5 Crazy Facts about the American Economy in 2019

You can almost grab a headline at random in any day and learn something new and crazy about the U.S. economy. And yet as I have followed the economic news closely over the past few months the realization has slowly dawned on me that our economy may have turned a corner. I'm not talking about getting better or worse than it was last year. I mean that it looks to me like the American economy has entered a new era and will never be like it once was. Here are the reasons why I think things are forever different.

3 Easy Meals Anyone Can Make without Great Cooking Skills

Much as I enjoy being married to a wife who is a great cook, we have had our moments.  One of those moments was the day I realized that she expected me to continue being my own guy soon after we got married.  I guess there is a bit of chauvinist in every young husband.  You finally get married and think to yourself, "I wonder what she'll make for dinner."  That thought is only reinforced when your loving wife starts to cook.  But cooking isn't supposed to be a wife's job.  It's something we all have to do and one day when she wasn't feeling well the lady told me to fix my own dinner.  It was a perfectly reasonable request.

But I hadn't cooked anything in a while and I drew a blank.  So I went out and bought us fast food.  Zip ahead to several years later.  We resolved my dilemma by agreeing that I should help in the kitchen every now and then.  We tried a set schedule but that became a chore for both of us.  So for the past few years I just help out when the moment feels right.  And sometimes I cook dinner.  But when I was relearning my self-survival skills for the kitchen, I fell back on a few old favorite "recipes" out of pure desperation.  We laugh about those quick meal plans now.

How to Save Money on Your Next Family Vacation

Summer is almost upon us again as I write this and I know what millions of families are doing: they are prepping for a 1-week or 2-week vacation.  It's fun to take the kids somewhere new and show them a part of the wider world.  It's also expensive.  As the years have rolled by we've experimented with different types of vacations.  I've learned that you don't have to fly 10,000 miles to have a great trip.

Here are a few ideas that we've tried, and maybe a couple that we have discussed with friends.  What I like about these ideas is that they reduce travel time, expenses, and family frustration.  I hope you find some great ideas in this article.

7 Things You Should Do When You Gamble

For most people I believe that gambling is just a form of entertainment.  It's a way to pass the time if you have a little money to spend.  I don't expect to walk out a major winner when I visit a casino.  I don't expect to win the jackpot when I play the lottery.  I don't pin my hopes on winning.  If you do that then maybe you should ask yourself why you are gambling.  Be honest.  You'll make more money from a part-time job than you will from gambling.  I really truly believe we should only gamble because we enjoy the feeling of not knowing if we just lost a bet or won a small prize.

While I may not live and breathe in the casinos the way some of my older friends used to, I've spent a few weekends gambling away the hours.  It's fun when you go with a group of friends.  They are sharing the experience with you.  I don't like to gamble when I am alone.  Half the fun is watching other people play, too.   But here are a few ideas I think everyone should follow when visiting a casino.