payday advance
After years of accumulating large and small credit card bills, my wife and I finally cleared ourselves of this money pit. Some were paid while others eventually went away after years of threatening phone calls and letters. I even had one from twenty five years ago appear and tell my wife that all she had to do is make a payment of twenty dollars. After looking into this we found that after this long a period they can not do anything, but if you make a payment, even a small one the account becomes active again! No way was I going to let this happen, so after many years we are credit card free. We pay for everything with cash, check or a debit card from our bank. There was one more obstacle to overcome, payday advance loans which really helped us out of quit a few jams. Again, using these types of loans come with great responsibilities. You can get a cash advance of up to five hundred dollars, my payment was five seventy five Bi weekly to them only to have to immediately take it out again. My wife was working with a different branch of check advance and was receiving two hundred and paying it back weekly. I did not find out about this for quit a few months, She knew I would not be happy with the extra loans. A cash advance or check advance can really help someone in need, but what ends up happening is you depend on this money because what you are actually doing is getting a payday advance, so your paycheck goes to the loan company forcing you to take another loan. The interest rates are very high and it took me over a year and a half to pay mine off completely and my wife an additional year to completely pay hers off. Like with a credit card, make sure not to use them for extra spending on frivolous items such as electronics or trips unless you can afford to pay them back right away. It is a great way to reestablish your credit, but only if you can afford to do it. We have two vehicles, an older car and van that are completely paid for, so for now we are getting by. I have been looking for a better paying job but times are hard in our area. When this happens I am even considering going back to college. Signed older and smarter!
family health insurance
family health insurance coverage should be one of the basic rights of being an American. Having your family be able to get the medical attention they need, seems to be more important than just about any other right or freedom we have in this country. I hear people debating that fact that if we moved to an all inclusive health plan for all, then the quality of care will go down. My real question is for who? Certainly not for all the people who have no insurance if we don't move toward this type of system. I don't think that most people think of it that way. I guess I think about it as if, if I were sitting down to eat a 10 oz steak and there was a starving child sitting down next to me, would I not give them half, or perhaps even the whole thing. I think that perhaps we need to stop being so self centered in our thinking and start realizing that in this country in 2006 we had 4.8 million children in this country without medical insurance. It seems to me that if we really need to sacrifice a little bit of our care for them, we should. There is no excuse, and if you think that this number is staggering trust me, I am sure that when the figures come out for this year (which probably won't happen for another 2 years) you will see that the numbers of uninsured Americans climbs way up. I am sure that all this war expense, coupled with the rising cost of fuel, and then add to it all the soldier's families who may be left without anything, the numbers are really going to be astronomical.
As a country we need to start putting our foot down as to what we want and need. We need everyone fed, we need health care, we don't need to fight in a foreign country for other people's freedom. That may be a nice thing to do (still not sure on that) but when we are spending trillions of dollars to help another country, why are we allowing our own sick to dye and hungry to starve. Seems to me that we need to refocus and take care of ourselves first and everything else second. We should have some basic right to try and survive, and if we can afford this war then we can afford health care for all and food for all.
life insurance
For a young person like myself it can be a little overwhelming when you get to the point where your parents finally shove your little life boat away from the dock and you are out there in the big sea by yourself. It is at this point when we are immersed in the whole new arena of life that expects us as individuals to be totally on top of everything and no one is there to help us. Unless we ourselves go looking for them. The choices and the responsibilities are both plentiful as well as extremely daunting to even the strongest of us. Our lives are transformed from the self and family created wombs of reliance to the bigger world of solitude.
When my brother graduated from school he got a nice job and began living his life as a professional. He was a school teacher in a high school and he thought he had everything under control. I take all of my biggest lessons from him so I thought that he had it all as well. One day he got in a car accident. HE had to spend a whole week in the hospital and his car was just destroyed. He had been living without car insurance and critical illness insurance which would have covered the rest of his medical bills. Unfortunately he has now been stuck with all of this debt as well as the pain and need to recover very quickly.
Since his accident everyone in my family, including myself, have had some real revelations about what we should do to protect what we really value in the family and in our lives. My brother now has full insurance for both his car and his health until the school begins to pay for his health insurance. He has also gotten home insurance to keep that area of his life intact in an emergency. My parents have both taken out new life insurance policies and travel insurance policies for when the go to Europe every year. I guess this is just one of those lessons that none of us would have learned another way, but I wish we would have seen it a long time ago.
promotional products
If you type "promotional items" into Google what pops up? You will more than likely see a lot of different websites offering the same types of products with different promises of service quality or item quality or higher turnaround. It can be a daunting task: which do you choose? Do you go with the first on the list because it's first, or do you search around for a lesser known website so that you can possibly enjoy greater discounts? What if you don't quite know what you're looking for and so have no basis on which to comparison shop?
Now, people in the United States just have to worry about what item they want to purchase. The task can be a little less simple for people in the United Kingdom, however. They need promotional products too! That's where Ideas by Net comes in. The first company in the UK to make promotional products and business gifts, Ideas by Net offers exemplary service, quick turnaround, one hour quotations, and professional design services, to name a few. They cater especially to those in the UK. Never fear, brave Americans: Ideas by Net not only offers products for UK buyers but also offers websites that can be used by companies in the United States (some examples are Empire Promos, Adleap, and Gallantgifts.com). Isn't that convenient?
Say you are in the UK, and you are working for a company that wants to start putting logos on items. Great! Well, what items does Ideas by Net offer? With over 5,000 choices, it can be difficult trying to choose just one or even a few choices. Broadly, you can order anything from pens to mouse pads to umbrellas to desk supplies to clothing to travel accessories. Say your small team is going to a conference, and you want to stand out in the crowd. With its selection of T-shirts, polos, and even dress shirts, Ideas by Net is sure to please! Are you hosting a large business meeting for people from around the nation and want to impress the board members? Order a pack of conference binders along with pens to distribute at the meeting. Fill each binder with a detailed agenda and even a memo pad to appear even more organized, and allow the members to keep the folders as a keepsake. Going to the company picnic? Impress your boss by carrying an umbrella with company insignia, or offer great raffle gifts like MP3 players (yes, Ideas by Net sells those too).
Ideas by Net is the one stop shop for all of your UK promotional product buying needs!
promotional items
I am working as an office manager at a large chiropractic office and have held this position for the past several years. I love my job as it entails a lot more than just managing the staff and patients. Lately our boss has wanted to do a lot of trade shows, and I am called upon to staff these shows as well as come up with some really good promotional items for the shows. We keep our offices stocked with pens that advertise for us, but whenever we do a trade show we like to have items that are a little more exciting then just a free pen. We have in the past given out travel mugs right at the show, but what happened is a lot of people made appointments to get the mugs, and then cancelled or no showed on the actual appointment. I think that for the upcoming show I will order some really nice promotional items and then we will have a raffle for anyone who sets up an appointment, this way; we don't have to spend so much to get good results. I will sit down at my meeting with Doc tomorrow and we will together decide which items to order. I have prepared a list of the items that I like, but I will leave the final decision to him. I really like the cooler bags, sports bags, and shopping bags that have pictured online. I think that they have a nice look and are still a good deal. The sports bottles and first aid kits that they offer in the health and fitness section are neat. Well being that I work in the health field; I had to look in this section. I really like some of the stress toys, but I am not sure what a good advertisement this type of promotional item will provide. I am just not seeing people carrying around these items in the same way that they might run around town with a travel coffee mug or an umbrella with our logo on it. These to me seem like they would be a bit more useful and easily tote able, but I will let the boss make the final call.
Be sure that if you are interested in these types of promotional items that you find a company that provides a dedicated team of promotional item experts that are very knowledgeable and highly professional. This will make your job a lot easier.
affiliate network
My freshman year my dad didn't want me working because he thought it would get in the way of my school work and he told me that anytime I needed money I could just call and ask. I felt bad though after the hundreds of times I called for money. I spent so much on 'necessities' like movies, bars, going out to eat, and I felt like I should start making money on my own. At my school we have a website called cardinal view jobs, where all of the campus jobs are listed on that website and you write down the job number and we bring in our school ID and they give you a referral. So I wrote down a few and ended up going on 3 or 4 interviews. Two of the jobs my school schedule didn't work out with and one was way too many hours, but the last one was perfect. It was nine hours a week and it was three hours at a time and you got to pick the days. So I took on this job and found out I was really not cut out for it. Basically what we had to do was reach out to the affiliate network of Ball State and ask for donations. We would talk to alumni about homecoming games and upcoming events and then slyly ask at the end it they wanted to donate money to the school. I felt like I was betraying them. I was trying to be their friend at the beginning of the conversation and then by the end I was asking them for all of their savings. Other affiliate networks to Ball State included famous alumni (David Letterman), who just donated a building to the school and made an appearance, and different companies and schools, like nursing schools in the area or the high school nearby that has a special program for gifted students with us. We would call each one and then try to get them to be 'friends with us' and then go in for the kill. I had such a hard time with it. I don't like to ask people for things and I'm kind of o the shy side with strangers. Needless to say I didn't stay with the job very long, but I did get to meet a lot of new people and it helped me to get out of my shell a little and experience new things.
security audit
Companies around the world are all faced with myriad difficulties and constantly developing problems. In the world of business nothing ever slows down and nothing every stops. The companies that fall behind and lose their business are those that wait for something to happen until it's too late. The ones that survive are those that are willing to do what needs done in a moment's notice and not slow down for a second.
At the company I work for we have been updating our security measures. When I graduate these systems will be my responsibility to maintain and so I need to know how they are set up from the bottom up. We are a fairly large firm with about thirty offices in the U.S. and we care a great deal about the confidence and security of our customers. As a large firm we are more likely to be that target of an internet attack which could compromise the finances of both our company and our customers. If this were to become the case then we would be forced to start our whole system over again and that would leave us behind the competition for a while.
This summer we are revamping the security software of our systems and doing a full security audit. We are shining light in to all of the are of the system to see where the holes are for hackers to come in. We are focusing our efforts on the web application scanner because this is the primary area where the bad information gets in and ours gets our. We have to really scour the whole application in search of holes and actually run tests to try and infiltrate the new system. Then when we have the whole thing up and running we will have Ajax application security to allow our users to easily see that we are taking care of their security. These types of programs are essential to the new business model of the world in which everything is done digitally and the criminals now lurk in he shadows of the internet. Hopefully our system will be able to hold them out for as long as possible, but they always find a way.
home refinancing
What is home refinancing? Thankfully I don't have to deal with any of this yet, but for the future, I want to be prepared. What I have found from researching, is that by home refinancing, you are able to take advantages of improvements in your credit or drops in interest rates.
While this is a great opportunity for a lot of people, it does come with expenses. Some of these expenses can include the cost to have your house appraised, meaning having someone come in to look around and see how much your home is worth now. You will also have to pay inspection fees for your title and title insurance and several other miscellaneous fees.
Nevertheless, there are questions that anyone considering this move needs to ask them self. The first thing to think about is how long you think you are going to be staying in your home and where you think the interest rates will be heading in the future. These 2 questions will make a huge impact on your decision of home refinancing. Next you need to look over the terms of your current loan. Finding out the date your loan adjusts and the index your rate is tied to (I feel like I'm in a foreign country just reading about this stuff. Hopefully by the time I will have to even think about doing this, let alone buying a home, it will get easier. Something makes me think though that it is just going to get more and more complicated). The next step (and one of the only ones that makes sense to me) is an important one. You need to decide your breakeven point. Is it going to really be worth all of this trouble? In the amount of time that you are planning to be in your house, will your savings from reduced mortgage payments be greater than the upfront costs? If this is a yes, then you are on the right track. If not, then it doesn't seem worth it (to me atleast, although I'm no financial expert). Lastly (well probably not lastly, but last of the "easy steps" guidline that I found) you need to decide if the new loan fits your lifestyle.
All of this seems very foreign to me. I don't know how anyone without a business background could understand, but I guess it's like what my dad told me after I signed up for the budget plan at my electric company and got screwed out of money, "you live and learn"
debt
I was at a coffee shop with friends, drinking espresso and talking about how our summers had been going, when one of them said that she had some exciting news. Of course, we all jumped to the normal conclusions: either she was pregnant or getting married to that fool she'd been dating for a couple of weeks, or both. She quickly allayed our fears of her imminent pregnancy, but didn't say much about the marriage thing. I hoped she was just kidding. Anyway, she told us she was on the road to financial independence! Of course, we knew her idea of "road to financial independence" was a new credit card to pay off all the other credit cards she had. Her credit score was so bad that even the companies who say they don't care about credit rejected her. We had all assumed that her score had to be somewhere in the high...negative numbers. So when she said she had begun a program of debt consolidation, we were all surprised.
She had admitted that she figured debt consolidation was only for losers and lames with no money (in which case we had to remind her that SHE was a loser AND a lame for not having any money. I don't think she was very happy about that). She said, though, that when the bills started piling up and the collection calls started peppering her daily life, she had to put a stop to it. I'm not gonna lie, she sounded like something straight out of a Peter Francis Geraci commercial, and I get the feeling she's been practicing her little "rags to riches" speech for some time now. She said that when she had discovered the many possibilities involved with debt consolidation, she knew she had hit the road to success. I wanted to ask her just how many "roads to" anything she had decided to take in the past few days, but I decided to keep my mouth shut.
In all actuality, she sounded so proud of herself that it was slightly difficult to make fun of her (notice I said slightly. We, of course, did not let pride keep us from poking fun at her new outlook on life). And we all were proud of her for finally being responsible enough to realize that she had a true financial problem and that it needed fixing. She deserved a congratulations and maybe even lunch.
But as she began talking about the wedding arrangements she and her new fiancé had started making and flashed what looked to be a very inexpensive and fake cubic zirconium engagement ring, I began to realize that though she had proven to learn a little responsibility in her financial life, she still had the common sense of a 12 year old in her love life. She's taking baby steps, I guess. Really small, really backward, infantile baby steps. She'll learn. And if this guy doesn't work out (like the other 4 she's almost married), we'll be right back in this same coffee shop, drinking our macchiatos and lattes, and trying to rationalize how the power of financial freedom should overcome such poor judgment in men.
credit report
To have an interest in economics it takes a pretty special kind of person. I think that it takes a mixture between the two elements of patience and insanity. I am saying this from the perspective of a business major with a minor in economics so I am not ragging on anyone but myself. I think that these two traits are written all across my face. I mean I find more interest in reading the wall street journal or looking at a credit report than I do taking a bike ride or watching a movie. I am just that sort of person.
Eventually I want to be a marketer but I have this trange interest in the field of economics. I find a lot of pleasure in looking over graphs and data to see and predict where things are going in the future for a country's economy. I like looking at my finances this way. Ever month or so I take a look at my own finances and draw up a bunch graphs to represent my own situation in print. I feel like this is both an interesting way of looking at the situation and managing it. When I have such visual representations of very difficult situation then I am much better at dealing with the problem.
I think this interest of mine in economics and finances has come from the time I spent in between high school and college. During this time I thought I would tyr to make it through life without ever doing the college thing. I got a job as a factory worker and I bought a car and had a nice little apartment. I had credit cards which I used way too frequently and ended up owing on them for a whole year before I started college. I had to undergo a lot of credit repair because I thought I could afford everything and wouldn't really need to worry about a budget or the bills balancing out. I was of course wrong and now I am working so that I never have to be in that sitauation again. That's why I get my monthly free credit report because I am doing whatever I can to stay on top of my debt.
debt consolidation
For a long period of time, I was not able to understand why a lot of times, women, especially, resorted to shopping therapy. I mean, I could not even understand what shopping therapy was. Now, having gone through some stressful moments in my life, and having experienced what those women usually experience (as I think), I understand that sometimes…in my case, often times…shopping therapy is really part of a huge vicious circle, where stress over lack of money and too much debt causes me to act unwillingly and resort to shopping therapy, spending more, getting more into debt. I realize, sometimes, debt is unavoidable, like, urgent car repairs, certain necessary travel, education, and so forth. However, when it is avoidable…again, how can I define "avoidable"? Is shopping therapy avoidable? Or, are the consequences of not resorting to this type of "treatment" worse…Do they cost more than the therapy itself? Or, is shopping therapy even therapy? How therapeutic it is? Is it more therapeutic than to eliminate debt itself? And is debt consolidation, like debt consolidators, even help? I wonder, frequently, what debt help does. I am sure that the obvious benefit is that it creates some sort of control in a person's life - the person knows exactly how much he or she is going to be paying per month for all the incurred expenses. But a bit lower payment, is that control? Or is that another burden that, instead of being spread out is just all at once, consolidated? After all, once a person has to pay out a huge amount of money - a debt - it is unlikely that a $20 extra or not might matter…or maybe they will.
smart lipo
Todays day and age has really been causing some dilemma in my mind lately. I used to be positive that anyone who had any sort of body alterations, I am talking surgery here, had serious self esteem problems. Or they were just really vain or conceited. As I grow older, I am realizing that, like a lot of things in life, it is not just black and white. There are grey areas. For instance, I have a very close friend, whom I have known since I was 14- we probably know each other as well as anyone could- I was literally shocked that she chose to have breast augmentation. You would have to know her to understand why I was so shocked. She is a very christian mother of 3, homeschools, very thin, toned, naturally pretty woman. She has a great husband, and relationships with everyone she knows. But apparently being very small chested has been eating her up inside for years. And she said it was effecting her self worth. Which is horrible. So a few years ago she had small implants, and if you didn't know her as well as I do, you would never even know she had anything done. She has a modest cup size, and in fact, she has told me that she told no one (save her husband) about the surgery and no one has ever noticed! Not even her sister!! I noticed immediately, but could not let myself believe she had done it. I never thought she had it in her. I must admit, I did judge her at first, I felt like she had gone against what she believed for selfish reasons, I did not think that was who she was. But you can see it all over her, how much happier she is with herself now. So if that is what it takes, then so be it. I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact of enhancing your body (or the opposite) is ok for other than health reasons. I still have the judgmental voice in my head. I am even opening my mind up to such things- I am not in need of a boob job, but I could definitely use some smartlipo. I have no idea how much something like smartlipo cost. But I would have to think that smart lipo would have to be somewhat affordable. I wonder if my insurance would help with smart lipo cost....I think I just may have to look into it.
Kenny Chesney tickets
My grandparents have always been into the oldies but goodies. They have always loved singers like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and such. I really don't know all the people's names of the music they listen to, but let's say it this way; it is all stuff from the Big Band era.
Well a few months ago, I went out to visit them for the day, and my grandfather wanted to take grandma and me to lunch. We got in the car and my grandfather turns on this country CD and says to me how much he loves this music. He tries to show me how he knows all the lyrics to the song, but he is singing the wrong words and I am kind of laughing in my head. I knew they were the wrong words, but obviously he didn't. In any case, then he can't figure out the words to another song that he has me listening to, so he begins digging through the car to find the words that he has written down for each song, which by the way were still wrong. Anyway, he is digging around the car and driving. Now, I don't know if you have ever ridden in a car driven by an elderly person, but let me tell you something it is more of a thrill ride than any roller coaster I have ever been on.
After he finally found his paper and read it while he was driving, yes he really did this, he began to tell me about how he found some concert tickets online for real cheap and he bought Kenny Chesney tickets. He claims they are front row seats and that he got the pair of them for only $150.00. Now I am skeptical but still in shock, I am still frozen from watching my grandfather operate the car while reading music. So, I just keep saying that's nice and nodding. Now in the back of my head I am thinking, my grandparents at a concert of any kind just seems absurd. I keep thinking that is like me buying Tom Petty tickets or something. Like I really would fit in at that concert. I know that my grandparents are just thinking that they like the music, but Kenny Chesney is no old person's concert.
Anyway, obviously I survived the car ride with my grandfather and believe it or not, my grandparents survived the Kenny Chesney concert and they really did have front row seats, so I guess all's well that ends well.