Hint Mama

The Big Blog of Hints: Sharing hints to make parenting easier, cheaper and a bit more humorous

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Welcome to Hint Mama: The Big Blog of Hints

August 20, 2013 By Hint Mama

Back in 2002, when I was just embarking on my career as a journalist, my Nana gave me a copy of the 842-page “Big Book of Hints from Heloise.” “This book will help you with many things,” she inscribed. Heeding her advice, I brought the big blue book with me from one New York apartment to another and then cross-country to San Francisco.

It even made the cut when I purged about 500 books during a move last year (book purging hint: see below). I knew the book would come in handy one day, but it remained unopened until shortly before my daughter’s first birthday this summer.

As I was planning her party, I pulled the blue book off the shelf to see what tips Heloise had for throwing children’s birthday parties. While I didn’t like the gist of her first hint (“many parents make a rule that the number of guests equals the child’s age”) as it would mean we’d be having a really small gathering, I perused her other tips covering topics ranging from general money saving ideas to instructions for caring for a sick child to creative ways to deal with leftovers. And it hit me: Hints like those from Heloise can help me (a new mom and household managing novice) get my parenting and financial life more in order, while also helping me help others.

Welcome to HintMama.com, a resource to help make life as a parent easier, cheaper and a bit more humorous. Think of it as a big blog of hints.

In my former life, as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the lead writer for The New York Times’ now defunct “Bucks” personal finance blog, I specialized in providing news-you-can-use advice and hints to readers on topics ranging from finding the best savings rate to selling toys for cash.

Since making the switch to the corporate world two years ago, I’ve missed having a place to share the really helpful hints I come across in everyday life — the types of tricks that inspired many of my articles, including ones on why to “bank one salary” and how to work out for less.

Enter this site. Here, I’ll be reporting the best hints I encounter from a myriad of sources, including old world sages like my Nana, more modern outlets like the blogosphere and my own experience attempting to improve my money and household management skills, make it through the big blue book and work full time while raising a child. My hope is that the hints I share here are helpful to other mamas and dadas out there also trying to get their parenting and financial lives more in order. What topics would you like hints on? Let me know in the comments section below.

* Hint: I only allowed myself to keep the amount of books that would fit in one small bookshelf. Interestingly, most of what I kept were self-help books.

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More Hints

  • Today’s Hint: 6 Budget-Friendly Ways to Organize Hair AccessoriesToday’s Hint: 6 Budget-Friendly Ways to Organize Hair Accessories
  • Today’s Hint: Babyproofing with a Beanbag ChairToday’s Hint: Babyproofing with a Beanbag Chair
  • Today’s Hint: A Trick for Managing Back Seat MessesToday’s Hint: A Trick for Managing Back Seat Messes
  • Today’s Hint: Drink From Your Child’s Straw Sippy CupToday’s Hint: Drink From Your Child’s Straw Sippy Cup
  • Today’s Hint: Don’t Order a Meal for Your ToddlerToday’s Hint: Don’t Order a Meal for Your Toddler

Filed Under: Activities & Classes, Birthday Parties/Entertaining, Preparing for Baby, Top Hints

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Trackbacks

  1. Today’s Hint: How to Make Old Toys Seem New – Hint Mama says:
    August 23, 2013 at 1:51 pm

    […] I call this hint for saving money on toys “the rotation strategy.” It’s one I learned from my Mom and I’ve since come across it on other sites like BabyCheapskate and BabyZone as well as in my big blue book by Heloise. […]

  2. Today’s Hint: Keep a Baby Email (or a More Modern Baby Book) – Hint Mama says:
    September 4, 2013 at 1:17 pm

    […] when I was recently reading through Heloise’s somewhat out-of-date hint to keep a baby-book tape (the gist: if you’re too busy to write in […]

  3. Today’s Hint: 6 Ways to Save Toilet Paper Rolls from Toddlers – Hint Mama says:
    September 12, 2013 at 1:03 pm

    […] that’s why I recently turned to Heloise’s book to see what tips she has for dealing with this problem. Sure enough, Heloise has a hint on the […]

  4. Today’s Hint: Don’t Get Too Hung Up on Toys’ Recommended Ages – Hint Mama says:
    October 2, 2013 at 2:04 pm

    […] “Look at you now.” She pointed out that I had an insatiable quest for knowledge (probably one reason why I started this blog) that she partly attributed to my playing with slightly advanced toys. And as usual, my mom was […]

  5. Today’s Hint: 4 Other Uses for Small Plastic (or Inflatable) Pools (Beyond Swimming) – Hint Mama says:
    October 18, 2013 at 4:58 am

    […] A floor & carpet protector.  Heloise, in my big blue book of her hints, suggests an idea I love: Seating small children in a small plastic pool when they eat in front of […]

  6. Today’s Hint: The Top 10 Hints of 2014 So Far – Hint Mama says:
    July 3, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    […] Time flies. This week officially marks 2014’s halfway point as well as my 11th month writing Hint Mama. […]

  7. Today’s Hint: Hint Mama’s Top Ten Hints for Traveling With Kids – Hint Mama says:
    January 6, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    […] I started Hint Mama nearly a year and a half ago, the site’s contributors and I have shared more than 50 hints for making travel with kids easier […]

  8. Today’s Hint: Hint Mama’s Top 10 Hint List of 2015 – Hint Mama says:
    January 4, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    […] I started this blog nearly two and a half years ago, a lot has changed in my life. I’ve gone from one child to two and moved back to the Midwest from […]

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Before entering the corporate world, Jennifer Saranow Schultz (aka Hint Mama) was the lead writer for The New York Times “Bucks” personal finance blog and a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Read More…

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Hint Mama™ is a trademark of the author of this blog. Unless otherwise indicated, all text, images and (sometimes humorous) hint sharing were created and produced by the author of this blog. Rights reserved. So please enjoy (but do not reproduce without permission).

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