Three things I’m always recommending to friends to improve their lives …
Isn’t it great to get advice from the people in your life that you care about and trust? It is!
Today, I thought it would be fun to talk about a few simple things that I’m always recommending to people, because all three of these things have been great additions to my own life. Ready for it? Let’s go …
1. Earning money back when you shop online through Rakuten.
One of my girlfriends mentioned Rakuten to me for maybe two years before I finally decided to listen. And now I’m the one telling people about it. (So yes, this is something that was recommended to me before I ever recommended it to anyone else.)
It wasn’t until my friend group and I were at Holden Beach last year that I finally signed up for this free service, and I’ve never looked back. It’s the simplest thing, and it’s an easy way to “make money back” on a lot of things you buy.
You sign up for Rakuten, add the extension to your browser or your phone, and when you shop online, most retailers have a relationship with Rakuten, and you get a small percentage back from Rakuten on your purchase. You don’t have to take any extra steps either. A little purple icon shows up on the upper-right corner of your screen when you’re shopping, so you know it’s active, then you just shop as you normally would and earn.
Based on my Rakuten use, I get a Paypal deposit every couple of months, and in less than a year, I’ve received almost $200 back, just from doing the shopping I was already going to do. The only downfall is that Amazon purchases don’t count, but Target does, and I use that one a lot for my in-store pick-up orders.
It only takes a few minutes to sign up for Rakuten, and I really think you should if you do even any shopping online. Every time I get an email that says I got a little “cash back” from shopping at Target or adidas or even Nordstrom, I feel so good. Sign up for Rakuten here using my referral link. And then tell your friends about it too!
2. Seeking the help of Eastern Medicine through acupuncture.
Throughout years of being in the online space, I’ve become friends with some really smart people. And it was years and years ago when I was struggling to get pregnant that one of my online friends told me to try acupuncture.
I didn’t know a single person in my life who had done it before, so I was very skeptical. But I was willing to try anything at that point, and it was my mom who did a Google search for me and found me an acupuncturist nearby to where I was living at the time in Walnut Creek, California. I had to pay out-of-pocket for my services for a whole year, so it was an investment. But I would say meeting that particular acupuncturist and working with her was literally a life-changing season for me.
My acupuncturist taught me things I’d never heard of before. And she treated me weekly with basic acupuncture, herbs, cupping and various Eastern medicine methods. It was those methods, along with the supplementation and lifestyle changes she told me to do, that helped me get a regular menstrual cycle back and ultimately get pregnant naturally — after having doctors tell me the only way I’d ever get pregnant was with IVF.
Now, who you choose as an acupuncturist will truly change your experience with it. My acupuncturist spent a ton of time with me every appointment, she cared for me, she checked my vitals, she told me what to eat and what products to order off Amazon and she even told me how to destress my life. I connected well with her, and I felt completely comfortable and vulnerable with her. I walked out of every appointment with hope — which is something I was starting to lose at that point in time, nearly 10 years ago when my life looked so different. So when I say life changing, I mean life changing.
These days, I’m back in acupuncture here in Charlotte at a very different type of clinic. And I will say I don’t love my current acupuncture situation, but it’s working. I initially started at this current place about 8 months ago to get help increasing my T3 thyroid levels, and I’ve done that — naturally — with no changes other than the weekly acupuncture. My regular doctor told me I’d need a thyroid medication and I wasn’t interested in that, so I reminded myself to try Eastern medicine, and don’t you know, it’s done the trick again.
Acupuncture stimulates your nerves and energy channels with tiny needles. And to skeptics, it might seem pointless. But I can tell you first hand that I’ve healed my body from two issues with regular acupuncture, and I’m a true believer. Whenever I have a friend struggling with something, I often tell them to seek acupuncture. Some do, some don’t — and the ones who do always get results.
3. Utilizing your local library for free books and activities.
I don’t think I had stepped foot in a library since college before I became a regular patron of the Walnut Creek Library in the Bay Area of San Francisco. And I get it, for some, the library was always a place that you used to have to go in school, and once it’s no longer a requirement, you probably don’t think about it. But not me.
For the last decade, I’ve been a huge library proponent. And here’s why … If you have small children, you can take advantage of story-time and other free activities at your library, as well as check out kids books. And if you’re an adult, you can take advantage of checking out books to learn new things, or you can find a quiet place to get some work done in a well-lit air-conditioned building.
One of my favorite things about the regional library system in Charlotte is that we have an app for searching book titles, reserving books, checking activities and even downloading digital books. I often reserve the books I want via the app, then wait for the notification that the book came in. When I go grab my book from the hold section of the library, I use that same app to do self-checkout. It’s truly amazing that I never have to wait in an in-person line, look through a shelf or pull out my wallet for any of this.
While I’m all for buying titles of books that you want to keep forever (and supporting your favorite authors by ordering their books online), I really love the library and being able to borrow stuff with no pressure to love it. What’s even cooler is that our library doesn’t even have late fees any longer, so you can keep the book until you finish it, and once you return it in good shape — no charge!
Sometimes I push the library too hard on people, and they’re not sure why. But I want everyone to use this great resource in their communities, because libraries are awesome. And reading and learning are even more awesome.
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Thanks for taking a moment on A Lady Goes West to peruse this one about things I’m always recommending to my friends! I hope you have an amazing day. And if you have something to share with us worth recommending, please leave it in the comments.
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Questions of the day
What’s something a friend has told you about that you’re really glad to know?
What’s something you’ve recommended to a friend that they’re really glad to know?
