Saving money on car insurance.

I was opening up the mail the other day, and to my surprise my car insurance company sent me back a check. It was because I had moved to Irvine, and the rates there are cheaper (probably because there is less crime there). That was nice of them. They could of just kept the money and put it toward their profit, but they refunded the money back to me. That is why I like this insurance company, if I did not then I would most likely be looking for other car insurance quotes.

But the bad thing about living in Irvine is with all the additional police, there are also additional fines and tickets. My handyman received a stop sign ticket the other day, and the total cost of the ticket was $380. I guess they have to pay their salaries some way.

Back Blogging

I took a short summer break from blogging this past month to get caught up with things. We recently moved to Irvine, and there are plenty of things to do around the house to keep me busy. Also I have an added commute. One way from Irvine to Redondo Beach is around 45 miles. Going to work takes me around half an hour, but coming home usually takes a little bit over an hour. Lucky I have been able to telework, so I only go into the office 3 days a week.

During this past summer, we also took a vacation to Orlando. We finally got to visit Disneyworld and all its themeparks. We were also able to catch the grand opening of the Harry Potter attraction in the Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. My sister in law and her son tagged along the trip. They were here for seven weeks.

Brandon now starts preschool, and he has been busy with that. We are finally starting to settle down. Each weekend is not like crazy busy like it has been this past couple of month.

Glamour Smile and Pure White Scam!!!

If you are looking for teeth whiting products stay away from Glamour Smile and Pure White. They have been advertising under a fake Consumers Digest Weekly site. Everything about this site is fake… from it being featured on news sites like CNN and ABC to the comments and reviews. Everything is fake.

The promotion they are giving you is a free trial of the product. All you have to do is pay for the shipping of around $7-8. But once you sign up for this, it will automatically enroll you in their membership program. This costs an additional $180 a month! You won’t know about this because their terms and conditions are hidden when you sign up. You do not know about this until you see these charges being booked to your credit card.

My wife fell for the scam, and I have been trying to get the money back from my credit card company. I have filed a dispute and hopefully I can get the money back. We tried returning the product, but they are asking for a $50 restocking fee. They are out there just to steal your money. So if you see something like this, it is too good to be true. Stay away!!!

Digital camera shopping

Recently my wife purchased a new Canon digital camera for our trip to Orlando Florida. We were hesitant on bring our DSLR camera with us because of its buld. We looked at many digital camera reviews before picking this one. Your bust bet to buy a good camera is the reviews online. There are so many sites out there dedicated on helping you find the perfect camera for you.

Even for camera equipment and supplies, these sites can get the one perfect for you. There are also forum sites out there like Slickdeals or TechBargain that can help you find the best price for your purchase. The internet is a great thing, and you have to take full advantage of it. It can save you a lot of money on purchases.

Bad eating habits

Currently I have not been eating as healthy as I would like. I have been eating more burgers, tacos, and other fried foods. I just have cravings for these every once I a while. But I really have to watch what I eat because of my weight and cholesterol problems. When I do gain the weight, I have thought about purchase exercise equipment like a stationary bike or pull up bar
, but most of the time just plan running more will usually do the trick for me.

Unemployment rate still high

The unemployment rate in the United States is at an all time high. I was reading online a couple of weeks ago that the rate was 16%. It is probably higher because that percentage is not counting the people that have given up looking for a job, so you are looking at something over 20%. With more people out of jobs look for the rate to continue increasing. It is a ripple effect.

The one thing if you do find yourself unemployed is to collect unemployment and look for some short term health insurance NC to get you by. Things are not a bleak as they seem. There are still many jobs out there, you just have to look and apply.

Termite damage

Being a real estate agent, we have seen many homes in the Southern California area. The one thing we noticed in many is termite damage. Most of the homes here are made of wood. And with the weather here, it is the perfect recipe for termites. I wonder if you can make a home out of metal or steel? You have seen many metal buildings around, but why not for a house? I know the costs are probably not practical, but it is something to consider.

You won’t have to worry about termite damage or other conditions like dry rot. Your home is pretty much solid, so you won’t have to worry about natural disasters like earthquakes.

Ikea junk

One of the places we have been visiting a lot these days is Ikea. We are looking for furniture for our living room and bedroom. So far this past month we have gone there almost on a weekly basis. We have been buying stuff and returning things as well. Brandon loves it there. He likes using the barcode scanner and eating their cinnamon rolls.

The one thing that we do not like is that some of their furniture items are defective. Anna has been trying to put together a shelf for our living room, and the pieces do not align. 3 of the shelves are OK, but the other 2 are not. We took the items to the store to return and purchased another set, but it had the same problem. Oh wells, I guess you get what you pay for.