Simple Randomness

Any Plans for this Summer?

So now that we’re officially in June, have you thought about any plans that you have coming up for this summer?

I don’t know about you, but we’re probably going to take it pretty easy this year.  We even cancelled on a big summer trip that my wife’s family usually makes up to Bear Lake, Utah.  We’ve been telling them for a couple of years now that we probably won’t come every time, but this year we finally decided to live up to that statement.  Naturally they weren’t too happy with the idea, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

I remember as a kid our tradition was that every summer we would go down to Lake Powell, Utah and spend a week there.  If you’ve never been to Lake Powell and you live here in the West you should totally go sometime!  Some of the most beautiful desert scenery you’ll ever see, and if you’re willing to wake up at 6am to go water skiing you’ll be on perfect glass.

So what are some of your traditional vacation spots?  Are you going this year?

Summers Coming - How’s Your A/C?

Well, its definitely getting to be more like summer every day.  And it’s about time, too!  Things were crazy there for awhile.  I can’t think of the last time we had snow that late in the season.

With summer coming, how is your car’s A/C?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t do well without the A/C cranked up!

If you’re car is having problems you may need a new AC Compressor. If so, check out the site 1AirConditioning.com. They have all the parts you need to get your A/C working again. And you can have it all conveniently shipped right to your door!

So don’t suffer in the summer heat, get it fixed!

Working Two Jobs Get’s Old Really Quick

So for the next two weeks I’ll be working two jobs.  The only reason why is because I’m actually transitioning to one job, but I figured why not make a little extra money?

For those of you that regularly work 2 jobs, I have to say that I have a new found respect for you.  Admittedly, if I was in a position where it was absolutely necessary, I could do it.  But it does get very old.

So for those of you that do it on a regular basis, my hat is off to you and I hope that you don’t have to do it for that much longer!

How’s that for a random post???

Online Trading With TradeMONSTER

I’ll admit, I’ve always been at least a little curious about investing in the stock market and have always wanted to learn more about.  I actually hope to get involved in the not too distant future.  We’ll see how that goes.

One of the great things about trading stocks online is that most of the systems that are out there have a way for you to trade for free, or have some kind of a trial account so you don’t actually have to spend any money and can just play around with it.

TradeMONSTER is this way as well.  They have a learning system where you can do practice trades just to see how you do without spending any actual money.  I’ve always been someone that learns best by doing, so i think this would be the best way for me to do it!

The other great thing about TradeMONSTER is that the interface of it is completely customizable.  I always hate it when I have to adjust myself to the format of a program or interface.  It’s so much nicer when you can customize the platform to what you want to see.  That’s the way TradeMONSTER works!

They’re also a lot cheaper than most of the other services out there.  TradeMONSTER has a pricing page that compares their trading prices with some of the other major sites such as E*TRADE, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, and others.  Another thing that impressed me is that they were honest enough to show another system’s prices taht are actually cheaper than what they offer.  To me this shows that they have integrity, which is always good to see these days.  They aren’t afraid that they aren’t the cheapest, so they have to make it up in quality.

TradeMONSTER was started by some guys that you may have seen if you ever watch FastMoney on CNBC - Pete and Jon Najarian (along with Dirk Mueller).  So hey, they even have some well known guys behind it!

All in all, I’m impressed with what I’ve seen so far with TradeMONSTER.  So if you’re like me and want to get into trading, check them out!

Swine Flu and My Vacation

This last week my wife and I went on a cruise out of Long Beach.  Originally the cruise was supposed to go from Long Beach to Catalina, then down to Encenada, Mexico.

Well, as you probably guessed it, the Encenada part got cancelled because of the swine flu outbreaks in Mexico.  Part of me feels that in the long run this is probably a good thing, but then part of me also keeps wondering how much of this flu is mostly media hype.

I don’t know all the details, so I’m not going to be all super critical on the technicalities of the flu or anything.  Any time someone dies from this or some other disease it’s a sad thing.  But it seems like almost every year there is some sort of animal named disease that comes out that is going to be the next thing to wipe us out.

A few years ago it was Mad Cow Disease (they made some great stuffed animals from that one), then there was the Bird or Avian Flu, and now it’s Swine Flu.  Is it just me or does the media just love this kind of stuff and overinflates it?

Anyway, just some random thoughts on the subject.  It’s sad, don’t get me wrong, but how come they don’t report on the thousands that die from regular flu each year?

Good Advice for Debt

Debt is a big cause of our problems these days.  Whether it’s personal debt or national debt, we’re all being crushed by it.  I don’t know much about what I personally can do about national debt, but I do know that each of us can do better with our own personal debt.  And who knows, maybe that alone will make changes in a lot of other places.

How many of you need debt advice?  I think we all do from time to time.  Good thing that there are sites out there that can offer good advice on things like budgeting, getting a Debt Consolidation Loan, and other topics related to debt and getting out of it.

In fact, if you are in need of this kind of advice, check out InspectorGeneral.org.  You can call them and get some help getting out of whatever debt you’re in.  Sometimes debt is more than one individual person can handle, and so getting help and advice from somewhere else is definitely recommended.

They also offer some really good advice right there on the website!  So really, if you need some help getting out of debt, get in touch with InspectorGeneral.org.  We all need to do a much better job handling our debt.

Save on Auto Parts Online

If you’ve read this blog at all before, you know that I’m all about saving money by buying things online.  And really, if you plan ahead you can save on just about everything!

Well, here’s a site you can use to get auto parts online: GreatAutoParts.com!

They have a really easy site to use. Just choose the year and make of your car and they’ll help you to find the parts you’re looking for. They have a great selection of parts from all sorts of makers!

So if you have some work to do on your car and can plan ahead a little bit to get your parts online, check these guys out!

Custom Motorcycle Community

I’ll admit, I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle cause I just know that I would kill myself.  But I’ve often wanted to cause I just think they’re cool!

What’s really cool are these guys that customize their motorcycles.  I’ve just always been impressed with the guys that can do that kind of stuff.  And there are tons of these metric motorcycle community on the web where you can check out the kind of stuff they’re doing! I was browsing around this site a little today and saw some pretty cool stuff, so check it out!

If you do this kind of work maybe you’ll get some good ideas or can at least showcase what you’ve done. Check it out!

Is a Payday Loan Right For You?

Times are tough.  We all know that.  And every now and then you could probably use a little extra cash to make it through to payday.  That’s where a faxless pay day loan might come in handy.

You can get this type of loan in minute online without the hassle of going to a local location or faxing anything.  Just fill out an online application and if you’re approved you’ll have your money fast!

Just be sure to only take out as much as you need.  The last thing you want to do is cause further problems for yourself by getting a loan bigger than what you need!

Is Spring Really Here This Time?

The weather has admittedly been very strange lately.  It was getting all nice and warm and I was really starting to think that spring was here.

Then last week we got 6-8 inches of snow dumped on us.  Snow in the middle of April!?!?  Needless to say I was very annoyed by it.

How has it been where ever you are?  It seems liek just about everyone I talk to has had a crazy couple of weeks, except for the people I’ve talked to in Georgia and Florida.  They just like to rub it in when they have 70 degree weather…

Well, anyway, there’s my little weather post for what it’s worth.  I just hope that it stays nice for a while at least and that we’re done with the snow!!!