Verizon gives Wireless Winter Tips

Did you know that winter could wreak havoc on your wireless phone? It can, and the winter blast that is currently chilling the US is one of the reasons Verizon has come up with some cool winter wireless tips to keep you fully charged and ready to go.

Read Verizon's press release.

 

Getting a New HDTV for the New Year

So you've decided to get a new HDTV. Well good for you! Did Santa leave you some money? Perhaps you're going with the saying, out with the old and in with the new? Either way it's time to go shopping.

When I was in the market for an HDTV, I found this cool site with lots of information, everything from understand high-definition to buying an HDTV to optimizing your HDTV. Pop on over to HDTV World: CNET's Guide to HDTV before you invest in a new TV.

Eco-Friendly New Year's Resolutions

I don't know about you guys but I really need to be more green. I mean sure, I take advantage of my neighborhood curb recycling program but I know there's more I can do. So for my New Year's resolution I'm making a list of all the things I can do to be more Eco-friendly in 2009.

Being green for the new year. Here are my ideas:

• Stop buying bottled water and use a water filter syster that attaches to my faucet.
• Look into using clean energy for my home.
• Purchase some renewable energy credits (RECs) to offset my carbon footprint.
• Start using a power strip for my electronics so I can turn the power switch off and avoid wasting energy.
• Buy cotton grocery bags so I can reuse them instead of the paper or plastic bags at the market.
• Learn to ride the bus or carpool to work at least 3 days a week.

Do you guys have any other green ideas I can incoorporate into my 2009 plan? Please leave me a comment.

Making a Little Money Online

So, if you are like me and you've only dabbled thus far in selling stuff online, I've found you a good resource. Check out the article Determining Where to Sell Online from BusinessWeek. With the changing market conditions, it may be a good read for those who are a little more experienced as well.

Even better, you can click through a slide show of the top sites, listing the pros and cons of each. To go to it directly, click here.

Saving Money Doesn't Necessarily Mean Spending Money

Thought I would impart a quick tip on a relatively easy way to save money without having to... well spend a bunch of money. If you're like many Americans suffocated by credit card debt, there are two simple and immediate solutions that can save you money.

First, contact your current credit card company and negotiate an interest rate decrease. Be prepared to do some leg work and don't give up easily without speaking to a supervisor first. Faced with the possibility of losing your business to a lower interest credit card, credit card companies will be more inclined to listen.

If resistant, then consider transferring your higher rate balances to a new card with a low intro APR. This will allow you to focus on making small, manageable payments every month without being sucked into the vacuum of finance charges. According to an article from MSNBC, it's entirely possible to save up to $730 if you transfer a $2,000 balance from an 18-percent card to an 8.25-percent card and then pay off your balance at a rate of $50 a month. Now the math is a rough estimate that could change depending on many variables, but it does illustrate that a low interest rate credit card goes a long way in helping shed some of that pesky credit card debt and save money in the process.

Cleaning Tips for Your Home

Even though "spring cleaning" is already well past us, it's never too late (or early) to take a new approach to keeping your home clean and tidy. We all know that with work and whatever else it is that seems to devour our schedules whole, it gets hard to do simple things around the home or the apartment. I mean, we'd all rather be spending our free time doing something more leisurely than scrubbing the linoleum or cleaning out the closet.

While everyone has their own handy tricks that they use to clean, some of us (like myself, and maybe some other dudes, too) remain woefully ignorant of simple things like stain removal and cleaning kitchen cabinets. And that's just scratching the surface. We could all use a helping hand from time to time, which is why I was glad I stumbled across Merry Maids, which has a unique list of cleaning tips and guides in order to make your cleaning life a little more easy to manage.

Some notable tips:

• Removing candle wax from wood, upholstery or carpet
• Cleaning marble and granite floors
• Odor removal
• Pet hair removal

Considering these tips are coming from a professional maid service, they should be rather helpful. Do you have any particular cleaning tips that you use around the house that could be useful? To read all of the tips in the guide, visit Merry Maids.

And if you're still wondering how you'll even have time to attempt any cleaning around the home, have you considered that WhiteFence can help connect you to maid services in your area?

More Tips on an Energy Efficient Home

Even though the summer season is on its path out the door, soon to be replaced with Fall, the energy bills can still cause some damage. The cool weather is on its way (along with the newest batch of Oscar hopefuls in the box office) and eventually, the holidays. No matter what time of year it is, though, there's always a need to save money on the home utility bills.

Mother Earth News has put up an intensive article that looks at how home-owners can save both energy and money with some simple improvements to their homes. It includes several projects (some are do-it-yourselves and others require professional assistance) that will ultimately lower your energy bills and help you conserve power and water in order to help the environment.

While some if it may seem to be a bit over your head, there are even tips on what kinds of insulation to use and ways that you as a consumer can save warm water. I've read lots of these lists, and I must say that some of the suggestions were new to me. If you're like me, then you'll agree that it's nice to learn something new that can help you around the house. What's really nice is the way that the article simplifies these things to show that energy conservation isn't a huge burden, but rather, something that anyone can do.

To view this list and start saving money, visit Mother Earth News. Are there any measures that you currently take to conserve power? Do you find them to be a strain, or are they easier than you would have thought at first?

Help on Using Movers

While the season for moving during the summer is winding to a close, it is still going strong as people relocate all around the country. As anyone that's moved before knows, packing everything you own into piles of boxes is a trying ordeal and sometimes ends up being much more stressful than you first imagined.

WTOP News recently posted a feature about the moving season and how to prepare for movers. Apparently, "an estimated 40 million Americans move each year, with August being high season". The tips provided in the article about using movers cover the entire moving process, from planning and organizing to the actual day of the move. Some of the tips include things like packing a couple of weeks worth of dishes and clothes to reduce stress as well as getting snacks and drinks ready for the movers on the big day.

If you're moving this month or thinking about moving in the near future, these tips on movers are a must-read. To find out more, head over to WTOP News.

Tips to Defeat the Heat

During the summer, especially in Texas, the heat can at times be unbearable. While the temperatures are so high, the air conditioner becomes a much welcome invention, making you comfortable inside of your home. The unwanted side effect of all of this is that your energy bills tend to skyrocket along with the heat, since the air conditioner is running like a bandit all day long.

Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure that you keep those costs low, especially while prices on everything else are rising at the moment. A new article on Homemakers talks about 10 tips that you can use around your home in order to save money for the summer. Likewise, Plenty Magazine posted an article about 5 ways to save on energy as well.

The articles cover things ranging from sealing up the cracks in your home to insulation and even opening your windows when it rains in order to generate a breeze that freshens the air inside. To find out more, check out Plenty Magazine for 5 tips on home cooling and Homemakers for 10 power saving tips.

Change Your Address Online: It's Fast and Free!

I recently moved to a new place and had never gone through the process of having to change my address. I absolutely had no clue of what needed to be done, and to be honest, did not even think of it as something that had to be done immediately.

What made me realize that this was a high priority was after a credit card company called me saying I did not pay my last month's bill. I argued that I had called and changed my address with a representative, but still had not received my bill at my new address. I was informed that the agent had not changed my address. Fortunately, the company was willing to waive the fee due to miscommunication on their part.

The representative then suggested going to the local post office to guarantee all my mail was sent to the new address, and suggested using the Internet to implement the change. I needed the easiest and quickest solution available, and definitely did not want to have to experience any more surprises in the form of late fees.

Through Google, I landed on a website that allowed me to change my address with the United States Postal Service (USPS) for FREE! I also received a 10% coupon from The Home Depot. The process was fast and absolutely painless.

I would recommend this service to anyone who doesn't have time to wait in line at the post office during their lunch hour, and who wants to prevent any creditors calling them due to unnecessary late fees! In fact, changing the address online was so simple that I suggest it be one of the early tasks you accomplish during your move planning.