What are you doing for mommy dearest this Mother’s Day? Gone is the stereotype that all mothers are “just” homemakers bound to slaving over hot stoves and cleaning up after children. Moms are so much more than that and they’re busier than ever. As a tribute to all the mommies in the audience, we here at Futurelooks would like to provide this guide for busy moms. By taking advantage of these time-saving strategies, they just may be able to find a little more “me” time and a little more time to relax.
Automate the Allowance Process
You have enough things on your mind that have you worried. You have those monthly mortgage payments. You have to deal with getting the lunches ready for the children. You have to deal with the office politics at your job. You don’t want to “waste” time on the kids’ allowances. Instead of having little Sally and young Timmy pester you each week for their allowances, set them up with a basic checking account at your local bank.
Most financial institutions have free accounts for children and, when they reach a certain age, you can entrust them with a debit card of their own. This can help teach them about responsibility and saving, but more importantly, it will allow you to automate the allowance process. Get your bank to set up weekly transfers from your account to the kid’s account. Depending on your plan, these transfers should be free of fees. Timmy and Sally get their money and you have one fewer item on your to-do list.
Use the App for Fun Recipe Ideas
As much as Chuck enjoys your Mac and Cheese, he doesn’t want to eat it every night. Dinner options can be a little more varied in your home and you don’t have to waste time buying cookbooks and printing out online recipes. If you happen to have an Apple iPhone or an iPod touch, you can grab the DinnerSpinner app from the good folks at Allrecipes.com.
You’ve probably used a few of their recipes already, but now you have a super portable version to use. All you need is a simple iPhone stand of some kind and you can have all sorts of recipes close at hand. They let you search by ingredient, read nutritional information, and see selected recipe ratings and reviews. The basic DinnerSpinner app is free or you can upgrade to DinnerSpinnerPro for even more features for a fee through iTunes.
Expedite Your Coin Sorting
Many families have change jars. These jugs of pennies, nickels, and dimes can amount to quite a bit of money, but they can take a long time to sort and roll. Make the process so much easier with the Magnif Digital Coin Counter and Sorter.
This handy cool lets you dump in all of those coins and it will automatically sort them, preparing them for your rolling pleasure. The digital display keeps you updated on how much cash you have too. If you can’t get this particular Magnif model, several others like it are available at many online and offline retailers too. Amazon is a good place to try.