Website Recommendation: iStorez.com

If you've been stopping at this blog for a while, you've more than likely learned a bit about what I like and what I don't like. You know that I like saving money and finding deals and you also know that I don't like getting spam email. Today's site recommendation addresses both of those subjects!

IStorez.com is a new site that wants to help you save money and offer you a customized shopping experience. Have you ever bought anything online and then, in the weeks that follow, you start getting emails from the company advertising other specials, etc.? I absolutely hate that - so I usually unsubscribe once they start coming in. The problem is that those emails often contain special deals, coupons, etc. that you only know about if you read the newsletter/email/catalog (whatever they want to call the email they send you). IStorez takes care of that by cataloguing all of the email newsletter thingys that companies send out and displaying them on their site - so you don't have to get them in your email!

IStorez takes things a step further though. They allow you to create your own shopping profile and then they present you with just the stores you want to see. Think of walking through a mall where every store was one that you pre-selected ahead of time as one you are interested in. Then, think of having access to all the coupons, specials, 'insider info', etc. for each store. That's what this site does.

I think this site is really cool. It might not change the way I shop online because I'll probably still go through one of the rebate sites directly to the stores I'm interested in. It may, however, change the way I look for merchandise online. Check it out!

Zeitgeist - Fact or Fiction?

This may be old news to some of you. Apparently there was a movie released straight to YouTube back in July called 'Zeitgeist'. It's a 2 hour movie that makes a number of claims debunking Christianity, calling the events of 9/11 a conspiracy, and claiming that the international banking community will form the basis of a New World Order. I hadn't heard about it until my sister-in-law sent me a link to a 9 minute snippet of the film. This is that snippet:



When I got the email, I was asked my opinion on it - whether it was valid or not. My initial reaction after watching it is that this type of film is really not that much different than the type of stuff presented in 'The Davinci Code' or 'Angels & Demons'. Essentially the point (as I interpreted it) was to convince the viewer that Christianity is simply a derivation of other religions (nothing new in that claim - it's been around for years - and many of our traditions may well be just that) and that there is an international conspiracy going on to create a new world order/police state. I find that highly unlikely. This, to me, is repackaged garbage that's been floating around in different formats forever. Keep this fact in mind - this is a MOVIE - it's designed to cause stir/buzz/reaction. It certainly does that. But that does not mean it's factual. Call me a skeptic, but I think this is manipulation and fear mongering. That's just me - you judge for yourself!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Website Recommendation: JohnnyJet.com

There are tons of travel sites on the internet - Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline - you name it. As a matter of fact, sometimes I get a little confused trying to figure out which site has the best deals (they each have their own specially negotiated package deals by the way). It's simply a case of information overload!

The site I'm recommending today is not going to help you with that problem - it has a lot of information on it. What it is going to do, however, is something that none of the big travel sites do. JohnnyJet.com is a web portal (a site that contains links to other sites). Of course it links to all the big travel sites like the ones I just mentioned. But - and this is the cool part - it also links to almost every other type of travel site imaginable. That is something that the big sites just don't do.

This site contains links to literally every travel topic I could think of. Examples include travelling with pets, environmentally friendly hotels, packing lists for traveling with kids, where to find a gym in the city you're travelling to. You get my point. If you are planning a trip or need information on a destination, this is a site to check out. Enjoy!

Don't Look at Your Home as an Investment

Britney and I got married at her church in Arkansas and one of the pre-requisites for marrying at the church was attending a couple of marriage preparation workshops. At one of the workshops, a professor from the University of Arkansas came and discussed financial topics. One of the things that stood out to me most at the time was his insistance that a house should not be treated as an investment but, rather, should be viewed as an expense. I didn't understand that at the time - as I'd always heard that a house is one of the best investments you can make. After my year of heavy home-related costs in 2007 and seeing what's happening in the real estate market of late, however, I'm beginning to see his logic.

SmartMoney ran an article about this very subject back in 2002 and it does a far better job explaining why a home is an expense rather than an investment than I could do in a brief blog post. Take a minute to read the article.

The gist of it is that even with a nice appreciation rate, the costs associated with home ownership (closing costs, maintenance, taxes, insurance, broker fees, etc.) offset the benefits from tax breaks and appreciation. Home ownership does free you from the black hole of renting and can, if done correctly, allow you to free up some of your income (especially in the future when your mortgage payment on the loan you got years ago likely will look small compared to current market rates). That income can then be put into some wiser investment choices.

It's an interesting premise. Check it out.

Money Saving Tip: 5% Off On Almost Everything

How would you like to save 5% on almost every single thing you buy? It's now possible thanks to the Citi CashReturns card! This is one of the highest cash back offers I've seen and is definitely one you should look into.

Here's the catch - the 5% cash back offer is only good for 3 months. After the introductory period, the cash back rate drops to 1% - which is not as good as several other cards on the market (I'll post more on that later). Don't let that stop you from looking at this card though. Unlike many other cards, this card doesn't give the cash back on a limited set of categories - this thing pays out on EVERYTHING you buy on it. Given that we're entering into tax season, you can even pay your income tax with this credit card. Since it's winter, you're also likely to have higher energy and/or gas bills this time of year that can be paid on the credit card too!

I looked at the websites of all my major bills - cable, phone, power, and gas and all of them offer credit card bill payment. Some charge a convenience fee for the service - but none of those fees added up to more than 5% of the bill - so I'd still be making money even after paying the service charge. I've read reports of a number of people making upwards of $1000 in 3 months with this card. I suppose, if you wanted to get a little crazy, you could even try to 'trick the system' and make some extra cash by doing things like loading up on gift cards at your favorite retailers or paying estimated taxes and overpaying (you'd end up getting a tax refund and the 5%).

Take a look and give it some thought. With a little planning you could make a nice little sum to put into savings!

Show Your Support for Autism Speaks

Having a baby has definitely forced me to get informed about a lot of potential problems that children can have. One of the scariest and most significant problems children commonly face is autism.

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.

There is something that each of us can do to help support autism. It's really easy, takes about 3 minutes and won't cost you a dime. John Ondrasik, lead singer of the pop group 'Five for Fighting', has pledged his support for autism by agreeing to give $0.49 cents each time a video is viewed at the AutismSpeaks.org site. This is a legitimate pledge. You can read about his pledge here and view the video HERE.

Do it today and help show your support for autism. Watch the video!

Bailey's First Birthday

We enjoyed celebrating Bailey's first birthday with family and a few friends over the weekend. Britney did a great job putting the party together and Bailey enjoyed all of the presents and attention. If you weren't in attendance, I offer the following short video clip for your enjoyment!

One Month Coupon Strategy

My wife just sent me a really interesting link to a posting over at The Simple Dollar. The post is about a new strategy for using coupons. Here is the LINK.

The basic premise is that coupons are issued by companies as the first step in a product push. After the coupon comes out, the company waits a few weeks and then puts the item on sale (to try and induce a repeat purchase) - the second step in the product push. Knowing this, your best strategy for using coupons is to simply pull the coupon section out of your Sunday paper and then sit on them for one month. In a month's time, clip the coupons that you're interested in and head to the stores. There's a high probability that the items that you have coupons for will now be on sale as the company is now in the second phase of the product push. Combining the store's sale price with your coupon can often mean walking out of the store with HUGE savings!

Great post and great idea. Read for yourself!

I Guess This Was To Be Expected

Given that I live in Charlotte (home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame), I guess I should have expected what took place last week. Our NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats, had 'NASCAR Night'. Teams do promotional nights all the time and the Bobcats probably do more than most given the lack of attendance. I've got no problem with having a 'NASCAR night' or any other night that they want to have to get people excited. I don't even have a problem with them giving away Bobcats cars or having cars on display or whatever. I do, however, have a problem with the hideous checkered flag design they incorporated into their uniforms for the game.

I drove by the team store yesterday on the way home from work and they've got this disgusting design on display in the window of the store. Please - be a sensible person and do not buy anything related to this whole concept. We must ensure that this never, ever happens again!

Now THAT is a Sweet Tattoo

I'll admit it, I've got ink. My tattoo is small, discreet and totally sweet. It's starting to fade a little with age and the ink is starting to bleed together a little bit making it harder to discern exactly what the tattoo is - but it's totally awesome nonetheless. Over the years, I've considered getting additional tattoos. I figure that once you take that first step by getting one, what's another ten or twenty? Part of the problem, however, is deciding exactly what I would want to get done. Here are a couple of tattoos that I will NOT be getting:

Now don't get me wrong, I love corn dogs as much as the next guy. I also like Indians. I just don't like the combo of naked Indians and corn dogs. It's that simple. If this was a singular corn dog, it'd be under consideration. As it stands, however, this is off the list.

Why would anyone consider getting a tattoo of Clay Aiken looking like this?! Now - if you could get a tattoo of the new & improved Clay Aiken, that would be a sweet tattoo. This one though? No way. I may be interested in a Scott Savol tattoo however.

I'll bet the rest of the guys in the biker gang had a good laugh at this guy's expense. I can picture it now - you join a tough gang, they take you to the tattoo parlor to get the requisite ink job indicating that you're an official member, you sit in a chair for 8 hours wondering why the other guys are snickering, and you get up and see this finished product. I will NOT be that guy. I haven't decided yet what my next one will be if there is a next one - but these 3 tattoos are out of the running.

There are more bad tattoos that you can enjoy HERE. The article does make mention of several things one should never get tattooed - including (strangely enough) punctuation marks. Why is that strange? Because I happen to have a friend that reads this blog regularly that actually has a tattoo of punctuation marks!! Seriously! Ha! The joke's on him!

Website Recommendation: RealClearPolitics.com

As we inch closer and closer to Super Tuesday, I find myself doing more 'digging' - looking around for good articles and analysis on the candidates and their campaigns. RealClearPolitics.com is a site that makes this really simple.

This site scours the net for you and brings all the analysis and information to one place. Relevant articles from all of the countries major newspapers (LA Times, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.), media outlets, and major magazines are presented every morning and updates are made throughout the day as new articles are posted. Additionally, the site has information on the latest opinion polls, party-specific analysis, videos of the candidates (like when they do those guest spots on the late night shows), and transcripts of major speeches and debates.

I've seen a lot of political sites recently and this one is as comprehensive and easy to use as any I've seen. If you need or want more information than what you're getting or finding on your own, this is the site to use!

The Resurgence of Baylor Basketball

UPDATE: In case you missed the news, Baylor won against Texas A&M in FIVE OVERTIMES. I've never even heard of a game going into five OTs!?

Those of you that know me know that I'm from a Baylor family. My parents, brother, sister, wife, aunt, and uncle all went to Baylor (weird I know). As such, I've grown up following Baylor athletics - albeit from a far distance and with pretty casual interest. What is happening this season with Baylor's basketball program is nothing short of remarkable, however, and more people should pay attention to what's going on.

Five years ago, Baylor endured one of the biggest scandals in NCAA history. A player on the team was murdered by a teammate. The coach at the time, in an attempt to cover improper tuition payments made for two players, asked assistant coaches and players to portray the dead student as a drug dealer. The NCAA, after reviewing the evidence, nearly imposed the death penalty on the program and Baylor was very nearly removed from the Big 12. It really doesn't get any more messed up than this.

Jump ahead five years and you'll find the Baylor men's basketball team ranked in the top 25 for the first time in 39 years (and ranked in both the men's and women's polls at the same time for the first time in history)! At 15-2, the team is also off to its best start in 63 years and is sitting atop the standings in the Big 12 - a conference that features traditional powers like Kansas and Texas. Tonight they play one of the biggest games in school history - on the road at #18 Texas A&M.

Blair Kerkhoff has an interesting story on the program's resurgence in today's Kansas City Star. If you like college basketball, are interested in Baylor, or want to know how a team has literally returned from the edge of extinction, check it out!

Interest Rate Cut Has Immediate Impacts

Yesterday's interest rate cut is already impacting me! Just a week or so ago, I recommended the E*Trade High Yield Savings account as a better alternative to those offered by HSBC, Emigrant Direct, and ING Direct. I logged on this morning to check my balance and overnight they've dropped their rate from 5.05% to 4.40%. With another interest rate cut expected when the Fed mets next week, I suspect the rates on online savings accounts will continue to fall.

So...what to do? Well, first of all, let me recommend the Rate Chaser Calculator from My Money Blog. This is a neat tool that will help you figure out whether or not it's worth your time to move your money around based on rates offered by different banks. According to the calculator, it'd take me 255 days to make up the lost interest if I were to move the funds from E*Trade back to Emigrant Direct - so it looks like I'll sit tight for a little while.

I am, however, considering looking into locking down a fixed rate by putting my emergency fund money into a short term CD. From the looks of things, there are still some banks out there offering over 5% on 6 and 7 month CDs. That takes away some of my liquidity and I'd have to forfeit the interest gains if I actually needed to touch the money before the CD matures I'm not entirely sold on that idea. Nonetheless - be aware that these rate cuts we're hearing about in the news will trigger a lot of activity by the banks so watch your accounts to make sure you know how you're being impacted!

Is the Sky Falling?

Today's opening bell saw our financial markets take a serious fall and the Fed take emergency action for the first time since 9/11. Couple this with all the talk we've heard for months about the economy teetering on the verge of recession (if we're not already in one) and one could not be blamed for thinking that the sky may, in fact, be falling.

I get a little irritated by all the doom and gloom talk. Nobody in the media seems to cover the analysts that are saying that we're NOT heading for a crash landing. I guess negativism sells more papers and gets higher ratings but it also gets depressing and I eventually start tuning it out.

If you are curious, there are analysts out there that do believe that the extent of the problems we're seeing is being exagerated. Norman Fosback, editor of Fosback's Fund Forecaster, stated on Monday that the strength of the global economy should help keep this recession mild - if one even happens at all. If you're not familiar with Norman (I wasn't), he's been publishing forecasts with a high degree of accuracy since the mid-1970s.

Head to MarketWatch to read more about what Norman Fosback had to say about our current situation.

Another Trip Down Memory Lane: WishBookWeb.com

One of the problems I have with the web is that it likes to eat up all my time. I'll stumble across a website and start looking around and the next thing I know, 3 hours have gone by. WishBookWeb.com is that kind of site.

As a kid, my Christmas list was created by sitting down with the Sears or Penny's catalog and dog-earing page after page of toys, Dallas Cowboys stuff, etc. WishBookWeb.com is a site that contains the entire contents of many of those catalogs. The site owners have taken great detail to take the catalogs apart and scan in each and every page - meaning you can thumb through the entire 1979 (and many other years) Sears catalog on the site. Just looking at some of this stuff brings back the memories. It's pretty funny to see the technology in some of these catalogs too. If you have several hours to kill, give it a look!

Oh yeah - that picture of the boy in the Cowboys jacket - I had that exact getup (hat and all). I remember watching the NFC Championship in 1982 when the Cowboys lost to the 49ers on Dwight Clark's famous catch. I got so upset after that game that I took a magic marker and drew tear drops on the little Cowboys patch. Similarly, last week after the Cowboys lost to the Giants, I drew tear drops on one of my suit coats.

Save Money on Your Next Ski Trip

Britney and I have been contemplating taking a winter vacation and have discussed the possibility of going skiing. Sure, we could go skiing close to home in the mountains of West Virginia or North Carolina - but if you've ever been skiing out west, you pretty much ruin any chance of enjoying a NC or WV ski trip ever again. It's just not the same - huge mountains with natural snow and scenic beauty vs. snow guns blowing ice in your face as you dodge the other 2000 people that are there.

Ski trips, however, are expensive. Flights to your destination and lodging are both expensive this time of year. Then, once you're there, you have to rent skis (unless you have your own) and buy lift tickets (which are expensive almost everywhere). I have, however, found a couple of ways to make our next ski trip less expensive and I thought I'd share them with you.

Liftopia.com is a site that offers discounted lift tickets at a number of east and west coast resorts. The premise is pretty simple - you buy the lift tickets in advance with a no refund policy (locking in revenue for the mountain) and in exchange, they'll give you a better price. Some of the bigger resorts (Vail, Aspen, etc.) have no need to discount their tickets since they'll be crowded anyway but if you're willing to ski at a smaller resort (Arapahoe Basin, Copper, etc.), this looks like a good way to save.

Skicoupons.com advertises itself as a site for discounted lift tickets as well. I honestly didn't find much here in the way of discounted lift tickets though. What I did find, however, were links to local retailers in the area for each resort and those links had discounts for ski rentals, accomodations, etc. In a quick 5 minute search, I found several places offering 20-40% discounts on ski rentals at each of the resorts I was considering. Not too shabby!

My final recommendation - and this one can really save you big $$$ - is to use Ebay. Go to Ebay, type in the name of the resort you're visiting, and see what comes up. Most of the time I find big discounts here. People buy multi-day tickets and don't use up the whole thing so they sell off the remainder. Sometimes people get discount vouchers when something goes wrong but they're not going back anytime soon so they sell the voucher. You name it - all kinds of discounts can be had on Ebay.

Skiing is a sport that's kind of like golf - it's expensive no matter how you do it. There are, however, ways to make it more affordable if you're willing to do a little looking around. Never, ever pay full price for lift tickets by buying them at the slopes. Ask the locals where to buy them off site (I've bought them from gas stations in the area before). Shop around on ski rentals - prices vary widely. Skiing affordably is hard - but it CAN be done! Enjoy!

Dang There's a Lot of Them!?

I'm sure by now we're all familiar with the fact that Mitt Romney, one of the Republican Presidential candidates, is Mormon. I suppose that's a big deal since he's probably the first major Mormon candidate for President (yes there have been others but none that were thought to really be potential nominees).

I started thinking the other day about other famous Mormons. I think we all know that the Osmonds are Mormon. I've known for a long time that former Atlanta Brave Dale Murphy is one. Merlin Olsen is one. But I was wondering whether there are any mainstream, currently popular people that are. It turns out that there are a TON of them:

Amy Adams - actress (Enchanted, Charlie Wilson's War, etc.)
Eliza Dushku - actress (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Aaron Eckhart - actor (Thank You for Smoking, The Black Dahlia)
Ryan Gosling - actor (The Notebook, Half-Nelson)
Jon Heder - actor (Napoleon Dynamite)
Katherine Heigl - actress (Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up)
Matthew Modine - actor (Vision Quest, Pacific Heights, Full Metal Jacket)
Kelly Packard - actress (Baywatch, California Dreams)
Aaron Ruell - actor (Kip from Napoleon Dynamite)
Paul Walker - actor (The Fast and the Furious, Eight Below)

Diamond Rio - country band
The Jets - 80s pop band
The Killers - modern rock band
Gladys Knight - R&B legend
SHeDAISY - country band

Bobby Crosby - Oakland A's - 2004 American League Rookie of the Year
Kyle Farnsworth - New York Yankees
Roy Halladay - Toronto Blue Jays, 2003 American League Cy Young Winner
Jeff Kent - LA Dodgers, 5 time All Star, 2000 NL MVP
Harmon Killebrew - baseball Hall of Fame

Andy Reid - Philadelphia Eagles head coach
Sean Salisbury - ESPN commentator, former NFL QB
Danny White - former Dallas Cowboys QB
Steve Young - NFL Hall of Fame QB

I seriously could go on and on. If you're interested in finding out who else is on the list, check out FamousMormons.net. Now - why do I bring this up? I guess it's just out of curiousity. I have my own personal opinions about Mormonism but I'll save those for another day. I'm just frankly surprised that there are so many well-known Mormons. I guess I just figured they'd primarily be athletes from the colleges in Utah and a few random celebrities here and there. Guess I was wrong?!

Stop Going Over on Your Cell Phone Bill

I've talked to two different people recently that had overage charges (big ones) on recent cell phone bills. I have a lot of minutes on my monthly plan - but to be honest, I never check it during the month. One of these days I may go over and that's when the painful part comes. One family member (that will remain anonymous) had a serious text message overage recently that cost more than $200.00. That's a lot of money.

Fortunately, there's a nifty little piece of free software that you can download that should help. The software is from WatchMyCell.com and it runs on your computer and logs into your online cell phone account every 3 hours. If/when you get close to going over, the tool will send you an email to let you know. You'll never have an overage again!

The software currently works for Sprint/Nextel, Cingular/AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. If you're worried about getting slammed with a big bill the next time you use too many minutes, give it a try!

Website Recommendation: SearchKindly.com

I know I posted a search site recommendation yesterday but I have another one for you today. One of my 'regular readers' (oh yeah - that's right - I've got regular readers now), Shannon, pointed out that the site I recommended yesterday (CatchTomorrow.com) only makes money if people click on the site's ads. Some people never click on ads and, thus, while the premise is good, it may never make much money. The site I'm recommending today works differently.

SearchKindly.com is a search site that works just like Google or Yahoo and they make money simply by DISPLAYING ads. Nobody has to click on them - the advertisers on the site are paying for exposure. All you have to do is go there and do a search - just like you would on Google or Yahoo. Now - where does this money go? You have a say in that as well!

SearchKindly.com searches benefit charitable organizations. In the past few months, money has gone to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Second Chance Animal Rescue, etc. On the SearchKindly.com home page there's a poll available and the users vote for which charity should receive the money. If you like the charities posted, vote for one and start using the site for searches. If you don't like this week's charities, come back next week and they have different ones available for voting. Even better, you can actually suggest charities to the site if you have one that you're particularly interested in helping!

I'm going to email the guys over at CatchTomorrow.com to clear up exactly how they make their money. In the meanwhile, use SearchKindly.com for your searches and do some good for a charity!

Website Recommendation: CatchTomorrow.com

As a former school teacher, I can personally attest to the need for improvement in America's public schools. Today's website recommendation is aiming to do just that - put their money toward something we can all get behind - improvement of the country's education system.

CatchTomorrow.com is a search site that promises to give 50% of the revenue they generate to your school system of choice. That's right - you indicate where you live or what system you're interested in helping and they give 50% of their revenue to those school systems. Given that search engines generate over $8 BILLION per year in ad revenue, that's not some small chunk of change.

CatchTomorrow.com also has the ability to act as your internet homepage. You can set the page up to have all kinds of different tools on it - check your email from your homepage, search dictionary.com from your homepage, get local weather, etc. HERE is the link to tell you about how the page works, how to set it up (if you want to use it for your homepage), etc. Even cooler - if you only want to search and don't care about setting up a homepage for yourself, you can head over to CatchTomorrow.org - the same site but with only the search functionality.

I know we all go to Google for every search we do - but maybe if enough of us start using this site instead, we can actually do something positive for our educational system. Give it a try!

Taking a Stroll Down Memory Lane

I'll go ahead and tell you before you read any further. This post is probably interesting to exactly one person - ME. I'm writing it anyway.

The other day I was day dreaming (something I do frequently when bored) and started thinking about my dream of being a music star. For those of you that don't know me, I once dreamed of having long hair and playing in a rock band. For those of you that do know me, that may also come as a surprise given my current lack of hair.

Anyway - as a teenager I had this dream of being in a band, touring the country, playing in front of millions, etc. I was in a couple of garage bands (Eternity, Crossfire, Freewill to name a few) and we did a few shows here and there but nothing really ever came of it. We moved away during my junior year of high school or I'm pretty sure I'd be a huge star right now. What a cruel twist of fate.

At that time, there were a couple of bands that I idolized and one of them is the guys in the picture - Paragon. I used to stay over at a friend's house whose parents let us go see their shows and stay out really late (my parents would not have let me go and probably had no idea that I did go until this very instant! Surprise!). These guys were the kings of the Charlotte scene and I felt like I had an in with them since Marc, their guitar player, knew my family. I did a search for Paragon the other day and low and behold they have their own MySpace site - dedicated to the band and the music from back in the day. I was so excited about hearing the songs again that I just had to post about it!

I think I'll talk to Britney about getting the band back together!

Fight the Addiction

I don't know exactly what's going on with my lips these days but I'm having the hardest time keeping them from peeling/cracking/etc. Winter is usually bad but this winter has been worse than any other for me. I've already gone through about 5 tubes of lip balm since the end of November but, after watching this video from CBS News, I think I may be making the problem worse.

If you don't want to watch the video, here's the synopsis. Lip balm can be completely addicting. People get addicted to the sensation of having something on their lips, to the tingling sensation that some balms give, etc. The doctor in the clip recommends avoiding any lip balm that contains camphor, menthol, phenol, salicylic acid, or flavorings. Anything that makes your lips tingle is going to eventually serve as a drying agent rather than a moisturizer (I did not know that!). I put Mentholatum on my lips every night before bed - that might be part of my problem.

If you feel like you need to moisturize your lips, the doctor recommends using Vasoline (petroleum jelly), wax, aloe, vitamin E, or lanolin. We recently bought some petroleum jelly/lanolin ointment for Bailey so maybe I'll try that. Nevertheless, it's time to break the addiction!

God Save the Wii

In yet another sign of the Apocalypse, this story that I heard on the radio this morning turns out to be true. Apparently Queen Elizabeth is addicted to the Wii. Prince William got the thing for Christmas and now he never gets to play it because the Queen is addicted to Nintendo bowling.

Read it for yourself HERE.

I'm Reeling...

Sorry for the lack of posts today. Frankly I'm still reeling from yesterday's Cowboys game. I'm a die-hard, life long Cowboys fan and yesterday's loss was just added another chapter to what's becoming a long list of disappointments. Last year's dropped snap was painful but Dallas wasn't as good last year as they were this year. This year's loss was just a collapse. Missed tackles, no pass protection, dropped passes - it literally made my stomach hurt.

Between the current state of Georgia Tech sports, the Cowboys exiting in the first round of the playoffs, and my fantasy football team absolutely collapsing down the stretch, I'm on the verge of giving up sports or punching a hole in the wall. I'll let you know which one I go with.

Website Recommendation: Handy Magazine

As I've stated before, I'm not particularly handy. Because of said deficiency, if there's something that needs to get done around my house (and Britney doesn't know how to do it), we're either calling her step-dad or looking it up online to figure out how it's done. The site I'm recommending today, Handy Magazine, is a really good site for doing just that - finding out how to get things done.

The 'magazine' is really an online magazine/site that features a whole database of projects with step by step pictures to guide you along the way. It also has good forums where you can post specific questions and have people who actually ARE handy answer them. There are member reviews of products too - so you know which brand of multi-purpose vise is worth buying.

So - next time you need to get something done around the house, check out this site and you may find some tips, time-savers, or better ways to get it done. Enjoy.

High Yield Savings Rates Drop Again

I've discussed the merits of using high yield savings accounts in the past. At the time, I recommended two banks that I've since stopped using: HSBC and Emigrant Direct. I stopped using HSBC a month or two ago when they dropped their interest rate down to 4.25%. At the time, I moved all my funds to Emigrant Direct which was offering 4.65%. Today, I find out that Emigrant Direct is dropping their online savings rate to 4.55%. That's enough to prompt me to seek out better returns!

E*Trade has an online account that is offering 5.05% with no minimum deposit. They're also paying a $25.00 bonus for new accounts - more than enough to make up for any interest you'll lose while your funds are in transit. The link to use to get the account is HERE.

One Good Thing about the TV Writers Strike

I'll admit it - this tv writers strike is starting to bug me. The ads that are starting to run for the upcoming 'reality' shows are pretty bad. I'm not the least bit interested in shows about dancing teams, choirs, or lie detector tests. I am, however, interested in seeing my favorite show, Friday Night Lights, survive the strike and make it to a 3rd season.

According to this article in Variety magazine, I may be in luck. Apparently 'Friday Night Lights' had more shows filmed than most others so, once everybody else goes to reruns or horrible reality shows, Lights will still be airing new shows and attracting new viewers. The move to Friday night also looks to be working to the show's advantage as it now consistenly wins in its time slot and also is now the most watched drama by households making over $100K.

If you're not watching it - you're missing out!!

What's in Your Milk?

Britney and I recently had to make a decision on what kind of milk we were going to buy for Bailey. Bailey has recently made the switch from baby formula to whole milk and we're now faced with making a choice about the type of milk she should be drinking.

You may be asking why this is even an issue. I know that when Britney brought it up at the store the other day, I thought she was crazy. Whole milk is whole milk and the store brand is just fine. Wrong. All I had to do was a little digging to find out that what most of us don't know IS hurting us.

The sad fact of the matter is that, unless your milk is clearly labeled as hormone free, it contains Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). This is a hormone that was approved by the FDA in 1993 for use in dairy cows to increase their milk production. This hormone, when injected into the cow, also elevates levels of a powerful growth hormone called IGF-1. Numerous studies have linked elevated IGF-1 with increased cancer rates in humans. The studies aren't conclusive - but that's a risk that I'm not willing to take with my child.

rBGH has also proved to increase the incidence of health problems in treated cows. Mastitis, a painful udder infection, is much more common in injected cows. This is treated using antibiotics - many are the same antibiotics used to treat infections in humans. Studies are also showing that bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics is being passed to humans through dairy products - all because of the use of rBGH.

Finally, rBGH has been proven to increase other health problems in cows. Birth disorders, increased rates of pus in milk (gross), heat stress, hoof problems - all caused by the use of the rBGH hormone. That, to me, sounds like something to avoid.

How serious is this issue? Serious enough for countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and all 25 countries in the European Union to ban the use of rBGH. Unfortunately, our government has opted to allow its use.

What can you do? Well - depending on where you live, you probably have a couple of options. You can buy organic milk which is hormone free by definition. That, however, is going to cost you a pretty penny - about $2.00 more per gallon. Fortunately, in our area, there is a Trader Joe's store. Trader Joe's is one of the few grocery chains that has taken a stand against the use of hormones in their milk and their non-organic milk is rBGH free. That's the option we're taking - as their milk price is only ten cents more per gallon than our store brand.

If you want to read more about this, start HERE - a good report produced by the Physicians for Social Responsibility. Also - keep in mind that ANY dairy product made in the US is likely to contain the hormone (cheese, etc.). If you don't see the 'hormone free' label and/or it's not made in Europe or Canada, rBGH is probably in it.

3000 USAirways Dividend Miles for $4.37

If you collect USAirways Dividend Miles, there's a promotion running right now at Sharebuilder.com that gives you the opportunity to earn 686 miles per dollar spent - an AMAZING rate.

Here's how you get the miles:

1. Go to the promotion site: http://content.sharebuilder.com/mgdcon/jump/partner/usair/dmhome1207/

2. Click the 'Open an Account button'

3. Go through the enrollment process. When you get to selecting a pricing program, select the 'Basic' account.

4. Once account setup is complete, you'll need to fund your account. You can do this by setting up a link between your bank account and Sharebuilder (the easiest way) or by mailing a check in to Sharebuilder.

5. Once the account is setup and funded, schedule an 'Automatic Investment' to purchase one share of FCSE (currently trading at $0.37 per share - the cheapest stock I could find). Automatic investments cost $4.00 each and occur every Tuesday (we don't really care when they occur since we're only in it for the miles).

That's all there is to it. What we've done is open an account, fund it, and then buy one share of the cheapest stock we could find - in this case it was a share that sells for $0.37. If you can find one cheaper, the deal gets even better! Keep in mind, this promotion is for new Sharebuilder customers only - so if you've had an account there in the past, no dice. Sorry!

Making Money With Balance Transfers

One of my very first posts on Thirteen Thoughts was related to making money using no fee, 0% APR balance transfers. If you missed it the first time, you can read my first post with all of the 'how-to's' HERE.

As I mentioned in my initial post, one of the keys to making money off these offers is making sure that you pay back the balance before the introductory offer expires. I have done this 3 different times and my latest introductory offer expires on February 1. This got me thinking about doing the whole thing again and I quickly noticed that the good introductory offers are drying up fast! Last year, when I looked into the no fee, 0% APR offers, I bet there were 15 different cards to choose from. Today I can only find two:

Citi Home Rebate Platinum Select - 12 months of no interest and no fee on your initial balance transfer

Citi Professional Cash Card - 12 months of no interest, no fee on initial balance transfer

Looks like Citibank might be the only financial institution still offering these deals. Anyway - if you're interested in making some extra money by parking some funds in a high-yield savings account, you should get on it soon as these offers look like they're on the way out!

How To Avoid Colds & Flu

Interesting article posted over at Readers Digest about preventing cold & flu. They give 23 tips that can help you increase your odds of staying well. All are backed with research & backup information and some are ones that I'd never heard before. Things like:

- When washing your hands, wash them twice - research shows that one hand washing has little effect

- Lower the heat in your house by 5 degrees - dry, overheated homes are perfect for cold viruses

- Inhale air from your blow dryer - studies show that people that breath heated air have 1/2 as many cold symptoms as those who don't.

Interesting read - check it out HERE.

This is What I'm Afraid Of...

As the parent of an increasingly mobile, very inquisitive toddler, this is what I foresee in my not-too-distant future:

2008 Election - Alternatives

I've heard it from all over - people want change in 2009. If you're one of those people and you're not hearing what you want to hear from the Obamas or the Huckabees, you need to know that you have alternatives. There are literally dozens of additional candidates for you to choose from. You can see the list HERE. In the interest of your valuable time, I present to you some of your alternatives:

Steve Adams - lists his supporters by state and, if you hurry, you can probably be the first one from your state. Interests include paintball and motorcycle riding. Qualifications include having chaperoned several youth trips and outings at his local church.

Richard H. Clark - Spends two hours daily reading five newspapers and a science magazine (and has done so for 20 years). Admits to annoying flaw of being terrible with names and dates. Self-proclaimed 'friendly guy' except during work hours where's he's all business.

Don Cordell - Interesting positions on a variety of topics - really must be seen to understand (go HERE). Ideas include building an entirely new, alternative highway system for trucks (built with prison labor) and removing all toll roads (infuriated after once driving across Connecticut and having to pay tolls every 10 or 15 miles). Willing to speak to organizations and is fine with "economy lodging and fast food facilities"

James H. McCall - Biography includes paragraphs dealing with his television viewing habits during the 1950s, details on his marble shooting and tap dancing hobbies, and has placeholders for additional information on his ancestry and primary school years. As President, plans to devote 30 minutes several times each week toward "briefly mentoring five young students of colonial history" . Sessions will allow each child to ask one question and make one comment. Plans to eat lunch with students as he travels because it would be a shame to eat alone. Also plans to "create a sub-department somehow" to work with youth from 16-24. Plans to establish a new "Youngsters Department".

So...there you have it...four alternatives for your consideration. And there are more! Don't feel like you don't have choices - you DO!

The Significance of Iowa

As I'm sure you're aware, the 2008 Iowa Caucuses were held yesterday and the results are in. On the Democratic side, Senator Barack Obama won by 8 points over John Edwards and, on the Republican side, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won by 9 points over Mitt Romney. I watched the coverage on CNN and MSNBC last night and went to bed with one major question - SO WHAT!?

I suppose Iowa is important for a number of reasons - not the least of which is that it's the first chance for candidates to really gauge public opinion of their candidacy. We've seen two candidates, Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd, already drop out after getting less-than-favorable results and rumors are already surfacing that at least two more candidates will drop out before next week's primary in New Hampshire. Historically, however, the Iowa Caucus has not been a great indicator of how the Presidential race will end.

The Iowa Caucus came to national prominence in 1972 when a series of articles ran in the New York Times detailing how states that did not hold primaries chose their delegates for the party conventions. Since then, the Caucus has been widely recognized as the first step in the Presidential nomination process. There have been 10 contested races in Iowa since '72 (some years candidates run unopposed - like Clinton in 1996) and only twice has a winner gone on to be elected President - Jimmy Carter in 1976 and George W. Bush in 2000. That said, it's also true that the future President has never finished worse than 3rd in Iowa. Clinton actually finished 4th in 1992 but the 2nd place vote getter was 'Uncommitted' (who I think decided to drop out of the race shortly thereafter after it was determined that 'Uncommitted' was not electable).

If you're interested in learning more about the history of the Iowa Caucus, there's an interesting article at NPR.org that details the results of every caucus held from 1972 to 2008.

Website Recommendation: Cool Site for Football Junkies

As I've said here in the past, I'm a bit of a sports nut. If I were still single, I'd probably watch a lot more sports than I do (I try not to force my wife to watch them when I know she couldn't care less). But, even as a married man, I still watch a lot of sports. I especially like NFL football. It is by far my favorite sport to watch and, to me, has just the right number of games (16) so that I don't get bored with the season and I can actually follow along and pay close attention throughout the year.

My interest in NFL football started at a young age. I can remember being 5 or 6 and studying the cards in my football card collection. There was a time (probably 1977 or 1978) that I could tell you the 3 QBs on every NFL team. Pretty impressive for a 4 or 5 year old I think.

Anyway - if you like football as much as I do, you should definitely check out Pro-Football-Reference.com. This site is a virtual database of statistics, standings, individual player stats, you name it. You can waste a LOT of time on this site. I always enjoy browsing it and seeing some name that I hadn't thought of in years. Usually I can picture the guy's football card in my head when that happens!

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits that I picked up at Pro-Football-Reference.com:

• No college has put more players into the NFL than Notre Dame - 485 players!
• 465 players have played in the NFL without attending ANY college (second only to Notre Dame's 485!)
• Miami and Florida State have the most active players in the league - 33 each (strange that the pundits still say that the ACC has weak football?!)
• There are 162 colleges that have put just 1 player into the NFL - including one Division 1 school (Florida Atlantic - granted they've only been in D1 for 7 years)
• Morgan State, a Division II historically black college, has 4 players in the NFL Hall of Fame - more than Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, or Florida State.
• There has never been an NFL player with a last name that starts with 'X'

I could go on and on. If you're a football fan, check it out and prepare to waste a good chunk of time. Also - the same guy that runs this site has sister sites for BASEBALL and BASKETBALL!

Enjoy!

Traveling in Style

I recently picked up the January 2008 issue of Travel & Leisure magazine and noticed that this edition features their annual rankings of the 500 best hotels in the world. I always enjoy looking at this list because it gives me ideas about places to go, places to dream about going, etc. Fortunately, my first job out of college required a good bit of travel and I've actually stayed at some of these hotels - 7 to be exact.

The picture is from the Four Seasons in Maui where we spent our honeymoon. I've also stayed at:

• Four Seasons - Whistler BC Canada
• Mansion on Turtle Creek - Dallas
• Hotel Crescent Court - Dallas
• Four Seasons - Las Vegas
• Willows Lodge - Seattle
• Carneros Inn - Napa

I also was on a project in Atlanta once and, believe it or not, lived every week for about 4 months in the Four Seasons Atlanta which was on last year's list but didn't make the cut this year. I've never, ever been disappointed at a Four Seasons property (though some, admittedly, are nicer than others and I have had a couple of customer service issues which have been promptly addressed). I didn't think the one in Las Vegas, for instance, was nearly as nice as the one in Maui or Whistler. I also wasn't really 'wowed' by the two hotels I listed in Dallas. The Willows Lodge in Seattle was really nice and just a cool place to stay - huge tub that you could watch flat screen plasma tv from, marble bathroom with shower you could sit in, Starbucks coffee grinder and press in your room, etc. It is very near the Microsoft campus and a lot of their guests stay there (I was visiting Microsoft when I did!).

Take a look at the list HERE. How many have you been to? Any that you recommend or don't recommend? Leave a comment!

The Best Time to Buy

This year, since we were travelling for the holiday, Britney and I decided to wait until after Christmas to buy our presents for each other. While that takes a little bit of the fun out of Christmas day, it also takes a LOT of the sting out of the prices you pay for the gifts you buy. We found several places where almost everything they carried was marked down - some of it pretty substantially. That got me thinking about timing what I buy and whether or not I could get substantial savings if I bought things at certain times of the year. I did a little research and here is what the experts at Smart Money and Market Watch have to say:

Cars - buy in September (weekday mornings if possible) - next year's models are in or on their way and dealers are eager to make deals and offer incentives. Buying on a weekday morning ensures that you won't be competing with all the weekend shoppers and are likely to get more time to negotiate since the salesman has no other customers to attend to.

Airfare - if it's for non-holiday travel, try buying 21 days in advance either on a Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Airlines change prices frequently but most major adjustments happen on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Prices go up inside of 21 days and then go WAY up inside of 14 days and again inside of 7 days.

Holiday Airfare - buy your Christmas tickets in September and your Thanksgiving tickets in August. Planes fill up months in advance for the holidays and prices are not going to go down (the airlines know there's no need to lower prices) - so buy well in advance or you'll be taking the red-eye that connects through Sheboygan.

Appliances - holiday weekends in September and October - look for big Labor Day/Columbus Day sales the next time you need a new refrigerator or washer/dryer. Just like cars, appliances have new models every year and they hit show room floors in September and October. Stores are eager to dump old inventory and often run big sales on holiday weekends when shoppers will be out in mass.

Toys - the best time to buy toys is in October. Stores start targeting Christmas shoppers in September and by October, prices are falling and offers (like buy one, get one free) start popping up as competition heats up. Shopping in October also gives you a better chance of getting that toy that won't be available anymore come November/December.

Weddings/Wedding Dresses - November/December - the vast majority of weddings are held during warmer months. This means big savings for those that are willing to have a winter wedding or shop for their wedding during the winter. Around Christmas, almost everyone is focused on gift buying, meaning big discounts from wedding retailers looking for revenue during what is traditionally a dead period.

I could go on and on - but you get the point. There's a science behind the way things are priced and if you're willing to do a little research and planning, you could save big. I'll leave you with one other common sense tip - the worst time to buy (for almost everything) is in December in the weeks before Christmas. Retailers have almost no incentive to lower prices until the very last minute and by then, most things are very picked over. Shop then if you must but otherwise, wait until after the holiday or shop in advance!!

2007 - The Year in Review

Happy New Year to everyone from those of us here at Thirteen Thoughts (ok - it's just me but Happy New Year anyway). I can honestly say that I've never, ever been happier to have a year come to an end than I was on Monday. 2007 was a very eventful year for me & my family and, unfortunately, one of my worst years on record. Here are some of the year's lowlights and highlights:

The Bad

• Finding out that my dad has cancer - a shock to the whole family and something that we really grieved over for the first few months of the year and are still coming to grips with
• The death of Britney's grandmother - really important figure in her life and, even though she was 98, we were all very sad to see her pass
• Multiple house problems - a flooded dining room, multiple appliances that died and had to be replaced, and water-damaged/warped hardwoods that had to be torn out and replaced
• Drought - in addition to the obvious water shortage issues brought on by the drought, it has also completely killed our yard. We inherited the worst yard in our neighborhood when we bought the house and after 2+ years of work and more than $3K spent to get it repaired and looking good, we're now back to where we started.
• Illnesses - this Christmas will go down as the Christmas from hell as everyone in the family got a taste of the stomach flu. Christmas dinner cancelled, entire families in quarantine - you get the picture.

So, as you can see, this year has been trying to say the least. In looking back, however, there was plenty to be happy about in '07 as well.

The Good

• The birth of a healthy baby girl - January saw the arrival of a beautiful, healthy baby girl and we could not be happier and more thankful. Bailey is smart, sweet, healthy - all the things you hope and pray for when you find out you're expecting. Easily the highlight of the year for our family and one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
• Job successes - I got a promotion in September and was recognized for 2.5 years of hard work and achievement.
• Improved outlook for Dad - when my dad was first diagnosed, the initial prognosis was really poor. After several months of tests and treatment, the outlook has improved quite a bit and we are all thankful and hopeful that there is more improvement ahead.
• More time with family - the events of the year (births & deaths) allowed us to spend more time with our extended families and we are thankful for those times together.
• Near misses - sometimes the best things to happen to you are the things that you narrowly avoid - my niece & nephew walking away from a serious car accident, being at home when our dining room started flooding, Bailey coming around quickly after initially having some serious breathing problems when she was born, etc.

So...there it is - another year come and gone. 2008 will certainly hold new challenges and, hopefully, new successes and reasons to celebrate. Here's hoping that this year is better than last - but if it's not, at least we know that we can withstand quite a bit and still come out OK.

Happy New Year!