Holiday Time-Saving Tips

1. No more backtracking! A lesser-known “route planner” feature on MapQuest helps you save both time and money by mapping out an entire journey – with multiple stops – all in one convenient step. You can add up to 26 destinations along any route, and the tool gives you the fastest route. Since launching in July, it has saved North Americans more 3.2 million miles!

2. Road trip rules: Seasoned holiday road-travelers live by three simple rules: 1) invest in a quick pass to whiz past hour-long lines at the tolls, 2) plot out where to get the cheapest gas along the way by using a “gas prices” feature on MapQuest, and 3) pre-pack energy-boosting snacks and beverages to avoid crowded rest stops and fast-food joints.

3. Babysitting or playdate exchange: Gain kid-free time to make your way through your holiday to-do list by coordinating a playdate exchange with another family.

4. Find a holiday helper: Save time and relieve stress by finding a holiday helper to assist with household chores and last-minute errands. Don’t hesitate to ask your normal sitter, cleaning person or a neighborhood college student who is home for the holiday stretch. And don’t be afraid to delegate household chores to your own children home for winter break!

5. Make sure it’s in stock: Nothing wastes more time than driving from store- to-store in search of a specific item. Do yourself a favor and call ahead or better yet check store inventory online before you leave home. Many major e-tailers offer customers the convenience of purchasing items online and then picking them up in-store…some with express pick-up lines.

6. Wrap it up: Socialize and wrap up your holiday duties by inviting your friends over to chat, nosh and yes, wrap gifts! Everyone brings a roll of wrapping paper, ribbons and other decorative elements to share with the group. Also, watch for “free gift wrapping” promotions from online merchants. Sometimes you may have to spend a certain amount to get the promotion to kick in, but it may be worth it given the time you’ll save on the backend.

Here are a few of the Bank of America tips that have helped me to save time:

• Bank on the go: It’s easy to set up mobile banking and secure access to your money wherever you are. Download the mobile banking app and you can check balances, transfer money, pay bills, and locate ATMs.  Sign up for text banking and you’ll be able to send a text message to get your balance instantly in a reply.
• Make quick and easy deposits: Holiday means a lot of extra work, so eliminate the labor of depositing checks.  With Bank of America’s Deposit Image ATMs, you simply feed checks or cash into the ATM with no envelopes or deposit slips required.  You get images of your checks and a listof cash deposited on your receipt as proof.
• Save a trip to the bank: Don’t worry about making an extra stop to the bank during all of your holiday shopping.  Keep track of your spending by using Bank of America’s online banking: set up alerts, check balances, and transfer money.

To learn more about time-saving and other finance tips, make sure to follow Bank of America on Twitter. Or check out their website.

One lucky reader of The Divine Miss Mommy has the chance to win a pre-loaded $50 gift card from Bank of America. This contest is hosted by and solely fulfilled by The Divine Miss Mommy plus Mom Central.

WIN A $50 BANK OF AMERICA GIFT CARD HERE!

Share your best time saving tip. Leave your answer in the comments below as your first, mandatory entry.

EXTRA ENTRIES

1. Blog about the giveaway and leave the link to your blog post in the comments. – 5 entries

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3.  Follow me @StacieinAtlanta on Twitter. Next, hit the Twitter Share button below to Tweet out about this contest. You can do this no more than once every four hours each day for extra entries AND you MUST have more than 100 followers on Twitter. Leave your Twitter comment link in the comments section below. Take an extra entry for each person who RT’s you! – 1 entry

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Contest ends on 12/28/2010 at 11:59 EST. Winner be notified via email and has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

DISCLOSURE: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Bank of America and received a Bank of America preloaded gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.