I’ve seen this mug floating around Facebook and Pinterest and it’s quite motivational.
Just thinking about everything this woman can accomplish in a day is exhausting, but then I remember that she has assistance. There’s no way she’s running around New York/LA/Houston grocery shopping, picking up her own meals, going to doctors’ offices for a mild cold or sinus issues, dropping off and picking up dry cleaning and other small errands like that. She has at least one personal assistant and I’m sure a slew of other people who help her. Well guess what, we mere mortals can use some similar services. I might not have an assistant to run my errands at any given hour of the day, but I do use a few services that make my life a million times easier and I’d like to share a few with y’all.
Uber – You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard about this service. Cheaper than cabs, easier to pay for and just as safe. I love using Uber, especially when I travel and nights that I go out drinking with friends, and if you guys haven’t tried it yet you can get $15 off your first ride with my promo code ‘uberlehautejaz’. Download the app and try it out! I know I’ll be using it next week when I head to the airport for my Mexican vacation.
Instacart – I’m not sure about y’all, but I’m an impulse shopper in grocery stores, especially when I go hungry! I end up putting unnecessary things in my cart and I’m in for a shock when I get to the counter. I was known to regularly spend $50 more than I budgeted with last minute add-ons. Well gone are the days of that. I’ve been using eMeals for recipes and meal planning and one of the things I love about that is that they provide you with your grocery list. This allows me to get the exact ingredients (down to the amounts and measurements) and I get to have all of that and the staples I regularly buy delivered to my front door! This service has been a life and time saver! I’ve hosted holiday events and didn’t have time to leave because I was cooking, so I had a few last minute things delivered and the parties moving. They currently shop at HEB, Whole Foods, Costco (and you don’t need a membership), Central Market, Petco (for those of you with pets) and even SPEC’s! I primarily shop at HEB and the prices online are pretty spot on with the store. Instacart doesn’t accept manufacturer coupons, but they do have a bunch of coupons on the site. There’s a delivery fee that varies based on how soon you want your order delivered and of course there’s an option to tip (and I always do because these shoppers deserve it) and all of that is totally worth it. It saves me time on the Sunday afternoons I have set aside for grocery shopping and I’ve even placed an order at work and had it meet me at my front door at home. They offer an express membership which provides free delivery for every order over $35 for the low price of $149/year! Instacart isn’t available everywhere, but feel free to check out the website and see if they deliver to your area. If you do decide to try it out use my promo code to get $25 off your first order!
Minibar – Alcohol getting delivered to you. Do I need to say more? This app saved my behind when I forgot to pick up my Secret Santa gift for a co-worker last December. She specifically asked for Vodka and I was able to have it delivered to the office in under an hour while I sat in a meeting! Like Instacart there’s a delivery fee and they give you the option to leave a tip, and once again the convenience is so worth it! Give it a try and feel free to use my code ‘JD093049’ to get $10 off your first order!
Favor – This is basically an app that provides a personal assistant for you! You can order just about anything and have it delivered for you. I’ve used this a few times in the office for our department lunch orders and turned a few of my co-workers on to it. When you open the app there are a few suggestions, but there’s an option to ‘order anything’. That’s what we did in the office. There’s a $5 delivery fee and a 5% processing fee along with an option to tip. I’ve only used this service in the office, but like I said it came through for us in a clutch when we had to cater lunch and no one had time to go pick it up. A small price to pay for time saved. Give it a try and feel free to use my code ‘JAZMD6′ to get $5 off your first order!
Amazon PrimeNow – This is like Favor, but it’s for Amazon Prime Users only. It offers free delivery for orders of $20 or more and there’s a specific list of items you can order. Your order is fulfilled at a local Amazon warehouse and it’s delivered within 2 hours! I tried it out for kicks on Superbowl Sunday and I must say that I was impressed! I’m not sure if I’ll make a habit of using it since they’re still working on having more items available in the local Houston warehouse, but I like it. Give it a try and feel free to use promo code ’10PRIMENOW’ to get $10 off your first order!
Ebates – We all love to shop online so you might as well earn some money back while you do so! I’m super late to the game when it comes to this, I just started using it a month and a half ago when a co-worker sent me her referral code and I’m upset I didn’t use it sooner! I’ve already earned $20 back on regular purchases made online. 1% cash back on this purchase from Target, 5% back from that purchase from Gap, 10% back on this purchase from Expedia, etc. Sign up using my link and $5 cash back!
MDLive – So this one’s new to me. A few weeks ago our HR department sent out an email stating that we’d have the opportunity to virtually see a doctor or therapist using MDLive’s service. All we had to do was sign up through Cigna and we’d be able to use our HRA and HSA funds to visit a doctor virtually the same way we’d do in a physical doctor’s office. MDLive allows you to call, video chat and communicate online with thousands of actual doctors and therapists and I used it the first time this week when I’d finally had enough of my sinus issues. My GP didn’t have any available appointments any time soon, and it wasn’t a medical emergency so I didn’t need to go to the ER so I went on MDLive’s site and scheduled an appointment with a doctor and within an hour I had one on the phone. I knew my issue was sinus related so I didn’t think I needed to have a video conference with the doctor, but the option was offered, and our conversation was actually similar to one that I’ve had with my GP in his office. Short, sweet and to the point. At the end of the 15 minute call I was informed that he’d be sending over a prescription to my local CVS for me and the “visit” only cost me $31 which was charged to my HSA card. This is the same thing I would’ve done if I’d gone to my GP’s office and the rate was the same. Talk about immediate service! I picked up my meds that afternoon and I already feeling a bit better! Now I definitely wouldn’t use this service for anything too severe, but I think small things like this are perfect for MDLive. I read on their site that the service is also offered through Walgreens, so if your insurance provider doesn’t offer it you could possibly look into it through Walgreens.
So I guess the mug was right, we do have the same amount of hours in our day as Beyoncé and with convenient services like these I’m sure we can get just as much done. Comment below and let me know if you’ve heard of or used some of these services or if you’d like to!