With Mother’s Day coming up this year, I already knew what I was going to get my mother and that was a new cell phone and service provider! After doing a lot of research, I decided that Walmart Family Mobile plan was the way to go, since they offer one of the Lowest Priced Unlimited Plans on the market. For the last 3 months, I know she has called me every other day complaining about her  first new smart phone or her service! She would ask me to come over to help her fix her phone. The sad fact is she stays almost an hour away so I couldn’t always drop everything to run and help her. I would try to talk her through the steps over the phone but trust me when I say this woman is not tech savvy that is putting it lightly! I was so tired of the issues she was having with her service and phone that I even offered to put her on our family plan and purchase her a new phone! She finally decided to contact the service provider directly to see what her options were. The provider that she is with has no physical locations so she has to contact them by phone. That also means long hold times and sometimes being disconnected. When she finally got through, they advised her to send in her phone for repair. They promised her that she would get a replacement in just a few days. Well those few days and many calls to check on the update resulted in 3 long weeks! She is on a limited budget so she couldn’t afford to just go out and buy a replacement. So, during those 3 weeks she was without a cell and had to use my dad’s! Talk about a nightmare! When she got the phone back, it worked right for a good week and the same issues started!

So, this weekend I headed to Walmart wireless department. I already done a lot of research online but I still had questions. The lady in the wireless department answered all my questions and gave me some great information that I didn’t know. I knew that my mom wanted a smart phone but it had to be something that was easy enough for her to use. So we decided to go with the Alcatel ONE TOUCH Evolve.

 

 About Alcatel One Touch Evolve

Affordable! This phone is priced below $100!

Vivid 4″ color display

Camera

Multimedia games

Screen saver and wallpaper

Android 4.1 phone (Jelly Bean)

Battery talk time up to 13 hours and Standby time up to 410 hours

Simple and easy to use smartphone

Intuitive user-interface

Email

Bluetooth

 

 Why Walmart Family Plan is the right choice for my Mom

 

She is on a limited budget and it fits in perfectly!

CONTRACT FREE and no CANCELLATION FEES!

The option to sign up for either the unlimited talk & text for only $29.88/month or unlimited everything that includes web for just $39.88/month. (I signed my mom up for the unlimited everything, but to be honest she don’t even need the web! But for her sake I decided to just add it in case lol)

She can manage her phone and payments in the store or online. (I am sure she will be using the in store option) So that also means no more calling me to come help her all the time!

 

I decided to activate it at home, which was a big mistake on my part. Usually I am good at these types of things but just my luck my SIM card was damaged! So I ran back to Walmart and they were able to switch the Sim Card out for me and insure I was up and running! So just to be on the safe side, I would advise you to have the wireless rep help you while your there to ensure you don’t run into any issues. However, if you do decided to do it at home and run into any issues be assured that you can go back to the store and they will help you, which I appreciate very much!

After I got that resolved, I came home and completed the set up. This way my Mom won’t have to do anything but take it out of the box and use it! I have been playing with the phone non-stop to make sure the phone and service are working right, and I have yet to run into any issues! I even took it upon myself to bookmark my website so my mom can keep up tabs on me online lol. Over all I must admit that I’m actually impressed with this smartphone and that says a lot since I am #teamIphone. I will continue to use the device till Mother’s Day to ensure I personally know how to do everything so I can teach my mother before leaving that afternoon! (This is going to be fun)

So, what are you getting your Mom this Mother’s day? If it’s time for her to join the smart phone users, be sure to check out Alcatel One Touch Evolve and the Walmart Family plan! And make sure to check back after Mother’s day to see how my lovely mother likes her new phone with pictures and video lol.

 

The Video above is ET’s Brooke Anderson showing items and spring wardrobe tips from the Kohl’s “Wink of Pink” campaign that is in stores now. This spring, pink is the color on everyone’s lips:  So go ahead and add bright pink,fuchsia, magenta and more to your home and wardrobe this season! Kohl’s has gathered a collection of pink items for women, men, kids and home — add these pretty and playful hues to your day or stock up on gifts for someone you love. I admit pink has always been my favorite color so finding a full collection of pink things in on place is just up my ally!

I don’t know about you but I am so ready for spring! With the crazy winter, we have had this year; I know it is hard to imagine that the Spring Season officially starts this Thursday!  However ladies that also means its time to update those spring wardrobes and there is no better place to start than with Kohl’s. Kohl’s has always been one of my favorite stores when shopping because those sale prices can’t be beat plus when they add those great sales with Kohls cash it makes it even better!

So, go ahead and get your spring shopping out of the way so you can enjoy the nice warmer months in style! Kohl’s will also be donating $1 million to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to support breast cancer awareness so feel good about shopping at a store that is also giving back! So, make sure you head on over to the “Wink of Pink” section today!

 

 

With Christmas just around the corner, tackling or completing the gift list is probably at the forefront of your mind. When it comes to your own children it’s quite easy to pick through what they want and need, but with nieces and nephews things aren’t always so straightforward. How much should you spend on them, and what sort of presents will be most appreciated this Christmas? The cost of Christmas is estimated to rise again this year, so it’s important to consider where your money goes.

Full house

One of the factors that will undoubtedly affect how much you spend on your nieces and nephews this Christmas is how many of these charming family members you actually have. If your brothers and sisters have provided you with an entire football team of little ones, it might be wise to set a budget per child to ensure you don’t end up eating baked beans on toast for the whole month of January – but if there’s only one bundle of joy on the scene, it’s a lot easier to splash out and secure ‘favorite relative’ status early.

Siblings rarely appreciate matching presents, but you can still aim for consistency to stay fair. Ladybird at Littlewoods includes sweet little hoodies available in a range of colors, so you can let them keep their individuality while still spending the same on each child.

Distant relatives

Some families stay close as they grow up, others not so much. If you regularly see your nieces and nephews and they know you well, you’ll also have a better idea of what to buy, so don’t be afraid to go personal. Just remember not to actively encourage anything your siblings have banned – your nephew might adore you for buying that 15-rated PlayStation game their mom wouldn’t get them, but your sister may be considerably less enthusiastic.

If your siblings are a little more distant, either geographically, emotionally or both, it can be much more of a struggle to think of appropriate presents. If you’re completely stuck for ideas, gift cards or even just money can be the best option – but only if you’re planning on spending an appropriate amount. If money’s an issue, stick to safe wins like chocolate, cozy slippers or even a classic book.

Buying for baby

As exciting as it is to welcome a brand new little person to your family, they do pose something of an issue when it comes to shopping. All the essentials will inevitably have been covered by their parents, so useful gifts can be a bit of a struggle, which really only leaves you with toys and clothes. You’ll have to decide whether you want to give them something ‘for the future’, or stick to gifts that are perfect for their current age and resign yourself to the fact that they’ll likely grow out of them within a few months. If you go with the former, make it obvious that the present is intended for their later years and you do in fact understand that babies don’t have much use for jewellery. Although playing the waiting game can seem pre-emptive, they’ll appreciate it when by 18 they’ve received a gorgeous completed charm bracelet or full set of Christmas tree ornaments.

 

With the Holidays approaching at lightning speed, I am sure that you still have people on your list that have you pulling your hair out when trying to find the perfect gift.  I know I do! Every year I search online looking at gift guides, wish books and gift ideas trying to get some good ideas. However, I hate to admit half of those ideas never match mine or the recipient’s needs.  That is why I am going to share with you a new website that has totally took most of my Holiday stress away called Fligoo.  I was recently introduced to fligoo.com when I was contacted to do a review of the site. I will be honest by reading the email I wasn’t really expecting anything different than all the other sites that showcase gift ideas, I admit I was WRONG! I’m so glad that I took the time to actually review Fligoo.com instead of putting it in my growing folder of stuff listed “NOT INTERESTED.”

Fligoo is totally new and different than any other site I have tried; this gift recommendation website actually works by analyzing social media data to provide customized gift ideas from the best online stores. I also love how easy Fligoo is to use.  

All you have to do is:

1. Go to www.fligoo.com and sign in through your Facebook account (nothing will be published on your page)

2. Type in a friend’s name (and you will see recommended gifts for them) for this review I decided to use my kid’s name because let’s face it I already know their interest and wants …

…

3. Find the best gift? Just click on it to read more info and see the  price and if you decide you want to buy just  press “Go For It!”

 Now if you know my kid’s, the suggestions are actually right on! Dre is my music and gamer, Jas is my tech geek and of course Jada is my little fashionista. So I was very pleased with the suggestions and felt that most of them fit perfectly.  I also love that I  can change the price range and gift Category to allow me to find even more suggestions in one place!

However that’s not all you can do with Fligoo! You can actually create your own wishlist and share it with people! This takes out the guess work for others while making  sure you receive something that you actually want!

 

 

I also loved that I am able to see how Fligoo ‘sees” me.. take a look below..

 

 

I have to say they are pretty accurate. However I think that “geek” level should be a lot higher LOL~

 

My Final Thoughts

I could go on and on about how great this site is and how much I LOVE it  but instead of doing that I urge everyone to go try it out yourself and come back and tell me how you like it! Plus that allows me more time to waste on browsing my friends and family gift suggestions….”Tis the season”