The last time we went to Disney World was two years ago. My son was 3 at the time, and even though he enjoyed the experience while we were there, he doesn’t remember too much about it now. But whenever he glances through our photo albums and sees all the snapshots we took at Disney, he starts clamoring about taking another trip there. This has been happening for the past two weeks now, with no letup in sight.

So Jerry and I had a bit of a discussion about vacations tonight, and while we don’t have any money for a big trip in the near future, we could probably do something good next year (provided we save enough). We’ve always wanted to go on a Disney cruise, so that’s what we’re shooting for. Hopefully if we find some good cruise deals out there, we’ll be able to have the best family vacation ever next summer!

Oh, and of course we’ll have to stop by the theme park for at least one day. I can’t pass up a chance to go on Space Mountain or Pirates of the Caribbean!

When the economy is bad like this, saving money becomes an even more critical issue for small business owners than it usually is. After all, it can be tough continue paying bills and making payroll when fewer and fewer customers are buying your products or services.

One great way to save money would be to get rid of your traditional telephone system and switch to VoIP instead. VoIP phone systems can drastically reduce local and long distance phone bills, thereby freeing up funds for other necessary expenses.

Switching to VoIP is relatively easy to do these days, particularly if you have a company like Xpander Communications helping you out. They’ll put more than 20 years of telecommunications experience to work for you to ensure that you get a phone system that matches your business needs and budget.

Take a look at the different systems they have to offer, and start saving money today!

My husband and I both love Orlando, and even went through a six-year span where we visited the place once a year. We went there for the theme parks mostly, but also learned to enjoy shopping, golf, and water sports as alternative activities.

In the last couple of years, we elected to go to other places during our vacations, so it’s been a while since we’ve seen Orlando. That’s why we really want to go again sometime soon.

Our favorite attraction in the Orlando area is Disney World. It’s just such a great time for the whole family that we don’t mind minor annoyances like having to walk through big crowds or standing in line for hours. We’ve never had a single bad experience at Disney, and I doubt we ever will!

Anyway, with prices soaring, it’s good to know that we can still get discount Disney World tickets from OrlandoFuntTickets.com. They consistently offer some of the lowest prices on Disney “Magic You Way” base tickets that grant admission to the four main Disney theme parks in Orlando.

In addition, we can also get discounts on Universal Studios tickets, Busch Gardens tickets, Sea World tickets, and much more all at OrlandoFunTickets.com, making the site all we need for an affordable and fun vacation.

I don’t know if we’ll actually be able to find time to go to Orlando this year, but if we do, at least I know how to save money on our trip!

If you find yourself facing misdemeanor or felony criminal charges in Southern California, then you need to carefully consider whose hands you’re willing to entrust your future to. Would you be comfortable with a court appointed public defender who sees you as just another case file he wants to clear from his schedule? I know I wouldn’t.

I’d much rather retain an attorney from the firm of Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin to handle my defense. This firm, which specializes in DUI and other criminal cases, is ranked in the top 5% in the entire country, so you can be sure you’re dealing with a winner.

Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin are Los Angeles Criminal Lawyers | Southern California Felony Misdemeanor DUI Lawyers who will aggressively investigate and defend your case in order to get you the best result possible. A quick perusal of their extensive list of successful cases should be enough to convince you of that.

The next time you find yourself in trouble with the law in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Bernadino, or Riverside counties, call Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin first. They’ll be able to help you out no matter what kind of charges you’re facing.

We’ve all heard about the horror stories associated with identity theft. If your Social Security number, credit card numbers, or other sensitive data become compromised, it’s a piece of cake for con artists to use that information to their advantage. Before you know it, your bank accounts have been drained, your credit rating is ruined, and you have a mountain of new debt in your name.

Getting out of that kind of mess is a long, nightmarish process, so the best solution is not to put yourself in jeopardy in the first place. But even if you’re very careful about who you give this information to, you might not be 100 percent safe from would-be identity thieves. These people aren’t above rooting through garbage, intercepting mail, and hacking into computers to find what they want.

That’s why the service provided by PaperShreddingFinder.com is so important. PaperShreddingFinder.com runs a Ship ‘n’ Shred program designed to help businesses and individual customers dispose of their private documents safely and securely. They’ll send FedEx to your home or office to pick up the boxes of paper you want to dispose of, and then take the boxes to a certified shredding facility to ensure proper destruction. With this system, you no longer have to worry about unsavory characters getting hold of your sensitive data.

This kind of service is particularly important at tax time, when you pull out all of your receipts, paycheck stubs, and credit card statements as you fill out your return.

Don’t become yet another victim of identity theft. Check out the Ship ‘n’ Shred program at PaperShreddingFinder.com today, and keep your good name intact!

There’s no sugarcoating it now: the economy is definitely in the toilet. Prices are rising on almost everything out there, income levels are flattening out (at least in my neck of the woods), and foreclosures continue to skyrocket in major cities across the country.

At a time like this, what’s a good investment to make? I don’t really want to put my money in the stock market now because I know I wouldn’t be able to stomach the roller coaster ride as the Dow Jones falls 400 points, gains a couple hundred, falls again, etc. I would get ulcers for sure!

Maybe this is the right time to invest in gold bars or bullion — both of which are probably going to be more stable than the stock market, at least in the near future.

I’m going to have to talk to hard asset professionals about this before making any moves, but gold seems to be the way to go in this weak economy.

This has been one of the worst winters I can ever remember, so to say that I’m ready for some sun and fun would be an understatement. We’re thinking about taking a quick vacation to a warm destination sometime in the next six weeks, and Cancun is tops on our list of possibilities.

Cancun Vacations are known for being exotic and affordable — two qualities that we’re definitely looking for right now. White sandy beaches, sparkling blue water, beautiful weather… the only thing that would make the picture complete is an all-inclusive stay at Karisma Hotels. With their delectable gourmet food, unerring attention to detail, and unparalleled service, it’s no wonder Karisma Hotels is the premiere provider of all-inclusive Mexico vacation packages.

Whenever we do make it to Cancun, I’m sure we’ll take advantage of one of the deals offered by Karisma!

In just a couple of months, a whole new generation of college students will be heading off to campus for the very first time. I remember how excited — and overwhelmed — I was back when I went away to school. I was excited about the prospect of living on my own, meeting new people, and facing tougher academic challenges, but I was overwhelmed at the thought of having to come up with $15,000 per year to pay for my studies.

Thanks to a combination of student loans, an on-campus job, and contributions from my parents, I was able to make ends meet. There were definitely a few semesters in there where I was stuck eating mac and cheese for days on end because money was so tight, but I managed to make it through.

Now that one of my younger cousins is getting ready to head off to school, I’m trying to convey to her the importance of securing adequate financing so she doesn’t have to face the same worries I did. In helping her put together her financial aid applications, I came across a great student loan directory over at PremierStudentLoan.com.

That site made it easy for us to find Illinois student loans that my cousin can apply for. Moreover, there was even a long list of lenders willing to provide Chicago student loans, so she definitely has numerous options to choose from.

When put together with the federal aid package that my cousin is likely to get, these loans will ensure that she can focus on her studies while at school instead of worrying about whether or not she can make next semester’s tuition payment.

If you’re looking for a way to pay for college, check out all the different student loans available over at PremierStudentLoan.com. They’ve collected the best offers to make things easier for you, so be sure to take advantage of this important resource!

Back when I worked at my office job, we made extensive use of employment agencies to help with hiring new staff. We used a temp agency to find workers for the factory, and we used an executive recruiting firm to fill management positions.

The temps we got for the factory were generally pretty good, but we had a hard time holding on to the executives that the recruiting firm sent us. It seemed that we rarely got a candidate who was a good match, despite the fact that we spelled our our requirements in great detail.

The problem was with the recruiting firm itself. Apparently their screening process wasn’t as thorough as it should have been, so everyone ended up wasting a lot of time and money.

It’s too bad my former company didn’t use A.E. Feldman Associates for their recruiting needs. For the past four decades, A.E. Feldman has been highly successful in recruiting and placing executives in various financial, accounting, legal, consulting, human resources, and technology positions all across the country, and I’m sure they would have done a better job at finding qualified candidates than the firm we ended up going with.

At any rate, if I’m ever go back to the corporate world, you can bet I’ll recommend A.E. Feldman Associates for any executive recruiting needs!

The recent economic slump has really affected the interest rates I’m earning on my investments. For example, I’ve watched the 7-day yield on a money market fund I belong to drop steadily from 5.23% to 3.76% in just a few months, taking me from a decent ROI (considering the low-risk nature of the investment) to a very average one.

So now I’m thinking that it might be time to move my money into something that isn’t necessarily at the mercy of the economy in general. I’ve talked extensively in the past about investing in gold or silver bullion, but haven’t actually taken any action yet.

I’m tired of my investments not yielding a significant return, so I’m going to check out the different options that MDC offers. Hopefully, I can get my money transferred over soon to preserve its value against the current downturn.

My 15-year high school reunion was just a few months ago. I wasn’t able to attend, but I received an information packet from the reunion committee that contained a booklet telling me what everyone is up to these days. In leafing through the booklet, I was surprised at the number of my former classmates who have advanced degrees! It seemed that at least one out of every three people featured in the book had obtained either a Master’s degree or a Ph.D.

Seeing this made me start thinking of my own situation, and whether or not I should pursue an advanced degree. I’ve been leaning towards getting an MBA for the past year and a half or so, and think this would be the perfect time to start, since I’m not working full-time. I could take online classes so I’d still be able to take care of my son, and then I’d have my degree by the time he starts up with elementary school.

After that, I might even pursue an online phd just for the heck of it. Who knows, maybe by the time my 20-year high school reunion rolls around, I’ll have a couple of advanced degrees to list as well!

I plan on checking out the various graduate degree programs offered by Capella University to see what I have to do to enroll. Why Capella? Because they’re fully accredited, they offer a wide range of degree programs to choose from, they’re affordable, and all of their classes are offered online.

I better dust off my GRE study guides and get ready for some testing!

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

I belong to a rewards program through my credit card company. It’s just some shopping program that allows me to trade my accumulated points in for various goods and services from participating merchant (I earn one point for every dollar I charge to my account).

While this may sound good in theory, it’s not actually doing me any good. I haven’t used my points at all in the entire three years that I’ve been in the program. That’s mostly because the prize levels are completely out of my range. For example, a 16GB iPod Touch, which I’d really love to have, “costs” 54,100 points, meaning I can get it only after I spend $54,100 on my credit card.

That’s not likely to happen anytime soon!

So I’m thinking of changing cards and rewards programs to something more practical. I’ve heard a lot of people swear by Gasoline Credit Cards that help them earn free gas, so those are the ones I’m most interested in right now. With gas prices as high as they are, and no end in sight, I’m sure this kind of program will come in handy for me.

Anyway, I’m off to CreditCardSearchEngine.com to compare all the gasoline rewards programs out there to see which one is the best fit for me!

I played on various sports teams throughout my K-12 school years, which meant that I also had to participate in more fundraisers than I care to remember. It seemed that whenever the team needed some extra cash for new uniforms or equipment, or to travel to an out-of-state tournament, I’d end up with a couple of cases of candy bars that I would then have to try to sell to my friends and family.

Well, I think anyone who has participated in these types of fundraisers, either as a buyer or a seller, will tell you that this whole routine gets old pretty quickly. I hated asking the same people to buy stuff over and over again, and I was far too shy to go around selling my candy bars door-to-door.

As a result, I always ended up buying a few bars with my allowance money, begging a few of my closest friends to do the same, and then returning to my team with only about $20 in sales.

That type of system hardly benefited anybody, which is why I think the fundraising options offered over at Shoutback.com are far superior to selling candy bars, candles, cookies, rubber wristbands, and other stuff that nobody really wants to buy.

Shoutback.com allows you to set up auctions for the merchandise you want to sell, which gives you a lot more flexibility in terms of product quality and price points. So instead of having to push 20 candy bars to raise $20, you can auction off one higher-quality item and get the same results.

The Shoutback.com auction system would be perfect for schools, sports teams, churches, and any other organizations that rely on fundraisers to generate much-needed cash.

Shoutback is still a relatively new site, so there’s not much detailed information about how the system works (yet). But I have a feeling that it’s going to develop into a very popular fundraising hub in the near future!

I took piano lessons for years when I was a kid, but gave it up when I started playing after school sports in junior high. Recently, however, I’ve been thinking of picking it up again. We’ve already got an electric keyboard in the house, so I figure I can just start with that for now. If it turns out that I truly am interested in taking piano lessons again, I’ll think about purchasing a real piano at that time.

Since I’m not sure what my interest level will be, I don’t want to pay for lessons right away either. I’ve heard that there are websites that provide Piano lessons & piano chords to help people learn how to play, so I decided to check a few of those out first. A site called PlayPiano.com was the best one that I came across.

PlayPiano.com offers a completely free email newsletter containing playing tips, lessons, and different chords that I can practice on my own. A new issue is sent out every five days or so, which gives me plenty of fresh material to work through.

Then, if I like what I’m learning, I can purchase full piano courses on DVD and continue learning in the comfort of my own home. These DVD piano courses are designed for adults, and are much cheaper than paying for private lessons.

Of course, there’s no obligation to purchase anything, which means I can still enjoy the 101 issues of the newsletter for free.

Sounds good to me, so I’m off to sign up right now!

These days, it seems that whenever I turn on the news, I’m bound to hear about some celebrity or other who’s facing criminal charges for crimes ranging from DUI to murder. From the infamous Paris Hilton case to Lindsay Lohan’s ongoing legal battles and the big Phil Spector trial, there’s always plenty of action to follow in those California courtrooms.

I don’t know anything about the different legal strategies the high-powered attorneys in these cases employ to defend their clients, so it’s a good thing I’ve found this Los Angeles Criminal Defense Blog | California Criminal Attorneys Law Blog to help explain everything to me. That blog I just linked to is written by UCLA and Pepperdine Law School professor Dmitry Gorin, and explains in layman’s terms precisely what is unfolding in these celebrity cases (and why).

I’ve spent some time going through Mr. Gorin’s recent posts, which covered topics like the Phil Spector hung jury and subsequent mistrial, the Lane Garrison sentencing, and the Barry Bonds grand jury indictment. What I like about these posts is that they don’t simply rehash the details that all the news outlets have already published; instead, Mr. Gorin explains how the law comes into play with each case, why judges made certain rulings, and what is most likely to happen next.

If you like following the celebrity legal woes as much as I do, then you just have to check out the LA Criminal Law Blog for yourself. It’s almost as good as having a front-row seat right there in the courtroom!