Products to Save Money & Time

Surveys the good and the bad

2012-01-16T12:07:00.000-06:00

Toluna opinion polls are a great way to see how other people feel about any topic you suggest. I have been a member of Toluna surveys for several years. I enjoy some of the survey taking companies especially when I get to try a product and give feedback.

I have made about $100 from surveys but it takes time and effort to get to this point. Toluna is unique as you can set up your own polls.

I have made money from Send Earnings, Ipsos I-Say and PCH surveys. I always make sure they are secure sites and if they overwhelm me with too many e-mails I unsubscribe. I like to take surveys that really reward me for valuable information.

Some of them are just out to take up your time and give you nothing in return. The information you provide them is very valuable and you should be rewarded for your time and effort. You will never get rich from surveys but you can make a little extra cash.

Building your home (continued)

2011-11-08T10:45:00.002-06:00

Make sure you go to the building codes department before you start purchasing a modular or manufactured trailer. Make a list of questions to ask and make sure it is okay to put a modular or manufactured home on the property first. Ask them about all the costs you will need to pay to them for a building permits and miscellaneous costs.

Go on-line and find a punch list if your contracting the building of your own home. This can be very time consuming and a headache so do some research and if you have no education about building a home it may be easier to hire a contractor. This saved us money but we did incur some difficult times even though my husband had built homes for a living. This also came in handy as we were able to add on our own addition.

Adding on an addition has its own set of problems. You must get an engineers stamp when you change the original modular home plans and this can be very expensive. Another important factor to look at is contracts that your subcontractors give you. Read them very carefully and don't take for granted that a good company will always treat you right or a lender will remember everything.

We had a lean out on our home as the company that did our foundation as they forgot to pay the concrete company. We had to pay for the concrete twice before we could close on our home. This did not come up until just before closing on our loan. When trying to find the builder to collect our money back he had went bankrupt and was no where to be found.

This could have been prevented if the lender would have made him sign a mechanics lean releasing us of any responsibility after the job was done. This error cost us more than money. A mechanics lean means the contractor must pay for all the materials or you get what we had here a failure to communicate which equals a extra expense not needed.

As I say you have to dot all your I's and cross all your T's if you know what I mean. They may have been a good company and did a great job but it was not worth the extra cost we were not expecting especially when we wanted to move in. This created a lot of leg work and unwanted stress by this time of building our home. To be continued ...

Building your own home-Part 2

2011-11-04T11:34:00.000-05:00

The best way to build a home that saves you money is to use a either a kit purchased from Home Depot or Lowes or to purchase a modular home, not manufactured. There is a great deal of difference between modular and manufactured.

When you look at a manufactured home you are impressed with what you see for the amount of money you pay but in the long run this is like purchasing a glorified trailer. Manufactured homes cannot be refinanced but modular homes can. Of course if you cannot afford to spend the money on a modular home then the manufactured will be better than paying rent on an apartment.

Make sure you look at a lot of the designs as this is going to be something you will be paying on for a long time. The layout of the home can be changed and before you make the purchase is the time to decide this. After you have made the choice do not purchase the home until you go to the county and find out the requirements.

The county did a perk test which determined what type of system we needed. Of course it ended up being the most expensive kind. We had to spend $13,000 on a septic system as our land was not developed. This came to us as a big surprise and then the upkeep of the septic required renewing a contract of $500 after the second year. Another surprise not known until after 2 years.

We also had many other costs that we had not thought about until we already started the process. A new water meter in our county was $4,500 and that did not count the water line from the road to our home. Go to the county and talk with them and try to be nice as they are the ones that determine when you can actually live in the home.

Before they could decide whether there was enough pressure in the line we were on pins and needles awaiting the results of having city water or having to dig a well. Thank God we got to have city water and this expense was worth it or should I say we had to pay the price since the other option would have been no water. Our great adventure of building our home had just began so stay tuned for the rest of the story..

College may not pay

2011-11-02T18:21:00.000-05:00

College and the cost some times do not pay for themselves. A local community college offered and career program called Licensed Mental Health Technician. I was to be more educated than an LPN with nursing skills and have ample mental health training to be able to work in a psychiatric hospital. This was to be a glorified mental health nurse and the future of mental health jobs.

I spent $15,000 and for a few years was able to pass medication but it limited me to only working in State hospitals in Kansas. Unknown to me the State of Kansas changed the rules and my license was no longer worth anything. I started out making $5.50 an hour which was not expected after spending time and money going to college.

I then decided to go for an AAS in Communication Design. Now the price tag of my education was $25,000. After graduating I could not find a job in design unless I went on to get a BA. Instead I returned to mental health and before I knew it I was 45 years of age and not richer from all the schooling I had. I am still trying to pay the college loans off.

In this economy I am back to making $10 an hour and my dreams of higher education and more money were crushed along the way. I returned to school to get a Substance Abuse Counselor license and before I finished the rules of the State had changed and I was the poorer for it and deeper in debt.

Be careful before getting a college education and really explore the degree or type of program. Make sure it will surpass time as now I am in debt and have no way to live and pay the student loans. I still have my dreams but I now realize that spending all the money to get an education has really not paid well and put me deeper into debt.

Colleges will tell you anything to get you to pay the high tuition cost but do your own research. Now they say I need to get a BA or MBA. At age 50 I am not even able to pay what I owe for loans anyway so why would I take this chance now. All the time and money spent plus a bad economy equals and the belief that more education means more money. Don't believe it! I know many people that make more money than me and have only a high school education.

They do not work with people and this field really pays very little. This is sad but true about our society as we care more about things then we do people. A lot of it is who you know and not what you can do. It's a hard time to live in right now so be careful on what area of higher education you decide to pursue and do not believe all you hear. This American Dream has changed a lot since the economy is bad.

Building a home and saving money

2011-11-01T09:10:00.002-05:00

We married at age 16 and 17 and have been happily married for 35 years. Working hard all of our lives we could not wait until we could build a new home of our own, After 30 years we finally had the opportunity to build a home on 2 acres of land that we inherited from my husbands parents. In 2007, life had finally given us the break we needed to complete our American Dream, a new home.

The bills were paid off and our credit was great. We both had jobs and my husbands company went from hardly getting by to making a good living. We would do the work of a contractor to save money allowing us to get the extra things we wanted for our new home. Here is the beginning of our story and all the good and bad times that occurred when building our own home. We saved money and I hope to detour you from making the same mistakes we did.

We decided to buy a modular home then add on a room to make it unique. The difference between a manufactured home and a modular home is like the difference between a trailer and a stick built home. The walls of our home were not put together with staples but had sheet rock walls with nails. After several months of looking we finally found the layout we liked and we were ready to move forward. A big difference between a modular home and a manufactured one is we can get refinanced and manufactured homes cannot.

Our land was 20 minutes from the suburbs of Kansas City. We lived in a rural area and it being only 20 minutes to the city we could enjoy the best of both worlds. Being a artist and having the ability to draw out the scaled plans would allow us to save money on an architect. We were off and going and the first goal was to get a permit from the county. This was the beginning of learning the hard lessons of rules and regulations that made having a home seem miles away in the beginning.

Kelly Says, "Stay tuned for the rest of the story of building a home in 2008. I will tell you all the trials and tribulations we experienced as we made the effort to make our American Dream of owning our own home a reality.

Purchasing items out of season

2011-10-20T12:21:00.000-05:00

When you really want to save money it is best to buy items that are not in season. Spring and summer clothing are on sale as winter approaches. It is hard to buy clothing and wait to wear it but you can save a fortune if you take the time to look for the clearance rack. I have been able to find some great buys for next years Spring and Summer wardrobe. If you like to shop then pick one day a month that you can go to several of your favorite stores and check the clearance items. the time is worth the money that you will save.

The same is true for gardening supplies. Now is a great time to order plants and seeds for next years garden. With all the reports of listeria, a bacteria that was found on cantaloupes and other fresh vegetables making people sick and even killed some now is the time to grow your own foods. Prices at the grocery store continue to rise and fresh foods from your own garden will save money especially if you purchase the seeds now.

Purchasing seeds this fall helps by getting seeds started in February saving you from buying expensive plants next year. Another good reason to order items now is that they will not send the item until it is time for your area to plant it. This is a good reminder of when to plant it if you are new to gardening. A smart gardener buys sustainable seeds so that he can use the seeds in next years garden.

The person that plans ahead of time when it comes to major holidays or seasons is a person that can really save a lot of money in this recession. Now is not the time to buy Halloween items as they will be very expensive. If you can wait until the season is over with you can buy twice as much with the same amount of money.

Purchasing Christmas presents now may save you some as the early shopper gets the merchandise and no last minute disappointments. If you are a person that waits until the last minute it may actually be better to wait until the day after Christmas to shop. I have found that certain products are almost 50% less the day after Christmas.

Now is not the best time to buy Christmas decorations but I have noticed that mass merchandisers are worried about a slow year so some of the items are priced lower than usual. Take advantage of any deals you can get and use this recession to your advantage by buying early or after the event has occurred.

Another way to save money is to buy items at a garage sale or auctions. I have purchased a brand new riding lawn mower at a garage sale paying half of what the store sold it for. You also need to know that you can barter in certain stores if you make the effort. Sometimes it works and sometime not. Being at the right place at the right time also helps. Practice up on your bartering skills as it is a talent and will work if you make the effort.

Thinking ahead really does pay off so plan next year this year. Right now is a good time to think of the 4th of July or summer needs like picnics and camping. Just remember that in the world of shopping it is better to plan for next year so you cans save money today.

Save on water and electricity

2011-10-10T17:06:00.001-05:00

Opening my monthly water bill about made me have a heart attack last month. A month of water usually runs two people about $28 dollars. This particular water bill was $103 and it was all due to a small leak or should I say large leak around the rubber stopper of the stool. It is hard to believe that we used 25,000 gallons of water that month. Make sure to fix any leaks even if it is just a drip.

We work too hard for our money to give it away to the water company. Also turn off and unplug any items you can. When a can opener or anything is plugged in even when not running it draws some electricity. After we did this for one month we notice a big savings in the electricity and water bill. Try it and you will see a difference.

Honest Americans

2011-10-01T11:18:00.001-05:00

A majority of people are honest and trying to live within their means. In this economy it is very hard to live, work and have enough money to put food on the table. My hat goes off to these Americans that cannot afford to live but do there best to keep on trying to survive. We are classified as the working poor. I call us the people that keep America going. The taxes we pay is what keeps the government running while we go into debt actually working a minimum wage job.

We have to be more creative, stronger and wiser to live than giving up and taking money from government programs. You are true blooded Americans and should be applauded for your effort to keep on helping our country. So you have to go to Harvesters to get food once a month. Thank God that there are people that help these programs. The average American is honest and deserves more attention than what you are getting. You can actually run your household on less money than what it costs for one meal in the White House.

Do not let anything separate us, the people, as we are the backbone of this country. We will keep coming and together we will pull us out of this recession. I only fear that because we cannot afford to give our family all they deserve that some people will steal your money using dishonest means. Do not let the people that promise the stars and deliver nothing take your money. Use your energy and money to create and build, not to destroy.

There are many people that if given the opportunity have an idea for a good business that could create jobs. We need to rely on ourselves and trust the honest Americans to get us out of this recession. The person that is hardworking and has an idea for a business but cannot put it into action due to NO MONEY needs to be trusted by the banks we put our money in. Honest hardworking Americans are a great risk as they know what it is like to need. Is there anyone willing to have faith and take a risk on us changing our economy?

Credit card or cash purchases

2011-07-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

It is really best every month to check your credit card transactions every few weeks and maybe even more. Aldi's grocery store had an electronic device attached to the swipe machine stealing your credit card number and you didn't even know until it was too late. The awful thing about this type of stealing is it cannot be detected immediately.

After 3 months and 1,100 stores the amount of victims was very numerous. Until credit cared statements are read by the consumer then reported it still takes the credit card company time to find the source. Meanwhile you are a victim of credit card theft which takes you time to repair all the problems the thief has created for you. For more information: Identity Theft Hits a Grocery Store.

This is the lowest, meanest and lowlife of thievery. Stealing from others is one of the 10 commandments first and foremost. The prices of everything must increase in the long run and the consumer and thief will pay for it in the long run.

It has been suggested that plastic it is the safest way to shop as long as you can pay off the full balance. It seems that as soon as you think you are safe the thief stays one step ahead of you. It's too bad that thief's don't use their energy to do the right thing. Using cash is not safe either as people can rob you but at least you don't have to prove who you are when they steal your identity.

Taking a picture with their camera phone of your card is done after you hand the waiter or waitress. Many restaurants take your card and being a little old fashioned this panics me as the new plastic generation snickers when I watch their every move if possible. Better to be careful and safe then a victim of identity theft.

A family that cleans together has more fun

2011-07-14T18:40:00.000-05:00

Everyone likes a clean house even if you are a family that is sloppy by nature. A messy house creates mental confusion and chaos according to scientific reports (source unknown). When each family member participates in cleaning up each mess made directly afterwords this can majorly improve life both mentally and physically.
Answer these questions so you can decide if cleanliness is important to you:

Do you feel compelled to clean a mess made by another person?
Can you find anything you need in your home without searching for it?
What is your definition of clean?
Do you talk about how clean or dirty another persons house is?
Can your house be messy and clean at the same time?
Do you empty an ashtray or a trashcan before it is full?
When you clean do you get worn out just after picking up the general mess?
Can you clean the bathrooms, kitchen, dust and do 1 deep cleaning chore all in one day?
Are you embarrassed when someone unexpected comes to your home?
Do you feel uncomfortable or motivated to clean about your home after visiting a clean home?
What do you consider to be a clean home?
Is your opinion of a clean home the same as your family members?
Just answer with the word clean so I know you are answering these questions?
Define a dirty house.
Do you have OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
Do you constantly make excuses for the mess in your home to visitors?

After answering these questions could you have cleaned at least one room? If your family helps you do the housework you do have more time to have fun. A family that uses teamwork to get the house clean has more fun and time to have fun. They have also taught their family valuable life skills. Now if you do not feel guilty about the state of your house at this very moment then you have a clean home or do not care how others view your home. I know sloppy people that function quite well and are generally happy with life.

Life is too short to spend it cleaning! If you learned about what is important to you by answering these questions then this post was worth the time. You can fix what is broken when you know the problem if there is one. Picking up each mess will help you really clean your home. As an ex-professional cleaner it can be done in 2-4 hours depending on the size of your home. Less time with teamwork! It sure feels great mentally to come home to a clean home.

Customer review and impact on purchasing the product

2011-07-02T19:10:00.001-05:00

By typing in the words best sellers on Amazon I was surprised with the results. This article is a test to see if this product really is a best seller of Amazon customers. I am going to show you the top 5 products and see if you are interested these products. The first product is The Fat Flush Plan which is to be the best selling book about losing weight from Amazon.

Orka Deos Stainless Steel Soap. Here is the link and image for product #2 as this amazed me to go a step further and see what it was. Apparently this product is to remove odors and smells from your hand such as garlic or fish.

According to the reviews I saw they both agreed it was a good paperweight and great decorative item but there were as many positives as negative reviews. The positive review decided it worked well at removing a variety of odors for them and said it looked great on the wall.

One review said they gave it a fair chance by trying to remove as many different odors as they could. They decided it is was better used as a paperweight verses an odor remover. Do you read product reviews before you purchase an item that is unusual?

The #3 product that was a best seller is the Back to Basics Egg-and-Muffin Toaster. The link is Back to Basics TEM4500 4-Slot Egg-and-Muffin Toaster. Out of 188 reviews there were 158 people that gave it a 4 to 5 star rating. The common thing the reviews shared were that it did what it was suppose to do. The scariest reason was a customer that felt the smell of the oven itself was overwhelming and attributed this to the MADE IN CHINA label which made them "a tad nervous" in there own words.

Product #3 is the Hitachi Cordless Drill and Driver Kit. I am giving you the link and the picture to experiment is this makes any difference to searching the site for the product. It had a 110 reviews and out of this 83 people gave it a 4 to 5 star rating. They both said it had a good torque but housing was cheap plastic, broke easily and did not fit well on a carpenters belt. Guarantee was faulty.

The next best selling product is #4 is Baby Einstein Take Away Tunes. How could you lose with a product that was made with Einstein in the name. Here is just the link as I want to see how interested you are to seek out the looks and style of the product. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes had 572 reviews and 526 people gave this a 4 to 5 star rating. Only 14 people gave this a 1 which I thought very interesting. The average opinion is it had good quality non-electronic sound but they were not long enough to hold the attention of a child age 1 that could push the buttons. A consensus in longer tunes would make this a great product. For less than $10 what do we expect?

Product #5 is my pick of products as the results came out to be over 200,000 choices. This product is expensive but being a nice Swiss Army Man's watch with Dive Master Black Dial I wanted to test quality and price to how the consumer selects a product. Here is the link and the picture as I want you to see a watch that costs over $600 dollars. With only 4 customer reviews and the original price being over $1000 I take that not many people buy or wear a watch like this. It is said to be like a top of the line Rolex watch. The customer reviews recommend a plastic band due to the weight of a Quartz watch. But they feel this is an unsurpassed value and even though it is not COSC certified which means it accuracy for time is within chronometers. If you need accuracy within a chronometer this watch will not fail you.

Help me with this experiment and let me know what moves you to search deeper about a specific product. This will make a great article and help me know how advertising works in the on-line world. Leave a quick comment about it you read at all or if you just skipped through or of it compelled you to check out a product. To become a good affiliate is a process and the difference between success and failure on-line.

Cleaning as you go

2011-06-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

If everyone lived in a perfect world each person in the house would pick up the mess right when they made it. With some training this can be done. When everything is picked up the day you actually use to clean your home means deep regular cleaning can be done.

How do you teach everyone in your home to clean up the mess they make? This is a process and will not occur over night. If you get the whole family involved in cleaning your home then they begin to gain an understanding of why it takes so long to clean. If you must pick up messes first and then do deep cleaning you probably never can finish the job. You are worn out before you start.

When you have a child clean up each mess they make and they don't do it the natural consequence is less time to play. When they do clean up each mess and you notice that it took them less time to clean their room than usual make sure you have them identify why it went faster. Take notice and reinforce the positive behavior.

Another natural consequence is when a child wants to stay up past their bedtime remind them that they must get up at 7 am and not complain. The natural consequence is being tired yet you empowered them by allowing them to make their own decision. Eventually they will decide that they would rather get sleep then wake up tired the next day.

When it comes to teaching an adult to clean up after themselves this brings a whole new set of problems. The more they are set in their ways the more work it takes to help them learn that picking up after themselves makes house cleaning easier. The only way I know to get an adult to understand is by making them participate in regular cleaning of the home.

In an equal world the woman works just like the man and usually even more. They should clean house just like you do. Eventually they will realize how much time it takes just to do normal cleaning of bathrooms, etc. Give them a job and do not accept the excuse but you do it so better than I do and it takes you less time. They will try this but in time they will realize that if they clean up their own mess you may be less likely to ask them to help do all the deep cleaning chores.

This empowers them to decide it is better to do a little than a lot. If you have a family that participates in the whole cleaning process then be grateful as you have a clean house that takes less time out of your life to clean. Here are some tools that can make cleaning easier as well.

The 2-year contract scam

2011-06-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

Satellite, cell phone and many other companies offer the 2-year contract which promises to save you money. The way the satellite companies pull you in is by advertising the low price of $29.99 giving you Prime movie channels like HBO for 3 months for free. When you get your first bill you are charged for the rental of the receivers which was not included in the advertised low price of $29.99. The basic package does not include channels anyone wants so you must move to a more expensive package.

Finally you find a package deal you like but it is the $39.99 so your first bill is $55 for the first year. A promotional $100 rebate card which had no cash value adds to the great deal. Phone companies give you a free phone with all the newest bells and whistles which all sounds good, but is it worth binding yourself to a 2-year contract? A lot can happen in two years in this economy like a loss of a job. Your financial situation changes and there you are stuck in the middle of a two contract that is legal and binding.

Year two comes and then the boom is lowered. They make up for all the costs not paid in year one. You are a prisoner of the two-year contract and at their mercy of whatever they decide to charge at that moment. You are penalized if you stop their service before 2 year is up. They have your bank account and credit card information to make sure you do. You are caught in a vicious but legal scam and do they care that you lost your job or life changed for some reason? No, definitely not as you signed a legal and binding contract made to order for their company without you the customer in mind.

Solution:

Try not to purchase anything that requires signing a contract.
If you are in a 2-year contract notify the promotional department as they want to keep you as a customer when the contract ends. Request a lower payment. Sometimes they will take off $10 or more.
Bartering in furniture stores, appliance and major stores like Home Depot can get you a good deal, It never hurts to try as everyone really needs your business especially in these difficult economic times.

Being at their mercy they can charge whatever they desire and they make sure to cover themselves to only their benefit not the consumer. There is something very wrong with 2-year contracts and being a victim of life changing events beyond my control I have learned a costly lesson. They do not want people to skip back and forth between satellite/phone companies but could care less about the customer after you are in their trap. Being stuck in a 2-year service agreement you must pay them any outrageous price they decide to charge. Believe me you are going to pay them back for everything you thought was a great deal initially.

My price now for satellite was $85 for the next year. This was not okay and not fair. They offer packages that are very rigid when I only watch about 6-10 of the 300 channels they offer. Most channels are useless so do not believe the 500 channel scam. They can turn certain channels off and on form the office, give you pay-per-view but they cannot offer you a individualized package that could help you the customer save money when your situation changes and make attempts to talk to them verses avoiding them. You are at their mercy and they make no effort to try and work with you. Advertising uses psychology to pull you in and millions of dollars are spent for this very reason. Really make sure it is a good deal before signing your life away.

Father's Day and gifts to give-odd to normal

2011-06-14T15:46:00.000-05:00

This Sunday June 19th is Father's Day. What to get Dad is the question? If your dad has a hobby then get him a tool that he wants to buy but doesn't because he can't really afford it. Is your Dad the outdoors type like a fisherman or hunter? Does he need a new tie? If he is the kind of Dad that has everything then look for the unusual gift. The younger kids could give him the gift of doing a chore that Dad usually does. Maybe just letting him have some quiet time is what he needs. Take him out to dinner or even better make him a great dinner on the grill and let him sit and relax. Here are some of my picks for Father's Day this year. See what you think.

E-mail marketing is not the way to advertise

2011-06-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

When you surf the internet to purchase a product do you go directly to the site or do you search for a better price at some other place. I had a phone call from a business that wanted to set up a website for me for the low price of $39 and all had to do was pay hosting and advertising for my site. Purchasing an e-mail list can get very expensive and this form of advertising is ineffective.

They were not as pushy as some of these work at home businesses but what they were going to do was take care of all the technical stuff like adding Amazon.com and other major companies so I could become an affiliate and earn a commission off all my sales.

First of all setting up a web page has never been easier and this can be done without much technical knowledge if you can follow directions. What is difficult is the and also the most costly part of starting an on-line business is advertising your site and getting traffic to your site. E-mail is now one of the newer methods of advertising new and old businesses. Have you noticed your in-box lately and how many unwanted advertising is coming to your in-box.

Recently I have been getting more e-mails in my in-box from businesses from all over the world in attempt to advertise or market their sites. I had approximately 200 e-mails in one day and this is irritating enough that I just deleted them without even reading one of them. This form of advertising is having the reverse affect that it was intended for. Businesses are spending a fortune to purchase lists of e-mails and they are getting scammed.

To save time and my delete button I have made a new free e-mail address that I am sending out to all my creditors and personal family and friends and no one else will get this address. I hope that this will end up saving me precious time daily by not having to sift through the unwanted e-mails or spam forever.

This is a message to all the companies that think they can advertise by e-mail it is not working. If I want to buy something on-line I will look for the products on my own and not because you sent me an e-mail. Advertising e-mails are as irritating as most commercials are on television. I would rather save money on the product than raising the price of your products to advertise in this manner.

Think about how much time you are wasting from sitting at stop lights, watching commercials and scanning through unwanted e-mails. What do you think is the best way to advertise a business today? I personally think there are more creative ways to sell the public a product and that is by saving the consumer money.

E-mails can and will be held against you. (Up front: news, trends & analysis).(Judge rules that e-mails written by a J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. senior staff ... article from: Information Management Journal THE 10 RULES For Evaluating An E-Mail Management Solution.(Buyers Guide): An article from: Customer Interaction Solutions

Report annoying calls or scam artist

2011-05-26T16:36:00.001-05:00

What is more annoying than a prank call, telemarketing call or even worse a phone call from someone that is out to steal your identity. Today I found a great site to block, report or check out unknown phone numbers to see if they are on the call list of known scams or spammers. Today everyone needs to be careful what information you give out and no one wants unwanted calls from anyone especially on your cell phone when you are paying for the calls or messages.

This link http://www.everycall.us/ can help you see who is calling and you can report those irritating calls that may help someone else not get scammed. By reporting these calls everyone may be able to stop these thieves. This is a totally free service that can help stop, check or alert others about spam calls.

It also has information about getting on the "Federal no call list" and the State no call list. I recommend this site to anyone that needs to check a number out and/or report harassing phone calls. Working together we can block or stop those unwanted numbers that waste your time and money.

Ways to save money and put the scam artist out of business

2011-05-25T17:57:00.000-05:00

Being 55 and without a job at this age makes it difficult to live. This is one way to saving money over age 55 . This site will give you some ideas on how to save $10 everyday. I found it to be very informative and the information is totally free. There is one thing for sure and that is today you can get a lot of information for free if you have the internet.

On my other blog I have a web address of how to get employment if you are disabled and it is also free. FREE should be totally free with nothing attached. Not even your e-mail address. I have decided to block all senders to my e-mail account as there are too many greedy people on-line ready to take your money and your identity.

It is really a greedy world so make sure to check all e-mails out that offer anything before you click on them and do not believe everything you read. Sorry to be so negative but the scams are out of control. Check out my other blog post so I do not repeat myself anymore. Free help and job information for the disabled

May God bless the honest people of this world.

Saving money, time and space with books

2011-05-15T19:35:00.000-05:00

Originally you pay about $120 for a Kindle 3. As a person with little space in my home for books I simply could not fit one more book on my shelves. My husband and I are avid readers and have spent thousands of $$$ on books. Now except for my reference books they are rarely used and take time dusting and space needed for the important things like pictures of my grandchildren. The Kindle 3 is a great way to save money, time and space and I have more information that is easily found.

This solves many of my problems at one time. No more dusting and less expense sure helps in this generation. I download free information that is valuable and pay less for books that we read. They are easy to read and store information that I want. To learn more about this product go to Kelly Says and see my review of this product.

If you already have one you are light years ahead of me. There is one good thing about not buying the first product made is they make a newer version that has been updated and all the bugs are fairly well worked out by then. One more idea is to trade off books with friends or visiting your local library if you have the time.

Gardening products planning ahead for 2012

2011-05-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

Prices of food are not going down anytime soon according to news reports. Planting seeds for tomato and pepper plants save you more money for a garden in 2012. Seeds cost less than plants so think ahead and grow your own plants next year.

Enemies of the garden

2011-05-10T16:15:00.000-05:00

A freelance writer for examiner.com I am writing articles about gardening in Kansas City. I would really appreciate your feedback, suggestions or events that you would like to let people in Kansas City know about. Buying local vegetables helps our economy and growing your own plants saves you even more. To save money at the grocery store on the rising costs of vegetables many people are growing gardens in 2011.

When onions cost around $2 per pound and you are a onion lover you can easily save money by growing your own. Bell peppers are a favorite and they are running about $2 per pepper. By purchasing a few plants you can have fresh vegetables all summer long. Growing your own means you know exactly what you are feeding your family and it is a great family activity. Check out my postings on the examiner and find out ways to save money and time when gardening this year.

Enemies of the garden

A Single Blade Of Grass and Humans

2011-04-22T15:22:00.001-05:00

I remember all that I am grateful for and it includes the little to the big things. I started thinking of the blade of grass story and how the Lord took such care in making a single blade of grass. Many single blades of grass make up a yard but a closer look and each are unique.

With even more care God created humans in his own image. Grouped together we are just a big crowd of people that look similar. Humans are like the blades of grass there are no two people that look or act alike.
The things that make each of us different can only be seen if we take the time to look closer.

Enjoy the miracles of people that cross our paths in life as they are for a reason. We may not know why at the time especially if they are not like us at all. We all learn things from each other that helps us grow in ways we may not expect.

Take the first step to get to know a person as they may need you as much as you need them. New people in my life have taught me a lot but I would have never known if I listened to what others said about them. Some ended up becoming my best friends. You can never have too many friends.

Have a great Easter!

Easter Eggs & Jesus

2011-04-12T19:55:00.000-05:00

Easter is related to Christianity and even before that it was a celebration of springtime arriving. Christians celebrate the 40 days of lent which leads up to the death of Jesus Christ. With Jesus dying on the cross for our sins so that we could have eternal life in heaven. This is a very important holiday for Christians and during the 40 days of Lent we give up something or add something to have a closer relationship with Jesus. It is a time of new beginnings and a fresh start of growth both outside and inside.

Easter eggs symbolize “the seed of life” which symbolizes Jesus resurrection after his death 3 days before on what is called Good Friday. The Easter Bunny is a Rabbit spirit that would lay eggs, which led to children hunting of the eggs. Since rabbits so not lay eggs maybe this is one reason we began to dye them. Kids are smart and know that eggs come from chickens. The oddest thing about Easter as a child is that I never question the legend but sure did enjoy it.

I always got new clothes to wear to church and waking up with a basket full of chocolate candy and marshmallow shaped like rabbits was such a thrill. Being raised a Christian it had more to do with Jesus so there was never a reason to question the legend. I sure did enjoy the chocolate candy and eating a big dinner with extended family.

Dying the eggs was always messy but with the new improved dyes there are many unique ways to decorate them. My brothers and sister would do spoon races by holding the end of a spoon in our mouth and passing it to the sibling on the other end. We had hours of fun hiding a re-hiding the eggs. We also made up clues that each one followed to find the egg when we were older. We also had plastic eggs with money in them and that was always fun. There are many games to play during Easter.

My mom hid the eggs when we were young as we hid in the house. It never failed that somehow we never ended up with all the real eggs we hid. Months later we may come across one and laugh as we threw the stinking egg far enough away as not to smell it. If you have ever smelled a rotten egg you know why. Think of how they smell when they are cooking on the stove and multiple that times a million after they have set for many months in the sun. They stink!

I hope you have a wonderful Easter with many good memories and enjoy the Spring weather. I will pray for no rain so the hunt can go on. School will be out soon and Memorial Day will be here!

Buy Winter Items & Save

2011-03-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

Winter is almost over and spring is on our minds. This is a great time to save money by purchasing the winter sale items. All winter items are on sale at this time of the year. Buying seasonal products after the season has just ended can make you the smartest shopper and save you money in the long run. Just after a holiday is over you can purchase many items at a savings of 50% to 75%.

I was surfing the internet for space heaters that was on it's last leg. That is when I came across beautiful lines of plug-in fireplaces that could be a great replacement for my old space heater. Always wanting a fireplace I thought how great it would be to invest in a plug-in fireplace. I like the romantic and homey feeling a fireplace brings to your home.

After doing some research I was amazed at all the new designs and the prices were great. I would not have to wait until next winter to use it which even made me more interested as I am a person that to likes the instant satisfaction of using the product immediatly. The addition of a fireplace would add great focal point to my living room and add the extra heat I needed.

With the variety of unique styles, designs and colors finding one that would fit my room was easy. Saving money on electricity, creating a source of heat and changing the looks of my room provided me with both of the solutions I needed.

They have ones that hold big screen televisions and have places to store knickknacks. They also have one that show flames and crackling sounds of the fire but put out no heat. If you don't have a built-in fireplace and need to replace your old space heater take a look at the beauty of a plug-in, beautifully designed and versatile fireplace that saves you money in the long run.

Many sales are going on now as the winter season comes to an end so you better hurry before the price starts to change. This is a win-win situation. The Dimplex and Heat Surge fireplaces have some hot deals but there are many other companies that I did not pursue as I found what I wanted.

The First Day of Spring

2011-03-20T22:41:00.000-05:00

The first day of spring is finally here,
a gift from God that comes every year.
The Robin sings a heavenly tune,
as the daffodils and tulips are beginning to bloom.
The egg stands up in an unusual way,
an event that occurs only at the exact time on this day.
God is the only one to know why this occurs.
God’s message and his memory continue to endure.
To believe that God gave his son to wash away our sin,
to ask for forgiveness and put your total faith in him.
He preformed miracles during his life on earth for all to see,
but the prophecy was fulfilled as Jesus said it would be.
Make a positive change during Lent, this spiritual time of year.
Christ will return relieving you life from fear.
Spring clean your life and be prepared for this day,
ask for forgiveness and pray for those that don’t know the way.

Living Healthy by Ridding Yourself of Bad Habits

2011-03-20T22:35:00.000-05:00

There are numerous products and programs for losing weight or how to quit smoking offering everything to herbs, pills and potions to drastic medical procedures. This industry makes billions of dollars each year from people that really desire to be healthy again by finding the magic cure that will help them lose weight or quit smoking. I hate to burst your bubble but it takes more than magic vitamins and or herbs, it takes changing your thinking patterns

Unfortunately you must make sure you are successful at changing the learned behavior and balancing it with the right product if there is one. Purchasing their product means you want to change which is good because half of the battle is admitting it. The easiest way is to never start or try anything that you could get addicted to.

Prevention costs money but in the long run it saves you money and time. If you have addiction in your family then your odds go up tremendously but the choice you make could that could have long term consequences is up to you. If you have seen people addicted then you know how hard it is to stop.

Finding the right product for you takes a lot of research from you and consulting your doctor is very important prior to starting any new dieting program or getting medicine that can help but that is not all. Behavior modification is really something that must be added or your attempts can result in failure.

This is no ones fault as the companies are there to sell products that can help and assume you know everything else you must do. I am not an authority on what works or doesn't. Making changes in your behavior is the most important and the least expensive way to change your negative behaviors. Sometimes the combination of their products and behavior modification will help you achieve a more permanent solution.

Maybe you should try to change something that has nothing to do with the main problem that you have at first to build confidence.During lent instead of giving up something I added something which was to pick up the Bible everyday and read it for at least 20 minutes. So far I have been successful at doing this everyday for 3 weeks now. This has nothing to do with quitting smoking or does it?

Practicing to do things that are good for you in any area of your life is changing a pattern of thinking. I feel that adding something and sticking to it remotely is helping me gain more focus and self control. Being healthy is a choice just do not go overboard. We all have something we want to change but it helps you physically, spiritual and mentally save you money in the long run and probably live longer..

Saving money in this economy is very important and the things that are preventable like eating too much, smoking too much or drinking too much can save you a fortune. I do not have any PHD or big initials to impress you as to why you should listen to me other than I have worked in mental health for over 20 years and these things I tell you come from my life and work experience.

One valuable thing I can tell you that was learned by clients and my personal experience is that once you admit you are addicted or something controls your life you feel guilty the next time you let your addiction take control over your life again. The words of wisdom from a client I had was, "using drugs was never the same and not fun anymore after admitting she/he was addicted".