Fabulous Financial Solutions

Is there someone who is in law enforcement or the military on your Christmas list this year? If so, why not buy them a present that they really need, and have been wanting to buy for themselves? Chances are, you can find the right gift over at
511 Tactical, a store that caters to people in the military, law enforcement and firefighting. Your average outdoorsman wouldn’t mind a few of these products either! I know my husband would love the tactical fleece jacket–warmth AND practicality! It’s also a great place to find work boots as well. You know the importance of new work boots once you’ve seen a pair that’s been worn for a year. They may be functional, but boy are they grungy looking! I’m speaking from my own experience of course.

The stores around here are all having their Black Friday sales, and people are lined up outside the doors, hoping to be one of the lucky five to get that Wii at a reduced price. They can have it. I do my Black Friday shopping online. Actually, I did a lot of shopping yesterday, and found some surprising deals. But since it’s too late for that, get busy online today. Black Friday specials will sell out, but at least you won’t be standing out in the rain while they do! Online stores I like to check out are places like Amazon, Circuit City and Best Buy. Try your favorites as well–you never know!

There are typically two types of people who decide to use a
debt consolidation service. Those who want to solve their problem with debt by paying it all off as soon as possible, and those who want to get a
Personal Loan to consolidate their debt so that they can run up some more as soon as possible.

Which type of person are you? If you are serious about getting rid of debt, debt consolidation may be for you. Make sure you go with a company that doesn’t require home ownership, because the last thing you want to do is put up the equity you have built in your home in order to pay off your Saks Fifth Avenue credit card, you know?

You may find that you can reduce your balances by up to fifty percent–debt consolidation companies have bargaining power with the credit card companies that individuals don’t. It can be a really good move if you do what they advice and cut up all of your credit cards. And, of course, don’t apply for any others!

Many of us have dipped into our savings accounts at one time or another in order to pay the bills. The thing is, if you dip into that savings account, dip right back into your checking account once you get paid and replace the money! Think of it as an interest-free payday loan that is hopefully a one-time deal. If you don’t replace it, you may find that the peace of mind that comes with having some back-up funds evaporates. And we all know how most people spend money when they’re under stress!

I could have kicked myself when I signed on with my current web hosting plan without using a promo. Shoot, two years ago, when I did this foolish act, I wasn’t even thinking about promo codes. Now, I rarely make an online purchase without them. Check out
http://www.bestofthewebhosts.com, and you’ll find promo codes for both Bluehost and Fastdomain! You can save tons of money this way. Oh, and guess what a great Christmas present is? A domain with the person’s name, hosted and set-up with an easy to use interface, like WordPress. How cool is that?

Usually, when I consider the amount of my electric bill, I am thinking about how much the air conditioning or heating is running up the bill. However, we’ve had a recent spate of really good weather for a couple of months now. My electric bill did go down, but not nearly enough. I started evaluating my home to determine what the problem could be.

I finally figured out that it must be the lights. Every fixture in my house has four light bulbs. I have four canister lights in every room. I have lights under the cabinets and lamps. There is outside lighting.

So we finally started turning off the lights in a serious way. We’ve switched to florescent bulbs in some rooms. This month, we’ll see if the bill goes down. I certainly hope so!

Really. When I lived in Phoenix, the thing to do was to party with limos. Now, Phoenix is a big city. The gas for driving around it can get pretty expensive. Now imagine ten people driving around. That’s a lot of gas! It’s also a lot of people who probably shouldn’t be on the road after they’ve had a few. So what we would do was, prior to partying, call a
Limousine Service. That way, we kept ourselves and other people on the road safe. Also, we arrived at clubs in style. And, when you do the math, we really didn’t pay much more than we all would have paid for gas anyway had we driven separately. A limo split ten ways can be surprisingly affordable.

Now you can always crank this concept up a notch. I found out there’s a company called AA Transportation who can not only offer limousine service, but also
Party Bus Rentals. Sounds like fun!

This concept works with other modes of transportation as well. We are always chartering buses to go to the casino or to women’s retreats. It’s nice to pay a flat fee for transportation, AND not have to worry about driving several hours!

Schools do this too. It’s commonly known as the school bus. Of course, in the case of one district I worked for, they had to pay for a
School Bus Rental because they didn’t own enough buses. You can fit a lot of people on a school bus! Of course on a school bus, you don’t want people partying. I say this from the perspective of a teacher. But also from the teacher prospective, you want to save money so the kiddos can go on more field trips!

If you have a group and want to save some serious money while having serious fun, you should take a look at what AA Transportation has to offer.

I never realized quite how easy it is to make earrings until I sat down with my nine-year-old son the other day and began to make some earrings. All it took was some wire, wire cutters, pliers, ear wires and beads. We had everything on hand already but the beads we wanted. After a trip to the craft store, we sat down to make our earrings. After stringing three or four beads on the wire, we were ready to crimp the wire and attach the ear wires. My nine-year-old was able to do it all by himself. All in all, it took about five minutes per pair, at a cost of fifty cents a pair, if that.

I don’t think I’ll be buying jewelry again anytime soon!

Sometimes it takes money to make money. That’s why, if you are thinking of starting a new business, you may want to consider a loan. If so, make sure that you have a business plan written, and that it has been reviewed by someone who is a pro at evaluating the current market. If your business plan is a go, and you decide to get a loan, make sure that you get a good interest rate. Also, don’t get a loan for more than you need. Go with the absolute minimum you need for start-up costs, and try to cover some of those start-up costs with no-interest loans from family members, if at all possible.

Once your business is up and running, make sure that you are set up to
accept credit cards. Not accepting credit cards will make you look like a rank amateur. Getting the money to start your business off right, and then adopting a professional business profile will take you a long way towards achieving your entrepreneurial dream.

I just love the latte’s that cost a fortune at Starbucks. With the exception of one summer, I’ve never been hooked on stopping by Starbucks every day. That’s probably because I don’t have the time, because I certainly love their drinks. It’s certainly just as well, though, because spending five bucks on a cup of coffee is NEVER a good idea. Here’s what you can do instead.

Brew some espresso, or simply some really, really strong coffee. Heat some milk in the microwave until quite warm, but not boiling. Mix sugar and whatever flavoring you’d like (chocolate syrup, perhaps?) in the milk, put it in a shaker and shake, shake, shake! Add a couple of shots of the coffee and shake some more.

Pour into a cup. There’s your froth that you love, and you only paid about fifty cents or so to get it! Add a squirt of whipped cream if you like!