Terms of insurance

If you have ever wondered what is term life insurance compared to whole life insurance, the answers can easily be found on the internet. There are many reasons why term life insurance works better for some as an option and there can be a price difference between term and whole life. However, at times whole life can be a better option, while you can easily purchase insurance on the Internet, take some time to do your homework first.

Golden internets

When you read that you can buy gold online, you may think, 'of course you can, gold jewelry' -- however that's not the only kind of gold you can buy online, you can actually buy ingots, bullion, and gold in other forms that's designed for a monetary value as opposed to a bling one. Some investors believe that owning gold is a smart part of their portfolio, others opt for other types of precious metals to hedge against any kind of a large economic failure where traditionally precious metals would be more valuable as to paper items such as dollars, notes or bonds.

Covert Operations article creating discussion

As pointed out by Frank Rich, in The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party a recent New Yorker piece is stirring up discussion as to who's spending how much in the world of political funding.

Last week the Kochs were shoved unwillingly into the spotlight by the most comprehensive journalistic portrait of them yet, written by Jane Mayer of The New Yorker. Her article caused a stir among those in Manhattan’s liberal elite who didn’t know that David Koch, widely celebrated for his cultural philanthropy, is not merely another rich conservative Republican but the founder of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which, as Mayer writes with some understatement, “has worked closely with the Tea Party since the movement’s inception.” To New Yorkers who associate the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center with the New York City Ballet, it’s startling to learn that the Texas branch of that foundation’s political arm, known simply as Americans for Prosperity, gave its Blogger of the Year Award to an activist who had called President Obama “cokehead in chief.”

The New Yorker article stirred up the right, too. Some of Mayer’s blogging detractors unwittingly upheld the premise of her article (titled “Covert Operations”) by conceding that they have been Koch grantees. None of them found any factual errors in her 10,000 words. Many of them tried to change the subject to George Soros, the billionaire backer of liberal causes. But Soros is a publicity hound who is transparent about where he shovels his money. And like many liberals — selflessly or foolishly, depending on your point of view — he supports causes that are unrelated to his business interests and that, if anything, raise his taxes.

The lure of gold...

You can go thousands of years into the history of man and see there has been an interest in gold shortly after man became interested in commerce. Man saw more than a value in owning gold, it was also the beauty of the gold that lured him into wanting to own it.

Today in some ways it's the same, there are those who buy gold to create a diverse portfolio of investments and there are those who still want to own gold just for the pure beauty of it. If you are one of those interested in gold as an investment, it's easier than ever before to buy gold in a variety of ways, from ingots to bullion. There are companies out there that specialize in selling gold and other precious metals. They watch the prices, they know the market, and they cater to those who want to own gold...

How to save money on car repairs

The easiest way is to learn to do some of the basics yourself, though many of the repairs you probably could do with a repair manual on your car and some patience, would be aided by the use of a hydraulic floor jack. We don't have one, but luckily my son does so when we need one, all we have to do is borrow his. Recently we changed the starter on a car we have, it would have been much more difficult without that type of a jack, it could have been done, but you'd need ramps or more than one jack and you always need something to use as a safety, all too often people are injured when a jack let's loose...

Word associations from my past...

I grew up a motor head, in a family where one of the males was a very outspoken Libertarian and the other leaned Libertarian when it came to a variety of social issues, especially gun control. With the fascination with cars starting at an early age and being the daughter assigned to be the mechanic's helper, to me hearing the three letters, "POS" described a car that was not a very good one, infact it would be close to a junker, a piece of...I'm sure you can fill in the third word.

Once I started blogging and started learning about a variety of different business practices, I learned what a POS system was, that it was a "Point of Sale" system. Though I admit every time I come across those three letters, I think back to my father loudly proclaiming that one of his friends was driving a POS compared to whatever his car of the moment was...

Natural products make sense to me...

I've never been a huge fan of chemical products, not just because of the environment, but because of the economic factor. That said, I always find it funny when I see that organic products or products with the "natural" label attached to them typically cost more. It is a very smart marketing ploy attached to products from natural acne treatment to natural cereal, because it makes some consumers feel good to buy products that are "natural" and in many cases they are willing to pay more. If they were not? The free market would create a scenario where they would have to drop their prices for the product to sell.

CNN askes how bad is the economy

It was interesting reading the responses to the question asked by CNN:

So is the economy going to get significantly worse over the next few months, or are we actually closer to the end than the beginning of this...slump, downturn, recession or whatever you want to call it?

What was surprising was those that felt things were not really that bad, which confirms my belief that it is not just media driven but geographically driven. There are parts of the country that are not suffering to the extent that others are. A few of the comments that were shared:

"Many of the hard times today are the fault of the people who swipe their home ATM to buy another new SUV or a house beyond their means. It is certainly a tough lesson to learn, but it has to happen," he wrote. "People who lived beyond their means now can't pay back that debt due to ballooning costs. Turns out they should have saved money while they could."

"The economic slump comprises industries that are slumping (airlines, autos, homebuilding, mortgages, real estate, etc.) and industries that are expanding (agriculture, energy, health care, mining, technology, etc.). The gains outnumber the losses, so we get slow growth. But, the growth is slower than the rate of productivity gains, so jobs are slowly shed."

On Home ownership....

Part of the recent discussion concerning the mortgage industry has been related to the underlying dream most Americans have to be able to own their own home. The resulting problems with the real estate market happened in part because those with the dream, ended up in situations where they could not afford the monthly payments. At times this was due to a job loss, but many times it was unrealistic expectations on the part of uneducated buyers and mortgage lenders who had a very good idea that income wise what was stated to be possible as far as payments was not.

The discussion as to where the governments responsibility in all of this lies is an interesting one, how much personal responsibility comes into play is one that will continue to be raised as some of these companies turn to the government for a tax payer assisted bail out.

On buying direct...

I know people who have reported great experiences with directbuy and those that felt in their particular situation there was not a large savings. I think the reality is that it depends on your buying patterns and your planned expenditures. If you are planning on doing some major remodeling and/or major purchases, it's logical that the more expenditures planned the more net savings buying direct would create. Given the potential savings exists, it's worth checking out.

Get great deals on HDTVs and related products

While they may have the name of Second Act you might want to make them your first stop when you are looking for HDTV's or accessories. From a price comparison standpoint, Second Act seems very competitive and their Deals of the Day offers some great bargains. I like personally like the RSS feed reader ability to be able to track what the "Deal of the Day" is, I think that's a nice touch and it makes bargain shopping even easier.

Another advantage of their Deal of the Day feature is you can also sign up via email for notification for those of you who are not addicted to RSS readers like I am. Most of the HDTV's and related products are factory refurbished, factory closeouts, overstocks, or open box which gives Second Act (a US based company since 2003) the ability to pass those savings on to you. I checked some of the feedback they've received online at places like Shopping.com, and it appears their customer service got high marks from those who have purchased from them. Good customer service and good prices makes Second Act a recommended place to check out.

Ron Paul on seeking Texas earmarks...

Can you be against earmarks and still realize that since they are a huge part of the way congress runs try to make sure those you represent do get something from their tax dollars? That's the basic underlying premise of what Ron Paul is doing, yet he faced some recent questions surrounding this a few days ago.

I understand where he is coming from, I'm against earmarks as well, but I believe if the system is going to exist it's in the best interest of the community to try to get as much as they can under the present system. If you state you are against earmarks and do not participate in the process it doesn't create a scenario where that money is not used. All it does do is create a scenario where some other area of the country gets the money. Until enough members of congress actually do something about earmarks it's great in theory to say you don't support them but hard to explain to those you represent why the next congressional district got x dollars and yours got none.

Small Businesses are the key...

Here in Ohio as well as many other states the majority of employment growth comes from small businesses, which makes having information on small business loans very important to those considering venturing into being their own employer.

My husband has dreamed of opening a small business for several years, and he is still working on saving the necessary capital and searching for those interested in possibly investing in his idea. It's not easy, which is why loans end up being a very important part of making this dream come true. We've also learned that it is very important to have a complete business plan and find out what type of organizations exist in your area as a resource that could help you develop winning strategies to take your dream of owning your own business from on paper to reality...

uTango an interesting concept...

It does appear that uTango is correct that it's utango rewards program is something that has never been offered before. It is designed to be a loyalty marketing concept that offers potential rewards over a long term. It's stated it will give young couples a chance to earn up to $1 Million in Life-Stage cash rewards for shopping with uTANGO merchant partners and staying married. At this point it is only open to those who are single, engaged or have been married for less than three years.

I spent some time reading their detailed FAQ sheet and I can see where if you shopped with the companies that currently are involved with uTango where it could not only create customer loyalty to those websites but pay off very well later in life if the program stays in existance. The downside to the program is of course if you don't stay married or if you miss the target points required without being related to some sort of a financial hardship and a deactivation of your account happens. At this point since we have been married for over 7 years we don't qualify to even give it a try, though it does state they are looking at expanding the program to those married over three years at a later date. It also has a referral element where it is stated you can refer up to 500 people during the lifetime of your account which could generate $500,000 to a 30 year Life-Stage Reward Plan payout.

Is it worth taking a look at? Yes, I'd recommend checking out the website for complete details and see if this is something that would interest you.

Furniture shopping online...what to look for

I do the majority of my shopping online when ever possible which includes shopping for furniture, from dining room furniture to looking for the perfect bed. Shopping online gives me a quick and easy way to compare prices and to find exactly what I want.

Some tips, make sure the place where you shop for furniture offers free shipping, that's one of the things I like about www-home-and-bedroom.com is they offer free shipping. If a site does not offer free shipping make sure you take that into consideration when evaluating the overall price. You may think that it's possible to get a better deal shopping at a local store but I've found that when you consider the free shipping and the fact that you are not paying a delivery fee from a store that you can end up saving money by shopping for furniture online. Home and Bedroom also offers some great decorating tips I found this article on Choosing a Style for Your Home Furnishings not only one I enjoyed but that I have shared with others...

A Better Solution for Customer Relationship Management

A Better Solution for Customer Relationship Management is the motto behind AIMpromote and their reason for creating what many feel is the best in the industry as far as software and tools for customer relationship management. They concentrate on creating a system where you the user determine what you need rather than to have features that offer little real-world application or benefit. It has been identified in several studies that many features in CRM software applications are typically unused in part because some of them are too complicated for the average user to navigate. AIMpromote is so confident that you will find their CRM software to be the perfect match for you that they offer a 14 day free trial so you can see the difference and the functionality for yourself. This is not a limited trial were you only have access to certain features but a full version...and it's only a click away.

Little white lies on oil prices...

I highly recommend reading this CNN Money piece that's titled, The 'little white lies' about oil inventories,it gives you a good understanding of how the system used to work as far as the importance of inventory information in determining the price versus what happens today.

"You get that churning, that inconsistency, because it's in the context of a larger sideways market," said Tim Evans, a futures analyst at Citigroup. "It's almost like it's planned chaos."

Plus, Evans said, the inventory reports themselves have become more mixed, perhaps showing rising stocks of crude oil but falling gasoline inventories.

Another analyst said much of the buying or selling centered around the inventory report actually occurs before the numbers come out.

"We do operate a bit on a 'buy the rumor, sell the news'" mentality, said John Kilduff, an energy analyst at Man Financial in New York. "Sometimes it's not as bullish as some people had hoped."

It's an eye opening piece...

Close to free items is great promotional idea...

One of the great things about a free market society is the creative way businesses get us to visit them and to use their services. Like creating a way to bid on items with the lowest unique bidder walking away with some rather large prizes like cars or a plasma television for pennies. Yes, it's possible to win some of those prizes for pennies...That's the creative concept behind bid4prizes.

I'd love to be able to create a bid for 5 cents and be able to be the lowest bidder in winning a plasma television, and while they do have a paid membership that enables you to unlimited bids, they do have a free membership that allows you to bid on items. I read their how to play section and it seems like a very creative way to not only have some fun but to possibly win some great prizes. The majority of people bid by using their cell phone but even if you don't have a cell phone there is a way for you to bid and win.

Over half of Americans dependent on Government...

An interesting and troubling article that is featured in the latest edition of the Liberator Online, that provides some statistical evidence as to how large government influence from a financial standpoint has grown to affect a majority of Americans.

I recommend reading the article in full which is entitled, Over Half of Americans Now Dependent Upon Government Money. Gary Shilling, an economist provides the analysis:

Over half of Americans -- 52.6 percent -- depend on government money "in a major way," according to an analysis by economist Gary Shilling.

That's an increase from 49.4 percent in 2000, when a strong economy and welfare state reforms cut government programs.

And it is WAY above 1950, when only 28.3 percent of Americans received significant government money.

Shilling predicts that fully 60 percent of Americans could be significantly dependent on government by 2040, as baby-boomers retire and receive Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.