles – Electric vehicles are powered solely by batteries. Hydrogen is typically used to power the batteries. These are the most environmentally friendly vehicles on the market as they emit virtually no pollutants.  Their only disadvantage is that their costs of acquisition and maintenance are both high.

3. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) – These cars are powered by a combination of alternative fuel and electricity stored in batteries. The battery is used to run the car most of the time, and in most cases light-duty PHEV owners can drive to and from work without switching on their fuel energy.

The advantages of PHEVs are low fuel costs and minimal emissions. The battery is also fully rechargeable, either via the car’s built-in combustion engine or an external electric power source, which is another advantage.

The only disadvantage in using this car is the high cost of acquisition. They are the most expensive type of eco-friendly vehicles in the market.

4. Alternative fuel vehicles – These cars use ethanol, natural gas, hydrogen or biodiesel. All these fuels have minimal to zero emissions, which is their strongest point. Biodiesel can be produced from numerous sources and is bio-degradable.

Ethanol is a decent fuel but it’s expensive, can only be used on flexible fuel vehicles and is not readily available. Hydrogen is expensive, and you get fewer miles for a full tank of compressed natural gas. Also, some models may not qualify for insurance discounts.

Eco-Friendly Vehicle Insurance

The good news is that when you own an eco-friendly vehicle, you enjoy discounted auto insurance. Here are some models that may qualify:

• Honda (Civic, Civic Hybrid, Accord and Accord Hybrid)
• Hyundai (Accent and Elantra)
• Ford (Focus, Focus Wagon and Escape Hybrid)
• Lexus RX400h
• Mercury Mariner Hybrid
• Nissan Sentra and
• A range of Toyota and Volkswagen models.

Erica Stewart writes for Cheap Insurance 123.

A lot of people are starting to realize the effect that their actions are having on the environment. Many of these individuals are making the decision to change their lives and start adopting behaviors that are a whole lot more environmentally friendly. If you would like to join this club and start doing more things to enhance the environment then you have come to the right place. Here are a few ways that a home buyer can lower their carbon footprint. Keep in mind that you can apply these steps to every stage of your property journey; be it when you are buying your first home, upgrading to a larger home, refinancing your existing home loan or even getting your next investment property.

Unplug your appliances

You probably are not aware of the fact that all of your electronics and appliances are using up power even when you are not using them. These items may use less power in standby mode but they are still running up your utility bill and harming the environment. You can help to save the environment around you by unplugging these items when not in use. Disconnect your laptop cord, cell phone charger, electric shavers, televisions, DVD players, and gaming systems to conserve energy.

Make your home energy efficient

You can start by making sure that your home is properly insulated so that it keeps cool air in during the summer months and keeps heat in during the winter. This will save your furnace from running all of the time. Switch to reusable filters as well so you no longer have to keep disposing of old filters every few months. Change all of your light bulbs over to compact fluorescent light bulbs. These bulbs are known for being energy efficient and have the EnergyStar seal of approval.

Start recycling

Everyone should recycle in this day and age because it is easy to do and the right thing for the earth. You can recycle bottles, paper cups, paper bags, paper plates, and aluminum foil. Set up two bins in your kitchen. One container will be for all of the items that you have which are recyclable and one for the items that are not. Most neighborhoods even have trucks that will come around once a week and dispose of these items for you.

Plant a garden

Planting a garden at home will keep you from having to drive to the store to purchase your vegetables and produce. Many of the items that you buy at the grocery store have to travel a great distance to get to you. Buying less vegetables and produce from the store will reduce the amount of gases that the transportation trucks emit delivering food to your local grocer.

All of the above steps are easy to incorporate into your everyday life and will make you feel better because you will know that you are doing your part to reduce carbon pollution.

Fossil fuel consumption is one of the leading sources of air pollution in our world today, and the solution to this problem is in the hands of everyday people like you and me. However, with so many ways to go green these days, it can be difficult to figure out where to begin. One step towards going green that is often overlooked is the moving of a vehicle when relocating to a new home.

If you’re planning to make a big move anytime in the near future (perhaps from state to state or even country to country) the most fuel efficient way to do it is by using a reliable auto transport company.

The auto transport industry is an incredible resource, which when used correctly, can be beneficial for both the user and the environment. By choosing to use a qualified auto transport company for your move, you are choosing to save money, but also to conserve fuel. By loading multiple vehicles onto a carrier truck, auto shipping companies are able to get up to ten cars across the country while only using about 1/5 of the fuel which would be used if each of those cars made the journey on their own four wheels. When you multiply those fuel savings by the number of auto transports carried out per year (hundreds of thousands), the amount of pollution being eliminated is tremendous.

Now once you’ve made the decision to use auto transport services for your move, it’s important that you take the time to find out which company is the right fit for all of your needs. Certain things to look for, outside of a good price of course, include number of years in business, customer testimonials, and even the legitimacy of the company’s website.

Most importantly, you want to make sure that whichever company you go with is conscious of its impact on the environment. If a company is not adhering to any sort of quality standards as far as pollution goes, it’s not a company worth dealing with. You should check to make sure that your shipping provider is committed to finding greener options for their business operation. Ask what they’re doing when it comes to things such as idle reduction, aerodynamic technologies, and green retrofitting technologies. Also, make sure that your company is using the most up to date route planning software to ensure that they’re planning out the most efficient shipments.

Take some time to look into the auto transport industry and find out how you can save your wallet and your world all at once.

Preston Webb is a writer for A1 Autotransport.