SavvySugar

Savvy Travels: Find Your Local Soul Mate For Free on Tripping

Emily Co — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:50:42 PST

Before a trip, I spend hours poring over sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor and asking friends for the best places to go. It's always the advice from locals that's the most valuable, but that can be hard to find. However, there is a new way for you to meet your own local tour guide when you're traveling on Tripping.com, a social media site that hooks up travelers with native residents who will share a meal with you, teach you their language, show you around, or even offer their home for you to stay in. The best part is, the service is free of charge, and as you probably know, we do love freebies here at SavvySugar!

Of course, there are safety concerns, which the website says is helped by Tripping's reference, rating, and validation system. Tripping has to verify you are who you say you are via a Skype interview, and you can read testimonials and ratings of Tripping users for more security. What do you think - is this a service you would use on your travels?

Don't Mistakenly Send Late-Night Emails to Your Boss

Emily Co — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:30:59 PST

If you're an avid user of Gmail like I am, there are plenty of protections against accidentally sending your boss an email. First, there is the great Undo Send feature that can delay the sending of your email for up to 30 seconds, then there's the Gmail feature that's like sobriety test for emails - Mail Goggles.

Although this neat feature is meant to prevent another, "Oh my god. Don't tell me, I drunken emailed him again!", it can actually prevent some office no-nos. For example, when it's really late at night and you're really tired, you might not realize that you're typing your boss's email address in the sender field. If you enable Mail Goggles, it'll give you some simple math problems to do to make sure you're in the right frame of mind before sending an email. The best part of it is, you can time it so that it's only active during certain times like after midnight.

Although Mail Goggles is a really useful tool, my best piece of advice to prevent this email blunder from happening is to stick to the rule of only sending emails during the day.

Professional Development: Learning a Language Via Webcam

Emily Co — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:45:40 PDT

When reader SamBourdain said he wanted to pick up Spanish as his professional development goal, I thought it was a great idea - a second language can strengthen your global understanding and increase job opportunities. Not to mention, you'll also have a lower risk of developing dementia. I decided to take an online language lesson, and of course, I tried to keep it low-cost, so I picked one that offered a free trial lesson. I also wanted to take the lesson late at night, and it seemed to be one of the few sites that was able to accommodate my schedule. That's because the teacher was halfway around the world, in China.

To find out how my cross-continent web lesson went, read on.

Undo the Email You Mistakenly Sent to Your Boss

SavvySugar — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:00:00 PDT

If you use Gmail, heave a sigh of relief if you accidentally sent an inappropriate email to your boss, or if you realized the morning email you wrote was full of typos. The service's Undo Send feature has been upgraded to delay the sending of your email of up to half a minute (it used to be a five-second window). All you have to do is go to Gmail Labs and add it on through your Gmail settings. Do you find this feature helpful?

Runner's World Shoe Finder

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:00:00 PDT

Looking for a new pair of sneakers can be overwhelming. There are so many different brands and styles, so how do you know which one is the best? Check out the Runner's World Shoe Finder for some help.

If you want to know how a specific sneaker rates, just type in the name. If you want to know which shoes they recommend for your type of foot, they'll give you a whole list of sneaks with a review of each one so you know what you're getting for your money. Speaking of money, if you don't want to spend more that $60 on your new sneaks, you can also get a list of shoes in your price range. Or maybe you're loyal to one brand of sneaker, so you can also check out how the different styles compare. I love this shoe finder - it's a great place to do some sneaker research.

How to Make a Digital Holiday Wish List

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:15:08 PST

Remove the stress of whether your holiday gift will be loved and encourage family to pass along a digital wish list of dream presents. Have them use these tools to ensure the gifts they're jonesing for this year end up in your e-shopping cart. Of course, they work for hinting at what you'd like to see under the tree as well.

Pinterest - Already spending hours on Pinterest? Pin with purpose and make a personal wish list board filled with ideas to direct moms and loves ones. While you're at it, track products and DIYs a boyfriend, parent, or friend might like with individual boards for each.
Etsy Wishlists - For the DIY and vintage enthusiast, use Etsy's gift recommendation app, which plugs into Facebook, to discover the unique finds your friends are hearting.
Amazon Wish List - As one of the biggest stores on the Internet, you're likely to find everything on Amazon. Search for lists by your recipient's name to see the electronics, DVDs, and books they're craving.
MyRegistry - Add a MyRegistry button to a web browser and add items from around the web to your registry account. It works just like a normal store registry you might use for a wedding, and items are checked off as they're purchased. That way, if grandma already bought you the coffeemaker from Crate & Barrel, mom can move onto another gift.

Other than good old-fashioned handwritten lists, what tools do you use to keep track of holiday wishes?

15 Web Sites For Finding Deals Online

Kiplinger — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:59:08 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy!

We've tested and picked 15 Web sites we think are easy to use and will help you save money all year. Even if you don't end up buying online, it never hurts to find the best deals on the Web before you hit the stores. Then you can comparison shop and make better choices. We also list three smart-phone applications that will help you get deals in stores. Take a look:

Find deals

If your number-one goal is to score deals, start by checking out sites that do the bargain hunting for you. Deal sites scour the Web for discounted items - saving you both time and money.

Our favorite deal site still is dealnews, which has a team of deal hunters keeping their eyes on a million products at more than 2,000 online retailers. Plus merchants and the site's visitors tip them off to bargains. The deal hunters hand pick the best deals among the thousands they get daily and update the site at least 200 times a day, says Dan de Grandpre, founder and chief executive of dealnews.

The site also bans stores with poor customer service. Plus, you can sign up for e-mail or RSS alerts for products or stores you're interested in and get gift ideas from the site. Dealnews also has added a local deals section to help you find discounts at brick-and-mortar stores near you.

GottaDeal.com is another great source of deals. You may find some here that you won't find at dealnews (we did recently).

A reader favorite is Slickdeals.net, a user-driven deal sharing site. It features a few deals on its homepage daily, but its forums are where you'll hundreds of deals posted daily.

Read on for more great deal websites.

iPad in the Kitchen: Tools and Apps For Cooking With Tech

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 09:41:09 PDT

The iPad is a great tool for reading, surfing the web on the go, and doodling, but it's also a handy tool for cooking. Don't be afraid to take your iPad into the kitchen - grab up some of these tools and apps instead!

Download of the Day: ComiXology

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 07:49:21 PDT

You know the future is really upon us when you don't even have to fish around in comic book shops any more. Instead, you can download over 12,000 comics (and 500 free editions) with the ComiXology app (free) for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. I know what you're thinking - you actually like hanging out in comic book shops. So do I, but I also like being able to download a new comic at the touch of a few buttons from the comfort of my sofa - PJs, dirty hair, and all.

All the greats are available for download - Marvel, DC, TOKYOPOP, Asylum Press, and more. Plus, you can read your comics on the web a la Amazon's cloud reader if your boyfriend is hogging the iPad. Recently updated, the app is faster and helps you find new comics you may love with an enhanced discovery tool. And by the way - ComiXology is also available on Android.

Away We Go: How to Travel (Better) With Friends

LearnVest — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:15:33 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

You love your friends, imperfections and all, so the only thing better than a trip to Ibiza might be a trip to Ibiza … with them. After all, group travel affords you freedom to do the activities you want, with zero worries about loneliness: Someone will always be game to ski that double black diamond run or dance the night away at that tiki club.

But while traveling with a group can be fun, it can also be fraught. The little differences that might seem small at first-like extra-long showers or reckless spontaneity-can get blown out of proportion after a few days of being together 24/7. Remember that time you tried to split the hotel bill to account for your BFF’s room service? (“But you totally ate some of my calamari!” “Not $20 worth!”) What a headache.

But you can leave the Advil at home, ladies. With our tips on organizing a successful and stress-free group getaway, you’ll come home with both your friendships and your budget intact.

Know Thyself (And Your Friends)

No two friends travel alike, as one woman’s “high standards” can be another friend’s “being difficult.”

You might enjoy getting a manicure with your diva friend, but think twice about inviting her camping. Likewise, if you don’t enjoy drinking, be wary about inviting the party girl on your getaway. Small differences can blow up when deciding how to spend a whole week together.

So, think strategically when planning your trip: Suggest a weekend in Vegas with your diva girlfriend, plan a camping trip with your high school buddies and save up vacation days for that European getaway with your bilingual best friend.

Read on for more travel tips.