Ep 017: Smart Shopping and Summer Activities with Trae Bodge

My money-saving, simple activity-loving heart was bursting as I interviewed the lovely and super smart Trae Bodge! She’s the real deal!  Trae Bodge is an accomplished lifestyle journalist, TV presenter, spokesperson, and educator, specializing in beauty, tech, apps, toys, gift guides, and smart shopping. She’s been a guest on the The Rachel Ray Show, Today, Inside Edition, CNN, Reuters, CNBC.com, and so many more. She’s featured in Elle, Redbook, InStyle, and Essence, just to name a few!    On this episode Trae shares a ton of practical ideas for spending and saving money wisely for us and our kids! Not only do we talk about the best ways to do some shopping right now, she also suggests some summer activities that are both budget and kid-friendly!    Here are some of the suggestions she has: Virtual camps While some traditional camps are opening, virtual camps will be a huge thing this year. The American Camp Association is a great resource – you can search by category, free vs. paid and live vs. pre-recorded instruction. Options include nature, technology, arts, sports, you name it. Also, check with the groups where your kids usually go to camp, they might be offering virtual options as well.   Free online activities for kids Google has done a great job of creating and curating online content for kids (and adults!). The Google Arts & Culture Youtube channel has countless videos to enjoy, from private museum tours to videos that focus on a specific work of art. With Google Earth Voyager (earth.Google.com), you can do everything from exploring national parks, like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, to taking a tour around famous cities.    Other resources she likes are the free illustration tutorials from the #DrawWithDisneyAnimation series on YouTube and crafting tutorials from Michael’s.   For saving and earning money this summer and year round, Trae recommends selling gently used items that you have laying around, like old laptops, phones, and tablets.   Decluttr.com is a site that will buy those items and you can give kids a portion of the proceeds. Teens especially are great at that stuff and they’ll love the extra cash.   Acorns is the round-up/saving platform she mentions in this episode. Click there on Trae’s special affiliate link. Thanks for sharing it with us, Trae!    Additional savings tools:  Slickdeals.net & CouponCabin.com   Follow Trae on all social media platforms @truetrae and check out her website www.truetrae.com for resources and to sign up for her bi-monthly newsletter. It’s full of the most up-to-date suggestions and links for all your family’s needs each month!    For more ways to organize and style your busy life with kids in 3 simple steps, head over to EverythingWithStyle.com for helpful resources under the Services tab and follow me @everythingwithstylemom on Instagram!    Here are the highlights from this episode:   {1:13} Introducing Trae Bodge {3:01} The 3 custom color specialists  {5:07} The 3 favorite resources for summertime {9:55} Teach your kids about financial responsibilities and sense of community {15:59} Ways to save money during the pandemic...