Like most people, I’m always looking for a way to save a few extra bucks each month and improve my household budget any way I can. But it seems like these days it’s just harder and harder to find areas in which to cut back. Of course I follow the standard suggestions of clipping coupons, buying things when they’re on sale, and limiting overall spending, but I somehow always come up short in the end.

Now with Christmas on the way, I find myself reexamining all my expenses to make sure my family can enjoy the holidays without going into debt for the entire year. As I was checking things out, I discovered that I’m not getting the best rate on my car insurance anymore. It was the best rate a couple years ago when I started my policy, but not now.

I went to a site called CarInsurance.com and used their comparison tool to find the lowest auto insurance rate that I qualified for. After entering pertinent information, the CarInsurance.com instantly compared rates from many leading companies. I found a policy with lower premiums than I’m paying now, so I will probably go ahead and make the switch in the near future. Hopefully this will free up some much-needed cash for other household expenses!

I’ve never been much of a NASCAR fan because I just don’t think it’s that exciting to watch cars make left turns for four hours or whatever. Consequently, I don’t know much about the sport at all. That’s why I was completely floored to see that driver Jimmie Johnson, who won the Nextel Cup championship a week or two ago, will receive nearly $16 million for his efforts! The ESPN article I read went on to say that Johnson has won about $44 million in his five-year career. That computes to a very high average salary that puts him on par with other top athletes.

I had no idea that NASCAR drivers earned that much money. Heck, even second-place finisher Matt Kenseth earned $9.5 million on the season. That’s some pretty serious cash right there. I might have to start watching these races to see how these guys earn that money!

(Photo from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

It’s that time of year again! The 2007 Amp’d Mobile Supercross season will kick off this weekend with one of two “international” events in Canada. Tomorrow night’s race will be held at the Rogers Centre in Toronto and will be the first time that the new format and rules go into effect. Here are the changes:

• No more semi-final heats in the Supercross (450) class. Instead, that class will be run like the Lites class with just two qualifying heats plus a Last Chance Qualifier.
• There will be a “provisional start spot” available to the top 10 Supercross class riders that will allow them to ride in the main even if they fail to qualify through the heat races or LCQ. A rider may use this provisional start spot twice during the season.
• There won’t be anymore daytime qualifiers. Instead, timed qualifying will be used and those riders will be seeded into the evening heat races.

Read all about the new format right here on the official Supercross site.

We’re getting close to the end of 2006, which of course means it’s soon going to be time to make new resolutions and set new goals for 2007. I’m one of those people who ends up setting the same goals year after year, mainly because I never end up achieving any of them! I’ve put some thought into this and I’ve concluded that perhaps I just need someone in my corner to give me a nudge (or an all-out shove) in the right direction whenever necessary. In other words, I’m thinking of trying a life coach.

While browsing the Internet, I came across a bio of a coach who sounds like just the kind of person I’m looking for. This coach believes that WILL, FAITH, and FOCUS are the key ingredients to change and that change can best be accomplished by small steps rather than drastic actions. I believe in that basic philosophy too, so I think this could be a good match.

I just got done reading David Haugh’s article on the Chicago Tribune website about Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman. In it, he talks about how Minnesota Vikings cornerback Darren Sharper called Grossman one of the “worst” trash-talkers (as far as QBs go) that he’s ever heard. I find that a bit hard to believe. I mean, we’re talking talking about the NFL here, and the QB in question is Grossman.

While Grossman doesn’t exactly come off as a boy scout, he doesn’t seem to be a total trash-talker either. Here’s how Rex explained the situation:

“I probably said some things that I regret, but the whole game their DBs were talking to me, just really getting under my skin a little bit,” Grossman said. “They were just yapping. I threw the interception for the touchdown (by Antoine Winfield) and Dwight Smith came up and smacked me on the helmet. [He] was in my face and it was one of those deals.

“Facing all that adversity, that whole crowd, [it was] so emotional when we finally got the touchdown pass that I probably went overboard a little bit with some of my emotions, some of the things I said. But it was in that moment.”

Grossman then goes on to apologize to Sharper.

But the whole point of Haugh’s article is that this distraction before the matchup with the Vikings this Sunday is probably going to work in the Bears’ favor because instead of talking about all the mistakes Grossman has been making on the field lately, people are going to be talking about Sharper’s comments.

I agree with that and think Grossman will come out and have a big game. At least, I hope so because he needs the confidence boost right now!

(Photo credit: CNNSI.com)

A lot of my friends are still single, and they often complain to me about the trouble they have finding suitable dates — even in a city as big as Chicago. It’s difficult for them to strike a balance between their careers and their personal lives, which is one of the main reasons they’re still unattached. That’s why I’m sure they could benefit from signing up at Urban Prestige.

Urban Prestige is a social networking site that offers dating tips and online dating information for young professionals. It’s a place to meet others with similar interests and career goals, as well as a place to discover that someone special. Plus, there are tons of useful articles regarding personal and professional development, fashion, health, philosophy, and future trends.

I’m going to pass this site on to all my single friends, especially since they can enjoy free membership for one year. If you’re interested in joining Urban Prestige for free too, just enter the code AS101 when you sign up and you’ll be set. Check it out!

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t enjoy watching Grey’s Anatomy. I can’t quite put my finger on a specific reason, but it just felt as though I’d seen the same conflicts, reactions, etc. before.

George was being a pissy little whiner the whole time again, and is now officially the character that I like the least. Yes, his dad is having major health problems, but George is a doctor. He should be able to act more professional and stop snapping at his co-workers or stomping his feet when he doesn’t get his way. I’m begging the writers to please bring George back to normal again!

Another episode with Sloan ordering his intern to get coffee and sandwiches. Yeah, we get it. The guy’s a jerk. Can they give him another shtick already?

The only part I like about the whole show was in the locker room at the end when Meredith called everyone out on their B.S. behavior. She was right about Cristina being there for all of them when they messed up, but she did make a mistake about that whole “007″ thing… ooops! Plus that gave George yet another reason to storm off. Ugh.

I think the show is going on hiatus until January now? Not sure on that. I’ll probably be dying for a new episode by then and will forget that I ever disliked this one!

Yesterday, I blogged about how I never shop online without having a coupon code or two ready to use at the various websites I want to purchase things from. After that post went up, I got an email from a reader who sent along another site that she thought I might be interested in. The site is called Ebates.com, and it is an excellent source for more coupons and discounts at famous online retailers.

I signed up for Ebates.com (all it takes is an email address and a password) so that I could browse through all the current deals. I really like the way the site is organized because it gives me three different ways to find the coupons I want. First, I can browse through the alphabetical listing to see if anything catches my eye. Second, I can browse by category (for example, Books and Magazines, DVD & Video, Travel & Airfare, etc.). Third, I can enter a search query and find a specific coupon if I know exactly what I’m looking for.

I am definitely bookmarking Ebates for future use! Check it out for yourself; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.