There's a tendency when it comes to bonuses and tax refunds to look at it as free money that you can spend to splurge on something frivolous. While it's your money and certainly there's no "right way" to spend your money but wouldn't it be better to be smart about it and help it go further towards helping your family?

When you see articles and advice for new shooters you might notice that nearly every article and advice is geared towards fathers getting their sons and daughters into hunting. Hunting is a sport for young and old but there has traditionally been a problem bringing adults with no family ties to hunting into the culture.

Mardi Gras is the ultimate party, but while you will see, hear, and probably smell things you've never experienced before it's probably not what you've seen on TV and those "sensational" photos of women flashing are really only a small part of the experience. I've been fortunate to be able to experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans a few times, so I've acquired a bit of knowledge to help make your experience the best it can possibly be.

Summer is here and  I am sure you are dreaming about doing with your friends. Whatever your travel plans are this summer though, it's important to make sure you have your stuff in order. Otherwise, what should be a once in a lifetime trip, could quickly turn into something memorable for lesser reasons. Shaving is a lot like traveling if you think about it, while anyone can do either, when you do it right it's great experience. However, if you have the wrong tools or bad technique it is no fun!

In the past year I've gotten the bug for off-road driving. Fortunately I've been privileged to be able to borrow some fantastic vehicles from manufacturers including Jeep who have indulged my hobby. However, as I look around at the people I meet on the trails I realize that not everyone is driving the latest and greatest models. In fact, most people have an older model truck, Jeep or SUV that has been lovingly updated to serve their desired purpose. In fact, this makes a lot of sense since who wants to dent some brand new body work? I'm still going to wince a bit if I dent the door or get a crack in the headlight of any vehicle but I'd rather it happen to something that was already a bit worn. So the trick is figuring out where to start and how to get your truck off-road ready so you don't waste time and money in the process.

It's that time of year again... one last chance to impress your friends with crazy, mostly useless facts and trivia that we men use to assert our superiority as an alternative to physical violence. While some men are blessed with photographic memories and others simply live for this one moment, allowing every other piece of knowledge to escape their brains - others of us need a bit of help. However, with these tips, you are certain to become the Super Bowl Trivia king of your circle of friends and they don't need to know your tricks!

Cars are deeply personal objects and for most of us they are the most expensive thing we will ever purchase aside from a home. So, it's not unusual that you'd feel compelled to name him (or her) something so that this personal relationship can reach it's full potential as a truly personal part of your life. Whether you call that yellow Pinto rusting in your garage "Old Yeller" or that faithful minivan the "bro wagon" because it serves as a taxi to haul your buddies to the game or on offroad adventures every weekend, it almost doesn't matter. The point though is making sure that it's something that makes sense to you and fits your lifestyle. So, to help make sure you pick the perfect name, here's some quick tips for naming your car.

To most couples in love, St Valentine’s Day is a very special occasion. Many couples celebrate this occasion by enjoying a special, romantic time together and also purchase special gifts for one another to demonstrate the way that they feel. This time of year is a challenge for us men. On one hand, there are many options available when it comes to choosing the perfect Valentine’s gift, but the goal is to buy something that shows how much you care about HER. Because of this, while it might be easy to buy flowers and chocolate... it is even more important to put plenty of thought into it beforehand to ensure that you make the right choice for your partner. You need to choose something that is special, meaningful to her and, given the occasion, very romantic. When you do, you'll be sure to reap the rewards for being the ultimate Valentine Casanova!

I'm guessing most of you guys love beer, I do too! Luckily, I've been blessed with numerous opportunities to visit some of the best beer cities in the country and in fact I live in San Diego - which is at the top of most lists of places for beer lovers to visit. However, these beercations are more than just hopping in the car and drinking. To make the most of your time and money it's important to plan ahead. This is your opportunity to try new things, expand your boundaries, and bond with your buddies around an awesome shared experience.

Most people - especially those of us who are younger - don't think about travel insurance much. Personally, when I travel domestically, I assume other layers of protection will cover me including car insurance, health insurance, and credit card protection. However, for larger trips such as going on a cruise during the winter while living in Chicago I chose to get travel insurance. In those situations, my primary consideration was having inclement weather causing delays and missing the boat or that a hurricane might impact the cruise itself.  With our trip next week where we'll be sailing with Viking Cruises the situation was a bit different. The chance of a blizzard in San Diego or a hurricane in Switzerland causing us not to reach our boat would be pretty unlikely. I WAS going to roll the odds since I perceived the risk to be low. After all, spending a few hundred dollars to insure the trip didn't seemnecessary.

When one thinks about musical instruments, chances are that cymbals aren't going to top the list but when you think about it they are incredibly important to rock and roll as well as other bands. However, when you look deeper you can discover that they and in fact, their most famous maker have a pretty fascinating history.

Motorcycles, like cars need to be maintained properly to ensure that they are able to operate safely. However, because you have less protection wrapped around you, in many ways proper maintenance is even more important for bikers since there is far less margin for error when something goes wrong. Sometimes it's your fault. Other times it's the other motorist's or vehicle’s fault. The US government estimates that the number of deaths on motorcycles was over 27 times the number in cars, per mile traveled in 2014.Being prepared for the worst means that if you are in an accident, you will be better able to manage the fallout. 

OK, I'll admit it - I'm addicted to my phone. It's with me wherever I go, it's the first thing I check in the morning when I wake up and I usually fall asleep at night reading stuff on Reddit. However, there's one time when you should absolutely avoid using the phone - while driving. That's why I was excited to join AT&T and the It Can Wait program to take the It Can Wait Pledge and be a part of their 21-Day Challenge.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Spray Nine. All opinions are 100% mine.

Owning a boat is all fun until winter comes around and you start fretting over how to store it. When the cold season starts creeping in, it means it is time to put away your favorite summer toy. Winterizing your boat is stressful, but it has to be done. You can’t just haul a vessel out of the water and into the backyard garage and think that is it. For one, doing that could cause damage that would demand astronomical costs to fix. Then there is a chance of voiding the warranty, which can be upsetting, especially for a new acquisition. So, how do you get that boat ready for winter?

Fall is typically not a season that triggers that sort of alarm. However, bear in mind that as the summer heat dissipates to make way for the fall season, it’s bound to get colder as the months pass. Indeed, in no time at all, it’s winter. 

Even if you have been playing blackjack at land-based or online casinos for some time, it can be dangerous to assume that you know all there is to know about the game.

While we had the luxury of being able to head back to a resort at the end of the day, even just taking a quick hike in the desert requires proper planning. For example, the days I spent last month in Borrego Springs averaged 115 degree highs and the minute you stepped out of the Jeep it immediately felt like an oven. While this is certainly extreme, there's no reason why you can't still have a fantastic experience spending a day exploring this amazing landscape.

How much do you think about football helmet technology? If you are like most people, probably not a lot. Even when I played football in high school the only times I thought about my helmet was putting it on and taking it off and of course when I crashed into someone. It was bulky and awkward but thank god it was there. Over the past 21 years since then technology has improved dramatically but you never really think about the guys that create those designs or what drives them to do so.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lennox®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Everyone can do their part and while some things are easier than others, right now is a great time to think about doing "something" to save energy around the house. For me, August and September are two months of the year where I suddenly become acutely aware of the costs involved with keeping cool since I am generally forced to have my AC running full blast to keep cool. However, there are still plenty of ways to offset that cost, so let's check them out!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lennox® for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Remember how parents used to bribe us to do that right things growing up? You know - no dessert unless our room was clean or only getting to join dad on the boat if the garage was clean by the time he got home? We're all grown up now and so most of the time it's US making the incentives but Lennox^® has a new contest to help us create and share energy saving tips for our homes. The REAL incentive is that we'll save money and probably even be more comfortable... but that's not fun! So how about the chance to win a year supply of ice cream and tickets to the nearest water park instead? Plus $10,000 in Lennox^® heating and air conditioning equipment... just in case you needed even more incentive to enter.