All of the UK’s major mobile providers offer packages and bolt-ons that can be made to work for the modern family. You may have an existing relationship, or perhaps the signal is stronger in your region with a certain provider. Either way all of the big mobile phone companies have mobile phone deals that can see you saving straight away. Don’t worry if the deal that attracts you most is with a network you are new to; porting your number to a new carrier is a very simple task.

Orange.

Orange offer a family plan scheme called Your Group. Each member must have a separate contract, but costs are shared via a single itemized bill and calls between members are free. The key account holder must be automatically top up a given amount, but all the other accounts can be cheap pay as you go. Orange also offer an emergency call service when a users credit has run out; one 60 second call and two 30 second calls –very good to know.

O2.

O2’s Bolt On’s can be made to work very well for a family. The key contract holder must pay a £7.62 monthly fee and they can then choose four other O2 customers to form a group. Within this group texting and calls are free. O2 also provides shared calendars with text-based reminders that can be a real time saver for busy families.

Vodafone.

The relevant Vodafone package is called Vodafone Family. One user pays £7/month that grants free calls for a group of up to six people. Unfortunately this package does not include text messages.

T Mobile.

T-Mobile offer Family Booster that allows a group of up to five people to talk and text for free. The fee in £5.10/month, which is paid by the main account holder. A fair usage policy is applied to the free calls, but the allowance is generous and more than adequate for family usage.

Combining your phone tariffs like this with a single provider can be a great way for modern family to save money. You will know that your children will always have a phone for emergencies and you can fix this cost more effectively allowing better monthly budgeting.

Read my full review, Sleep Number m7 with Memory Foam Review – Sleep Has Never Felt So Good, on ChiTownMoms.net.

Intel’s What About Me tool does just that. The site takes a snapshot of your social media usage and presents it in a pretty infographic. Everyone loves a good infographic. And it is even more special when it is about you.:)

The tool allows you to connect to your Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. From there it reads through tweets, status updates, and video descriptions and provides a snapshot of what you talk about. Some of the sections included are The Stories I Tell, Friend Fave, What I’m Talking About Now, as well as a few others. It is a lot of fun to go through and see what it finds. If you run it again after a few days you may get different results.

Check out the below video where I explain a little about the tool and my background in social media.

The Twitter Party

Join Us for a fun Twitter party to discuss social media and our What About Me results. You just might win something!

Date: Thursday May 17
Time: 8-10pm EST (7-9pm CST and 5-7pm PST)

Co-hosts: @IntelEdge @LittleTechGirl @TechMama
Panelists: @TechSavvyMama @Tech4Moms @scrappinmichele and @c2cmom

Hashtag: Follow #IntelSocialButterfly or follow along using this custom TweetGrid link: http://is.gd/0FOFWi

Prizes: Five $50 Best Buy gift cards + One $250 Best Buy gift card grand prize

To qualify for the prizes follow these steps:

1. RSVP at http://twtvite.com/intelsocialbutterfly
2. Tweet out your “What About Me?” image with the hashtag #Intelsocialbutterfly
3. Participate in the Twitter Party

Oh, and be sure to have fun. SEE YOU THERE!

Disclosure: This is a compensated post on behalf of Intel. All opinions are my own.

As previously mentioned on Tuesday night I hosted 9 other awesome Chicago area moms for a dinner to talk about Treat.com, the new greeting card service from Shutterfly. Treat.com allows you to send real Mother’s Day cards and other greeting cards right from your computer. Each and every card is customizable. You can add your own photos, and text to the front, back and inside of your card.

To learn more about Treat.com visit their website or follow their social media channels:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google+
• Pinterest

The Dinner

We had a casual dinner at Flavor 180 in downtown Chicago. Guests were treated to an awesome menu of peach BBQ chicken wings, mango jerk wings, crap cakes, delicious tilapia, sweet potato fries, Caesar salad, and peach cobbler.

Tilapia

The food at Flavor 180 is excellent.

Mixed Vegetables

I was able to bring home leftovers and I was still wanting more.

Sweet Potato Fries

Yum, yum, yum!

There was so much more on the menu that we could have enjoyed. I look forward to going back soon and maybe taking more friends. After learning about Treat.com, eating well and drinking wine, we took a break to chat. At the end of the event each guest received a goodie bag filed with cards and stationary and a 1 year VIP account valued at $350.

Treat.com + fab food was a definite win and a treat for all of the moms! Check out all of the photos on Flickr.

Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign on behalf of Treat.com.

I recently received the momAgenda Home Office Edition for review. I love this one! This planner is designed to be left at home on your desk or counter for keeping track of household chores, meetings, kid’s sports, and everything else. The planner is 9″ x 11″ so the pages are large with plenty of space for writing lengthy information.

It includes a directory of toll-free numbers, space for important family info and phone numbers, medical information, and plenty of room for appointments and notes. The tabs make it easy to jump to a specific month, and the spiral binding makes it easy to bend it back so it either lays flat, or take up half the space.

The Home Office Edition will be released on July 1, 2012 for $32.95. The planner spans August 2012 – August 2013.

The Giveaway

While waiting for the awesome Home Office Edition to be released you can enter to win an awesome momAgenda Desktop valued at $43.00.

Required

Leave a comment below telling me what you use for a calendar right now.

Tweet the following: I want a @momAgenda for Mother’s Day! I just entered the #giveaway from @LittleTechGirl at http://vsb.li/4Ybc09 #momAgendaCOMM

Contest will run until Friday, May 18, 2012. Good luck!!

Disclosure: This post is part of my involvement in the compensated momAgenda COMM program. All opinions are my own.

What would be your ideal treat for Mother’s Day? On the news this morning they said that a study shows that most moms want a spa day. That does not surprise me at all. I have been treated to an awesome spa experience once and it was heaven! I got a full body lavender and salt exfoliation + massage. I have never been so relaxed in my life. Well maybe once, when I was in the hospital and doped up on several things to ward off preterm labor. LOL!

I could totally go for another spa day along with a manicure and pedicure, preferably followed by a relaxing day on the beach. Ahh….

Ok, back to reality…  if I cannot have the spa day right now, a card and some nice flowers will always do the trick. I am not a big candy eater, so you can save your money there.  Treat.com is an awesome new site from Shutterfly that allows you to send beautiful greeting cards without much hassle. It is not a virtual card. It is a REAL card personalized and sent to your loved one. Treat.com will put a stamp on the card for you and mail it. How cool is that? No more fighting over the slim pickings left at the store. You can do it all online and get the best. There are several awesome Mother’s Day Cards available.

The Giveaway

Shutterfly would like to give one of my readers a one year VIP membership to Treat.com, a $350 value. Read here for more details.

Required

1. Leave a comment below telling me the last time you actually mailed a greeting card.
2. RT this giveaway by copying and pasting this Tweet “Win a 1 Year VIP membership to Treat.com courtesy of @LittleTechGirl”

Optional (leave a separate comment for each additional action):

• Follow Treat.com on Twitter
• LIKE Treat.com on Facebook

Giveaway will run until Thursday, May 10 at 11:59 PM. Good luck!

Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign courtesy of Mom It Forward and Treat.com. All opinions and wacky stories are my own.

However, not too long ago, I setup an email for both of my girls. Their address books are stocked with email addresses for myself, their dad, each other, and their grandparents. And of course parental controls are enabled. But, even with restrictions on the accounts, I have to teach them the rules of the web. They know not to click on any ads, or anything that says “You Have Won!”. They have to come and get me when they try to visit a site that is not in their approved list. And they know to come and get me immediately if they see anything questionable.

When I setup their email accounts, I set a password on each and gave it to them. They are not the hardest passwords ever due to their nine year old memories, but they do follow my password rules. As they use more websites and get more accounts I want to make sure that they know the makings of a good password.

DON’Ts

• Never make your password your name
• Never make your password or PIN number your birthday
• Never make your password too short
• Never make your password something that those close to you can guess easily
• Never carry your passwords with you

DOs

• Do make your password very secure
• Do mix letters and numbers to create an affective password
• If you do want to use a play on names, make sure to mix it up with a play on numbers as letters, etc.
• Do have different passwords for very important things like your bank account and your utility bills.
• Do use separate passwords for things work related versus personal

Having an account with a non-secure password can easily lead to identity theft. Scammers have tools that patrol the web looking for accounts with easy to crack password. Of course having a good password is just one step in many to protect your children from identity theft. And in the event that the unthinkable does happen, there are child identity theft tips that can help you work through the aftermath.

Recovering from identity theft is not easy, but there is help. Resources for identity theft victims include credit monitoring, links to organizations that assist with identity theft problems, and even form letters that you can use to send to creditors if there is a problem.

If you have not already, enroll your family in a credit monitoring solution such as Identity Guard which will alert you to changes on your credit report.

Disclosure: The post is part of my involvement in the compensated Identity Guard kIDSure program. The service was provided to me free of charge fore review. All opinions are my own.

As I replayed my visit in my mind just now I came up with a brilliant idea. And if your mother is anything like mine, you will love this too. For Mother’s Day how about promising mom a full day of your undivided attention to go through her stuff with her and help her list unwanted items on eBay? You could show her how to use the eBay Mobile app a few times and then let her loose.

I am not sure what it is exactly, but moms seems to love to save…. well everything! There could just be a gold mine waiting to happen. Here are a few thoughts that come to mine when thinking about what my mom (and friends) has in her house:

• China – I think my mom has some China that might now be considered a collectors item from her wedding 42 years ago. Never used. I have not checked it out yet to see the details, but I plan on it.
• A huge collection of beanie babies – My moms friends who has passed owned a huge collection. Actually she was kind of a hoarder, but a relatively neat hoarder, if that makes sense. I’m told that her family did not realize the value of what she had. When they moved her out of her apartment they threw away a ton of stuff that probably could have racked up quite a bit on eBay.
•  Designer purses – Lots of ladies have very nice purses that they no longer use. Those that are no longer manufactured really draw attention when listed.
• Antiques – My mom loves watching the Antique Road Show. While she might not have something that will get appraised for $500,000 like some of those lucky people, I bet she has a few gems but she does not even realize it.
• LPs aka Records – I have boxes and boxes of them in my basement. Although many *regular* folks do not play them much anymore, DJs and collectors love to get their hands on them.
• Vintage Video Games – If you left some of your own goodies in mom’s basement, you may have some gems yourself. Old Atari, Coleco Vision, and other games from back when we were kids do sell on eBay.
• Old Cameras – Working cameras, even those that are very old might just sell on eBay. There are camera collectors out there that love them.

These are just a few of the items that come to mind when I think about what I see at my mom’s and other’s homes. I bet there are also some unique things that I am not aware of just yet. The thought is scary, yet exciting.

If your business has not embraced social media yet, you should get moving. Sites like Twitter and Facebook have quickly become valuable tools which help businesses connect with their customers and potential customers. One tweet can spread far. One interesting Facebook question can engage fans and start a great discussion. Add to that that power of blogging and you have a winning combination. The key, of course… is to do it right. If you do decide to embark on using social media for your company, remember a few things.

1. Pay attention to your customers and fans. Remember to answer questions in a timely manner. Companies that do this on Twitter get high praise.

2. Do more than just advertise. Engage your followers in conversation.

3. Do not mix business and pleasure. If you are a big business be very careful about what you tweet. Try not to mix the two if it does not match.

4. Incorporate some campaigns beyond Twitter and Facebook for more reach.

5. And this one is the most important… if any of the above is foreign to you, or you just do not have the time or skills, you can partner with an awesome social media marketing company or social media consultant to help you build the right campaign, and find the right social media influencers to help you build buzz.

Do a little of the above and you will be guaranteed to connect with some great people, make some valuable contacts, and most importantly… get more business.

Your average consumer, especially one who has a family to think about, considers new technological gadgets about as long as it takes him or her to figure out that it’s too expensive. Indeed, most people are thinking about their bottom line: paying their mortgage, finding the cheapest interest rates, saving for the future.

Fortunately, many of the newest gadgets coming out are not only fairly inexpensive but can actually help expedite tedious tasks, such as taxes and budgeting, and increase your level of connectivity with the world. This why we have seen such incredible growth for smartphones, tablets, and laptops. But what is the smartest gadget to invest in? Here are a few of my thoughts:

Smartphones—Becoming stronger, more complex and more capable by the day, smartphones are a solid choice for on-the-go technophiles. Check out advancements in hardware like the dual core processors charging the pistons of hot gadgets like the Motorola Droid Razr and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This combined with the fact that more people than ever are browsing the Internet using a mobile phone, helps one to understand why smartphone sales are outpacing both tablets and laptops in the last couple years.

Tablets—Tablets don’t quite have the fluidity of a smartphone, nor the beastly RAM powers of a laptop, but they fit that middle ground perfectly, offering people portability, long battery life, reliable connectivity and web services fit for business presentations and networking. While tablets like the iPad may not replace PCs altogether, they are already starting to stand in for smaller PCs. More importantly, they are being adopted readily into commercial workplaces, prompting many businesses to give their employees iPads in order to improve data collection and sales reports.

Laptops—Queue the song “Still The One,” perhaps, as laptops aren’t going anywhere. They are still the default option for people who need a full keyword, high performance, and raw computing power. However, many laptops are receiving overhauls that underscore the influence tablets and smartphones are having. The Macbook Air’s lightweight design, for example, as well as the new PC line of ultrabooks (which in the future will have touchscreens) bespeaks the merger of laptops with tablets.

There is no final winner between smartphones, tablets, and laptops. They complement and influence one another and often serve different purposes. Personally, I think it’s best to have all three. But, then again, I’m kind of a tech nerd and plan parts of financial budget around affording new gadgets. I will say that I’m certainly looking forward to the rise of ultrabooks, which will be storming the market this year.