UMD

My father is Mr. Fixit and has always been that way. For as long as I can remember he has always built his own stuff, done his own remodeling, and repaired just about everything around the house. He is not really big on plumbing, but everything else he will definitely try. When my parents were first considering purchasing a home alarm system, because my father was traveling on business a lot and with me away at school, mom was home alone for days at a time. I thought it was probably a good idea to give dad the piece of mind he needed to leave her home, so I thought why not. Well, when my father told be about how much they wanted to come and install this wireless home alarm, I asked my father about installing it himself. He said that he had never really considered it, as most companies just offered the installation in the monitoring package and that was how he had always considered it. I told him that he should look online and see if he could find someone that sold just the alarm systems without installation, perhaps a company that would offer him some online support or telephone support, just in case he got stuck. He decided to look into it, and found, to his surprise, some really great deals on Wireless Home Alarm System packages. He said he came across a few companies that did offer tech support and programming support, since after researching it, he determined that the installation was actually much easier than the programming was.

Anyway, he decided to try it and so he ordered his new GE Simon XT alarm system online, and it arrived in just a few days. I came over to help him on a Saturday, and it took us a couple of hours to get the whole thing set up, but it worked out great. We did use the tech support a few times, and they were able to very quickly get us back on track, they really knew their stuff. After we got the whole thing installed and tested, we headed out to dinner to celebrate. Mom and dad both thanked me for coming over and helping out my father and also for the idea. They saved a good deal of money, and were very happy with the results.

My mother called me and told me that she had been calling around and had found out that there were some great deals right now on car insurance. She said that after only about 20 minutes online she found several insurance policies that were much less than what she was paying. She also told me that the only reason she started researching this at all was that she heard something on the local news that said that auto insurance rates were falling, but she still felt that her car insurance rate was kind of high, so she decided to look into it, and boy the news was right. She wound up saving about $1000 per year on her car insurance, which is a significant savings to say the least. She said she couldn't believe all the really low insurance quotes that she had found, and wondered why her insurance company had not dropped her rates at all, even though prices across the board were going down. I told her that they usually only reassess your insurance rates when you switch companies and that is why it is a good idea to shop around for insurance every few months to make sure that you are getting the best deals that are available to you. Also, a change in status like single to married, a driving class, the dropping of a ticket, or even an improvement in your credit score can help drop your insurance rate, but your insurance company won't even look at it until your policy expires. It is a good idea, with economic times being tough to take advantage of all the different competitors in the different markets, and don't just assume that the company that was giving you the best rate or deal before is still the one giving you the best deals today. That just may not be the case, because some companies will get greedy and try to take advantage of the little guy and our expectations that things are getting increasingly more expensive, when the truth is that in some markets the cost of things are actually going down, like the insurance industry, for instance.

I think that we all know that we've reached a beautiful time of the year. Outside the leaves are changing colors and just this morning we had a wonderful fall drizzle. Now the leaves are all falling under the weight of the water and they're gathering the grasses all across town. Everyone on campus, including myself, is engaged heavily in their studies and trying their best to hold on to the last vestiges of their social lives. This means trying to just find some moments every day to just send a text message or stopping to chat with the girls behind the counter at the coffee shop. It's these little moments that can be the difference between sanity and insanity for the next two months. I myself have decided to take it one step further and use these last wisps of nice weather as a reason to go militant with my down time. I am going to throw myself a party.

I've spent about three hours worth of free time this week getting party supplies for the luau party that I am planning for next weekend. I want it to work out perfectly and I am just praying that the weather works out right for this thing. We're going to do it all at night so the theme must work well with the weather or it could be a disaster. I've gotten glow sticks and glow necklaces for everyone to make dance party part of the night that much more festive. We're going roast a pig and then serve anyone who wants a piece. Everyone in the house is splitting the cost so it's not like I'm giving up my life's savings to make a bunch of people happy. It is a joint effort.

This party is essential for me and probably for anyone who decides to attend. If you miss out on this you are only going to have one more reason to party before the winter sets in and you are stuck indoors for the rest of the semester and that is Halloween. Now that is a great night to celebrate but you don't want to risk putting everything you've got in to that one night and chance having a bad time and ruining your whole semester. So please come out and have some fun with us because all are invited next weekend.

A friend of mine just recently started working for a health food natural product company and invited me to come to an informational seminar about it. I knew he really needed the support, so I said I would come and bring my roommate. We arrived at the clubhouse about 8pm and the talk was just beginning. I knew by the way this guy described the products that it was probably one of those pyramid things, but I really thought I would just buy something, after all I knew I wasn't really one of those people who is good at selling things if you know what I mean. I sat and listened to information about some of their products and testimonials about how well they worked and how much energy they had from taking these products. I thought it was a bit odd that everyone kept talking about how much energy they had and then they gave a free sample of this all natural stuff well it totally rocked my world, so I decided I should be more informed and read the ingredients. Well, sure enough it was all natural but it was all natural sugar, fructose, glucose, sucrose, and for those of you who are not aware those are all natural forms of sugar. Well, I decided I couldn't buy anything that was that loaded with sugar.

Don't get me wrong, I am a natural freak. I love going to my health food store and picking up some all natural herbs and stuff that can give you a natural boost without a lot of sugar that you don't need. I have even taken an all natural diet pill which helped me to lose about 50 lbs, while raising my metabolism and giving me energy, however it wasn't filled with sugar. I love health food, however, I hate the fact that these items were being portrayed as something they weren't. I think eating a healthy and balanced diet with some natural supplements is totally the way to go I just think that you need to be careful how much sugar you are ingesting, even when it is in its most natural form.

I had been shopping on Ebay trying to get ideas for things to get my mother for her birthday. It will coming up next month and I always have a hard time finding something that I think she will like. Well, I was on there surfing just as I had done so many times before, when all of a sudden I came across a seller selling all different kinds of tea. I didn't even think that you could sell tea on Ebay, but I thought to myself, what fun it would be to start a tea business on Ebay. So I decided to look into buying wholesale tea, to see if I could get it for less than what this person is selling it for. Their prices were really good and their shipping was cheap, so I wondered if it would be possible to buy and sell tea on Ebay. I did find one company that sold wholesale teas but they didn't carry the teas I was looking for. For instance I really was into white tea and herbal tea, and I couldn't find either of these, so I continued to check into other wholesale tea companies, and I finally came across a great company, which was located out in California who sold wholesale tea at a great price. They had all the teas I was interested in like green tea, black tea, herbal tea, chamomile tea, and my absolute favorite, white tea.

White tea has many health benefits. We all know that teas are high in antioxidants which is great for keeping diseases like cancer from attacking, but white tea also has great heart and skin benefits. I knew that if I could make my site full of interesting tea tips, that I could definitely sell more tea on Ebay then this person was selling. I ordered my teas, and sat down to design my web pages for Ebay. I found a great template that had little steaming tea cups and I used it for the border. I then went on some tea information websites and found a whole bunch of interesting health benefits from tea. I put one in each auction and put them right on top of my page labeling it TEA TIP OF THE DAY: It really came out very nice and it did get me some business. Selling on Ebay is not easy, but it is a lot of fun, and now I have my own little tea business on the side. The economy may not be so hot, but everyone will still be drinking tea into the recession don't you think?

My boyfriend is quite the manly man. Women dating “manly men” know what I'm talking about: he leaves cabinets open, his dirty socks on the floor, and he keeps his hand in his pants when he watches TV.

It can sometimes seem difficult to reach these men or to get their attention, but it doesn't have to be. There is a magic item that will let him enjoy his favorite pastimes while being with his favorite girl (in case you didn't know, that's you!). There is something that will make him remember just what a thoughtful girl you are. That word is “tickets”. Yes, tickets are the answer to your problems. I don't mean just any tickets, either. There are 3 major types of tickets you'll want to look out for and consider investing in.

The first kind of tickets you'll want to invest in are sports tickets. Whether you get football tickets or vouchers for a baseball game, take your guy to a sports event (extra points if you take him to see his favorite team out of town). First, what manly men don't like sports? He'll forever remember this. It's understandable that you may hate sports. But for the sake of your sweetie, don a jersey, grab a beer, and act like you're having the time of your life! You may not be paying a lot of attention to the game, but you're spending time with your guy and that will mean more than a three hour game.

If you are really averse to sports or your guy just isn't the beer chugging sports fan type, consider getting him concert tickets to see his favorite artist or band. But be careful: here is a time when you'll want to be careful of which tickets you get. Your boyfriend may love death metal, but try to go to a more organized event like a radio station bash so you don't end up at the middle of a mosh pit. That would be just dangerous, not sweet. Maybe try to make reservations at a jazz club if you're too concerned about the concert scene. Just make sure you go somewhere your manly counterpart will enjoy going.

Lastly, consider getting theater tickets. Not all guys are going to flip for dressy downtown theater affairs, so be careful. Be sure you don't try to drag him to a girly man-bashing performance, and you'll probably want to steer clear of any opera or ballet performances. If you can't get him into a stage performance, take him to see a good movie of his choosing. Sure, you may not like all the types of movies he likes but it wouldn't hurt to give one a try.

Hopefully, if nothing else, these ideas will help you spend quality time with your sweetheart...even if afterwards he still forgets to put the toilet seat down.

My parents have been looking for the perfect home for what seems like forever now. My mother has the perfect home in mind, and my father the eternally cheap one, doesn't want to spend too much money. They have decided that since I am away at school anyway, now would be a great time to move by my brother, his wife and their 3 kids. More power to them, I think that my sister in law will probably have a break down with my meddling mother in the same town, but oh well, I guess that is going to be their problem now. Anyway, finally they came up with a solution. A friend of my father's, who knows that they have been looking for a home for quite a while now, suggested Schumacher homes. Apparently they are a company that offers some beautiful custom made homes at a reasonable price. Well, they went and met with someone from Schumacher and mom was really impressed. She loved the styling of their homes with lots of high ceilings and a lot of windows all over the place. My mother loves nature and she loves to have lots of sunlight coming in from all over the place. It helps the plants that she has all over the house too. They found a plot of land in a neighborhood just a few blocks away from where my brother lives, and although dad wasn't completely satisfied with the price, he said it was okay, but that's dad, he's eternally cheap. I thought the price was amazing for a custom built home and so did mom. She is so excited that she will be living right near her grandchildren, she can't wait another day. It will be a few months before they can move in, but mom says that will give her the time she needs to get their old house sold and packed up. She also had them make a room just for me, with my own bathroom and everything for breaks when I am home from school. It's a good thing that she did too, because I still have a lot of stuff in their house that I really would hate to have to get rid of, and you know nothing fits in a dorm room so that would be out.

Fortunately for me, I just got a promotion at my job. Sure I only work part time with school and everything, but it is nice to have a few extra dollars to spend. For the most part, my schooling is paid for and even my living expenses, I got some scholarships and my parents are paying for some, so I am doing okay. Lately my car has been giving me a few headaches and I have been looking into getting a new one. Well, not actually a new car, but a new preowned vehicle with a few less miles on it then my current car. Anyway, I went shopping around and I found a great car for a great price at a local auction house, a friend of mine here on campus had told me about. The auction was really a lot of fun and I got a good deal on a 2004 Saturn. I have always heard that Saturns get good gas mileage and that they are very low maintenance so I figured it was a good purchase. Well, originally I thought I would just trade in my old car when I bought the new one at a dealership, but since I bought my new car at the auction, there was no trading it in. I thought about selling it privately, but I know that I really wouldn't make very much on it anyway. Then a friend told be about cars for red cross, a program by which you donate your car to charity and then they sell it and the proceeds go into the Red Cross fund to help those in need. I thought that sounded like a great idea, so I called them and they took my car off my hands. It is nice to know that someone will get a good deal on my old car, while other's will get the money from the deal and some good help when they are in need. The Red Cross is an excellent organization and helps people from all over to get back on their feet in times of real crisis. I know that they helped a family in our neighborhood when their house burned down, leaving them with nothing. It is nice to know that there is a good place to donate money or goods to that helps people when they are down and out. You hope you don't ever need their help, but it is nice to know that if you do they are there.

My finance class is one that I feel will stay with me forever. I know they say that the classes in college are more meaningful and helpful in the ‘real world' and apply more to things that you will deal with when you graduate and are in the work force, but I don't see myself proofing geometric equations in my future. However finance 110 is the best class I have ever taken and feel like every day I want to go to class. I feel like I have learned so much that I can use in the future and it is also helping me to better understand what is going on in our economic world today.

Debt consolidation is something that comes up over and over in our class discussions. With the economy the way it is now (especially considering the bailout happening) so many Americans are knee high in debt. Even students worry because they leave college and enter the world already with thousands of dollars in student loans and sometimes (more likely than not) credit card debt. So learning about debt consolidation can really help to save yourself and your financial future. By consolidating your debt, you are allowed lower interest rates, however even though these rates are lower; you may end up paying more in the long end.

Finance 110 though has taught me how to avoid debt and use credit wisely. I think this class should be required for students in order to graduate. It is almost inevitable that students will come out of college with some debt (like student loans) but we learned how to deal with monthly payments and to budget wisely in this class and about asking for lower interest rates and debt consolidation. I feel like knowing about mortgages and ‘real life' makes it a lot less scary than going into it blindly. I took this class randomly when I added marketing as my minor and it was hands down the most practical and helpful class I have taken in my 5 semesters so far in my college experience (and I'm a pharmacy major). I feel like it has prepared me for what will happen when I graduate and need to get a job, insure myself, buy a home and a car and make decisions that will affect my future financially. Being prepared for the future is the best possible way to ensure you have a positive one.

Kids are really funny about pets, they beg and beg for them, and yet after they are grown, most of the time they just get ignored. They want that cute little puppy, but they don't ever think about all the things that go into taking care of a puppy. Unfortunately many grown ups take on pet ownership without considering these things as well.

In addition to all the things that you realize like feeding, watering and taking them out, all the time even in the middle of the night, there are so many more things that puppies need besides just the basics. They need love and attention. Puppies need toys to play with, otherwise they get in trouble and chew on things that they shouldn't. They need those little housebreaking pads, for those just in case moments when you aren't home and they need to go. If you are getting a puppy, then you also should invest in a baby gate. A baby gate is necessary sometimes to keep a puppy from getting into things that they shouldn't or to keep them in one place when you are not home. They need trips to the vet for things like shots, worming, spaying and neutering. During the summertime if you puppy spends time outside you may need to get stuff for flea treatment. Products like Advantage and Frontline are great, but make sure you get them early in the season, or you will have to buy stuff to get fleas out of your house as well. A puppy also needs a good safe place to run and play outside. If you live in an apartment then you may be able to take your dog to a pet park or a regular park, depending on the leash laws in your area.

There are many things that go into responsible pet ownership and if you are considering getting a puppy or kitten then please be sure to consider whether you really can take care of them in the way that they need to be cared for. They are not just something cute to pick up on a whim, they are a lifetime commitment (at least for the pet's lifetime), so don't take it lightly. Think about your lifestyle, and really think about what you have to offer a pet, you may just be better suited with a hamster or a fish, than with a puppy or a kitten.