Saving time with Masterpass: Follow our experience and have a chance to win a $500 card
As food bloggers you usually only hear one side of our lives as mothers. Sure, once and awhile one of us has a rant about our kid’s friendship triangles or the soul crushing capabilites of homework but most of the successes and woes (and, Lord, there are woes!) you hear from us are around food and mealtimes. However, like every other mom, we face the million little joys (sarcasm in full effect here) that face parents daily.
I don’t know about you but, in addition to our regular routines there are dozens of little, time-sucking morsels that fall into our laps as of the result of our children. Some of them, like homework, are expected, while others come at us from our blind spot and they’re always the proverbial straw that breaks the back of our day. I’m not ashamed to admit here that I’ve been reduced to crying in my car because the intricate schedule I orchestrated for my day was derailed by my daughter asking to have a friend over to complete a project for school together. It is a very minor issue but, in the scope of a busy day, adding a working playdate for an hour (and the logistics associated with it) can be the difference between harmony and the complete eruption of just-under-the-surface panic. It makes me feel bad for my daughter, who shouldn’t feel like these things are a catastrophe but, on some days, they are.
It’s why we threw ourselves into the opportunity to partner with Mastercard and road test their new Masterpass. In news that will surprise no parents, a recent study created by Mastercard found that 94% of Canadian parents make personal sacrifices to manage all their competing priorities. Designed to shave time from the myriad of tasks that can clog your day by further simplifying your on-line purchases, Masterpass is a busy parent’s security net for time management. And since the old saying by Benjamin Franklin “Time lost is never found again” always rings in my head, I’m willing to try anything.
Please follow along with us this week as we chronicle how Masterpass helps us save time and sanity during the busiest time of year. We’ll also be giving away $500 prepaid Mastercard so a reader can create their own Masterpass experience.
Ceri: Friday, December 2 – Mom vs PA day
Theres’s a PA day in December?! Are you kidding me? Are the kids not off for two weeks in, um, about two weeks? Deep cleansing breaths, deep cleansing breaths. Once I got over my feelings about the kids being off school on Friday, I hatched a plan with one of my neighbours. We’re really luck in that one of Esme’s besties lives less than a block from us and the girls are back an forth constantly. Esme was invited to her friend’s place for a sleepover on Thursday night and her bestie’s Mom agreed to let the girls hang out while she worked from home the following day. To thank her, I offered to have the kids back at my place for a late afternoon playdate and pizza party. So, my PA day was spent with Julian and he and I got a lot of errands done (more on that later). In the taxi ride home from the mall, Julian and I opened the Pizza Pizza app on my phone, ordered a ridiculous amount of food (and because my address was already loaded onto my Masterpass account, I didn’t waste any time with that while ordering). We were reunited with Esme and her pal back at home, and dinner arrived shortly after. We probably didn’t need to order brownies as well as the pizzas, salad and French fries, but it felt like a party.
Laura: Saturday, December 3 – Laura tackles household chores
Upon returning from our Thanksgiving vacation on Monday (I’m American), we hit the ground running. The next day was the beginning of a three night production of our local church’s Christmas pageant. It’s a lovely tradition but Scarlett’s starring role meant a trio of late-bedtimes that culminate in a sugar-fueled cast party on the Friday that I help organize and run. Knowing I had no time in my week to get the things I needed for our weekend chores, I jumped on-line to order everything making sure it would be delivered by the weekend. After setting up my Masterpass account, I was able to further streamline my on-line purchases by eliminating the time it takes to fill out all the fields required for credit card information and my mailing address. By Saturday, we were next level tired and staring down at a household chore list that would bring even the handiest of homebodies to their knees. Lowe’s had delivered everything we needed to complete the last of our fall clean up. In addition, the two billion lights Scarlett wanted to dress the house with for the holidays had also arrived. We were able to get right to work and by-pass the usual weekend congestion at stores and on the road. The efficiency of having everything at our finger tips in the morning enabled us to get the mass of white lights up on the monster trees bookending our home by early afternoon. With enough time to slow cook a big pot of chili, we settled in for a mean game of Monopoly. One point Masterpass, no points household chores.
Don’t Miss This Contest!
Oh, and about our contest…. Tell us about your best time saving move (we really want to know!) and you could win a $500 pre-paid Mastercard to create you own Masterpass experience. Leave a comment here and you could win.
This post is sponsored by Masterpass but the opinions in it are our own.
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We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
23 Comments
RN 2 MD Grind
December 05, 17:05As a busy student, I’m always looking for ways to manage my time. It seems crazy, but meal prepping saves me time AND money! Every Wednesday when the grocery store sales come, I decide what I’m going to eat for the following week and prepare my grocery list. I head to the store after classes. I marinate my meats and chop all vegetables. On Saturday, I cook all my meals and snacks while doing laundry. I portion out everything and label my containers. On Sunday nights, I pack my meal bag to take on Monday. Doing this saves me time from figuring out what I’m going to eat. I’m saving a lot of money by not eating out every day.
Julie D
December 07, 16:12My best time-saving tip is to have dedicated places to put important things and actually put them there so you always know where to find them, ie. sunglasses in a basket at the back door, keys hanging on the hooks just beside, sanity just below the… — actually I don’t know where I put my sanity, but little things like this help prevent me from losing it altogether, LOL.
Nina
December 07, 21:47My best time-saving idea is to lay out our family’s clothes for the next day the night before. It sounds silly and I often don’t feel like it, but saves so much stress in the mornings when we can barely stumble out of bed and into the kitchen for coffee and tea.
The Masterpass sounds pretty nifty for our busy lives, would love to give it a try!
Laura
December 07, 22:09I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch all week long. It takes away having to figure out what to make every day, and since it’s overnight oats for breakfast and veggies and dip for lunch with fruit and almonds as a snack, I spend a few hours on Sunday prepping veggies and portioning out my oatmeal into jars for the week (I keep almonds at work). It then takes me about 10 minutes each night to assemble my lunch for the next day.
christineS
December 07, 23:04I used to bring my kids to evening swim lessons with their pajamas over their swimsuits. This helped on both ends – when we would arrive, 30 seconds before class, they would whisk off the pjs, and after, they would dry off, put on the jams, and go home, ready for bed. Lazy but it works!!
Val
December 08, 03:33To save time, I make my to-do list then rank items in order of priority and get realistic about what is really achievable. I score out the want-to-get-done stuff that there would never be time in one day to do, and I forgive myself for not being superhuman.
Bites for foodies
December 09, 07:58I’m the queen of time-saving, yet I can’t think of an amazing one right now on the spot, lol! In terms of weekly meals, I save time by prepping all my legumes and grains, sauces, and condiment (I.e. Pesto, olive tapenade), then I just throw in a ton of additions for easy meals throughout the week!
Christina D
December 09, 13:35Sometimes I save time by doing simple things like planting herbs & vegetables in my garden so I don’t have to run out and get that ingredient, saves me money too (gas & groceries).
Carrie
December 10, 10:41Picking out clothes the night before, hands down one the best time savers when you have a little girl who fusses over which socks to wear 🙂
Theresa A.
December 10, 11:53When I’m baking or cooking I clean up as I go, it saves having a huge cleanup job when I’m done.
superdee9
December 10, 18:06i like to get as much as i can done the night before as i am kind of foggy in the morning and just getting the coffee ready is daunting so i find the less i have to consider in the a.m works best for me
Mii
December 10, 22:12Multi-task! For instance, I like to fold my laundry while watching TV =)
Andrea
December 12, 11:02I’m a busy career girl and wife and I’m always looking for ways to save time, but really, the most effective thing for me is simple multitasking! Managing to accomplish two or more tasks at once is always a win 🙂
Heather
December 12, 12:31To make weekday mornings less horrific, I pack lunches, backpacks and leave out clothes (including mittens, scarf, snow pants and boots) the night before. I prep breakfast the night before as well and put all electronic devices (Tablet, iPad, Nintendo DS etc.) out of sight in a cupboard at night. This decreases the chance of a morning meltdown, and allows my 6 year old to focus on eating breakfast and getting himself ready for school. My son, in an effort to prove that he is a totally responsible pet owner (and ready for his own pet snake eeeek!), has also taken over the morning dog care responsibilities. This actually helps me out a lot, but I am really hoping he changes his mind soon about the snake.
Carolyng4
December 13, 14:12My time saving tip also saves me a ton of cash as well. I prep all the weeks veggies for packed lunches and dinner requirements and store them in Mason jars. I cannot believe how much longer they stay fresh and it means soooo much less waste and less money spent!
Sarah R.
December 13, 14:19My best time-saving tip (but only applies if you have a partner) is to get that other person involved in things. Divide up the chores and if there are some that you each like better than others, use it to your advantage.
Kim S
December 13, 14:28I like to take Sunday and prepare the meals for the week. That way I just come home and can pop a meal in the oven. I also like to prepare a crock pot in the evening so it is ready to go in the morning and it is ready for us to eat at the end of the work day.
Elizabeth H
December 13, 15:33My best time saving skill is having a meal plan and prepping snacks on Sundays for the week, that way I know exactly what I’m making and have everything I need to start it as soon as I get home. I also ensure that the meals are large enough that there are leftovers for lunches the next day. Organising meals also means that I have a list of exactly what I need at the grocery store, so it makes shopping quicker, saving me more time on weekends. I also reuse some of my already done meal plans after a while, so I don’t have to spend the time making them up, which optimises my time even more. I also prep snacks on Sundays that last throughout the week, so I can just grab and go, which also saves my husband time too when he packs his own lunches! I think since I started doing this, I save myself about 5-6 hours of prep/shopping/packing a week. It’s fantastic!
Karen
December 13, 20:54Meal prep definitely! Everyday Saturday – I go grocery shopping (using my MasterCard!) for the whole week (breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner). On Sunday, I do meal prep for both breakfast and lunch and put it in a bag with all my snacks so that all I have to do each morning is grab a bag from the fridge and I’m ready to go!
Eileen
December 14, 00:24Prep for weekday lunches on the weekends, and pack them into containers for the week, so it’s just grab & go every day!
Rebes
December 15, 12:02I make lunch for tomorrow while cleaning up tonight’s dinner – packing leftovers in my lunch helps me to save time, avoid sad desk lunch and make sure nothing goes to waste.
Brenda Penton
December 16, 06:40I like to do cook meals and freeze them so I can take them out and quickly reheat them to save time.
Carol M
December 18, 20:30My time saving tip is to use a slow cooker for meals, dinner ready when you get home. Or better yet is an Instant Pot, practically instant meals.
Thanks for the chance.