In case you missed it, here’s everything Jenn and Cara talked about on Atlanta Tech Edge:
Top Tech-Life Hacks for Busy Families – Tested
Save time, money, and sanity with some simple yet — genius — tips, tricks and quick-y hacks to solve all kinds of everyday issues around school, family, and even college concerns.
Jennifer asked 1,000 parents for their best hacks to save money and reduce stress for throughout the school year. Here’s what they said:
#1. Slash costs of new gadgets:
Don’t feel like you have to get the $1,000 gadget when $100 will do. Grab a great deal like this $124 8-inch Huawei MediaPad T3 tablet. What one mom said she liked about it – aside from the price – is that it’s a solid tablet for a student who needs a basic device mainly to read and do research. Plus, there’s smart app access that gives parents some control over what he’s doing online.
#2. Go old-school to save money on kids’ phones
There’s also no need to fork out several hundred dollars on a smartphone for most pre-teens and teens when a $60 feature phone will do. A handful of parents said they’re opting for basic handsets like the colorful 3G Nokia 3310 to let kids call, text, take photos, and use a few basic apps. Parents also gave it high marks for a nearly unbreakable body, all-day battery life, quick charging time, and 27-days of standby time.
#3. Connect directly with your child, no matter where you are in the world:
Many parents said their biggest concern is being able to connect with their child – especially younger kids who are too young for even a basic cell phone. For that, there’s a handy device called the Relay. Aimed for kids ages 6-11– Relay is a fantastic screen-less, water-resistant device that works like a walkie-talkie, but with the connection of a smartphone. That means you can have direct contact with your child – without giving them a cell phone. You can connect to your child’s Relay whenever you want from either your smartphone or from another Relay device, and they can contact you by pressing the large button in the middle of the gadget. Relay uses 4G LTE connectivity so you can check on them, and talk with them, whenever you want – from anywhere you want.
Relay (starts at $99, plus $6.99 monthly data charge)
#4. Hack student loan payments by thousands of dollars:
Parents also told me that money stress doesn’t stop just because your kids’ graduate from college – in fact, this is the time of year many parents and even students are worried about student loans. For that, there’s Credible.com (free) – a comparison site kind of like Expedia – but for refinancing student loans. It lets you compare multiple lenders side-by-side without sharing your personal data and without affecting your credit score. The recent grad who told me about this hack – has already saved $16,000 by refinancing his 106-thousand-dollar student loans.
#5. Earn college credits at home
The ever-rising cost of college came up several times in parents’ top hacks. A typically college course can set you back over $2,000 at a public college, and well over $4,000 at a private institution. One way to save is to take as many college courses as you can online and then transfer them using a site called Study.com. Through its College Accelerator– students can take 150 popular at roughly 1/10th of the normal cost. The credit is transferable to more than 1,500 top colleges and universities. Plus, my daughter’s using Study.com right now to prep for her ACT test – so it’s great for giving kids of all ages a boost in just about any subject they might need help in!
#6. Because this can’t be all serious
AirSelfie is a revolutionary pocket-size flying camera that connects with your smartphone to let you take boundless HD photos of you, your friends, and your life from the sky. Its turbofan propellers can thrust up to 20 meters in the air letting you capture wide, truly original photos and videos on your device. The anti-vibration shock absorber and 12 MP camera ensure the highest quality images. And its ultra-light 2.8oz (80.3 gr) form means you can keep AirSelfie on you at all times. Say hello to the future of selfies.
Jenn’s Note:
This was Atlanta Tech Edge’s last show. Host Cara Kneer, and producer Jessica Glicker, along with an amazing crew, have done remarkable work over the past few years highlighting not only the tech that everyone’s talking about, but also the start-up world, and incredible support for diversity in an industry that is in terrible need of more of it. They managed to do the hardest part too — make tech news accessible AND ENJOYABLE to the masses. It’s shows like this, with tireless talent that we need more of in this day and age. Here’s to seeing it reborn – on to bigger and better adventures!