Review Your Budget – The first of the year with pay and tax changes effective 1 January, this is the perfect time to review your budget or spending plan. You can evaluate how you spent your money last year and make a plan to make changes that will help you succeed financially this year. Don’t have a budget? Now’s the perfect time to start. A budget is just a list of your income and your spending plan. It does not require an app or fancy spreadsheet. A pencil and notebook work just as well, especially if you’re new at budgeting.

Plan for Christmas This Year – The Christmas rush is over. The tree is down, the ornaments are back in the storage shed, and some toys are broken or forgotten already. Make Christmas easier by creating your Christmas budget now. Make a list of everyone you want to buy for and set a spending amount for each person. Add some for new decorations, office parties, secret Santa gifts, and wrapping paper, divide by 12 (or number of paydays until Christmas), and start setting that amount aside now. The money will be there when the shopping season starts and you’ll have money set aside if you find that perfect gift in July.

Create a Debt Elimination Strategy – Debt payments reduce the amount of money available to spend and save. Make a plan to reduce and pay off that debt by using the Debt Snowball Method where you focus on paying off your smallest debts first and then pay them off one by one until they are all paid off. The Debt Avalanche Method of paying off the debts with the highest interest rates will save you the most in interest. Use the PowerPay: Debt Reduction Tool to see how quickly you can be out of debt.

Check Your Tax Withholding – Did you get a big tax refund last year? Did you owe taxes when you filed? Changing your W4 with your employer can help you “right size” your withholding so you pay the right amount of taxes throughout the year. Use the Tax Withholding Estimator | Internal Revenue Service to help you determine the withholding right for you.

Boost Your Savings – Interest rates at your local bank or credit union are next to nothing and moving your savings to a high-yield savings account (HYSA) can boost your savings. According to DepositAccounts.com, the average bank account earns 0.5% APY but the top HYSAs pay seven to eight times that! HYSAs are easy to open and make transfers.

Check Your Credit Report – Review all three major reports and report any discrepancies. You can order all three reports from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax at Annual Credit Report.com for free once per year!

Taking these few steps early in the year can set you up for financial success for later in the year. Need more help? See your installations Family Support Center or financial counselor.

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My family has always disliked giving money away as a gift because well, quite frankly, it’s boring, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! My pre-teen is being especially stubborn this Christmas and insists that she doesn’t want anything. ***Insert eye roll here*** I just happen to know, possibly from experience with this particular child, that all of this will change about a week away from the big day. Guess what? At that point, it’s a lil too late for Mama Bear to be running around trying to make last minute wishes come true. My solution? Well…a handful of gift cards and, yeah, I’m actually saying it…Money!

I figured I at least had to jazz it up a bit. If I’m giving out cash, it’s gonna be creative! So, I decided on these two gifts – a candy jar and a homemade card. This way there will be more to my present than just a thin sheet of a cotton and linen blend. (Did you know that’s what dollar bills are made of!? True story!)

M&M Filled Candy Jar Supplies:

• Empty Jar
• Toilet Paper Roll
• Wrapping Paper
• Holiday M&Ms
• Money

M&M Filled Candy Jar Directions:

• Wrap your toilet paper roll in wrapping paper.

• Stick the roll inside of the jar and begin filling the sides with M&Ms!

• Place the money inside of the toilet paper roll and seal with a lid.
• Add a cute label if you’d like or tie a ribbon around the top if you prefer.

So easy and super fun, right?!?!

Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees Card Supplies:

• Construction Paper – blue, white, green, and brown
• Scissors
• Glue
• Tape
• Dollar Bills

Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees Card Directions:

• Fold blue paper in half to make a card.
• Cut a snow slope shape out of the white paper.
• Glue to the bottom of the blue card.
• Cut trees out of the green paper.
• Make square trunks with the brown.
• Fold dollar bills into triangles.

• Glue the trees and trunks down to the paper.
• Tape the triangle money trees to the paper.

It took me 15 minutes to put each of those crafts together which, actually, totally beats driving to the store and standing in line doesn’t it? Happy Holidays!!

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The first recipe is Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Popcorn. YUM! With just a few super simple ingredients, you will make this treat in no time! Then, I went ahead and made some super yummy hot cocoa for my kiddos to have with our popcorn!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Un-popped Popcorn
• 1 Cup White Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 Teaspoon Mint Extract
• 1 Package Chocolate Mints (like Andes), chopped or Mint & Chocolate Baking Chips
• Red Sprinkles
• Green Sprinkles

Directions:

• Pop the popcorn.
• Pour into a large bowl.
• In a separate small bowl, add the extract to the white chocolate.
• Melt in the microwave.
• Add your ingredients to the large bowl
• Stir.

• Spread on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
• Add red and green sprinkles.
• Let it cool for at least an hour.
• Serve & Enjoy!

Hot Cocoa Ingredients:

• 4 Cups of Whole Milk
• 1 Cup of White Chocolate Chips
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Tiny pinch of salt.

Directions:

• Slowly heat all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking until the chocolate is melted. Don’t bring it to a boil or it will scorch the milk.
• Once heated, add to your favorite holiday mugs and now it’s time to top! I have one kid who loves marshmallows and one who loves whipped cream, and they both love sprinkles!
• Serve & Enjoy!

It was such a fun afternoon and really put me in the holiday spirit. I think we’ll whip this up again over the weekend and have a holiday movie marathon! This snack was just so warm and toasty…a perfect remedy if Jack Frost is nipping at your nose!

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Ingredients:

• 2 tubes of Crescent Rolls
• 1 block of Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 can Cherry Pie Filling
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Open the crescent roll tubes, but don’t separate them. You’ll need 22 slices of crescent rolls. I scored mine with a knife before cutting just to make sure I’d cut enough.

Use a serrated blade and gently cut your slices.

Arrange your rolls into a Christmas tree design. I started at the bottom with six and built my pyramid with one left over for the tree stem.

Mix the cream cheese with the granulated sugar and vanilla extract.

Create little wells in each crescent roll using the back of a spoon.

Add a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture to each well.

Top the cream cheese with a spoonful of the cherry pie filling.

Pop it in the oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

I had about half a can of pie filling and half the cream cheese mixture leftover. I stored them in a ziploc bag for another batch of danishes later!

Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes!

Once cooled, drizzle the glaze on top and serve!

Notes:

• If you don’t prefer cherry pie filling, then pick your favorite pie filling!

How pretty is this tree? It’s so festive and perfect for Christmas morning! OMG! These danishes are SO GOOD! They’re creamy, sweet, tart, with the crispy buttery edge of the crescent rolls. Simply delicious! I hope you try this super easy recipe for Christmas morning or even this weekend!

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Buy a 12 or 24 pack of cans and arrange them like a cake. Check out these examples:

The gift of Pepsi drinks is sure to be a crowd favorite.

You could also put together a snack basket that is sure to be enjoyed by many. Here are some examples:

Do you know someone who loves to spend time in the kitchen?  Give the ingredients to a favorite recipe and the recipe itself and there you have a thoughtful and unique gift. You may even introduce them to a recipe that they love so much it becomes a regular for them. Here are two recipes that are sure to be a hit:

https://www.mymilitarysavings.com/recipes/other/pepsi-bbq-sauce

https://www.mymilitarysavings.com/recipes/dessert/mountain-dew-cake

This holiday season don’t forget to spread joy with Pepsi!

Tis the season for treats! Whether you are making them to share, for your family, or for a special gift-bringer, this is a recipe you should try. You may have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that you already use just add some Diet Pepsi to take it to the next level this year. Here is the recipe I used: 

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 extra-large egg, at room temperature

1 tablespoon Diet Pepsi, at room temperature (feel free to add more for taste but no more than 2tbsp)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350

Sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside.

Using an electric mixer or by hand mix the butter for about 3 minutes until soft and smooth.

Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Then add the egg, Diet Pepsi, and vanilla and mix until just blended.

Next, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Then add the chocolate and coarse sea salt. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stir until just blended. 

This is a very moist dough so I suggest putting the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up a bit. Then take 2-3 tbsp of dough roll it and place it on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-16 minutes or when the bottom of the cookies is golden brown. These cookies are nice and moist! The Diet Pepsi adds a nice flavor and lightness to the cookies. I want to try this using Diet Pepsi in my gingerbread cookies as well. 

Easter is just a hop, skip and jump away, and if you’re like me, you’ll be hosting Easter dinner for family and friends. One of my favorite side staples is stuffing, because no matter which holiday it is, stuffing always has a spot on my table. Honestly, my holidays are not complete without the stuffing!

That’s why I am so excited to share with you my favorite go-to stuffing recipe called Bye Bye Butter Stuffing, which, if you haven’t guessed by now, is missing an ingredient…butter!

Don’t worry, though, butter isn’t needed because I use Swanson Chicken Broth instead, and I promise you, the butter will not be missed one bit.

This delicious recipe is made within minutes and only takes a few ingredients:

3 1/2 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 ounces mushrooms, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 package (14 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Herb Seasoned Stuffing

How to Make It

Step 1
Heat the broth, black pepper, celery, onion and mushrooms in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Step 2
Add the stuffing to the saucepan and mix lightly.
And of course the best part…. eating and enjoying it!

Be sure to grab my other favorite products that are perfect for all my holiday meal staples:

Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup and French’s French Fried Onions for the holiday favorite – the infamous Green Bean Casserole

Oh, and don’t forget dessert! My favorite for Easter is Pepperidge Farm’s Chessman Banana Foster Pudding… absolutely ahh-mazing!

The holiday’s are my favorite time of year! I will be honest, I get excited about the food and the desserts. In my house, brownies are always a huge hit. So I always like to find new, unique recipes to keep the family happy.  I found this recipe at www.cocacolamilitary.com and not only does it include the amazing taste of Coca-Cola, but it has a hint of gingerbread spice that really kicks it up and will make it a holiday favorite in your house! I did add walnuts to mine but that’s because we are all about nut brownies over here.  Check out this simple Coca-Cola Brownies recipe (or try the tip of using boxed brownies if you are in a hurry). 

How To Make Coca-Cola Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• 1 Can Coca-Coke
• 1 small package of Instant sugar-free pudding mix
• 1 container of fat-free chilled whipped topping

Directions

Mix cake mix and Coca-Cola together. Bake in an oil-sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Cook at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes until slightly underdone. Cool.

Frosting: Put 1 small package of sugar-free, fat-free instant chocolate pudding mix into one 8-ounce container of fat-free chilled whipped topping. Mix well. Frost the cake and cut into squares. Enjoy!

Tip

In a hurry? Use a brownie baking mix and follow directions on the package. Replace water with Coca-Cola, and add gingerbread spice mix. 

Winner! These brownies were a hit! My son asked me to make them for Christmas Eve, so of course I will add these to the list. We love brownies, and this recipe of Coca-Cola mixed with gingerbread is really a great combination and works perfectly in this recipe. You have to try it!  

• If you don’t like frosting on your brownies, consider dusting them with powdered sugar!

Materials (makes one Santa):

• One cork
• red & pink acrylic paint
• red felt (or card)
• cotton wool (or white felt)
• PVA glue (a hot glue gun is even better; however, you can get away with PVA glue)
• ribbon for hanging
• black and red pens for details

Directions:

1)      Paint you corks 1/3 pink and 2/3s red and let them dry fully

2)      Using a glass (medium to large – e.g. 6-8cm in diameter), draw a circle on your felt. Cut this into thirds. Each third will be enough for one hat.

3)      (If you want to use these as ornaments, then..) Take a piece of ribbon, tie a knot in the end. I double knotted it, so that you can glue it into the hat more easily.

4)      Place your ribbon inside the pointy bit of your  1/3 of a circle. Then align the straight edge (trapping the ribbon inside) and glue down – this is when a hot glue gun is much easier. It does work with PVA or fabric glue, but it gets a bit messy as the felt absorbs a lot of glue. You can always use some red card instead, which you may find easier to stick.

5)      Once dried, glue the hat to your cork. If it isn’t a perfect fit, don’t worry, the cotton wool will cover it up.

6)      Unroll your cotton wool and tear off a strip for the hat brim, cut a triangle for the beard and make a little ball for the top of the hat.

7)      Glue the hat brim, the bobble ball and beard in place. You can shape it a little once stuck on by patting it down or trimming it with nail scissors.

8)      Carefully had eyes and nose (it is easy to color the cotton wool by accident) and…

Finished!

For more DIY Craft ideas visit our website at www.mymilitarysavings.com

“Dear Mrs. Durgin, would you please consider donating baked goodies for the 6th grade band’s Christmas party….” yada yada yada. Like, what!? I was baked OUT. DONE. Tired. And I couldn’t send in a plateful of cookies that I had already prepared because I wasn’t being asked to donate cookies to just a classroom – it’s the entire 6th grade BAND! Yeah. Wow. But it gets better…

I went straight to my calendar to mark down the day I’d have to drop off my 6th grader’s band treats when I noticed (now seriously, I can’t even make this stuff up) that I had forgotten my preschooler also had a Christmas party coming up and I had promised to bring in homemade yumminess for that event, too. Why was my brain suddenly in such a scramble, like I didn’t know if I was coming or going!? I went from prancing around to “Jingle Bells” to staring off into space on the counter wondering where I’d find the time to cram everything else I needed to do within the next two weeks! Sigh. December can get crazy!

My solution was to obviously find something fast and easy. Yeah, I can bring in something delicious… but I’m not spending a whole afternoon baking it. And that’s when I remembered these easy Chocolate Caramel RITZ cookies!! OMG, y’all. That’s all I can say. OMG. Life saver. Time saver. Delicious. Chocolatey. Buttery. Caramely. Are those even words? I’m not sure but they describe these cookies to a T.

Long story short, if you’re looking for a quick cookie to throw together this holiday season, but don’t want to sacrifice flavor… this is what you need to be adding to your grocery list!:

• Rolo® candies
• RITZ® crackers
• Milk chocolate chips
• Splash of milk

The amount needed varies by how many cookies you intend to make. Each cookie requires 2 RITZ® crackers and 1 Rolo® candy. About 1 cup of chocolate chips will be plenty for a batch of 2 dozen cookies.

Now check out how easy this is. Seriously.

Step 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lay RITZ® crackers face down on a baking sheet and top with a Rolo®. Bake for 3-4 minutes just to get the Rolo® to soften but NOT melt.

Step 2) Remove from oven and immediately top with another RITZ® cracker. Squish together to make a sandwich!

Step 3) Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and add a splash of milk. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring often, until chocolate is melted. Dip half of each Chocolate Caramel RITZ Cookie into the chocolate and set on wax paper to harden.

Step 4) Store in an airtight container and consume within a day or two!

This is a great go-to for all those holiday parties, classroom festivities, friend and family treat bags… anytime you need something sweet but only have about 10 minutes to create anything.

Yum. YUM. YUM!

Now afterwards, I realized a way to make this recipe even easier! For a limited time, RITZ® is offering a limited edition FUDGE covered cracker!!! HELLO! Completely cancel out the last step of the recipe with these guys! Annnd… they’re only $1.99 for a 7.5 oz box!!! That’s a win-win! And it’s more chocolate. Who doesn’t like more chocolate??

Head on over to your commissary and stock up today, guys. You don’t wanna pass these cookies up! And don’t forget to subscribe to MyMilitarySavings.com for more awesome recipes!