TV Repair

OKAY, so this has little to do with job search, but I stumbled upon something today that I thought I should share. I found two websites that look to be very helpful should your TV develop problems.

Rather than fumble around looking for a TV repair person to come to your house, or head off to some unknown repair center, I'll pass along something that could save you a good bit of agony and perhaps a few hard earned dollars.

There is a website, that from the comments I've read, is monitored by several very informed technicians. Their response is most often immediate and to the point. Just Answer dot com http://www.justanswer.com/
Is a very easy site to use. You simply type in the problem that you are experiencing with your TV and a response will come back to you. The site also tells you how many technicians are online and ready to answer your question.

Then for repair, there is a website that will provide a NASDA certified repair facility closest to your zip code. This may only be good for certain areas though. On the TV Repair Pros dot com http://www.tvrepairpros.com/ website, you simple tyoe in your zip code and the closest repair locations will appear. Once you select a repair center, a simple form will appear where you type in identifying information, your set name and model number, in addition to the issue that you are experiencing. Some may even make house calls.

You do not currently have TV issues? Great! There is a tab labeled "MORE CATEGORIES" where you will find five major categories and a couple hundred sub categories.

The major categories are:
~LEGAL & TAXES
~CARS & VEHICLES
~HEALTH & MEDICAL
~PETS & VETERINARY
~HOME & APPLIANCES
~COMPUTER & EDUCATION
~LIFE & PERSONAL

Justanswer.com has been in the News at the following:

~CNN.COM
~NBC.COM
~The New York Times
~The Washington Post
~Good Morning America
~TODAY

I certainly hope this helps you to avoid a bit of frustration. Better yet, I really hope that it saves you a few George Washington's here and there.

15 Must-Have Software Programs for Your PC

15 Must-Have Free Software Programs for Your PC

Posted by: "Brandy Nagel" benagel@bellsouth.net   benagel930

Sat Dec 5, 2009 10:59 am (PST)

>>NOTE: This article may be a little outdated, but I currently use many of these. ~ Ron<<

Over the last 3 years, the writers at MakeUseOf have profiled thousands of

software apps on the website. With all these thousands being presented to
you, it's hard to decide which apps to use and which ones to discard. To
make it easier for you, we have managed to compile a list of the top 15
absolute must-have tools for everyday tasks.

These are the essential programs that we recommend you install and keep on
your arsenal.

* 1. Firefox / Chrome (Web Browser)
* 2. AVG Anti-Virus (Anti-virus Software)
* 3. Auslogics Disk Defrag (Disk Defragmenter)
* 4. Glary Utilities (System Maintenance)
* 5. Malwarebytes (Spyware Removal)
* 6. IZArc (Universal Archiver / Extractor)
* 7. Google Picasa Software (Photo Management)
* 8. doPDF (PDF Printer)
* 9. Memento (Post-It Notes)
* 10. xVideoServiceThief (YouTube Video Downloader)
* 11. Mozy (Backup)
* 12. Digsby (Multi-protocol Instant Messenger)
* 13. VLC Media Player (Video Player)
* 14. Foobar2000 (Music Player)
* 15. ImgBurn (CD / DVD Image Burner)
* 16-20. Plus 5 Bonus Programs

1. Firefox / Chrome (Web Browser)

Both Firefox <http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html> and
Google Chrome <http://www.google.com/chrome> are excellent browsers. They
are both fast, user-friendly and known to be secure. So, which one do you
choose? The rule of thumb here is that you should use Firefox if you're
looking to add additional features (i.e. ad blocker, password manager, video
downloader, page translator etc.) to your browser.

You can see all add-ons for Firefox at https://addons.mozilla.org/
<https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/> . There are extensions for
Google Chrome as well, but the choice is rather limited. See, 10
<http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-popular-extensions-for-google-chrome-worth-
a-download/> Cool Extensions for Google Chrome.

2. AVG Anti-Virus (Anti-virus Software)

AVG Free Anti-Virus is the most popular free anti-virus software in the
world. It's also the most downloaded software program according to
Download.com.

Most of the MakeUseOf authors use AVG and we highly recommend it to others.
It's easy to use, consumes a relatively small amount of system resources and
auto-updates itself with virus definitions on a daily basis. Install it once
and it will keep your system secure without your intervention.

For those of you who frequently shop online and do regular online banking,
AVG recommends AVG Internet Security. While it's not free, it does offer
complete Internet Protection that will keep you safe even from advanced
online threats.

Download AVG Free: http://free.avg.com/gb-en/homepage
<http://makeuseof.com/short/count/avg/>
Download AVG Internet Security (Free Trial): www.avg.com/gb-en/download
<http://makeuseof.com/short/count/avgpremium/>

(Platform: Windows only)

3. Auslogics Disk Defrag (Disk Defragmenter)

Auslogics Disk Defrag is a must-have free PC maintenance tool that was
designed to cure system sluggishness and prevent crashes caused by disk
fragmentation. Windows already comes with its own disk-defragmenter but
Auslogics Disk Defrag is considerably faster and much more efficient.

It's extremely simple to use, does not require any analysis phase and is
faster than most of the other disk defragmentation software.

While there are several other free disk defragmenters, Auslogics seems to be
the defragmenter of choice according to the poll results on MakeUseOf,
Lifehacker and mega tech sites like CNET.

Download Auslogics Disc Defrag:
www.auslogics.com/en/software/

disk-defrag/overview

(Platform: Windows only)

4. Glary Utilites (System Maintenance)

Glary Utilities is a free system maintenance tool for protecting, cleaning,
repairing, and speeding up your PC. It comes with one-click maintenance
option that automatically runs all optimizations and repair jobs with a
click of a button.

But the best thing about Glary Utilities is that it integrates over 15 other
useful tools that nearly every computer user likely to make use of. These
are:

- Uninstall Manager
- Startup Manager
- Memory Optimizer
- Context Menu Manager
- Registry Defrag Tool
- Track Eraser
- File Shredder
- File Undelete
- File Encrypt/Decrypt Tool
- Disk Space Usage Analysis
- Duplicate File Finder
- Empty Folder Finder
- File Splitter and Joiner

Highly recommended!

Please note, it's highly recommended that you create a System Restore point
when using system maintenance tools like Glary Utilities. This is a
precaution to ensure that you can always revert your PC to an earlier state
in case something goes wrong unexpectedly.

Note: During the installation process make sure to uncheck the Ask Search
toolbar.

Download Glary Utilities: www.glaryutilities.com/gu.html?tag=download

(Platform: Windows only)

5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Spyware Removal)

[update: In the original list we recommended the Spyware 360 as a primary
tool for fighting spyware. But then we found out that Security 360 was
actually using the definition library of Malwarebytes.]

Malwarebytes currently ranks among top 10 most downloaded software on
Download.com. It's a very simple tool that does an important job, that is
protecting your computer from spyware, hijackers, keyloggers and other kind
of malicious craplets.

What makes Malwarebytes standout from the pack is its huge library of
threats to protect against. That's exactly what it makes so effective when
it comes to detecting spyware that other spyware scanners miss. This same
library made the earlier recommended Security 360 a powerful tool.

Malwarebytes may not be as feature-laden as say Spybot Search and Destroy
(another good spyware removal tool), which has a ridiculous number of tools,
but it is a very lightweight alternative with good spyware coverage.

There are both free and premium versions. The only difference between two is
real time protection. With real-time protection Mawarebytes will alert you
about the spyware before even it's able to install itself on your system.

Download MalwareBytes (Free): www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
<http://makeuseof.com/short/count/mbtsfree/>
Download MalwareBytes (Premium): https://store.malwarebytes.org
<http://makeuseof.com/short/count/mbtspremium/>

(Platform: Windows only)

6. IZArc (Universal Archiver / Extractor)

One archive utility to rule them all. You no longer need a separate program
for ZIP, RAR, ACE, 7-ZIP, TAR files and so on, IZArc can handle ALL of them.

Basically this unpacker/archiver gives you everything you get with other
popular archivers (ex. Winzip, Winrar etc.) but with additional features and
support for a huge number of archive formats. It can decompress archived
folders in over 40 formats. It supports pretty much every format you're
likely to come across.

There is something else, you can also use the IZArc utility to open CD image
files like ISO, BIN, CDI and NRG. Do you know of any other free archiver
that can do that?

Note: When installing IZArc make sure to uncheck the "recommended" option to
install PalTalk.

Download IZArc: http://www.izarc.org/download.html

(Platform: Windows only)

7. Google Picasa Software (Photo Management)

Picasa automatically finds all the photos on your PC, wherever they are, and
organizes them in seconds. It's an excellent photo manager, editor and
viewer for your computer.

With Picasa not only you can nicely organize your photos but also fix common
problems (i.e. red eyes), add cool effects and even browse photos by people
in them. Yes, it includes face recognition!

Plus one really cool thing about it is that regardless of changes you make
to your photos on Picasa the original version of each photo always
preserved.

Features include: - create video slideshows and photo collages from your
photos.
- organize photos based on the people in them.
- browse photos by folders, albums, people.
- geotag your photos on Google Maps.
- one-click fixes for common problems like red-eye, color, and lighting.
- 12 cool effects to make your best photos look even better.

You can find out more about Picasa by watching this Youtube video
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rskC6c_5L1M> . The Google team compiled a
getting started guide
<http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=93183&cbid=9u82h3f9qn
yq&src=cb&lev=answer> for Picasa. Highly recommended for new users.

Download Picasa Software: http://picasa.google.com/

(Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux)

8. doPDF (PDF Printer)

Almost everyone once in a while needs to convert documents to PDF. The doPDF
is the easiest tool that does exactly that. It installs a virtual printer on
your computer that you can select using the print option from any program on
Windows.

Whenever you need to convert a web page, Word document, Excel spreadsheet,
photo or pretty much anything else to a PDF file just go to the print option
in your program and select doPDF from the 'Printer' drop-down menu.

You can set the resolution to anything from 72 dpi to 2400 dpi, and the
"printed" files are text searchable.

Download doPDF: www.dopdf.com <http://www.dopdf.com/>

(Platform: Windows only)

9. Memento (Post-It Notes)

Chances are you have never heard about this program before. Memento is a
simple bare-bones post-it notes program for your desktop. It's better than
anything else out there because it's extremely simple and yet a very
effective tool.

Whether you want a program to keep track of your tasks or quick note taking,
Memento can help. It's very intuitive to use and consumes very few system
resources. Highly recommended!

It's an excellent program - and I've compared many other free ones! I have
been using this for the last 5 years and recommend it to everyone. The very
first MakeUseOf article was about this app :-).

It's also easily transferable from one PC to another, it saves all your
notes in Memento.notes file that is stored in the My Documents folder.

Features:

- double click memento icon on the taskbar to create a note
- show/hide notes on the desktop
- keep notes expanded or closed
- notes always remain on top of other windows
- position notes anywhere you like
- instant autosave
- notes are resizable
- randomly makes each note a new color
- make notes transparent

Download Memento: http://www.guyswithtowels.com/downloads.html

(Platform: Windows only)

10. xVideoServiceThief (YouTube Video Downloader)

Almost everyone is on Youtube these days. And the fact that Youtube has more
searches than Yahoo is good indication of this. The only issue with Youtube
is that there is no option to download videos so that you can watch them on
your computer, PSP, iPhone, mobile phone, iPod etc.

Fortunately there are lots of free software for that, and my favorite is
xVideoServiceThief. Apart from downloading videos, it can automatically
convert the downloaded video file to another format.

xVideoServiceThief can convert videos to several formats, including AVI,
MOV, MPEG, DIVX, MP4 and several others.

Moreover, xVideoServiceThief works with other sites as well, not only
Youtube. It can also download videos from Yahoo Video, Google Videos,
Metacafe, Dailymotion, CollegeHumor etc.

Download: http://xviservicethief.sourceforge.net/index.php?action=downloads

(Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux)

11. Mozy (Backup)

Backups are very important! Here on MakeUseOf we have published dozens of
articles explaining why you should always keep a fresh backup of important
data. And Mozy is the perfect program for that. It's an online backup and
recovery service that allows you to select files and folders on your
computer and safely back them up online.

It's fully automated, just set it once and it will do the backups without
bothering you again. What's even better, whenever you make changes to
individual documents or files within selected folders, your changes will be
replicated on your backup copy as well. So your backup always stays
up-to-date.

In the case of file corruption, accidental deletion or hardware failure, you
may easily restore your backed up files from the web to the original
computer or any another computer, be it a Windows or Mac.

Mozy offers both free <http://makeuseof.com/short/count/mozyfree/> and
premium accounts <http://makeuseof.com/short/count/mozyunlimited/> (only
$4.95/month). The only difference between those two is that free account
comes only with 2GBs of storage space. It should be more than enough for
backing up important files and documents. On the other hand, if you want to
backup your music library, photos, videos or maybe an entire drive then we
recommend signing up for a premium account.

(Discount: When signing up for premium account use 'MAKEUSEOF' (all caps)
promo code to get 10% off.)

Download Mozy (Free): https://mozy.com/registration/free/
<http://makeuseof.com/short/count/mozyfree/>
Download Mozy (Unlimited): https://mozy.com/registration/unlimited/
<http://makeuseof.com/short/count/mozyunlimited/>

(Platform: Windows / Mac)

12. Digsby (Multi-protocol Instant Messenger)

If you chat on a regular basis and are active on social networks then this
is a must-have program for you. There is so much this app does that it's
hard to explain it all in a few lines. Firstly, it's a universal instant
messenger that allows you to chat with your friends on MSN, Yahoo, AIM,
Google Talk, Facebook, Myspace, ICQ and Jabber, all from a single messenger.

Secondly, it allows you to read and reply to your emails. That's right
folks, whether you have a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail account you can receive
and reply to emails all from Digsby's slick interface. Currently Disgby
works with Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, AOL/AIM Mail, POP Email, IMAP Mail
accounts.

And that's not all, you may also monitor alerts and set status message
notifications for Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIN accounts. Pretty
cool, huh!

Other less important but still noteworthy features include:

- chat history (with search option)
- file transfer history to keep a log of sent/received files
- a widget for site owners to chat with visitors

(Note: Pay close attention when installing Digsby on your computer and make
sure to deselect (selected on default) the additional components you don't
need. Plus, once the app is installed go to the preferences window and
disable Digsby research.)

Download Digsby: www.digsby.com <http://makeuseof.com/short/count/digsby/>

(Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux)

13. VLC Media Player (Video Player)

With over 67 million downloads so far and roughly 7 downloads per second
it's one of the most popular video players around.

VLC is a highly portable multimedia player supporting most audio and video
formats and can play pretty much any video files you throw at it, including
physical media like DVDs. Plus it doesn't need any external codec, program
or codec pack to work.

The VLC can be used both by beginners as well as expert users for working
with video files.

The player can also play Youtube videos, convert video files, play
subtitles, etc.

Download VLC: www.videolan.org/vlc/

14. Foobar2000 (Music Player)

The foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for Windows and supports pretty
much all popular audio formats. This is an audio player of choice for many
audiophiles (the reader polls on MakeUseOf and Lifehacker confirm that). But
what's in it for you? Well, leaving aside its rich feature set, there are
two things that make it stand out from the crowd.

First, when it comes to the appearance of the player, it's HIGHLY
customizable. There is NO OTHER audio player out there that can be
customized as much. The Foobar2000 lets you change everything starting from
buttons, layout, background colors, menus to visualization details.

But the best thing about this gem, it needs very little of your system
resources when compared to Windows Media Player, iTunes or Winamp.

The Foobar2000 has also plug-ins for iPod support and things like lyrics and
album art. There is also a portable version if you prefer to carry it on
your thumbdrive.

Download Foobar2000: www.foobar2000.org/download

(Platform: Windows only)

15. ImgBurn (CD / DVD Image Burner)

There are many reasons we need a simple, fast way to burn disks. ImgBurn is
a CD/DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray burning application that is fast, lightweight, and
completely free.

With ImgBurn you can:

- backup your data or media files to DVD.
- backup your DVD movies to your PC.
- create Audio CDs from any music files such as MP3, WAV.
- create a duplicate copy of any DVD or music CD
- create video discs (DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray) playable in your DVD player

ImgBurn supports a variety of image formats and almost all types of discs,
so you don't need to look any further for your disc burning needs. There is
also a portable version that you can carry with you on your USB drive. For
additional details see the MakeUseOf ImgBurn review here
<http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/imgburn-easy-free-cd-and-dvd-burner-app/> .

(Platform: Windows / Linux)

Download ImgBurn: www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

BONUS (+ 5 programs)

16. Revo <http://www.revouninstaller.com/> - Free powerful uninstaller for
Windows. It can uninstall programs that you are not able to remove using
Windows' default program manager.

17. OpenOffice <http://www.openoffice.org/> - Free alternative to Microsoft
Office. Though requires some adjustments to program settings before it can
fully replace the Microsoft Office.

18. Foxit <http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/> - This one is
basically a lightweight replacement to Adobe PDF reader. With Foxit you may
launch PDF documents as fast as notepad files.

19. Spyware <http://www.spywareterminator.com/> Terminator - A compliment
to the above mentioned Malwarebytes. It's not as comprehensive but comes
with real-time malware detection and fast daily scans.

20. Portable Apps <http://portableapps.com/> - A huge collection of free
programs that you can carry on your USB thumbdrive. The suite includes
several of the above apps, plus many more. Carry your favorite computer
programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you
where ever you go. Use them on any Windows computer without leaving any
personal data behind.

So there you go, the top 15 that you should have on your system and use on a
frequent basis. Since everyone is different with different needs, you will
probably disagree with us on some of these choices. 

 

If you like this article, please spread it around and share it with your
friends. It took us us a while to get it done and test all the apps
thoroughly.

Job Boards

BEST JOB BOARDS

by JacksonLifeCoaching.com

 

Careerbuilder 

is among the top job sites with thousands of job postings and resumes. CareerBuilder has partnered with Gannett, Knight Ridder, Tribune, and other newspapers to provide local as well as national job listings. CareerBuilder.com powers the online job search centers for more than 1,000 partners, including 150 newspapers, America Online, and MSN

Cool Works

If you're interested in a seasonal job, start your search with CoolWorks. CoolWorks lists thousands of summer and seasonal jobs. There's a free weekly email newsletter and the opportunity to sign-up for a free email account to use for your job search.

Jobfox

Jobfox matches job seekers with employers, provides a professional web page for personal branding, and has a selection of tools, including text messaging, resume tracking, and Instant Messaging (IM) to manage your job search.

 

Indeed.com

Indeed includes millions of job listings from thousands of web sites, including company career pages, job boards, newspaper classifieds, associations, and blogs. Any job search can be saved as an email alert, so new jobs are delivered daily. Job seekers may also search job trends and salaries, read and participate in discussion forums, research companies and even find people working for companies of interest through their online social networks.

 

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the top career networking site and an excellent way to connect with people who can help with your job search and/or who work at a company you're interested in. In addition, LinkedIn has a Jobs section where you can search for positions by keyword and location, or use the Advanced Search option to search for listings by even more specific criteria.

 LinkUp

LinkUp is a job search engine that uncovers unadvertised jobs listed on company web sites. LinkUp monitors thousands of small, mid-sized, and large company career sections in order to connect applicants with unadvertised jobs by listing the jobs on company web sites.

 

Monster

From a numbers perspective, Monster continues to be the top job board site. Positions range from hourly local jobs to professional positions in just about every career field.

 

Realmatch

Realmatch works a little like an online dating service, but with jobs. The system matches you with employers and presents the results according to how good the match is.

 

SimplyHire

SimplyHired searches thousands of job boards, classifieds, and company sites. Advanced search options include type of job, type of company, keyword, location, and the date the job was posted.

 

USAJobsUSAJobs (USAJobs.gov) is the Federal Government's official source for Federal government job listings, job application, and employment information.

 

Yahoo! Hot JobsIn addition to job postings, registered HotJobs users can get search results automatically delivered by email, block employers from seeing their resume, create and save cover letters, and save job search results.

Restaurant.Com 80% off: $25 Gift Certificates $2 to $4, $10 Gift Certificates $.80

That's right, eighty cents for a ten dollar restaurant certificate. I successfully did this yesterday.

Restaurant.com has a new 80% off code "COOK" available. The $25 gift certificates are normally $10 or $15 depending on the restaurant, but are $2, $3 or $4 with the code. They also sell $10 certificates for $4 making them 80 cents each with the code.

Please read the small print before purchasing. They usually limit the application of the certificate to food only (not alcohol, taxes or tips). Only one certificates per table or group per visit, per night. But, it's still a great deal.

This is said to work all over the continental US.

Note that some of the restaurants limit the number of certificates per month. They start out with new offerings each month on a firs come, first served basis. Once they are gone, a message goes up by their restaurant name and you can not purchase from them until the following month.

They code will expire and a new one used, but I do not know the frequency of change. If the code does not work, you can click on Slickdeals.net. This is where I find the code to this site and many others.

They will bill through VISA, Master Card, or my most favorite way of online billing; PayPal.

I hope that this works to your advantage and either allows you to save a few bucks and/or eat a little better using your same budgeted money.

Coupons Gain Popularity On The Internet

In this economy, coupons are reported as gaining in popularity. To capture the, once frequent, now occasional diner, restaurants continue to struggle for ways to entice folks to spend their hard earned bucks. Grocery stores and food manufacturers are vying for those bucks as well. Coupons are meant to lure the user in the restaurant or store so they spend more than what they intended.

However, with a disciplined and planned visit, one can use the coupons to defray the cost of a monthly food budget.

Look for two for one deals; "Buy one, get one" (commonly called BOGO) at both restaurants and grocers. these are generally the best deals. Look for coupons where the product is at or near free. Then look for items that you normally buy that would be a good discount. Then, the real discipline is; buy only what you normally buy. Do not buy a product just because you have a coupon. This will only take away the from the saved bucks. An exception, of course, is to purchase the product if it is at or near zero cost. Then, it becomes a "freebie".

Signing up for a frequent shopper card at your grocer generally offers an additional discount on many products and in my opinion, are certainly worth taking a few minutes to obtain. However, frequent diner cards at restaurants are not generally a good idea and unless you develop a habit of dining there anyway, are generally a waste of time and either wallet or purse space. I end up carrying one around for a year, sometimes longer. I generally end up sending them to the circular file when I receive a new wallet as a Christmas gift every other year or so.

An additional note about shopping for your groceries: If two grocery stores are in close proximity, as often they are, it might pay to use certain coupons at one location and others at the second.

For restaurant coupons, go to the website of your favorite dining choices and sign up for their clubs, or newsletter. Great offerings come to your e-mail box and often free or deeply discounted choices. Some offer free birthday dinners. NOTE: You may want to set up a special email address just for coupons and specials.

As reported in a recent copy of the "Website Magazine", the following are some of the most popular Coupon Sites:

Coupons.com
Far and away the most visited coupon web site.

RetailMeNot.com

CouponCabin.com
This one offers an iphone app.

FatWallet.com
An Industry pioneer and includes more than 800 merchants.

DealCatcher.com

Although I haven't personally used these sites, they all seem to offer something for most folks.

Sites that I currently use are:

RedPlum.com

SmartSource.com

Couponmom.com
Select state, & grocery stores, then pull up the deals. You'll love this one. You can print out and use as your shopping list.

AFullCup.com
Sometimes, this one offers coupons from pharmacies.

My hope is for this to help you with your food budget. Happy clipping.

Why Should I Concern Myself With Your Problem?

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
What food might this contain?' the mouse wondered - - - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard,the mouse proclaimed the warning :
'There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said,
'Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.'

The mouse turned to the pig and told him,
'There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'
The pig sympathized, but said, 'I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.'

The mouse turned to the cow and said,
'There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'
The cow said, 'Wow, Mr.. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose.'

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap . . . alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.

So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember ----when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

~Author Unknown~

Dicipline and Six Steps to Living Debt Free

Once you return to work after that long career search, you realize that in the process, you have cut back your spending and have done away with things that once thought to be necessary. Things that you now realize that you can actually do without.

The positive cash flow has now returned and you can go back to increasing your spending dollars, right? Well, if you want to work towards living debt free, then increasing your cash spending is not entirely true. Yes, you can buy a few more groceries and yes, you deserve a night or two dining out (moderately).

It's all about discipline. Before you go back to all the things you learned to do without and discovered that you really don't need, Develop your game plan, working toward living debt free. After all, haven't you realized that's it's all about people and relationships, not material things?

The first decision that you need to make is to pay cash for things or do without them. DO NOT go back to putting everything on those plastic credit cards. I'm not telling you not to use them, but if you do, use a card with a zero balance and only charge what you intend to pay off when the bill comes due. Set a spending budget, and if after a period of time, you've built up extra, sock it into savings.

Then, start working down the list that I mentioned, the SIX STEPS to Living Debt Free.

1. $1,000 Savings Get $1,000 into a savings account as soon as you can. This will establish your survival cash flow. If you use money from it, get it back in there right away.

2. PAY OFF ALL DEBT EXCEPT HOUSE MORTGAGE After you have your cash reserve in savings, work off all of those credit cards and other outstanding debts like car loans. Start with the higher interest rates and work your way down, paying off as much as you can afford to pay each month and meeting the minimum payments on the others. Once the credit cards are paid off, DON'T use them again other than what we discussed earlier.

3. SIX MONTHS SALARY IN SAVINGS Now that you have paid off all outstanding credit except your mortgage, you can start socking the bucks away. Set up a separate savings account if you need to, but save up enough money to cover at least six months of your salary. This will help ease the pain, should you find yourself in career search once again.

4. 15% INVESTMENT - RETIREMENT Once you can help yourself during a career search period, you need to set yourself up for retirement. Fifteen percent of your income should help you toward that goal.

5. CHILD'S COLLEGE Your next investment should be in your child's (grandchild's) education.

6. PAY OFF HOUSE MORTGAGE After all of the previous steps are taken, pay off the house. Then, you can start tucking the majority of your earnings into savings, CD's, annuities, inheritances or other investments that will provide a return that will satisfy your needs. Plus, you can give to and help others.

Depending upon the amount of your outstanding debt, I realize that it can seem overwhelming. There are folks that can help you if need be. But, like I said earlier, it's all about discipline. If you don't have the money for it, don't buy it. Again, NEVER buy it with credit unless you intend to pay it off when the bill arrives in the mail.

All that said, I make one exception, provided that it works within your budget. If interest free credit is being offered for something that you've budgeted for, use it. But, make regular payments each month and schedule to pay if off at least two weeks before the final payment is due. That way, the entire credit amount will be paid off well before the terms of the loan and remove yourself from the possibility of owing the entire interest amount for the length of the loan. Again, it's all about discipline.

Good luck with this and I wish you financial peace and debt free living in your near future.

These steps were notes taken from Dave Ramsey. I've actually added his seventh step into my sixth step.