I was talking to a buddy of mine that just started college in January.  I know that is a strange time of year to start, but he had been in Europe for the previous term, so he missed out starting in the fall.  Besides, he really only had one term left to finish his course anyway, so everything worked out fine.

The one thing that he mentioned though that there were more and more credit cards for students available on campus.  He told me that at first he was worried for the younger students that really didn’t know how to control their spending and feared that the college was essentially leading their students down the path of debt.  Chances are that most of the younger ones would fill out many student credit card applications and find themselves with quick access to a lot of money.

But he told me that he found out later that the large number of college student credit cards were really not a problem.  It turns out that the student union offers courses on responsible credit use, and their campus had one of the lowest bankruptcy and credit problem rate in the country.

I was surprised, but happy to hear the level of education that the campus offered.  Maybe if they would have done that back when I went to college, there wouldn’t have been as many of us that had to go bankrupt.  It is sure nice to see things have changed.

I have always wanted to learn to play the piano. I was not permitted to take lessons as a child because we did not have a piano and it was pointless for me to take lessons if I had nothing to practice on. I watched all of my friends learn to play and was always envious that it wasn’t me up there tickling the ivories.

On a whim, one day, I went out and bought myself a piano. I sat at it and plucked out “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” That was about the extent of what I could play. I did not want to take lessons, because at my age, I thought that would be embarrassing. So, I decided to go and browse through a music store and see what was available for self taught lessons.

I found a great set of DVDs by Will Barrow and learn master piano. I thought that this would be worth a try, so I purchased them. It is the most amazing thing that I have ever done. I can now sit with a book and play songs. I love my piano and I will be forever grateful to Will Barrow for teaching me that I do have some talent, after all.

I am a firm believer that your money matters, no matter how much money you have. It may sound cliché when people are asking for donations and say that every cent counts, but I really believe that it does. A few cents from thousands of people adds up to hundreds of dollars.

Where this really comes into play for me is saving for retirement. I hear so many people say that they just can’t afford to do this and I think that you really can’t afford not to. Michael Dinich is somewhat of an expert on this and he admits that a very small amount of money now can build up to a very large amount in the future.

I kind of got a passion for this sort of thing when my mother hit retirement age and had not saved anything for her future. She is now seventy-three years old and she is still working because she can’t afford not to. I started writing a daily article on my blog, urging people to put away even a few dollars a day. It is as simple as giving up your daily coffee and it will be worth it in the long run.

Ever since I remember, I have loved to draw. I could sit for hours drawing and coloring when I was younger. I still like to draw and I am the type of person who will sit with my nieces and color for hours. Some think I have never grown up, but I think I just really have an appreciation for art of any kind.

It is not that I don’t appreciate artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh, but I really prefer the modern ones. I like art that has a message and I like art that has a message that pertains to people today, not form last century or longer ago. One of my favorite artists of today is a guy that goes by the name Banksy.

I find that his work can make me both laugh and it deals with issues that pertain to us today. In fact, I own several Banksy prints and he is about the only artist that I have displayed in my home. Actually, I also have displayed the things my nieces have given me and I am sure that they are budding artists as well.

I have just put some chrome automobile emblems onto my car. They are so much classier than bumper stickers and I might even argue that they make the car look even better than it did before. They are real, too. They are not made of plastic. At least they better not be, for what I paid for them.

I got the idea when my buddy, Kent, got some chrome hitch covers for his and his wife’s trucks. The one he got for his was a very cool looking skull. I asked about it and that is when he told me about the emblems. I bought an American flag for one side of my car and a Harley Davidson logo for the other side.

I also bought some chrome letters and numbers and tacked SassyGal#1 onto the back of the trunk. That is what I have been called by my family and friends for as long as I can remember and I thought it would look cool on the back of the car. I thought right because it does look cool and I think it was money well spent.

One of the biggest things that I am concerned about as a parent is the safety of my personal information.  You see, I am not the only one that uses my computer, and since I cannot monitor what sites my kids visit every moment of every day, I wanted to find something that would protect my computer from cyber thieves.

While at the computer store today, I was looking at some Anonymizer software.  It looked pretty neat, but after talking to the computer salesperson, I found that what I was looking for was some sort of privacy software.

We looked at a number of products on the shelf, but I was told that ParetoLogic Privacy Controls was the best product on the market and I should try it out.

So, I have it installed on my computer now, and the installation was a breeze.  I guess it will remain to be seen how well it works, but I feel better now, knowing that I have taken some precautions to ensure my privacy while online.

I bet the headline got you to read this article, right?  Well, I know if I came across any way that I could save some money on gasoline, it would be a blessing.  The rising prices of gas have affected me more than I would like to let on, but it is getting harder and harder financially to handle keeping the gas tank full each month.

But I found a way to get free gas.

You see, my bank offers a gas credit card that pays you each time you purchase gasoline.  In my case, I get 5% cash back on all my gasoline purchases I make.  If you figure out the math, for every 20 tanks of gas I purchase, I get one gas fill free.

The funny thing is gas cards are not new.  In fact, I have a buddy that has had a couple of gas credit cards for a number of years now.  But they are becoming increasingly popular with the price increases on gasoline we are all forced to bear.

Next time you are at a service station, or your bank, ask if they have a gas credit card – and get your free gas too.

I was reading through some data recovery software reviews. I am needing something to recover all of the data on my old computer. My hard drive crashed while I had all of my assignments on it and I would really like to get them back, rather than redo everything I have been working on all semester.

I was crying my eyes out when it happened, as I was sure that all was lost and I had to start days of research all over from the start. It was suggested to me that I find some software that would allow for recovery my files. I did not care about the computer, but the stuff on there was very important to me.

Another thing, besides all of my school files, was that all of the photos of my son were on that computer. I was wondering if there was such a thing as photo recovery software. I looked into it and had a sigh of relief when I found out that it could definitely be done. I definitely learned my lesson and everything will be backed up very often from now on.

I remember the first time I ever bought a custom term paper. College was a lot harder than I had imagined it would be and there was a lot more work involved than I ever thought possible. I had always dreamed that college would be fun and that it would be a great experience that I would remember for the rest of my life. I imagined all the social gatherings and the new friendships. I was disappointed to find out that I would have little time for fun.

Most of the way through the second month, I hated it. I had not made any friends, due to lack of time and I felt like all I did was go to class and study. This is when I decided I was going to purchase a custom research paper so that I could spend the weekend hanging out at various campus parties. This was, after all, my youth and I wanted to make the most of it.

When I received a good grade on that paper, I didn’t feel even a little bit guilty. I was finally having the college experience that I had always dreamed of. I worked hard in college, but when I started to feel overwhelmed and needed a bit of a break, I would not think twice before I would go out and buy essay papers. It got me through what would have been a really rough four years, otherwise.

I have a five year old son who has been to more concerts already than I had been to by the time I was thirty. I have been to many now, but it has mostly been Sesame Street, the Backyardigans, the Wiggles and others in the same genre. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I was at an adult concert.

I don’t mind it so much and my son has a wonderful time. There is nothing that he likes better than live shows, so whenever an age appropriate one is coming to town, I jump at the chance to take him. To be completely honest, I might just enjoy them as much as he does.

I get up there and dance and sing along right with the kids. I know that he will grow way too fast and I will actually miss the days of going to kiddy concerts and getting away with it. One day he will be going to rock concerts and certainly will not want his mother to come along. So, I will cherish what I have while I have it.