Kelly Whalen is the author of The Centsible Life, a blog designed to help you live the life of your dreams on a budget. She started her blog 4 years ago, and has since become both a well-known mom blogger and a respected voice in the personal finance realm.
Kelly and her blog have been featured on The Today Show, local networks in Philadelphia, and she has been featured in magazines and print in both national and local publications including Money magazine, Kiplinger’s, and Woman’s Day.
Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media.
Good things to read.
Raising Digital Families for Dummies by Amy Bair. This is a MUST for parents. Let’s face it we’re all dummies when it comes to technology. Even though it’s my job to know digital media I learned so much from this book. It’s an essential tool for parents.
Humor blogs–(Neon Fresh, The Bloggess, Hyperbole and a Half, among others). Sometimes you need a laugh. A good, long, real LOL. Humor blogs are one of my favorite ways to destress or find a little pocket of laughter in my day. Just make sure to put down any liquids before you click over.
Gillian Flynn’s books. While much has been made about Gone Girl, her latest work, I wasn’t a fan of the ending. I won’t spill the details, but I did love her writing style. I picked up two of her previous books both of which I loved. Be forewarned these are dark, but entertaining, and you won’t be able to put them down.
Good things to watch.
Orange is the New Black. This Netflix original series is daring and deep. Based on a book and real life experience of Piper Kerman, a upper class white woman from NYC who smuggled drug money a decade earlier. She’s settled into a ‘normal’ life now, but has to serve 15 months for her past crimes. While the premise could be contrived the beauty of the show lies in the way it follows the various characters the main character encounters. It explores the power structure in the prison, race issues, and the hard realities of prison life. It manages to at times be funny, sexy, shocking, and touching without losing its’ tone.
Despicable Me 2. Yes, it’s a kid’s movie, but it also manages to be fun for the whole family. If you haven’t seen the first film, watch it on DVD or On Demand first. It’s fun, touching, funny, and just makes me smile no matter how many times I’ve watched it. (Two for the DM2, and I can’t count for the original!) It’s worth seeing for the Minions alone!
The 11 o’clock hour on Comedy Central. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. The 11 o’clock hour on Comedy Central is possibly my favorite thing on TV. Comedy, smart interviews, social commentary, all wrapped in a two 30 minute shows. While I like to stay current on news and current events I prefer the smart and funny commentary to 24 hour news channels.
Good things to use.
iPhone. Seriously. Do I need to say more? It’s sleek, easy to use, and basically contains my life. I can manage our family calendar, pay bills, share photos and updates, and soooo much more.
ChromeCast. I just learned about this today, but already I’m in love. Streaming your content just got easier with this $35 device from Google. Watch your videos and stream Netflix with just this little ‘dongle’. On backorder now, your best bet is to head here and see what the fastest shipping option is right now.
A budget! I’d be remiss if I didn’t say a budget was a good thing! Having a budget in place is the best thing you can do to help manage your money, and save more. While budgeting can be challenging it will help you consciously spend on what is important to you. Love travel? Cut the cable and get out of the house. Those kinds of choices will bring you more happiness and a better quality of life. You an download a free printable budget on my blog. (http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/printables/)
You can often find her on Twitter, @censisiblelife, and Facebook talking money and motherhood.
