The Gold Medal Count That Matters Most... to Most Moms
Okay, modern moms can totally relate to what I'm about to say: my life IS an Olympic competition. That's not meant to take one single thing away from all of those amazing athletes out there right now... but seriously... When my alarm goes off in the morning -- I go right into a race to survive and push to perform my very best. It peaks with some drama, a little suspense, a shot at victory, a test of endurance, sprint to the finish, rush of adrenaline... gasp and big deep breath... then winds down with all the coulda-woulda-shoulda's and lessons-learned self reflection that one sane person can stand.
And while I might be a little more dramatic than most -- who among us manic moms doesn't relate? So -- doing that I do best -- some investigative journalism and a real-mom-testing -- I've put together a HUGE list of real life Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners -- for products, services and ideas that bring a sense of WINNING BIG to our everyday lives.
Here, for the first time, I'm unveiling all of our winners in one place. As always, I can't wait to hear what you have to say! Pictures and videos of the testing process are coming soon to the tips and lab sections of this website. Enjoy!
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Gold Medal Good Ideas for Savvy Shopping
Shopping Savvy: This category focuses on new and innovative ways to get all the things you want and need for less!
1. Gold: Bing Shopping
• What it does: This search engine is brilliant - no really - it has new "artificial intelligence" technology that totally zeros in on exactly what you want. In a matter of minutes, you can browse thousands of stores from one place, compare and contrast products and prices and read user and expert reviews. AND THEY PAY YOU BACK up to 25% when you buy from their stores, including Wal-Mart, Macys and Overstock! "Bing Shopping and their cashback program lets you compare prices and earn up to 25 percent cashback on more than 44 million products from 1,200 retailers."
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: Okay, you had me at "earn money for shopping." All you have to do is sign up for a cashback account the first time you buy something through Bing. Then, every time you use Bing to shop, you accrue money. After 60 days you'll get an email saying you've earned money and can get it deposited directly into a PayPal account, your bank account - or get a check sent to your home. This is a great way to dodge any negative fallout from the new credit CARD act that goes into affect February 22. Since you know many credit cards will get their revenue one way or another - you might as well get all the FREE rewards you can!
2. Silver: ThredUp.com and ThredUpKids - I also call this one "swapping savvy"
• What it does: The tagline for this site is; "go shopping… in someone else's closet." This online clothes swap site lets you list clothes you're willing to part with as well as tell the world what brands, styles and sizes of clothes you want to get in return. You buy a package or prepaid shipping envelopes from the site and wa-la; thredUp makes the exchange for you. They call it the "Netflix" of clothes exchanges. If you're like most people, you don't wear 25% of clothes in your closet. If you're like me, you don't wear 50% of the clothes in your closet. Why not refresh your wardrobe by swapping - without leaving your own house?
• ThredUpKids: Just launched in February. Moms are often left with boxes of clothes that have been worn only once or twice. To prevent waste and save money, thredUP kids allows moms to swap clothes that no longer fit their children for items that will. Consignment and thrift shops are tedious and time consuming. Traditional retail is expensive. thredUP will help you swap items of equal value based on brands and other preferences you set. It's all done online and through prepaid mail…frugal, hassle free and eco-friendly.
• Cost: Adults $5-$25. Kids - you pay shipping and handling.
• Why it's a winner: I've covered a few emerging online clothes swap sites in the past year and most of them are great ideas, but in reality, just don't work. This is the first one that seems to have this whole cyber-clothes swap figured out. Plus, they have a zero tolerance policy for damaged or dirty clothes, so if you're not happy, they'll fix it.
• The kids' clothes swap part: As you know, clothes don't grow. Kids do. And they grow FAST. I go through my daughter's closet about once every three months and give tons of barely warn duds to whomever will take them. It will be nice to be on the receiving end of the same quality of kid's clothes in return!
3. Nethaggler.com: never pay retail again, no matter what you're shopping for!
• What it does: this online shopping site lets you tag something you want and get an alert when it hits the price you're willing to pay, nag a merchant for a lower price and/or haggle for a bulk discount. It works with stores like Amazon, Macy's, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and many more.
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: This site is a great way to never pay retail again! We've seen so many new ways to shop online emerge over the past year, but this one puts everything in one place - the ability to name your price and tell a retailer, "hey, if you want to make this sale, meet me on my terms." And it's working! We all know the Internet has changed shopping forever, but if you need proof, Americans spent some $90 billion last year alone. Couple that with a recession and true shopping genius is born.
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Gold Medal Good Ideas for Getting Organized:
1. Gold: clutterfreebox.com
• What it does: This service is like tailor-made self-storage, where you manage boxes of personal belongings with a click of a mouse - without ever leaving your home. Here's an example: As you take down your holiday decorations, you pack them in a box, and set them out for a FedEx pick up that you've arranged on clutterfreebox.com. Your stuff goes to climate controlled secure, state-of-the-art facility used by leading Fortune 500 companies. When you want it back, you click a date on clutterfreebox.com and it shows up right on your doorstep again.
• Cost: starts at $16
• Why it's a winner: American households annually spend nearly $25 billion on self-storage. For those who have downsized or are planning to declutter, ClutterFreeBox offers a by-the-box solution with no long-term commitments necessary, no obligations for one-sized-fits-all storage unit and no need to search through dark bins in even darker parts of town for seasonal items. This is a huge time, money and sanity saver!
2. Silver: Cozi.com
• What it does: Cozi is a free online organizer that helps families manage crazy schedules, trackshopping lists and to do lists, organize household chores, stay in communication and share memories-all in one place.
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: If you're a tiny bit tech savvy, this is a great way to manage everything. You still have to be good about keeping up with it, such as writing in appointments and times to pick kids up from school, syncing it all up to your Smartphone and have internet access to check it. Still, it's a great way to get and stay organized. They also have step-by-step plans to help you with your family organization in general. I love that.
3. Bronze-Tie: scanalog.com:
• What it does: This is a software program that lets you scan and save all those awesome magazine articles you constantly tear out - on one place. Millions of people look to magazines for DIY ideas, health info, and advice on parenting, recipes, travel, decorating and gardening. They save the magazines or clippings never to find them again when they want them. Scanalog solves this common problem.
• Cost: $50
• Why it's a winner: I feel like this could have been created with me in mind. I have piles of pages torn from magazines and stashed in file folders EVERYWHERE. And I waste a lot of time looking for that one article with that great advice on how to find jeans that fit my butt or shows me the very best free workout apps for my phone. The reason this gets the bronze though is that you have to own a scanner and be good about scanning articles into the database. Truth is, I'm still too disorganized to that.
3. Bronze-Tie: shoeboxed.com
• What it does: this service deals with all of your receipts so that you don't have to. You sign up and they send you a pre-paid envelope. You dump all your receipts (and business cards and any document you need on file) in there send it off to shoeboxed.com. They scan it all, generate reports and send it back to all you neat and tidy-like. They even have a cell phone app that lets you snap a picture of the receipt and generate entire expense reports right from your phone.
• Cost: Plans range from $10-$50
• Why it's a winner: I've worked from a home office off and on for years. Staying organized with receipts, expenses, all of that is the bane of my existence. It's been great to "shop it out" to someone else to totally take care of it for me. This service saves me at least one hour a week, if not more. Also, until just a few months ago, I worked for a company that often had me travelling to five to ten cities a month, out-of-my-own-pocket and required meticulous records - often double and triple records of every penny I spent. If only I would have had this then… my old company accountant and I would have been much better friends!
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Gold Medal Good Ideas for Health & Fitness:
Health & Fitness: This category highlights the best products, services and ideas to help you get (and stay) fit and healthy!
1. Gold for Health & Fitness: Fitbit:
• What it does: Clip the Fitbit onto your shirt, belt, or armband, and this thumb-sized gadget, essentially an accelerometer, will track all your movement during the day then report back on your activity. The motion-detecting sensor will digitally record the distance you've walked or run; the number of calories you've burned; the number of steps you've taken; and even your sleep patterns.
• Cost: $99
• Why it's a winner: unlike the BodyBugg and other predecessors, this is small and easy to wear all the time. It truly answers that age-old question; why can't I seam to lose weight? When you get a really accurate reading of how many calories you're consuming and how many you're burning, you'll understand perfectly why you can't lose that last 20-pounds. No miracles here except how easy it is to really understand what's keeping you from the body of your dreams.
2. Silver for Health & Fitness: Philips Activa:
• What it does: This personal training fitness gadget has all the bells and whistles that you want to get and stay in the best shape of your life. It keeps track of calories burned, gives you exercise options and shouts out words of encouragement during your workout. (How does it know I need a little kick in the pants right this very second?) Plus, it has something no other product does: it syncs itself with your music library to make sure whatever is playing, matches your aerobic intensity.
• Cost: $129.99
• Why it's a winner: The only reason this didn't win this category is because it's you can't buy it until April 2010 and because it's expensive (more than $100). Other than that, this is TOTAL genius. The biggest reason I don't listen to music while I'm running is because it's hard to get the beat right and it ends up bugging me. These smart little personal devices just keep getting smarter all the time!
3. Bronze Tie for Health & Fitness: HealthyWage.com:
• What it does: this service PAYS YOU TO LOSE WEIGHT! Their free "basic" program pays you $100 to reach your goals. Their "super-sized" program costs $300, but pays out $1000 if you reach your goals. Healthy wage is a corporate sponsor-funded company that rewards long-term changes in behavior that lead to improved health. They understand that changing behaviors can be difficult, so, using corporate dollars (instead of yours), they give you the old "cold hard cash" incentive.
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: Finally, someone figured out how to get corporate America to put its money where our mouths are! Money is a great motivator. This is also a great site to connect with other people who are going through the whole weight loss journey too. It helps to keep you accountable. Best of all, its personalized and totally sane. A few other sites have tried to do this before and people "gamed" them. This one has a built in cheater-proof model that works with your physician so that you meet your goals by being healthy.
3. Bronze Tie for Health & Fitness: Dentalplans.com:
• What it does: most of my freelance friends, and even many of those who still work for "the man" don't have dental insurance And most of them could use it. Dentalplans.com does not provide insurance, but rather aligns its members with dentists that charge more "whole-sale" costs. It's kind of like Costco for dental work. As employee benefits continue to shrink, a service like this lets people get deep discounts on dental procedures such as cleanings, braces, root canals, crowns, and even cosmetic dentistry on some plans.
• Cost: $80/year for individual and $130 for a family.
• Why it's a winner: My cousin almost died about a month ago because of an infected tooth. I'm not kidding - your mouth, teeth and gums provide an open door for infections to enter your blood stream and heart. I'm not a doctor, and I'm sure there are more scientific ways to talk about this but I think I'm getting the 'gist of it right. Also, nearly half of all Americans don't have dental coverage and 75% of Americans are walking around with gum disease without knowing it. And just to put a little crown on that molar, February is National Children's Dental Health Month.
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Gold Medal Good Ideas: Busy Family Technology
Busy Family Technology: This category unveils some new ways for families to make technology work forthem.
1. Gold: Cozi.com:
• What it does: Cozi is a free online organizer that helps families manage crazy schedules, trackshopping lists and to do lists, organize household chores, stay in communication and share memories-all in one place.
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: If you're a tiny bit tech savvy, this is a great way to manage everything online. You still have to be good about keeping up with it, such as writing in appointments and times to pick kids up from school - an have internet access to check it. Still, it's a great way to get and stay organized. They also have step-by-step plans to help you with your family organization in general. I love that.
2. Silver: MiBook
• What it does: The miBook is what would happen if a cookbook, home decorator and uber-helpful (true MacGyver's') parents like mine were made into an eBook. This personalized how-to e-book reader shows (not just tells) you how to bake an amazing dessert, properly swaddle your baby, wallpaper a room and much, much more. CNET calls it an "e-book reader on steroids."
• Cost: $90 for the player plus two cooking titles on Amazon and Bing Shopping
• Why it's a winner: People know eating-in more will save them a ton of money, but it's such a hassle and who has the time? miBook makes whipping something up at home so much easier, so much quicker, and so much more fun - especially with the Quick and Easy Meals title! "Healthy Cooking" is my favorite. This has been a nice, hassle-free way for a non-cook like me to get our family to eat healthier! But don't just use it for cooking. Use the great DIY information, use it as a digital photo-frame and watch movies on it if you can!
3. Bronze: Powermat: (available at Amazon.com)
· What it does: This is a one-stop charger for your mobile phones, music players, handheld games, laptops, etc. Instead of plugging them all in one by one, one power mat (comes with power cube) let's you charge multiple devices simultaneously, replacing all those messy cords and power adapters for electronics including: mobile phones, music players, handheld games, e-readers, Bluetooth headsets, laptop computers, etc.
· Cost: starts at $99.99
· Why it's a winner: Just today I missed about 20 phone calls because I had accidentally unplugged my charging phone without realizing it. (Gosh, why is it soooo quiet?!) This is a really fast and efficient way to charge up all your gadgets and help de-clutter your space by getting rid of several power charger cords. It also automatically stops charging when your devices are fully charged - which saves on energy use. Plus, it just looks really cool.
Gold Medal Good Ideas: Budget Travel
Budget Travel: This category shows unveils a few tools that are easy to access, generally free and that open up the world of bargain travel to you in ways you've never heard of before.
1. Gold: Bing Travel Price Predictor
• What it does: Bing Travel uses science and technology to help you make informed decisions about when to travel and where to stay. Bing's Price Predictor actually calculates whether the lowest fare for a trip is predicted to rise, drop or stay the same over the next seven days. That means you can make sure no one else on your trip paid less than you! (Boy, that bugs me when I'm on a plane talking with the person next me and find out they spend half of what I did - DOH!)
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: We've all been there - you're booking a flight, and finally buy your ticket only to find out the fare went down $100 the same week! The coolest thing about Bing Travel is it can help take some of the pressure off buying a plane ticket. It uses unique data and prediction tools to let you know when to make that ticket purchase, or which airfares are truly a great deal. Got the plane ticket, but worried about where to stay? There is also a Hotel Rate Indicator - a color-coded rating system that indicates whether or not the current rate for a specific hotel is a deal by comparing historical data. COOL!
2. Silver Tie: craigslist.org & craigspal.com:
• What it does: You probably already know about craigslist - the online classified service. But do you know that it lists some of the biggest deals in the world when it comes to finding discount hotels, house-swaps, condos, even airfare travel vouchers? During the last year, my family and friends have saved an estimated $40,000 on airfare, hotels and overall vacations using this online classified service. It does, however, require patience and haggling skills!
• Cost: Craigslist = Free
• Why it's a winner: I'm sorry, I know this isn't a new idea, but oh my gosh, do you realize how much money you can save if you use this service wisely?!
2. Silver: Craigspal.com:
• What it does: craigspal.com lets you narrow down a craigslist search by setting specific parameters and automating searches. It provides a way to keep track of your craigslist searches and have the searches done for you and delivered right to you. Once logged in, all your information and results are pulled up and downloaded. Every search you do is saved under your member account for future use. CraigsPal also gives you the option to receive text and email notifications.
• Cost: limited use is Free/ $29.99 premium use
• Why it's a winner: Limited use is free so that you can sample it at no risk. The software size is small and uses virtually no memory. It's a total time saver if you're an avid craigslist user!
3. Bronze: Goby.com:
• What it does: Goby.com is a new "fun" search site that helps you "create your own adventure." It's zeros in on specific fun things to do with your free time, whether that's the upcoming weekend or planning a family vacation. You simply chose a category of interest (sports, bar, live music, arts, oysters, etc.), where you're located and when you want to do something (today, tomorrow, this weekend…) and the site gives you a relevant and varied list of events.
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: This site is super simple to use. When you're out of ideas for things to do - it can inspire you. It's also a quick way to find event happening in your area under several categories. The idea was born when one of the founders was in Hawaii watching a re-run of American Idol in the hotel room when, unbeknownst to him, one of his favorite bands (Dave Matthews) was playing right down the street. Had he been able to spend 5 minutes on this site - he would have front row tickets to a killer concert!
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Gold Medal Good Ideas: Live Large For Less Live Large For Less:
Who says you can't have it all? Not us and not these top products, sites and services that let you live the good life, no matter what.
1. Gold: travel like a rockstar: www.kayak.com/privatesales:
· What it does: This newly launched private sale program offers exclusive hotel deals for anyone signed up to Kayak (you can sign up for free.). You can get discounts of up to 50% off on exclusive hotels including the Mondrian in L.A., and the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort in St. Maarten and many more. Kayak posts new deals every Thursday. They are available for up to one week or until sold out. Properties are hand selected by kayak travel experts based on search trends.
· Cost: Free
· Why it's a winner: It offers outstanding properties at great values including locations that are really hot right now, so even trendy travel can be affordable. It's super easy to use. The company is planning to add deals on air travel and packages soon. So now you can travel like a rock-star, even when you're poor as dirt.
2.Silver: renttherunway.com
• What it does: As the name suggests, Rent the Runway lets you rent dresses from top-name designers such as Diane von Furstenberg, Hervé Léger and Proenza Schouler. Rentals run $50 to $200 for a four-night loan and are shipped directly to your doorstep.
• Cost: $50-$200
• Why it's a winner: There are several sites that rent handbags, sunglasses, wedding dresses, and exquisite jewelry. This is my favorite because I found so many things that actually fit me and that I could see wearing. It's all fairly formal, but if you have a special occasion and want to show up in designer duds, this is the way to go! Also, they take care of the dry cleaning - so you can just wear it and send it back!
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Saving Money: This category focuses on new services most of us have never heard of before, that can help the average family save thousands of dollars a year:
1. Gold: Nethaggler.com:
· What it does: this online shopping site lets people tag something they want and get an alert when it hits the price they're willing to pay, nag a merchant for a lower price and/or haggle for a bulk discount. It works with stores like Amazon, Macy's, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and many more.
· Cost: Free
· Why it's a winner: We've seen so many new ways to shop online emerge over the past year, but this one puts everything in one place - the ability to name your price and tell a retailer, "hey, if you want to make this sale, meet me on my terms." And it's working! We all know the Internet has changed shopping forever, but if you need proof, Americans spent some $90 billion last year alone. Couple that with a recession and true shopping genius is born.
2. Silver: zendough.com:
· What it does: provides a dashboard snapshot of your credit and account data, financial goals, and an ID theft risk assessment - all in one place. Within five minutes, this online personal finance website shows your credit reports and score. It includesa simple letter grade and the six secrets that make up your personal credit score, your debt standing and "identity theft risk." It's run by TransUnion, which maintains credit histories on an estimated 500 million people across the globe.
· Cost: Free 7-day trial; $14.95/month
· Why it's a winner: Out of all the personal finance services to pop up over the last year, this is the easiest to understand and simplest way to get a personalized financial snapshot - fast. Sure, I would LOVE if it was free (like mint.com), but it's so much easier for me to use than mint.com, that I'm happy paying for it right now. I've heard from other users that it's tough to cancel, but that wasn't my experience. I'm also a sucker for the Zen model and the idea that there's a "flow" with your personal finances - if they're a mess, the rest of your life generally is too.
3. Bronze-Tie: Smartypig.com:
• What it does: SmartyPig is an online "social piggy bank" that helps you meet specific savings goals. It allows you to invite others to contribute to your account and gives you incentive boosts from top retailers. SmartyPig is also a social network where, if you make your goal public, friends and family can provide financial support.
• Cost: Free
• Why it's a winner: The web site is a great tool to encourage families to SAVE before they BUY. It's worked miracles on getting me to save money for something special (like a trip to Argentina) rather than just hand over the high-interest credit card and then moan when I end up paying double what the trip would have cost had I gone in with cash in hand. Also, instead of simply providing a place to put money, SmartyPig encourages you to develop savings goals and then helps you develop automatic plans to meet those goals.You can also add your personalized SmartyPig widget to your Facebook or MySpace page, blog or Website or you can start your own SmartyPig Friends Network. When it comes to weddings, graduations, fixing up your house, etc., this just can't be beat.
3. Bronze: Boost Mobile 's Pre-Paid Blackberry Curve:
· What it does: The Blackberry 8330 is the Swiss-army knife for information-multitaskers on the go: a phone, email, Internet Web, texting, GPS, MP3 music player and flash camera all in one small mobile package. What really rocks here is that this is the first Smartphone available on the "unlimited" plan. That means there are no hidden fees, it's free of long-term contracts, complicated bills and all that other stuff that makes us suffer over our cell phones!
