Cats and Coupons

There are folks who would like to further their education but can’t. It could be for many reasons including a job, their health, time constraints and travel issues. Those are some of the many situations where an online degree might be a good solution.

Western Governor is a unique school in that it offers online courses only and because it is non-profit. It also has some other interesting points to note. Students can start any time of the year.Scholarships and student loans are available. Of interest to many is the cost of tuition- it’s much lower than local schools and it’s about half as much as other online universities because it’s not for profit. A wide variety of programs is available including teaching, business, health and information technology.

You know wood buildings are pretty expensive. I’ve seen commercials and advertisements for steel buildings that say they’re a lot less expensive. We had a heck of a time finding the right size doghouse when we had a dog, which got me to thinking. I wonder if they make steel doghouses. I’d think they’d hold up to doggie wear and tear better than wood ones, and would probably be easier to clean too. What do you think?

We all know the economy isn’t the greatest right now. One of the few places left I could cut is on life insurance. We don’t have much but it’s all we’ve got. It’s a good idea for everyone to have it so that your loved ones aren’t left holding the bag. The best time to buy it is when you’re young and healthy. Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you don’t have to consider these things. So don’t wait another minute. Get online and compare life insurance rates today, because you never know what the future is going to bring.

I’m constantly seeing ads for medical assistant training school. I love the colorful scrubs that so many medical professionals wear. When I was in school for billing and coding I bought some and they’re very comfortable and wash really well. My favorite two have cats on them, of course. Could you imagine if animals had to go to school and get jobs? I can only imagine a cat nurse taking care of a human wearing scrubs with people on them!

Something I wonder about franchises is how much better they’d do financially if they were more careful about where locations were allowed to be put up. We learned last year that Starbucks was having problems. There is a Starbucks in my town. Less then one mile away there’s a Target with a Starbucks inside it as well as a Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks inside it. I realize that some franchises are individually owned but in this world nothing is free, meaning Starbucks must be getting a percentage from them. Why not only allow one location within a certain geographical area? Wouldn’t that make more sense financially?

GoodSearch is a search engine that is powered by Yahoo but does something different than Yahoo. Every time you search using GoodSearch a contribution is made to a charity of your choice. There are over 50,000 charities to pick from that can benefit from your searching. If you’ve used Yahoo search you’ll feel right at home using this. These charities need money so why not help them raise it while you’re searching anyway? Please check out GoodSearch and help someone today.

One of the easiest ways there is to get a price quote for term life insurance is from a website. To get accurate term life insurance rates from Wholesale Insurance just fill in some basic information. Then, pricing from all of the companies in their database will be compared and you’ll be given the best ones. It’s terribly convenient, and much easier then calling a bunch of different insurance agents.

Car insurance has always been costly here in New Jersey. It’s mandatory to have so drivers are shopping for the best deal possible and learning more about what impacts their rates.

Most people know that the year, make and model of the car you drive. Most people are also aware that your driving record plays a big factor. Here are some other factors that insurance companies may take into account.

Does your car have an alarm?
Does your car have anti-lock brakes?
Does your car have automatic seat belts?
Are you a student?
Have you taken a safe or defensive drivers course?
Do you have other vehicles you’ll be added to make a multi car policy?
Do you have other coverage you can combine, such as homeowners or renters?
And the last one. Your credit. Your credit score may impact your rate. Some insurers factor in your credit score. I think this is wrong, as long as I pay my auto insurance bill I don’t think the rest is their business.

I get a price quote from several insurance companies at least once a year in order to try and make sure that I’m paying the lowest rates possible. When is the last time you got price quotes for auto insurance?

Times are tough right now. Over the past several months I’ve seen more and more people offering products they’ve created at home and services that can be performed from home. It’s a creative way to try and earn additional income from doing something you enjoy or are good at (or, hopefully, both). Until a couple of months ago I’d never even heard of Etsy, an online marketplace offering only handmade products. Now it’s a wildly popular site for buying and selling, and it helps people make some money. Are you doing anything to supplement your household income? Do you have a home business?

Not all health plans are created equal. When I was young I thought that health insurance was health insurance. Now that I work in the industry I know better.You should be familiar with the details of your coverage before you need to use it. If you’re not sure what’s covered call the insurance company and ask. For any type of testing be sure you know beforehand if you need a precertification, preauthorization or reference number. Before visiting a specialist be sure you know if you need a referral. And always take down the name (and extension if possible) of the representative you spoke with. Knowing your insurance coverage can save you a lot of time and money.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, bringing with it one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Black Friday often brings sales but it also means the things you want to buy will probably become much harder to find. Money is tight for many people right now with the economy the way it is. I find myself wondering almost daily how we’re going to pay for Christmas, since my hubby was out of work for two months. There is a way to shop now and pay later - Kmart Layaway for the Holidays.

Kmart is once again offering layaway in many of their locations. To take advantage just go to a participating store and shop. Many items in the store are eligible to be put on layaway except things like perishables, plants, alcohol and tobacco, prescriptions, chemicals and chemical products, photo studio packages, mobile phones and computers. All it takes to start a layaway purchase is a photo id and 10% of the purchase down OR $15 to cover the service and cancellation fees, whichever is greater. Then all you need to do is make biweekly payments that are 25% of your purchase for up to eight weeks. Payments can be made using cash, check and credit cards.

I think it’s great that there’s a way for people to get gifts now and pay for them over time. If this is something that would help you I recommend you start shopping now, before Black Friday, while there’s still things on the shelves. Good luck!

Money’s tight for everyone these days. With everyone tightening their belts, donations are down. With donations down the charities are hurting and need help more than ever. People like you and I can help lucky animal shelters win some money in the America’s Favorite Animal Shelter Contest. Care2 is sponsoring this contest and will be donating a total of $15,000 to the animal shelters and rescue groups that receive the most votes in this contest. First Prize is $10,000. Second prize is $3,000. Third prize is $1,000. Fourth and fifth prizes receive $500 each. This contest is being held to increase awareness and reward shelters and rescue group. Adopt-a-Pet.com is also also sponsoring the contest and will be donating $1,000 per week forfive weeks to a randomly selected participating shelter. Adopt-A-Pet will also be giving the 20 contest participants who recruit the most people a $50 gift certificate for pet products. Contest ends 11/01/08.

I learned of a prepaid credit card called a Facecard. It can be used by anyone over the age of thirteen but it’s main target market is teens. It’s a prepaid reloadable MasterCard. It can be used internationally at ATMs and anywhere MasterCard is accepted. The minimum amount that can be added to a card is $10. The maximum balance that a card can have is $2,500. Funds can be added to cards from a bank account, from a debit or credit card, and from another Facecard. Retailers can send customers Prewards, which are deposits onto the card to be used in the store. What Prewards are received is determined within the customizable member profile. One thing I don’t like about it is there is a $4.95 fee if the account isn’t used for 90 days. The other thing I don’t like about it is that it may preauthorize more than you’re actually going to spend if you’re using it at a restaurant or gas station. I can see where this card could be useful, particularly for high school or young college students. It isn’t a credit card, so the user can’t spend money that isn’t there.

There are lots of people interested in selling things online, including people that sell regularly and people that are just looking to get rid of some stuff or make a little money. Ebay fees for selling can really mount up. Sell.com is a website that offers online classifieds as an alternative to online auction sites.Users can search using keywords or browse categories, and specify the minimum and maximum amount they want to spend. Results can be narrowed down to a geographical area. Sell.com is free to join. Buyers never pay any fees on their purchases. Sellers do not pay transaction fees and it costs between $1-$6 to list an item for sale. I found all sorts of items on the site, from antiques to watches (no Sector watches that I could find though). Have you ever used Sell.com? Were you pleased?