Mishmash Musings

Jerry has been wearing contacts for about 10 years now, and is thoroughly tired of the hassle that goes along with them. Between revising his prescription every year, going through gallons of cleaning solution, and always having irritated eyes, he’s had enough. That’s why he’s really been pushing for Lasik surgery lately.

I haven’t looked into Lasik much in recent years. I know I checked it out in-depth when the procedure first became widely available, but the cost was prohibitive back then and we didn’t have enough money to pursue that option.

Now, however, I’m sure we could manage somehow. We’ve got some savings, and Jerry’s Christmas bonus should be fairly sizable this year, so maybe he’ll be able to have the procedure in early 2009. I’m sure he’ll be happy to finally be done with contacts for good!

I just got my credit card statement this morning and was shocked to see that my balance was well over $1,000. I mean, I knew that I spent a lot of money last month, but I guess I didn’t realize just how much it was. I reviewed all the charges, and everything is indeed accurate, so that means I’m on the hook for a ton of cash.

Since there’s no way I’m going to be able to pay off the whole thing by the due date, I’m going to get stuck with a huge finance charge. I absolutely hate paying credit card interest! It’s so high and feels like such a waste, ya know?

What I might end up doing instead is taking advantage of a 0% balance transfer. That would allow me to pay off my debt slowly without worrying about interest rates at all — as long as I get everything paid off in a reasonable amount of time, that is.

I usually don’t get into financial binds like this anymore, so I figure one balance transfer won’t hurt. Let’s see if these offers are as good as they sound!

If you think identity theft is something that would never happen to you, then you’re actually leaving yourself vulnerable to this kind of fraud. Even if you are extremely careful about how and where you transmit your vital information online and shred any documents containing your credit card and bank account numbers before throwing them away, identity theft is still a very real possibility. Just think of all the news stories we hear about bank or government employees who lose laptops and files full of sensitive data. Incidents like that are completely out of your control, and yet could still lead to a multitude of problems.

That’s why it’s important to take a proactive approach to protecting your identity by signing up with a service like lifelock. Lifelock is a company that provides identity theft protection for individuals, families, and even children by setting up fraud alerts on their behalf. Then, if someone tries to open a new account, get new credit cards, or apply for a loan using a name listed in an alert, the bank or financial institution will be required to verify that person’s identity. In short, Lifelock is an extra safeguard that will protect you when all of your other precautions fail.

It could take months or even years to undo all the damage caused by identity theft, so signing up for Lifelock seems like a good idea. Check out their website today to learn more about the valuable services they provide!

Overcrowding is a very real problem in America’s public school classrooms today, making it nearly impossible for teachers to provide each child with individual attention. As a result, kids who need extra assistance with certain concepts or subjects aren’t likely to receive that help at school. That’s why more and more parents are turning to private Tutoring to pick up where the schools leave off.

Finding the right tutor is a difficult task that’s made easier thanks to companies like Club Z! Tutoring Services. Club Z! specializes in providing students of all ages with qualified, degreed tutors that can help deliver great results. From math and science to writing, foreign languages, and standardized test prep, Club Z! can give your child the help needed to improve academic performance and boost self-confidence.

For more information about Club Z! services and locations, visit their website today at http://clubztutoring.com/. Better grades are just a few clicks away!

My best friend went to Cancun for her honeymoon a few years ago, and absolutely raved about the 10 days she spent there. From beautiful beaches to exciting activities and extraordinary service, she swore that it was the closest she’s ever been to paradise!

Well, ever since then, I’ve wanted to visit Mexico with my husband. We’ve only been south of the border once, when we crossed over to Tijuana while visiting San Diego. That hardly qualifies as seeing or experiencing Mexico, so we’re currently looking into Cancun Vacations instead.

There are a bunch of different vacation packages out there, but we’re leaning towards one of the all-inclusive deals offered by Karisma Hotels. From everything I’ve read about Karisma Hotels, I have a feeling that they would be perfect for us. They have superb properties, delicious gourmet food, and competitive prices, so if we do end up going to Cancun, you can bet we’ll stay with them!

Although my finances are significantly better today than they were 10 years ago, I can still clearly remember what it was like to have thousands of dollars in credit card debt and no way to pay it off. Even though I was working full-time, I was only bringing home about $350 a week after taxes. Between rent, groceries, gasoline, utilities, and incidental expenses, there wasn’t much money left over to put towards my credit card bills. I was paying the minimum $20 per month, which of course didn’t even make a dent in my total balance.

I used to lie awake at night worrying about my financial situation. Creditors were hounding me at home and at work, and I was scared to pick up my mail because of all the letters I was getting from collection agencies. I really saw no way out.

Finally, I just couldn’t take the constant worrying anymore, so I decided to talk to a credit counselor to see what could be done about my bills. I wasn’t looking to file for bankruptcy or skip out on my obligations; I wanted a legitimate way to get out of debt.

During my free consultation, the credit counselor told me that a debt consolidation loan would likely be my best bet. I could get a loan to pay off my high interest credit card bills, and have a much more manageable monthly payment instead. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to go for it.

It turns out that debt consolidation was the right move for me. It took years of hard work and financial discipline, but I eventually got back on my feet again. I’m proud to say that I’m still debt free to this day.

If you’re tired of constantly worrying about your finances, I recommend checking out the resources at DebtConsolidation.com today. That site offers a wide range of services — including debt analysis, credit repair, mortgage refinancing, and bankruptcy advice — that are designed to help you get out of debt once and for all.

Their services look very similar to the one that I used years ago, so I think they’re worth a try. And believe me when I say that you’ll rest easier when you no longer have all that debt hanging over your head all the time!

My husband and I usually have very different tastes when it comes to pastimes and hobbies, but inline skating is a sport that we both love to watch and participate in. When the weather is nice, we go for many long, leisurely skates around the huge retention pond a few blocks away from our house. We’ve also been known to grab our sticks and pads for a game of roller hockey with the neighborhood teens, and we’re always glued to the TV whenever a skating competition (such as the X Games) is on.

This summer, we’re making it a point to attend a few rollerblading events and exhibitions in person, so I’m already checking around to see if anything good is coming to Chicago. A quick online search brought me to a great website that I’d never seen before. It’s called Inline Planet, and it provides a lot of news and information about inline skating, including product reviews, tips and tricks, and a forum where skating enthusiasts can gather to chat.

More importantly for my purposes, Inline Planet also has a page that lists major skating events throughout the country. It’s organized by month, so I clicked on “July” and saw that the Chicagoland Inline Marathon will take place on July 26th in Hoffman Estates. That’s just 20 minutes away from us, which is perfect. I’ve already marked our calendar!

Needless to say, Inline Planet is now my favorite new skating website. I have a feeling I’ll be checking there several times a day in order to stay updated — and I recommend that you do the same!

One of my uncles is a very creative man who has several patents to his name. These patents are for some cool gadgets and devices designed to make life a bit easier — the kinds of things you might see being promoted in a late-night infomercial.

In fact, I’ve been trying to convince my uncle that he should look into trying to sell some of his products on TV instead of just relying on mail order and word-of-mouth. I have a feeling he could make some good money if more people were aware of his inventions.

Of course, TV marketing is an excellent, cost-effective way to reach a large number of prospective buyers quickly and efficiently. The key to success in TV marketing is to work with a good advertising agency with lots of verifiable experience in this medium.

On a whim, I started checking around for agencies that might be able to help my uncle put his products on television, and I came across one called Hawthorne Direct that looks very promising.

Hawthorne Direct has been involved in television advertising and marketing for more than two decades, and in that time they’ve helmed over 600 campaigns for both Fortune 500 companies and small-business owners alike. Their website is full of great information for prospective clients, including samples of their past work so you can see exactly what Hawthorne Direct is capable of doing.

I am going to do my best to try to get my uncle to consider marketing his products on television and to visit the Hawthorne Direct site. Maybe this could be just the push he needs to take his business to the next level!

While I was paying bills today, I noticed that I owed my credit card company a bit more than expected. I couldn’t figure out why until I started reading the fine print: I was paying nearly 17% APR on my purchases!

Now, I’m not naive, so I know full well that this is how credit card companies earn their money. It’s just that I usually pay off my entire balance each month so the interest rate has never been a factor for me. But now that the economy is slumping and finances are a bit tighter for us, I’m more or less forced to carry a balance.

That’s why I’m thinking that a new, low interest rate credit card might be in order. I have an excellent credit rating, and should be able to put that to work in my favor by taking advantage of special offers that might not be available to everyone.

I don’t want to waste time going to individual bank websites to examine their different offerings, so I decided to just visit Creditnet instead. Creditnet is a company that finds all the best credit card offers currently available, and puts them on a single site. This makes it easier for consumers like me to compare offers and apply for any cards that I’m interested in.

The Creditnet navigation menu is simple to use. I clicked on the link for “Good Credit”, and was instantly shown about 15 different cards to review. Several of them featured 0% APR on purchases for the first 12 months, so those are the ones I’m going to focus on for now.

Anyway, if you need a better credit card than the one you’re currently using, check out Creditnet today. They can help you find a card even if you have bad credit, no credit, or are a student, so I’m sure you’ll get what you need over there!

After months of saving, research, comparison shopping, and test driving, we finally took delivery of our brand-new van over the weekend! We’re extremely happy with the way the entire purchasing process went down, and had no major missteps or snags along the way.

But we’re not quite finished yet, as there are still a few details that we have to take care of. For example, we have to take the van in to have an after-market DVD player installed. It’s a very nice player that set us back more than $500, so we definitely want to get that thing up and running as soon as possible.

In addition, we haven’t canceled our Truck Insurance yet even though we traded in the Silverado when we picked up our van.

And speaking of insurance, we have to start shopping around for a long-term insurance policy for our new vehicle. We had trouble finding a good deal on insurance, so we decided to just get a temporary one-month policy for the time being. Now we have to get serious about figuring out what kind of coverage we want, collecting quotes, and then picking the best deal.

On second thought, maybe all of that can wait another week or two. In the meantime, we’ll be out driving around in our brand new vehicle!

When I was in school studying for my business degree, I had a particularly progressive professor who stressed the importance of networking, mentoring, and coaching. She believed that career advancement and success is a lot easier to come by when a person has a solid support system to rely on.

Though I didn’t stick around the corporate world long enough to put any of my old prof’s advice to work, a number of my classmates did. I still keep in touch with a lot of them, and am not surprised to hear that business mentoring plays a large role in their careers. Almost all of my former b-school buddies have had a mentor at some point, or have used the services of a company like ActionCOACH.

I’d heard about ActionCOACH before, but had never looked into their services prior to today. I spent some time reviewing their website, and was impressed by the amount of information available. Unlike other companies that I’ve dealt with in the past, ActionCOACH spells out exactly what they can do for your business. They not only identify reasons why you need a business coach, but also show how their experts are uniquely qualified to get the job done.

Out of curiosity, I decided to try to find an ActionCOACH in my area. After just a few clicks, I found a list of seven coaches that fit the bill. Each one is located within a reasonable driving distance from where I currently work, and each has a nice biography posted on the ActionCOACH site. If I were truly in need of a coach right now, it would have been a simple matter to read through the biographies to select the expert whose business philosophy most closely resembles mine.

If you’re considering finding a business mentor or coach, you would do well to check out the ActionCOACH website today. There’s a wealth of information about the ways in which ActionCOACH can help businesses of all sizes, so I’m sure they’ve got the right coach for you!

With the way the economy is lagging these days, I know a lot of people who are in need of financial assistance. Some of them simply need a couple hundred dollars to keep creditors at bay until their next paycheck, while others are in considerably more trouble and need a sizable loan to stay afloat.

Those who fall into the latter category might want to check out the extensive range of financial services offered by Countrywide. I was browsing through the Countrywide.com website today, and noticed that they have several different programs in place to help people get out of debt.

For example, consumers can get a Home Equity Loan at a very competitive rate, take out a home equity line of credit, apply for a cash-out refinance loan, or consolidate their debts. All of these programs can provide quick financial relief to those who need it the most, so they’re definitely worth considering.

Fortunately, my family is hanging in there for the time being. But if our situation changes in the near future to the point where we need a loan of some sort to make it through the tough times, I’ll be checking back with Countrywide for sure!