Review: Riding Amtrak with Disabilities

When it comes to using Amtrak, are you making the right decision?  

Is using a travel service like Amtrak a horror story waiting to happen? As the economy dwindles, many people are asking how they can travel across the country on a budget. For some, options like Greyhound buses do not suit their needs. However, is Amtrak the ultimate airline alternative? In my case, there were several horrifying aspects to traveling across the country on the train that had nothing to do with Amtrak.

Mainly, my concerns stemmed from the passengers. All of the staff at Amtrak were extremely helpful; especially in regards to helping me give my service dog a bathroom break. Despite this, I could have used more protection from some of the other people riding the train.

Do not forget your Amazon.com luggage!

In the past, I have dealt with many strange strangers on public transportation and at airports. Nonetheless, the main problems were only endured for a matter of minutes or a few hours. On the Amtrak, on the other hand, I was roped into dealing with people I would rather not talk to for almost three days.

Does this mean that I was ambushed and harassed? Honestly, if the situation was serious, the passengers would have been told to leave. I was only annoyed and not under any kind of distress. For this reason, the next time I go cross country on Amtrak, I will make sure to take a traveling partner with me. That way, I will not look as tempting to the occasional weirdo.

Furthermore, out of all my traveling experiences with my service dog, Amtrak rates number one. Not only is an advance ticket from San Francisco to Chicago only $150, but the staff are good as gold. For this reason, make sure to avoid the mistake I made and bring lots of dollars for tipping.

3 Ways to Save Money with Dairy

We all need our calcium, but is there an easy way to save money, consume less fat and calories, and still eat dairy at the same time? Thankfully, there are three key ways to do this. 

In this day and age, we are all looking to spend less money on our food budgets. More often than not, we buy less protein and dairy in order to save at the grocery store. However, there are ways to spend less money on dairy by following three simple homemade suggestions.

Not only will you be making healthier choices, you will increase your protein consumption, and save money. All of these suggestions are budget friendly and only require your basic gallon of whole milk

An American hope for the French during World War I circa 1918.

in order to transform into tasty dairy basics you will love.

Budget Savings By Making Your Own Yogurt and Yogurt Cheese

When it comes to getting enough protein, you can rely on making yogurt and soft white yogurt cheeses. Yogurt recipes are so easy that they can be made in the microwave with a large glass bowl and some old yogurt. One gallon of whole milk basically makes under one gallon of yogurt which means that you cut your regular store-bought yogurt costs by 75% in most cases just by making it yourself.

For planning healthier meals, you can find that yogurt is great on its own or as a base for the entire meal. Commonly, my family would eat it with fresh dill, tomatoes, and cucumbers cut up in it. For breakfast, we would add granola and fresh fruit. Furthering its diversity, by adding some sugar and fruit, yogurt instantly becomes an ice cream substitute.

As if it wasn't versatile enough, by using a cheese cloth or paper towels, you can drain all of the liquid out of the yogurt. What is left behind is similar to cream cheese. Depending on your personal tastes, you can add various spices, like garlic, to make a nice spread. This is great on bagels, toast, with celery sticks, your favorite crackers, or tortilla chips. Basically, you can use yogurt cheese for anything because it is low fat and has a creamy texture.

Tip: You can use yogurt or yogurt cheese instead of sour cream, cream cheese, quark, and ricotta cheese.

Saving Money By Making Curds and Cottage Cheese

There is a cheap, fun, and easy way to make sure cheese never leaves your life. By adding regular vinegar to boiling whole milk, curds separate from the whey and you end up with cheese.Cheese curds are chewy and can be eaten salted, fried, or pressed together with herbs and salt to make cheese. Most of the time, they are tossed with Italian spices and served with pasta.

However, one of the easiest things you can do with curds is to make cottage cheese. When you make curds and whey with vinegar, save some of the liquid. Simply take curds and fill the container with a little bit of fresh milk and then the add your fresh curds. Add some salt to the mixture and you will soon find you have the same cottage cheese you pay for at the store for less money.

Tip: To make small curd cottage cheese, you may need to chop up the curds to a smaller size before you mix them with whey and milk.

Paneer Can Be Your New Budget Saving Dairy

In Switzerland, I was soon educated on the perfect way to make dairy a main dish protein staple. In many ways, I realized that this was perfect for other budget-friendly dishes as well. For example, cheese curds can be spiced, compacted, and fried for making Saag Paneer.

This popular Indian dish is complemented by some of the cheapest vegetables you can find such as spinach and mustard greens. Served over rice, paneer stews are seasoned with curry in order to make all of the flavors combine. Paneer is certainly a great way to take the same old ingredients and make them taste fun and interesting.

In my family, we often treat paneer as if it were tofu or TVP (texturized vegetable protein). It has a taste that reminds us of queso blanco or farmer cheese. By adding chicken stock or beef stock bullion, we diversify our use of paneer into baked sandwiches.

In many ways, baked paneer with bullion tastes a lot like meat and cheese that are cooked together. For example, beef bullion flavored paneer sandwiches with roasted peppers and onions tastes a lot like a philly cheese steak. With a little bit of experimentation, your family can have a paneer recipe of their very own.

Tip: Compared to a meat based diet, by eating paneer twice a week, you will save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.

My Kabbage Review: A Hip Factoring Company?

Do not let the app fool you, Kabbage's style has been around for decades.

Library of Congress Digital ID: cph 3c39102

Are you looking for an honest fact-based review about Kabbage and what it really is? It may appear that this is a company that is doing something new or different because it is outside of the banking realm and has its own app. However, chances are that you have seen a company of this type each time you go to do grocery shopping. Are you surprised to hear that there are businesses like Kabbage that have been sitting in your neighborhood for decades? If you are interested in learning more about the style Kabbage and other short-term loan establishments use, a brief outline has been listed below.

What is Kabbage?


Lately, since horse racing is slow in the summer, I have been focusing on website writing for a company that gives businesses credit without using property as a collateral. I was surprised to see that Kabbage was also using a similar method to give small businesses cash upfront within minutes. No credit report is needed, and you do not need to wait for weeks as you do with the bank. Is it really so simple? Not exactly.


How does Kabbage work?


The system that Kabbage uses is similar to the way a payday loan business operates. Basically, payday loans use collateral based on your income history and habits. When this style of financing excludes paychecks and includes small business owners, they are commonly referred to as factoring companies or accounts receivable financing businesses. In some cases, they will use your bank statements, paycheck stubs, or outstanding invoices to give you a short-term loan with variable interest rates (some tout a 3% interest rate). Obviously, Kabbage is using a similar system to cash for titles, payday loans, and factoring companies by requesting to review your PayPal account history information.


How can I use Kabbage to my advantage?


Are you looking for a way to get money together for supplies for your next client? On the other hand, you may be a shop owner that needs to increase inventory for the holidays. Instead of waiting around for the cash to come in the door, consider using a factoring service that can give you cash flow for your fixed overhead. One of the best ways to use a short-term loan is to actually only use it in the short-term. This will help you to avoid higher long-term interest rates.


Main benefit of using short-term loans


The main reason that a business like Kabbage will appeal to most people is because it does not require a credit report like the bank does. A bad credit rating is the main barrier for small business owners approaching a bank for a line of credit or a short-term loan. Having a business that does not have actual property can also be an issue for approaching a bank for a business loan. For example, web-based IT and web design companies have a difficult time accessing loans from a bank because they have no physical retail location.

While most short-term lenders that do not use property as collateral will not improve your credit score, paying your bills on time with the money that you borrow will. For all of these reasons, you can put your anxiety about having a terrible credit rating behind you. With a company that specializes in factoring or accounts receivable financing such as Kabbage, you can start building your business future.