Recently, I got the chance to catch up with Anne Cahalane from MomsThoughts. Anne hosts a no-holds-barred radio show about everything on every mom’s radar: kids, family, parenting, relationships, social media, and pop culture. Her personality is totally fun and completely contagious, which is probably why she’s gained a following of over 10,000 fans on Twitter. Anne’s also a prolific blogger; but busy MomsThoughts fans can get their fix by taking Anne’s podcasts with them on the go. Anne’s a super-mom, so she knows how to save – but, recently, parent-child roles reversed when her teenaged son taught her how to save a money using SnipSnap! I loved getting the chance to talk with Anne about how she balances motherhood, work, a successful podcast, and a love of social media. Here’s what she had to say:

 

 

My name is Anne and I am known in social media circles as “MomsThoughts.” I warn everyone that I always have an opinion and I am not afraid to share it. My passions in life begin and end with my children. They are everything to me. I also enjoy theater, music, photography, politics, pop culture, and my guilty pleasure: Bravo’s Real Housewives shows.

“The MomsThoughts Show” was just a natural evolution. At my daughter’s urging, I joined Twitter about 4 years ago. I fell in love with the networking and all the really cool people I met. My tendency to over-share led to opportunities for a radio show. I enjoy having the opportunity to interview and learn more about people I admire. My topics and guests are chosen solely on the basis of who is interesting to me! My hope is they also interest others and, so far, it’s a winning strategy. I really get a kick out of doing this.

Of course, my website takes my over-sharing even further with my blog. I love to write. I employ the same strategy here and write about what interests me. This includes: theater, Real Housewives, the return of my favorite “soap operas”, etc.  But what I really love doing on my website is reviewing products and sharing tips. Basically, I love connecting with people. That is really the bottom line.

What is my parenting philosophy? I guess it is “Lead with Love.” I believe as parents we have a responsibility to raise competent, caring, self-fulfilled adults. I think we have a sacred obligation to our children and God to do everything possible to ensure our children realize their fullest potential. That can be difficult, exhausting and even heartbreaking at times. As a single parent, I find it especially challenging to be firm in disciplining my children, but I know it is my responsibility. I require a lot of them which can be hard at times. I want to jump in and do it all for them, but I know it is far more important they learn to do things for themselves. I am so very proud of the people my children have become.

My daughter Cait is 19-years-old. She just finished her Freshman year in college. She is a talented singer and student.  She just made The Dean’s List! I could not possibly be more proud of all she has accomplished. My son Ryan is a 17-year-old Junior in high school. He is an old soul with a wicked sense of humor. He does an amazing job of balancing school work, volunteer work, and a demanding part-time job, while enjoying a very active social life. Of course, both of my children have both always been required to help out around the house too! The most important lesson parents should teach their children? Be responsible and be kind.I am not great at traditional couponing, honestly, either because I can never keep clipped coupons organized or because I never remember to bring the right ones to the store. But I love saving money; I actually hate when I have to pay full price for anything! I have always been careful with money, but, as a single mom with one child in college, I find it even more important to save money whenever I can. I despise waste. I tend to only buy something if it is essential – and then I use it fully.

Since I am not great with cutting coupons and then remembering to bring them to grocery stores, I save money in other ways. I love using phone and computer apps. We enjoy traveling, going out to eat, going to see good theater, movies and concerts. I use hotel and travel sites. I use a credit card with reward points for hotels. I use Groupon and other group rate sites for discount tickets. I shop sales! If there’s a great sale, I’ll use it to stock up on things.

I learned about SnipSnap from my son! He has always had a taste for the finer things in life. He knows that I do not usually like the price that accompanies his tastes! Now that he is working and paying for a lot of things himself, he is well aware of the value of a dollar. It was like music to my ears when he told me about this app! He now, finally, “gets it”: saving money is good and smart! He actually came home the other night excited to tell me about how SnipSnap saved him money while he was out to dinner with his friends. What’s not to love about a 17-year-old excited to save money with coupons!

We all love technology and gadgets and we’re all about phone apps, so SnipSnap is perfect for all of us. My daughter is learning to live on a college student’s budget and saving money is crucial. Apps like SnipSnap make it so easy; you can’t lose. For someone like me, who can never get organized with paper coupons, SnipSnap is ideal. I am excited about all the money I will be saving! This is really the way of the future. Paper coupons are wasteful, tedious and archaic. The future is all about apps. In addiction to SnipSnap, I love using apps like Groupon, Deal Chicken, Hotel Tonight, Best Parking, Hotwire, BroadwayBox, Google Offers!

 

 

Thanks to Anne for taking the time out to chat with the Mo’ Money blog! Want more on The MomsThoughts Show? Make sure you “like” MomsThoughts on Facebook and follow Anne on Twitter!