AA Blog

Online Degrees are becoming more and more popular amongst professionals and parents.  As opposed to a traditional university education, online courses are allowing people with busy schedules and family obligations the opportunity to continue and further their education at their own pace and on their own terms while balancing that fine line between professional, family and personal time.

Our neighbor is about the finish her online degree programs in marketing and she has already lined up a job that will be paying her almost double what she is making now and she will only have to work part time.  Talk about a win-win situation.  She will have the luxury to work during the day till early afternoon while her children are at school, and once she picks up the kids from school she will be free to devote her time to the kids as opposed to work.  And think, all this, plus the fact that she will be making more money and working less hours.

In addition to all of this, there are even grants available that will provide money for continuing educational purposes.  Sites like http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ are a great place to start.  You have nothing to lose except that low paying dead end job you are working now.

An accessory that is often overlooked are belt buckles. Think about it, everyone has at least one belt, and the belts themselves are pretty standard.  Adding custom belt buckles will make the belts look different and it will also show your individuality and display things you like.

These also make great gift ideas.  They look good, are stylish and last for a very very long time.  Things like military belt buckles, team logo belt buckles, car emblem belt buckles, product logo belt buckles and many other types and designs are available for any occasion as well as anyone with any interest.  You will be hard pressed not to find anything that will not appeal to any one person.  The choices are limitless.  In other words, one of these types of gifts could be given to anyone, regardless of their age, sex, or personal tastes.  Kids will also love these.

So, the next time you are in a bind and can not decide on what to buy as a gift for a friend, colleague or even a family member, remember all of the options you have with belt buckles. The gift you give will be appreciated and more importantly, it will be used.

One of the things we often forget about when making plans to move is having arrangements made for Auto Transport.  We worry and fuss about the contents of our home and our car, which is often our livelihood and something we can not live without, is often not thought about till the last minute.

When it comes to Car Shipping, we need to make sure that we deal with and contract a reputable company that will not only get the delivery done on time, but also take care to ensure the car being transported is taken care of in terms of safety and is ultimately delivered in the same exact condition it was picked up in.  The last thing you want to happen is getting your car late and damaged.  So, to avoid this horrible situation make sure that the Car Transport company you hire will deliver on its promises and has ample insurance to be responsible for your property during the time it is in their hands being trucked across the country.

It may be wise to be safer and pay a bit more to deal with a reputable company as opposed to being frugal and going with the lowest quote for car transport.  Imagine the problems you will have to deal with if your car delivery is late and you are in a new town, city or state.  Your life will be placed on hold until your wheels arrive.  And, how much will that cost you?

Post contributed by Toni Jensen

My favorite BestChoiceTV.com episode would have to be “The Dr. Phil Family.” The Dr. Phil Family started out about five or more years ago and the episode was about a sixteen year old girl who got herself pregnant. She wanted to keep the baby, but her parents wanted her to give the baby up for adoption. The pregnant girls name is Alex, or Alexandria. She has one sister named Kristine. The two sisters do not get along. This Dr. Phil Family episode would air every Monday on the Dr. Phil show at 3pm central time on channel 12. I would never miss an episode; I really looked forward to watching this dysfunctional family. As the episodes continued, Alex did end up having a baby girl and she did not marry the father or finish school.

She and her parents were raising the baby, and Alex and the baby’s father eventually broke up. Alex got pregnant again. Needless to say her parents were very upset. Now they will have two babies in the home to raise. They again tried to talk Alexandria to give the baby up for adoption, but she would not even consider it. Alex again was not with this baby’s father and soon met another guy and got pregnant one more time. This time her parents suspected she was addicted to drugs and feared this new baby would be too. Well they were right. Alex’s new baby was born addicted to drugs. She now has lost custody of all her children and a new episode of “The Dr. Phil Family” will be starting next month. I am very excited to watch all the drama that goes on in this highly dysfunctional family.

This summer, we have decided to go on an extended summer vacation in Miami.  We plan on being in Miami for at least a month maybe even longer, like 2 months.  As such, one of my friends suggested that I actually buy a used car while I am out there and he proceeded to explain why this option would be more economical than renting a car for that duration.  And, after I saw the numbers, he was absolutely correct.

Now, that I have the living arrangements all done, it is time for me to look for Used Cars in Miami and have one available and ready for us when we arrive with the family.  We are leaning toward getting a Honda Accord because from all of the research we have done, the Accord seems to be the best in terms of its reliability, comfort and value.  The number of positive feedback for the Accord are very very high, so I know that if I do decide to sell the car back when our family vacation is done, I should have no trouble doing so.

The bottom line is that the amount of money I would spend every month as a monthly payment versus the amount of rental fees for that same amount of time will be much less. And, at the end of the day, I OWN the car.

The economy is getting better, so they say, but I still think you’re best bet is still to invest in gold. The prices of gold bullion have been going up and will continue to do so till the economy corrects itself, which in many expert’s opinions wont occur for another three to five years. As a safe investment you need to buy gold bullion and hold on to it.

Bullion is a commodity. As a matter of fact, it is the most prominent thing that the entire world’s economy is based upon. It has been that way from the beginning of civilization and continues to be. Money systems of nations are backed by gold and when things go bad, gold becomes the “gold standard”. I contacted my broker and asked him to buy bullion for me about 6 months ago. That has by far, been the best investment I have ever made.

In times of uncertainty such as these, you need to go back to the basics of investing and put your money into the proven investment vehicles. You can not afford to take chances with the hard earned money you have made, so gold is what you need to invest in.

I received a correspondence from a prospective business partner in Germany and needed to have it translated, so I could read it, and if agreed to it, sign it and return it in 2 business days.  This really put me in a bind and on the hunt to look for a company that offers  translation services and can turn a project around quickly.

I did my research and searched for a translation company that not only knew the language, but also understood it.  The last thing I wanted was a machine translation where the spirit of the communication becomes lost.  Certain things do not translate well verbatim and knowing the language will always help getting the message accross as opposed to a word by word translation.

I needed to know and. more importantly understand what the underlying emotion of the document is so I could respond in kind.  There is no substitute for knowing the conversational aspect of a language.  Literal translations  simply replace words in one language with the same word in another language, which, if you have ever read such a document, is often incomprehensible. I am glad I found the Übersetzungsbüro I was looking for.  They got the job done and I was able to meet my deadline.

Summer is right around the corner, and we are making preparations to get new furniture for our patio.  This past winter was very harsh in Southern California standards, and our existing patio furniture took a beating.

As a replacement, we are looking into getting either Adirondack chairs, Picnic Tables or even Park Benches for our patio and backyard.  I know this is not standard patio furniture, but think about it.  Park benches take a beating but are still durable for years.  These are the same qualities I want in the furniture I buy for my home.  I do not want to keep re-investing and spending mony on these types of things every two years. As a matter fact, I am going to start looking at a number of other Site Furnishings to add to the back yard space and/or patio.

I think, because we are taking a completely new and drastic approach to redoing our patio and backyard, the results are going to be really amazing.  It will definately be something that the kids will like and enjoy, and the furniture will have durability and be long lasting and weatherproof.  I really can not wait till this project is done so we could enjoy the weather and the great summer days that are coming up.

With my kids starting Jr High school soon, I am making arrangements to get a Key Logger application installed on the PC’s they use to get online and chat with their friends. I like giving my kids room to grow and allowing them to make some mistakes so they can learn from them, but in the same token I want to know who they are communicating with and what they are planning to do.  I do not consider this bad parenting, rather, informed parenting!!!

I think having this type of computer security is one of those things that is a must in todays’ digital world where connectivity and conversation can come up with anyone anywhere in the world.  How many times have we seen news stories that tell about adults pretending to be kids and getting information from kids online and using this information in a very bad way.  I want to do everything I can to make sure this does not happen to our family.  You can never be too careful.

As a matter of fact, I do not see this as being any different than adding a home security camera.  It provides peace of mind, and that is priceless.

Since I started my new online business, I have been getting tons of calls and it seems that getting a  toll free forwarding number is what I will need to take the business to the next level.  Having that toll free number really legitimizes a business in the eyes of the customers.  It is a very important feature for any business.

In addition to the local toll free numbers, I will also be getting an international call forwarding number so that my non US customers can also call for free to place their orders.  This small amount of investment to buy toll free number will undoubtedly increase sales and my bottom line.  This small expense will pay for itself after just 3 orders.

The ease of getting such a toll free number is so simple that any business needs to invest in it and get a toll free number, no matter if they are in the products or service industry.  Allowing your customers to call you on your dime will allow for more customer interaction and provide valuable insight from the people that are paying you for your goods and/or services.  In other words, you are getting information about your business directly from the audience that is spending their money.