Randi Zuckerberg's Blog, page 49

10 Ways to Save $100 Per Year

Is your budget stretched really thin right now? If so, these ten ideas will each save you at least $100 in 2014… and some could save you significantly more than that! Pick a few to try and get ready to see some extra wiggle room in your wallet this month!

1. Use Your Freezer

I don’t know about you, but there are some days at our home when life is a blur, and all of a sudden, it’s 5 p.m. and dinner isn’t even a figment of my imagination. Before I started regularly cooking ahead and freezing meals, I’d be tempted to call my husband and ask him to bring something home for dinner.

Freezer cooking has solved the 5 p.m. “What’s-For-Dinner” panic. If I forget to pull something out earlier in the day, I’ll just pick a meal from my freezer stash that defrosts quickly — such as meatballs. I pair this with some frozen veggies, rice, and maybe a fruit salad. No one even has to know I forgot about dinner until 30 minutes before it was supposed to happen!

I’ve found that doing mini half-hour or one-hour freezer cooking sessions works really well for this season of our life. And while I might not be making 20 or 30 meals at a time, by consistently cooking ahead once or twice a week, we always have some meals in the freezer for those busy days when I don’t have time or energy for cooking.

For example, instead of having to make meatloaf three times in six weeks, I just triple the recipe and make meatloaf once and stick the extra two dinners’ worth of meatloaf in the freezer. If I’m going to be making one meatloaf, I might as well double or triple the recipe, saving me the effort and mess later on in the month. After all, it really doesn’t take but a few more minutes to make two extra batches of meatloaf — and the clean up time is pretty much the same!

2. Rent Movies for Free

One of the ways my husband and I have saved a lot of money is by having at-home movie nights instead of going to see a movie at the theater. On the rare occasions when we do go see a movie, I always choke at the prices they charge. $8+ per ticket? That adds up quickly!

Instead of paying for the high movie theater ticket prices, we get movies from the library for free, rent movies from Redbox using free rental codes (Coupon Dad keeps a running list of current free Redbox rental codes), and we use a few of the Amazon gift cards I earn through Swagbucks each month to pay for some Instant Video library purchases from Amazon.

There are also other options like NetFlix, Hulu, and watching shows online, but the library, Redbox, and Amazon Instant Video are our top three favorites.

3. Sign Up for Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a search engine that rewards you with Swagbucks currency for searching. You can use it just like Google (though I still like Google better) for all of your searches, and you will randomly be awarded Swagbucks for using the site. I typically earn  around five to 10 Swagbucks once or twice each day. I then redeem my  Swagbucks for a variety of different free items, such as Amazon gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, and much more.

I’ve earned many gift cards plus some electronics from them since I’ve been using them for the last few years. In fact, we were able to lavishly bless our families with Christmas gifts this year thanks, in large part, to the gift cards I’d accumulated through Swagbucks.

And I’m not alone. I know dozens of friends who’ve also had great success with Swagbucks — earning at least a gift card or two every month and sometimes much more than that.

4. Ask for a Discount

A very simple way to cut your bill is to get comfortable and experienced with asking for a discount. My philosophy is that you never want to short-change someone, but it never hurts to politely ask. The worst they can say is “no.”

If you’re going to use a lot of something in the kitchen over the next four months and you can freeze or store it for an extended time period, see what kind of discount you can get at the grocery if you buy enough to last three to six months.

Many stores are happy to give you a discount on groceries that are close to the expiration date. All you have to do is ask. One of my friends discovered that her local grocery store will give her one or two dollars off each gallon of milk if it’s within three-to-five days of its expiration date. So when she shops, she looks at all the expiration dates, finds some milk that’s going to expire within a few, and asks them to mark it down.

If you have a membership to a local gym or other club and it’s something that you regularly use, ask them if they have any discount opportunities. If you volunteer once a month or help with a certain project, you might be able to get a sizable discount. On a side note, if you’re not regularly using your gym membership, cancel it, okay? There’s no use in paying for something you don’t use!

5. Price-match at Wal-mart

If you’re short on time and energy, but you want to cut your grocery bill, take advantage of price-matching at Wal-mart.

It’s simple and easy to do–and can save you a lot of time and money. According to Wal-mart’s price-matching policy, you don’t even need to bring in the competitor’s ad. However, I usually do, just in case there’s any question about the advertised deal.

Instead of running around to three different stores to get the best deals at each of those stores, just circle the best deals in the sale ads at each of those stores and take the ads to Wal-mart.   In addition to simplifying things, it also saves you gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and time. .

6. Order Prescription Glasses Online

This tip won’t work for everyone because some of you are blessed to not have to wear glasses and some of you won’t need to buy glasses this year. But for those of you who need to buy glasses or who end up needing to buy glasses, this tip will definitely save you $100+ in 2014.

While there are a number of different online sites from which you can purchase prescription glasses, two that used personally are Zenni Optical and Coastal Contacts.

Zenni Optical is my go-to site for ordering glasses online. In fact, we’ve purchased three pairs of glasses from them so far. Not only have we always been pleased with our orders, but on our second order, because of a shipping delay they sent out another free order — which meant we got two extra pairs of glasses for free! That level of customer service really left an impression on me.

Most of the glasses from Zenni Optical are under $20 total for the frames and lenses. They even have some glasses that are as low as $6.95! Shipping is just $4.95. If you need to upgrade your lenses, it will be extra. But I promise it will still be much, much less than buying prescription eyewear in the store.

Coastal Contacts is also worth checking out. If you’ve never ordered from Coastal Contacts, you can get a free pair of glasses when you use coupon code FIRSTPAIRFREE at checkout.

This coupon code covers standard lenses. Upgrades or coatings are available for an additional cost. Shipping will range between $10 and $20. What I like best about Coastal Contacts is that if you receive the glasses and they don’t fit, return shipping is free.

7. Cancel Your Gym Membership

To pick up where I left off on #4 above… How many of you have a gym membership that you aren’t using regularly? If you’re not using it, that’s just money going down the drain every single month!

And even if you are using it occasionally, it could be really pricey for each visit. For instance, if you’re paying $40 per month for your membership and you only go once a week, that’s $10 per visit! What if you cancelled your gym membership and committed to try alternative options?

We have gotten great deals on workout equipment through Craigslist. If you wait until midyear — when everyone has long since forgotten their New Year’s resolutions — you may be able to get a fantastic deal on an almost-new treadmill or elliptical that someone just wants to get out of their house.

YouTube is a treasure trove of free workout videos. I personally haven’t used a whole lot of them, but one I am very familiar with is Clare from Peak313.com. She has all sorts of fantastic workout videos, workout routines, and great fitness ideas on her blog — all for FREE!

You can find dozens — or even hundreds — of workout videos at your local library. I love Jillian Michael’s DVDs — especially her 30-Day Shred. If you are wanting something a little more low impact, try Leslie Sansone.

And the old standby: getting outside and exercising — whether running, jumping rope, chasing your kiddos around playing tag, or taking your baby out in the stroller for a brisk walk — is one of the best ways to exercise. Not only do you not have to mess with purchasing exercise equipment or DVDs, but you get fresh air and sunshine at the same time!

8.  Use a Coupon Database

Coupons are a great way to save a lot of money on your grocery bill, but they can be hard to keep up with. Clipping, sorting, and organizing coupons takes time — time that you might not feel you have right now.

Well, don’t despair! I have a very simple tip for you that will allow you to use coupons even if you don’t want to mess with buying the newspaper, clipping the coupons, and keeping them all organized.

Enter, the coupon database. This is a database of all printable and other coupons currently available. You can search for any brand name or item name. For instance, you can search for bread and it will pull up all bread coupons available. Or, you can search for a specific brand name, such as “Nature’s Own bread” and will only pull up the coupons available for Nature’s Own bread (if there are any available).

The thing I love best is that you can search by coupon type. If you don’t get the newspaper or any magazines, you can search only the printable coupons instead of having to wade through all coupons currently available.

Plan your menu and grocery list and then, before heading to the store, search the coupon database for items you’re already planning to buy. In less than 10 minutes, you can print coupons for what you were already going to buy and easily save at least five dollars for 10 minutes of effort (or less!).

9.   Always Use a Coupon Code

Up until a few years ago, I never even thought to look for a coupon code when I ordered something online. Now, my husband and I both have a policy to never purchase anything without first finding a coupon code to use.

I’ve tried a lot of different coupon code websites and I’ve also tried Googling for coupon codes, but in my opinion, nothing compares to RetailMeNot.com. They are the best coupon code website in existence so far. All you have to do is go to their homepage, search for the store you’re planning to shop from, and ta-da! you have a long list of coupon codes that have been rated by their large community of users.

More often than not, I’m able to find at least one coupon code from the long list that works for me. And, for one or two minutes of effort, that coupon code will usually save me at least 10 percent off my order — sometimes even as much as 25 percent!

Tip: Sites like Kohls.com allow you to stack two coupon codes — one to get free shipping and one to get a percentage off your total. It’s always worth it to try to see if a site will let you use more than one coupon.

10.  Shop Online Through a Cashback Site

Cashback sites work with online stores to offer you a percentage — usually somewhere between three and six percent of your total purchase — back as a rebate. While that might not seem like much, it can really add up over time.

My theory: if you’re already going to make the online purchase, you might as well get a little money back, too, right? After all, it’s essentially “free” money!

Here are two cashback sites I recommend:

Ebates — One of the oldest cashback sites, Ebates’ website is very easy to  navigate.. You only have to earn $5.01 in rebates in order to get a check or Paypal payment. You get a $5 bonus upon sign-up, so with just one purchase, you can reach payout. However, payments are only sent every three months, so you have to wait awhile to get your rebate. Sign up.
Mr. Rebates–A smaller cashback site, Mr. Rebates still offers a pretty good payout: you get a $5 bonus when you sign up and you can choose to request a check or Paypal payment as soon as you’ve received $10 in rebates.  Sign up.

When you are ready to make an online purchase, check both of these sites to see which one is currently giving the highest percentage of cashback and then shop through that one. To ensure your cashback is credited to your account, search for the store on the cashback site you’re using and then click through the store link. This should guarantee that you are credited for your purchases.

Crystal Paine is a wife, mom of three, founder of MoneySavingMom.com , and author of the New York Times bestseller, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode .

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What Dating Site Should I Use?

If you’re single, you’ve undoubtedly at least considered online dating. There are so many adorable stories out there about real-life couples who met online that it’s definitely worth a try. Here’s a quick run down of the different options out there and which one might be right for you.

If you’re looking to meet someone right now…

Try Tinder. Tinder shows you people within a few miles of you who think you’re cute. Some people even check Tinder when they’re out a bar, to see who at the bar is on the service (and thus, probably single). Then, they approach them in real-life. The best part is the built-in pickup line: “Hey, I don’t mean to seem weird, but I think I’ve seen you on Tinder before.” People are also hosting “Tinder parties” where all guests are encouraged to invite someone (or a few people) they’ve been talking to on Tinder. Then the party provides a casual way to meet offline. Plus, no one really knows who invited who… so it’s a great way for singles to mingle.

If you’re just casually looking…

Try Grouper. Grouper matches a group of three female friends with a group of three guys and sends them to a local bar. The group aspect makes it super comfortable, and you are able to meet and get to know three guys at once. Even those with significant others head out on Groupers, just for a fun night out and to meet some new people. And there’s always a chance they’ll be a spark with one of the three guys.

If you are interested in dating someone…

Try OkCupid. OkCupid is a free dating site that has a great reputation and track record. When you sign up, you answer a ton of questions, including your stance on moral issues, your non-negotiables, as well as a bunch of questions about hobbies and interests. Their algorithm seems to work– A lot of my friends have met people on the site, and are still with them.

For more information on sites to help you find someone, check out this article on dating sites for women that actually work.

Posted on 3/10/2014

Written by Liz Wassmann

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9 Ways to Sell Your Stuff Online

You can sell almost anything online, or at least exchange it for something of equal value. For merchants and buyers, the place to be is on the Internet, where even a home-based entrepreneur in a small town can sell to a global marketplace. Here are nine websites that will allow you to sell items online for a nice profit:

Old Cell Phones:

ExchangeMyPhone offers instant quotes after assessing the value of your old phone based on its make, model and condition. You can accept the offer or donate the proceeds to a charitable institution of your choice. The site also recycles old, unserviceable units. They offer free shipping and pay through check or PayPal.

SellCell allows you to view and compare current prices for a particular phone unit on their website. They accept older models and provide an immediate offer. A plus: SellCell offers a Best Price Guarantee – you either get the most money for your old phone or gadget, or give you a refund based on double the difference between their price and the highest price you could find.

Rare Items, Designer Brands and In-Demand Stuff:

eBay provides the best online marketplace for niche selling. From vintage clothes and electronics to antique jewelry and rare collectibles, you have a better chance to sell your stuff online here than anywhere else. A plus: you can perform a “compared listings” search to find other similar items that have already been sold. EBay also has a global reach and is generally a trusted marketplace.

Bonanza only has 25,000 businesses registered but what it lacks for in the number of sellers, it more than makes up for in its total inventory. If you specialize in high-end fashion and clothing and have plenty of choices to offer, Bonanza is an excellent place to sell your stuff online.

Large Items, Services, Rentals:

Craigslist allows the sale of large, heavy items such as furniture, garden equipment, heavy tools, and gym equipment, even cars. Craigslist is also a popular website for posting jobs, services and rentals.

Crafts and Handmade Items:

Etsy makes it easier for crafters and hobbyists to sell online without having to compete with the hundreds of thousands of sellers generally found on eBay. Etsy makes it very easy to browse, find items and shop, hence its popularity among buyers. Items are listed under major categories, such as art, jewelry, vintage stuff, men, women, kids, home & living, etc., while curated and recent favorites are posted on the home page for easy viewing. A plus: Etsy frequently features exceptional crafters with a short write up, a personal quote and a link to the crafter’s page.

Design:

99Designs is a great marketplace for highly creative designers of logos, business cards, book covers, banner ads, web pages and t-shirts. Designers do have to compete for clients via an online design contest but if they win, they get the prize money.

Clothing and Accessories:

Copious and ThreadFlip cater to sellers who want to cash in on their slightly used clothes, shoes, bags and other accessories. After the seller sends the items, the websites offer to take care of the rest of the work, keeping only a percentage of the sale. You could also choose to manage the delivery process yourself and share a smaller portion of the sale with the host website.

Shipping Your Items:

Many shipping companies are familiar with the business of buying and selling online, but it is a good idea to transact only with trusted and experienced shippers. DHL, for example, has built an excellent reputation over the years and has a good structure in place to support small businesses, including online stores. The company also offers a number of international trade solutions for businesses that sell overseas.

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5 Signs It’s Time To Unplug

You pride yourself on hovering near inbox zero, since you read every email right as it comes in. Put the phone down and let them pile up a little! If it’s urgent, they’ll call.
When you’re relaxing at nighttime after the stress of the day, your phone is still in your hand or on the bed next to you.
You are genuinely surprised when you miss a friend’s Instagram, since you’re checking it all day long. And it stresses you out a little when you haven’t checked in a few hours, thinking about all those pictures you need to scroll though.
You often falsely think you hear your phone ringing or buzzing, since you’re so tuned in to the sound of it.
You can’t make it through a full day without your phone battery dying since you’re using it all day long.

If this sounds like you…Take some time this week to put some distance between yourself and your device. Leave it at home while you work out or run errands, or change your notification setting so only calls and texts make it buzz. And enjoy the bliss and creativity that goes hand in hand with unplugging!

Posted on 3/6/2014

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This Purse Charges Your Phone. Yup, That’s Cool

So imagine this…you are having a girlʼs night out or a romantic date with your special someone and you want to capture the moment. You whip out your iPhone and it says 5% battery remaining but you go ahead anyway and try to snap a pic. It dies mid photo-op. The screen goes black, the little apple comes on and in seconds the moment you want to remember indefinitely is GONE.

How am I supposed to Instagram, tweet or Facebook with a dead phone? This “moment” has happened to me more often than I would like to admit. I have always kicked myself for not remembering to charge my phone before I leave this house, car or office, or forgetting to put my Mophie charging case in my purse…why canʼt my purse just charge my phone?

Enter Laudi Vidniʼs Everpurse. This seasonʼs must have. A beautiful wristlet style clutch (cross-body strap option available as well), tote coming soon, that you simply slip your iPhone or Galaxy into and charge. Simple as that. You pre-charge your clutch on a magnetic pad for 6 hours. The charge lasts for up to 2 weeks and will charge your phone from 0 to 100% twice. Should you update your phone, your Everpurse can be updated as well for a small charge.

I was a little skeptical when I checked the Everpurse but it really works exactly as stated. The leather is soft, supple and simply beautiful. Pictures really do not do it justice. You have over 40 luxurious leather options to choose from as well as customizing your trim and hardware. I was amazed at how quickly my phone charged while I was at dinner with my husband. Also, I found out that these purses are made right here in the USA. Pricing starts at $129 for the fabric clutches, and $159 for leather. The 2013 collection sold out, but they’re expanding their line for 2014– you can get more information on how to get one here.

Most importantly that I no longer have to worry about my phone dying when I am out after a long day because it will be stylishly charging on my wrist. No more missed photo ops, texts, Instagrams or dealing with my phone dying while trying to find a ride home on Uber. I can confidently say… Move over diamonds, the Everpurse just might be a tech girlʼs new best friend.

Posted on 3/6/2014

Written by Veena Goel Crownholm

Veena Goel Crownholm is a UCLA grad and former Miss California. Prior to having her son, she worked in the non-profit field doing special events and program development as well as working as a Program Officer for the Thomas J. Long Foundation. In 2010, after she had her son, she began her career as a Lifestyle Contributor both online and on-air, as well as motivational speaking. She enjoys DIY projects, Thrift Store/Flea Market hunting, Camping and Hiking. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, son and 3 puppies. For more information on Veena please visit www.VeenaGoelCrownholm.com or follow her at: www.TiarastoBabies.com or on twitter @TiarastoBabies.

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We Check Our Phones Over 100 Times A Day. My Plan To Regain Some Control

This morning, as I lay on my back in yoga class on an escape far from home, glancing up through the window in the yurt ceiling, I saw out of the corner of my eye a man in the fetal position on his yoga mat stealthily checking his phone. I immediately felt outrage (since that’s the in-vogue emotion for such situations), yet I too am guilty of endlessly checking my phone– in front of my children, at the movie theater, even when crossing the street. Ugh. I always have some seemingly critical reason to be online: I need to confirm a pick-up time, make sure there’s no word from the babysitter, or quickly respond to a work email so it’s off my plate. Yes, I admit, I am unable to disconnect.

It seems we have reached a point of total wireless abandon. Facebook recently announced it will acquire WhatsApp for nineteen billion dollars. Why? Because it taps into our insatiable appetite for non-stop social connection. Every day, more than a million people install this app and start chatting. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the average person dedicates thirteen hours a week to email–reading, responding, deleting, and sorting it. And we check our phones 110 times a day on average, once every six seconds during peak times, with some users unlocking their devices up to 900 times a day, according to Android app Locket.

It makes me nostalgic to think back to what it was like without wireless communication in my college days. The quiet moments walking home from classes in the snow, or chatting endlessly with friends in the dorms . . . there were no texts to respond to or tweets to re-tweet. But it’s not that I wouldn’t have loved the efficiency and beauty of such easy communication, to meet up with friends across campus or to send my parents a picture of the bell tower on the way to class (or my car being towed for failing to pay parking tickets), so they knew I was thinking of them. And recently I had my first “Facebook” birthday experience, which I confess touched me, hearing from so many friends, old and new.

Today, we all have wireless data plans for our online use, but we have no intention or plan for how to be offline. We are connected from morning till night (and, sigh, I have rolled over in the middle of the night to check my phone, too).

As my children enter this wireless world of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat, it’s painfully clear that we need a meaningful plan for finding a balance for all of us. I don’t want my children imitating my rude habit of checking my phone in mid-sentence, staying online rather than reading a book, or worse, learning to drive without the discipline to leave their phone out of reach. In China, they now have 400-plus, prison-like Internet Addiction Treatment Centers for teens, not unlike boot camp for drug addicts. We need ways to prevent our teens from spending more time in virtual reality than reality before it becomes an addiction. It has to start at home. We, as parents, need to set a better example for our children.

This is not to ignore the great need for some after-hour online controls for the work place as well (it is becoming hard to imagine a world where a client or colleague does not email you in the evenings or weekend). In Germany, in an effort to prevent employees from burning out, the Labor Ministry and firms such as BMW, Volkswagon, and Puma have imposed after-hour email restrictions. In contrast, in the U.S., instead of “minimum intervention” into the free time of workers, our culture seems to be moving toward total obliteration of the divide between personal time and work.

But we need to start to improve the situation, first, by looking at our role as parents at home. We need to choose mindfully to limit our time online, taking a productive step toward helping our children find a balance. The ways to limit online time are endless, but the key is intentionally making a plan:

(1) delineating tech-free zones in our home, such as the kitchen and bedrooms;

(2) scheduling family time offline;

(3) mandating daily blackout hours;

(4) taking a day a month offline (I have never tried this, and it would be extremely challenging, which makes me think I definitely need to do it);

(4) pre-defining schedules for checking messages rather than continuously being online; and

(5) using tools such as Page Addict to monitor your internet time and cut you off when you have exceeded specified amounts of time on sites such as Facebook.

Placing some parental controls on us parents will give us credibility as we help our children navigate the online world. But now, excuse me as I pause to photograph the sunset on my beautiful escape . . . so I can post it on Facebook.

Posted on 3/6/2014

Written by Katherine Eskovitz

Katherine Eskovitz began her career as a trial lawyer before founding little BLUEPRINT. A graduate of Yale Law School and Cornell University, Katherine practiced law for seventeen years as a federal prosecutor and partner in a national law firm before turning her courtroom skills, and experience as a former speechwriter, to writing for a new audience: children. Katherine’s Have a Plan Books, available at www.littleBLUEPRINT.com, are the result of years of research on child development and brain science, writing and collaboration with experts, and passion for photography. A native New Yorker, Katherine lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband and three children.

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This Is The Protective Phone Case You Should Be Using

There are few things more heart-wrenching in this day and age than the cracked, shattered screen of a smartphone that’s been dropped one too many times (Yes, first world problems, I know). That spider web of fissures dancing across the screen is a frustrating, expensive, and public reminder to be more careful.

I’ve dropped my phone before– it fell out of my jacket pocket and the screen shattered on the concrete as I walked out of a hair salon. It was Easter weekend, and in an attempt to cheer myself up about being away from family for the holiday, I’d gone to the salon for a new ‘do. But the stylist didn’t do a great job, and so I was bummed about my haircut when I angrily tugged my jacket on, causing my phone to drop and break. Cue hysteria.

Ever since then, I’ve been on the hunt for a case that would protect my phone from accidents without fail. The OtterBox brand promised to do just that– but $60 for a phone case is pricey, and the case is huge and bulky. There’s no way that would fit in the back pocket of my jeans or in my wallet.

My new Speck case

Speck turned out to be the best solution I could find to protect my phone. Their cases offer “military-grade” protection, yet are only $35 and come in a variety of cute colors and patterns. I admit, I didn’t know what military-grade protection meant when I first read it on the package (It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie). But after some digging online, I found that Speck Candy Shell cases are certified under the MIL-STD-810G U.S. Military Standard. This mean they’ve gone through a series of hard-surface drops from multiple heights at varying angles. And that is super cool, because next time I don’t secure my purse or jacket and my phone falls free, I won’t have to worry.

I am still way too scared to perform my own drop test, but I trust their testing and feel a LOT better knowing that my phone is protected. I also love the stylish design and range of color combos and features– I especially love the bright neon colors and cases that do dual-duty and also hold an ID and credit card.

Speck isn’t just phone cases though– they also design laptop and tablet cases, all of which seamlessly fuse style and function. I had a bright green Speck case on my Macbook all four years of college, and I’m happy to report that my machine is still working great after being nudged off my bed more than once, shoved in my backpack more times than I can imagine, and shipped around the world while I studied abroad. Plus, I could always easily find my computer in the library or dorm.

There are a lot of options for phone cases out there. It seems like every brand is printing cases with their own designs and patterns these days. But Speck is honestly the only company I’ve seen that offers equal parts protection, functionality and style. And that’s why I’ll continue to keep my phone in a Speck case.

Disclosure: Speck sent us complimentary product to review for this article. But I was using their cases long before I wrote this! 

Posted on 3/5/2014

Written by Liz Wassmann

Liz Wassmann is on the Dot Complicated editorial team and has written for a variety of Bay Area publications over the past several years. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found watching trashy TV, wine-tasting, or running on a beautiful Bay Area trail. Follow her @lwassmann13.

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My Virtual Friends Were The Only Ones Who Gave It To Me Straight

Before entering motherhood I had a preconceived notion of what was in store for me. According to my friends, parenthood was the most amazing thing one could ever experience, which is only partially true. Parenthood is quite rewarding, but it is also one of the most challenging tasks I have ever known.

When my first son was born I read every book published regarding newborns and how one should parent to have a happy, healthy baby. Of course, most of the information I attained was forgotten shortly after his birth, so once he arrived I felt like I was in another dimension. Where was this little angel everyone told me about? I thought there was supposed to be a honeymoon phase? As he grew older and more independent it became even harder. I found my patience being tested daily. There were times I lost my cool and then would wallow in the guilt. I hated raising my voice, putting him in time-out or hearing him cry. I often questioned if I was cut out for this new role I once was so excited to take on. I cried a lot and I judged myself.

In public, my friends raved about how their babies slept through the night, ate well and hardly ever cried. They bragged about how they couldn’t wait to have another one and that being a mother was so amazing. I, on the other hand, would just listen intently as I didn’t want to say what I was really thinking: My baby is a nightmare most of the time and apparently I’m not good at this mom thing.

On the verge of a Mommy breakdown, I turned to the Internet. I had struggled with trying to be the perfect mom long enough. It was time to dissolve that image and stop holding myself hostage. I couldn’t be the only one who struggled with managing these little minions, right? I started reading Mommy blogs and joined a few online parenting groups who shared their stories, gave advice and encouragement, but most importantly they told the truth. Parenting is difficult and unfortunately there are days you want a reset button. As much as you love your kids, there will be days you don’t like them too–and that’s normal. Having thousands of other parents at my disposable online was truly a lifesaver.

What women did before the Internet is beyond me. Whatever it was, I’m pretty sure there was a lot of wine involved. My advice to mothers, especially new ones, is don’t listen to your parents or friends if all they do is marvel in the greatness of parenthood. They are speaking through the rose-colored glasses of hindsight.

Parents tend to only remember the good times, which would explain why they are willing to have more children. Turn to your virtual friends for the real advice. It’s amazing how truthful people are when their computer screen conceals them. In this age of over-sharing the Internet will be your greatest resource and support system, be sure to take advantage of it.

I don’t know how I would have made it through the last three years if it weren’t for my virtual friends, blogs and parenting groups on Facebook. Throughout my journey they have made me laugh, helped me potty train, warned me about the normal behaviors of a toddler, but most importantly they made me realize–maybe I am not such a bad mom after all.

Posted on 3/4/2014

Written by Holly Rust

Holly Rust is a native Texan but currently resides in the great city of Chicago with her husband, two sons and their Chihuahua. She spent over 10 years in Marketing Communications and in the Luxury Hotel Industry as the Director of Events. She recently became a Freelance Writer and Editor (www.hollyrust.com), which has allowed more time for sanity and her family. She is also the Co-Founder of the popular humor blog, www.mothersguidetosanity.com, where she shares stories about the arduous task of chasing a toddler while managing career and family. Holly considers herself the ultimate foodie and loves to travel. She is also an avid runner and completed the 2011 Chicago Marathon.

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How I Hacked My Job To Spend More Time With My Family

This is the story of how I hacked my life and career last year to get closer to the front lines of health-care innovation – and my family.

It is also the story of how you can reinvent your own path in order to fix what’s broken in your career or fix imbalance between your work and life.

My story starts at home: I grew up surrounded by health-care pioneers whose work saved and improved the lives of hundreds of people. My mom is a family physician who in the 1980s opened the nation’s first health center for women. My dad is a urologist who brought mobile lithotripsy to the U.S. in the 1980s. (That’s a non-invasive way to smash kidney stones without surgery.) My sister is a lead Gynecologist Oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA focused on finding a marker for ovarian and cervical cancers so they can be detected and treated earlier.

One year ago I was Kaiser Permanente’s National Director of PR Strategic Planning and Partnerships. I was in Washington DC twice a month organizing big news events and meetings at KP’s gorgeous new Center for Total Health on Capitol Hill with The White House, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Sebelius’ team and the innovation team at the Center for Medicaid & Medicare Services.

I was doing really exciting stuff and raising the visibility of Kaiser Permanente’s integrated care model and award-winning innovation and research — BUT I was missing out on key moments in my family’s life.

I missed my son’s stand-up saxophone solo at The Berkeley Jazz School because I was in DC for an Institute for Healthcare Improvement event I organized at our Center for Total Health. I missed my daughter’s school play and most of her soccer games because I was in DC.

Then I had an epiphany after attending two amazing health care innovation events.

At The XX Retreat (XX in Health is a non-profit focused on the intersection of health and technology), I was moved to tears by speaker Nupur Srivastava as she described her work to treat jaundice in newborns in India. She told the audience how the technology was available to mothers whose babies were dying of jaundice but how one mother said it was cheaper to have another child rather than seek treatment.

Then, at the Kaiser Permanente Innovation Retreat, I listened rapt as teams of KP doctors, nurses, IT experts and designers described their innovation projects that were being awarded for netting big impact in clinical care.

As I sat in the audience, I decided that while it was important work, for me personally at that point in my life, it didn’t matter whether I landed more stories about Kaiser Permanente in the New York Times and POLITICO and generated two million impressions on Twitter.

I wanted to help clinicians improve the lives of their patients. AND I wanted to do it while working just 45 hours a week right here in the Bay Area.

That night in my hotel room I sketched out my dream job at Kaiser Permanente. I would be an Innovation Evangelist helping our care providers share and spread their innovative projects throughout the Kaiser Permanente universe of 17,000 doctors, 49,000 nurses, 175,000 employees and 9 million members.

The next morning while still at the KP Innovation Retreat, I pitched the job idea to the Vice President of Innovation & Advanced Technology, she said yes immediately, and I was hired the next month.

Ironically, I was scared to tell my parents about it. They are immigrants to this country and always pushed my three sisters and me to work hard, achieve more and climb up the ladder, rather than taking our foot off the gas pedal to explore a side path.

But to my surprise, they were thrilled for me and very proud and supportive.

In the last year on the new job, I now telecommute. I’ve chaperoned my kids’ school field trips and camping trips, attended their music performances and sports games, and gone on more dates with my husband because I didn’t feel guilty about leaving the kids due to constant work travel. And my husband finally let me get a dog because I wasn’t traveling for work and could help take care of it.

Most importantly: I’ve already made some impact in helping clinicians spread their innovations – like implementing a roving mobile telemedicine robot that Intensive Care Unit doctors use to beam in from home for evening rounds in the ICU. This innovation has led to fewer night emergencies and increased patient and patient family satisfaction.

So how can you “hack” your own job for more flexibility? My advice:

To read the rest of this piece, head over to Maybrooks.com, where it was originally published. 

Posted on 3/4/2014

Written by Danielle Cass

This article was written by Danielle Cass, an innovation evangelist in Kaiser Permanente’s Innovation & Advanced Technology Group. Follow Danielle! twitter.com/@daniellecass

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Want A Meaningful Lenten Goal? Try Limiting Tech, Focus On Real Relationships

It’s that time of year again. You may be trying to decide what vice or habit to give up for Lent. I always try to challenge myself by selecting something tough but not impossible. After all, 40 days is a long time! For example, in years past I have give up sugar or alcohol (although I’ll never give up sugar again for the safety of those around me). While challenging, I’m not convinced that the omission of these things from my daily life truly contributed to my overall, long-term well-being. If you are in search of Lenten promise, consider adjusting your tech habits. Clearing your mind from tech distractions helps create space for creativity and calm.

Need a few suggestions? Try giving up these bad habits.

1) Tech dependency: Our phones have become our companions, social crutches, entertainment and life-lines to our friends and family. But just like everything else in life, it’s necessary to have balance. Plus, think of all you are missing out on when you stay buried in your phone! Real-life! Human connection! Sights and sounds and experiences that your phone can’t produce. I am not suggesting you turn your phone off until April 20th (I’m realistic) but you can help improve your tech-life balance. Consider these options:

o Stop checking social media after 8pm. You might miss some drunk Facebook posts or tweets but with any luck they’ll still be there in morning.

o Give up using your phone in bed. Just go to sleep already, and leave the phone in another room.

o Unplug completely on either Saturday or Sunday every week. When you think about all the time you spend on your computer or phone during the week, one day per weekend will bring you a step closer to a desirable tech-life balance.

o Stop using social media on your phone, committing to only checking your accounts on your computer. This might be a tough one. But think of all the brain time you’ll get back! Instead of mindlessly scrolling your feed, you can plan dinner or itemize your day or ponder the meaning of life or notice what’s happening around you. Allowing yourself time to think and process is time well spent.

2) Over-sharing: I saw Randi Zuckerberg give a presentation at the Dallas Digital Summit last December, where she covered the topic of over-sharing. I thought to myself, when Randi Zuckerberg tells you to stop blasting your followers with parenting and food posts, you may want to listen.

So have a look at your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed for a mini meta-analysis. There are two things to consider in your self-evaluation: post frequency and post content.

o Frequency – How often are you sharing? Two or three times per week, per day? If there is any remote chance you are littering your friends’ feed with too many posts, you may want to rethink your strategy. Don’t be that person.

o Content: Here is where you need to get real with yourself. Is your content interesting, relevant, relatable or humorous? Seriously, be honest. Are you over-sharing about your children, upcoming nuptials or your dedication to the gym? I’m sure your friends are excited for your life events, but you don’t have to beat them over the head with it. As far as your day-to-day life goes, do you truly think your friends or followers are interested in a picture of your eggs Benedict or your fifth check in at the gym this week? Evaluate the emotion or reaction you trying to elicit from your followers. Does that in some way reaffirm your life choices? (Hopefully not!) These are the tough questions to ask yourself as you evaluate your social media goals.

Full disclosure, I post on social media in an attempt to be funny or to induce jealousy for something cool I am doing. Hey, at least I’m honest and strategic. Ask yourself what you are trying to get accomplished on social media, then evaluate if your posts are serving those goals.

3) Ignoring smartphone security: Think of all the information on your phone. It is likely a fair representation of your life, with apps for your bank, favorite stores, preferred travel partners, photos and information on your contacts. And yet, many of us don’t take smartphone security seriously, despite the sensitivity of the information at risk. You don’t need to invest in the super-secure Boeing Black, but there are simple steps you can take to increase your smartphone security.

o Remove your home address from Google maps or other navigation apps. It won’t kill you to type it in every time.

o Take advantage of anti-theft software like Apple’s Find my Phone and Google Device Manager. Do it. Now.

o It may be tempting to use a password manager to make browsing and signing in easier, but you are teeing things up for thieves or hackers. Take the extra steps to sign into sensitive sites or apps each time.

o Evaluate the apps you download and those you allow to access your data. Pay attention to the agreements you approve and evaluate which apps actually need additional access to your data.

o Update software and apps to ensure you are protected by the latest security updates.

4) Stop texting and actually call/Facetime/Skype someone. Remember when phones just made phone calls? That wasn’t so bad was it? Emails and texts lack context, voice inflection and true personal connection. I get the convenience factor, but as far are true communication and connection, we miss so much by limiting our sensory experiences of sight and sound.

Here are a few phone etiquette reminders, in case it’s been a while.

o Watch your language in public places. My mother says people swear because they can’t think of a more intelligent way to say to get their point across, and while I fundamentally disagree (there is no linguistic equivalent to the power and gusto of a well-timed F bomb) I do believe there is a time and place. Be respectful and considerate of those around you.

o Put your phone away during meals. It’s rude to ignore your companions.

o Don’t text and drive. Obviously. If you choose to talk and drive, invest in a Bluetooth or maybe just wait till you are home.

o Be mindful of others in public places or confined spaces. Your train companions or carpool friends may not be interested in every detail of your date last night. All it takes is one loud, talkative seat mate to remind us that we appreciate the consideration of others.

I am not going to sugar coat it: the first few days are going to be rough depending on your level of dependency. You will wonder why you committed to this for 40 days, but keep in mind there are numerous upsides to investing in your tech-life balance. You may reestablish or reignite important relationships. You may find extra time in your day to dedicate to yourself and your goals and passions.

Ideally, you will determine where you are on the tech-dependency spectrum by evaluating the difficulty in making tech-related adjustments to your routine. Hopefully this evaluation inspires you to work towards the appropriate tech-life balance for you.

And trust me, it is a lot easier than giving up sugar.

Posted on 3/3/2014

Written by Rachel Lewis

Rachel Lewis is a senior strategist for a full service, global digital performance agency. For more than seven years, she has helped some of the world’s largest luxury brands and retailers achieve their digital goals. Prior to her marketing career, Rachel worked as a television news producer for ABC and NBC affiliates in Texas. She is a proud alumna of Baylor University, and received her graduate degree in Communication Studies at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Her interests include pink, Robert Griffin III, macaroons, traveling and 80’s pop. Perhaps more impressively, she can cure hiccups without fail. Follow her on Twitter @rachellynell.

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