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How to save money on Thanksgiving desserts

By WTOP Staff

You’ve barely washed the face paint off your little trick-or-treaters, and now you have to think about Thanksgiving. If you’re part of a big, extended family like mine, you’ve probably been plotting the feast for a while. Clear away the last of the spooky cobwebs and check out a few ways you can continue the seasonal fun with your kids and save some money during Thanksgiving.

Sure, everyone thinks about turkey and cranberries for Thanksgiving. Many of the dishes served this time of year are part of long-standing family traditions. I’m sure several of you would include pumpkin, pecan, mincemeat or spiced apple pie among those traditions. But pie and other desserts aren’t easy to make from scratch, and they take a lot of time. A ready-made pie will run anywhere from $5 to $10 for the mass-produced frozen ones. They are consistently good pies, but they are usually small and won’t satisfy a crowd. And, buying a ready-made pie just doesn’t quite feel like honoring family tradition.

There are several creative options that will serve far more guests and can become a special way to get your kids involved in the Thanksgiving dessert preparation. Here are five ideas:

Turkey and Pilgrim Hat Treats:

All of the leftover Halloween candy and seasonal packaged treats now marked down. Take advantage of the discounts, and go snap up the mini-Reese’s cups, candy corn, Whoppers and Halloween-packaged Oreos. Have your little ones turn the Reese’s upside down and put them on top of an Oreo. Flip them up so that the Reese’s become the body and the Oreo is the base of the tail. Then, use the Whoppers for heads and the candy corn for tail feathers, and you can create armies of adorable turkeys that young and old will include on their dessert plates. The same mini-Reese’s can be used as the crowns of pilgrim hats on top of simple chocolate cookies.

Autumn-Themed Cookies:

Whether you make the dough from scratch or buy it, sugar cookies are amazingly fun for kids and super thrifty for parents. Fall leaves, turkeys, Indians, pilgrims and pumpkins are all easy to form and a blast to decorate. Look closely at your cookie cutter collection. Daisies could easily become turkeys. Gingerbread men can be dressed as Indians and Pilgrims. Turn simple circles into cute faces or top them with orange icing to become pumpkins. If you make your own cookie dough, you can reach for the spices and flavor it with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and all the other things that remind us of pumpkin spice.

Cake Pops:

Little cake pops can make cake batter go a long way and help over- indulgent grownups keep gluttony in check. Just as you did with the cookies, help your kids re-imagine the pops as miniature pumpkins or turkeys. And all kinds of seasonal cake mixes on the market can help give the cake pops a special holiday flare. One example of turkey cake pops on Pinterest used caramel candy corn for the tail feathers, little bits of pretzel sticks for feet, and espresso beans for the faces.

Thanksgiving Rice Krispies Treats:

Since pumpkin spice marshmallows made an appearance on the shelves for Halloween, take advantage of the seasonal flavors and create little orange dessert pumpkins. The treats are a childhood favorite that kids of all ages can help to make. The rice puff mixture can either be rolled into balls to make 3-D pumpkins or rolled out and cut with pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters.

Something Special:

Basic Thanksgiving ingredients like eggs, cream and pumpkin pie filling can be purchased in bulk and used in side dishes as well as desserts. Don’t waste a drop! Consider creating a little pumpkin ice cream from the odds and ends of baking to go along with the pies. Your wallet will be satisfied and your guests definitely won’t be complaining.

Any combination of these ideas will cost about the same as the mass-produced pies, feed far more people and become the start of a new tradition with sweet childhood memories that far outlast the food. Here’s to hoping you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

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How to Save Money on Thanksgiving Desserts originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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