Are you making your list and checking it twice? Or are you a wait until December 1 kind of shopper? Do you wake up early or stay out late for the best Thanksgiving and Black Friday deals? No matter what kind of holiday shopper, I bet the thought of Christmas only being 100 days away is exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.  In a couple of weeks we will be releasing our Dot's Picks Holiday Gift Guide but in the meantime I'm going to share with you how you can get $100 extra in your pocket over the next 100 days with just a few quick downloads and clicks. We managed to grow our family from just the two of us to nearly eight of us in just under 11 years. 2015, 2016 and now 2017 each brought with them a new baby so keeping things tight and organized around the holidays has become somewhat of a obsession  hobby. The following list is extensive and you can easily make more than $100 in the next 100 days, just set your goals and go for it. My goal is an extra $420 so I can

 When you meet Melissa Feilhauer you immediately sense her devotion to her daughter, Adaline and her husband, Ryan.  If you can peak between the play dates and nap times, the family time and meal times, or her church involvement and play room pick-ups you will see there is so much more to Melissa and the work she does. Melissa is an accomplished concert Oboist. She is an Oboe instructor with Mehas Music and MusicMakers, LLC and she is an entrepreneur and founding partner at Double or Nothing Reeds, LLC. We had the chance to chat with Melissa about her business. When did  you start Double or Nothing Reeds, LLC? My colleague and I started Double or Nothing in 2011, so about 6 years ago. Why did you decide to start your own business? Both my colleague and I were/are private oboe instructors in the Greater Cincinnati area.  We had so many students that we couldn't keep up with their demands for oboe reeds (an entirely handmade product).  We put our heads together and figured

Allison and I go way back, so its hard for me to call her anything but Ally Brown (maiden name).  I could probably di g out some fun slumber party or grade school track pictures, but since those pictures would probably include a 12 year old Jenny Hemmer (my maiden name) I will refrain.   Cups of Love began at the beginning of 2017 after a year of research and planning. Allison is a devoted wife and mother balancing the demands of a young family with starting and running her own business.   What made you start Cups of Love? I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with 3 beautiful children and a husband! After I had my first I went part-time so I could work and experience being a stay at home mom. When I got pregnant with my daughter I realized the cost of child care was going to be more than my income so I decided to stay at home. We cut back on some of our expenses such as eating out, went down to one family car, cut out cable and started watching how we spen

Quirky Filly Creations is more than a mom job,  it's an extension of life for Jeanie Egolf. Driven by her love of art Jeanie began Quirky Filly Ceations 3-4 years ago. When asked about how she balances work and life Jeanie quipped, "I work when the kids are playing Minecraft or after they go to bed." Motivated by putting smiles on people's faces Jeanie has authored and illustrated two children's books Molly McBride and the Purple Habit , Molly McBride and the Plaid Jumper and illustrated Flowers for Jesus: A Story of St. Therese of Lisieux as a Child . Her writing has earned the Catholic Writer's Guild Seal of approval and can be found at www.gracewatch.media in a soft back addition for $11 each.   Quirky Filly also provides graphic design services, commissioned artwork and original artwork.  You can find her work on behance , Zazzle (cards, art, posters) and Zazzle (for Molly McBride loot)  or by visiting the Molly McBride website .   If

A year or so ago I made the mistake of taking my 4 boys into a Barnes & Noble. While one might think taking your kids into a bookstore is a sign of good parenting the truth is its a good way to ruin a perfectly fine day because kids don't want the books at the book store they want the toys or at the very least the books you don't really want them to have (books about minecraft, or folding paper airplanes). So after we managed to make it to the check-out and almost pay for our purchases (all books) the girl on the register who was just doing her job made the suggestion to add this book on to our order for just $5.00 anyone who knows anything about children knows you then have to leave with the book whether you want to or not. So we did. I forgot the book existed. Available for $12.29 on Amazon Fast forward to a few months ago when I started seeing a group of friends consistently posting on social media about their budding small businesses, family needs, ideas and pass