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Money

LearnVest Provides Access to Financial Planners For Just $5

LearnVest, an online website focused on making personal finance easy for women, rolled out some great tools today that might just give money management site Mint a run for its money.

LearnVest, an online website focused on making personal finance easy for women, rolled out some great tools today that might just give money management site Mint a run for its money. What I'm really excited about is the Ask an Expert feature, in which you get instant, unlimited access to certified financial planners for $5 a day, $40 for three months, or $130 for a year. Here's a breakdown on what you can expect from each tool:

  • My Money Center: Link all your money accounts (just like with Mint), which includes your bills, bank accounts, 401(k), and more, so you can track them in your inbox.
  • Advice Center: Access the Ask an Expert tool and pick which package works for you. Have a quick question? Get the $5 pass. But if you have something that needs ongoing help, maybe you should consider the three-month pass or year-long pass. The Advice Center also includes a variety of money courses, which use videos, cute infographics, and other interactive tools to help you create a financial plan.
  • Take Control Bootcamp: This free 10-day bootcamp will send you one email daily. The email will be filled with items you should do in order to take control of your finances.

So how do you get started? It's easy, just create a free account with LearnVest, sign in, and you'll immediately be taken to the dashboard with all the new tools.

job search

Using Google+ to Find a Job

There's now a new social media platform that you can add to your job-hunting arsenal: Google+.

There's now a new social media platform that you can add to your job-hunting arsenal: Google+. Since this medium is still in its early stages, you'll probably get more exposure once you start leveraging it for your job search. Mashable came up with a bunch of great tips to using Google+ to find yourself a job:

  • Be seen and heard: Fill out your profile with a job-hunting angle in mind and start interacting with people and let them know you're looking for employment. Feel free to post it in your profile or even an update, but make sure you're doing it in a creative way and not spamming people. Make it cute, fun, and succinct and figure out a way to
  • Follow people in your industry: Google+ is a pretty open network right now, and the privacy settings are more reminiscent of Twitter rather than Facebook. Here's your chance to mix around with people in your industry and to make new friends. Start making a list of people to befriend and look them up on Google+.
  • Share content: Many experts provide a valuable service of sharing great and unique content on social media outlets. Try doing the same and try to stick to a niche topic.
  • Be careful of which circles you're posting to: Remember to filter your posts and be sure to censor your private thoughts from those in your professional circle.
Organization

Keep Track of Your Daily Deals With CityPockets

If you're always scrambling to figure out what coupons you haven't used up or which ones are about to expire, you ought to check out CityPockets, an online organizer that tracks your buys from daily deal sites.

If you're always scrambling to figure out what coupons you haven't used up or which ones are about to expire, you ought to check out CityPockets, an online organizer that tracks your buys from daily deal sites.

The free website currently syncs with 28 daily deal sites including the ever popular Groupon and LivingSocial. I found the site pretty easy to use — all you have to do is sign up for an account, pick a couple of coupon sites that you subscribe to, enter in the requisite email and password for each site, and wait for CityPockets to start accessing your various daily deal accounts. Your deals will show up all on one place, neatly organized in categories, so all you need to do is quickly log in to CityPockets to print out your coupon when you're dashing out of the house. Using this web tool is so much more convenient than logging into various daily deal sites, trying to figure out where you bought the coupon.

One of the best services the site provides is to send alerts when your coupon is going to expire. And if you're not planning on using the coupon, you can even resell it in the marketplace.

productivity

Savvy Tech Tool: Schedule Emails to Be Sent Later With Boomerang

Reader magickalrealism has a pretty genius solution for sending late-night emails to colleagues and bosses — a tech tool called Boomerang.

Reader has a pretty genius solution for sending late-night emails to colleagues and bosses — a tech tool called Boomerang. I recently talked about how sending emails in the wee hours can seem a bit unprofessional so it's best to hold off till the morning if you can if it's not an urgent email and if your fellow office workers live in the same time zone.

Boomerang is a Firefox and Chrome plug-in that will let you schedule your emails to be sent at a later time and date, anywhere from a minute later to years later. You can install one for Gmail or for Outlook. The tool even lets you take out emails from your inbox and resend them back to you at a later time when you actually need them. For example, if your friend sent you an email today, but you're not going to have any time to respond until the weekend, you can use Boomerang to remove the email from your inbox and resend it to you on Saturday.

I just downloaded the plug-in for my Gmail account and I love it! I wrote an email late last night that I scheduled to be sent at 9 a.m. today, which went off without a hitch. I even had time to look over it before it was sent.

I can imagine this feature coming in really handy on Friday when I'm writing work emails, because people are more likely to forget to reply as they usually put off replying to Friday emails until after the weekend. Using Boomerang to schedule those emails for Monday mornings may cut down on the hassle of sending follow-up emails.

Food News

Ruth Reichl Reveals What's to Come at Gilt Taste

After hosting a launch party to celebrate the arrival of Gilt Taste in New York City, editorial advisor Ruth Reichl and her team headed to San Francisco where last night, they met with journalists and chefs to reveal more details about the venture.

After hosting a launch party to celebrate the arrival of Gilt Taste in New York City, editorial advisor Ruth Reichl and her team headed to San Francisco where last night, they met with journalists and chefs to reveal more details about the venture. What you see now is only one-tenth of what it will be. More features, videos, a community, and a revolutionized recipe system are in the works. Although Gilt is known for being a daily deal site that offers consumers a discounted item or experience, Susan Lyne, chairman of the company, doesn't believe this concept can be applied to food, "it's hard to think of great deals as food because what's the discounted stuff? The food that's about to go bad?" she said. To get the scoop on what Gilt Taste hopes to be, keep reading.

job search

Job Search Tip: Apply Through Company Websites

If you apply through the company website rather than a job board like Monster.com, your chances of getting the job will be higher.

If you apply through the company website rather than a job board like Monster.com, your chances of getting the job will be higher. That's because there are six times as many people applying through job boards than directly through the company sites, according to data by Jobs2web Inc., a company that helps firms analyze hiring data.

The trick is, if you find a position that you're interested in through job search websites, you should start making a list of those jobs. Then, go to the websites of the firms that are hiring and apply through them instead. You'll be competing against a smaller pool of job applicants, which will increase your chances of getting the job of your dreams.

Of course, what really "increases your chances of getting a job tenfold" is if you can find an employee within the company to refer you, says Gerry Crispin, the cofounder of consulting firm CareerXroads Inc. How do you go about doing that? Try your best to tap into your network of colleagues, friends, family, and alma mater to find an employee who works at the firm you want to work in. You could do it the old-fashioned way (i.e. asking around), or you can do it more efficiently and quickly by using LinkedIn. To get the ball rolling, read my tips on how to get a job using LinkedIn.

Food News

Gilt Groupe to Launch Online Food Site With Ruth Reichl

After Gourmet magazine folded in October 2009, everyone wondered what Editor in Chief Ruth Reichl's next move would be.

After Gourmet magazine folded in October 2009, everyone wondered what Editor in Chief Ruth Reichl's next move would be. She laid low for awhile, but now she's jumping back into the food industry in a big way. Not only is Reichl a judge on the upcoming third season of Top Chef Masters, but she's also involved with the Gilt Groupe's latest project, a new food website, Gilt Taste.

The site will be an "online market" that offers "exceptional artisan foods with stories and recipes from the experts." Old Gourmet senior writer Francis Lam, who currently oversees Salon's food site, is said to be joining Reichl at Gilt Taste. There's no doubt that power duo will create a buzz-worthy, excellently written and curated food site. I'm excited to check it out when it launches in late Spring.

Food News

New Website Allows Couples to Register For Restaurant Meals

If you know someone who got married recently, you've probably heard of Honeyfund, a website that allows bride and grooms to register for experiences (like a deep sea fishing expedition or a private tour of an art gallery).

If you know someone who got married recently, you've probably heard of Honeyfund, a website that allows bride and grooms to register for experiences (like a deep sea fishing expedition or a private tour of an art gallery). More and more couples are participating, so it's no surprise that a new site, FoodieRegistry, is making waves in the restaurant world.

The website follows the same format as Honeyfund, but instead of honeymoon experiences, the happy couple can register for meals at various restaurants. Buyers are essentially purchasing a gift certificate for the registered restaurants and can decide how much or how little they want to spend.

Currently, restaurants in Chicago and San Francisco are available for registry, while Los Angeles, New York, Denver, Miami, and Las Vegas are coming soon. Since I enjoy dining out, I think the concept is an interesting one. How about you? Brides to be: would you consider registering for a restaurant meal?

Fashion Flash

Alexander Wang Relaunches Site With Shopping, Video, and Lots More!

Alexander Wang just relaunched his website today, and there are all kinds of goodies for Wang fans.

Alexander Wang just relaunched his website today, and there are all kinds of goodies for Wang fans. Watch the Spring 2011 ad campaign, or "image piece," as Wang would call it, come to life in this Craig McDean-directed video and shop the new Spring collection (ahem, with free shipping). While you're perusing, peep Wang's mask collaboration with Terence Koh along with photos of his brand-spanking-new flagship store. If you're in NYC, just take a stroll down to SoHo and visit the store, if just for a swing on the black fur-covered hammock.