Why buying a LCD or LED TV is more than just buying the TV

Yes I love those big screen TV's that are on display in electronic stores and our local Walmart. With the prices coming down why have I not bought one? Buying one of those TV's is not as simple as it seems. First they are not like hanging a picture on your wall. They do have some weight to them and they will require a special tv bracket for it to hang on the wall. Then those wires have to be hidden so that requires some decoration of some type. If you don't want to have the TV on the wall you need a stand with a bracket that holds the TV in place so it won't fall over.

So you will need to add at least $200+ to the cost of those TV's just to mount it on the wall or purchase a stand. If you do go wireless, and some of the new LED TV's are wireless (but I still can't figure out how they are powered........ batteries?) then you might be able to hang it without having to hide anything.

Until the prices come down just a bit more, I'll wait to get a slim LED TV for our living room.

Laptops versus tablet PC's

My daughter's laptop bit the dust last week. She has been using an older laptop of mine since then. I know she is a good money saver so I promised her that if she saved up enough money for a new computer I would add $100 to it. She already has enough for one of those tablet netbooks but she wants a wide screen laptop since she does graphic arts. She has a few more pay periods (she gets $30 a week for doing some heavy duty chores)  to go and she will have enough to buy that new laptop.

So what brand has she decided on? An Acer. She had a Toshiba and we have had HP's but so far all of them get really hot. Her test was to feel under each one of the laptops that were on display in a local store. Most of them were hot except for all of the Acers. So an Acer is what she wants.

Bestie and Me

Today we have a guest blogger

Guest post by Jewel Cole

Thankfully for me, my best friend agreed to move into the new house I decided to buy last year in order to get the tax credit. The mortgage really ended up being too much to handle and I was kind of in over my head, so her moving in was really going to help. I had to do a few things to get the place ready for us both to live there including making sure the second bathroom was in good enough shape for use (it wasn’t.) I also researched at www.securitychoice.com since we needed an alarm system. It wasn’t exactly the safest thing in the world so we figured we might as well beef up the security! I’m actually really excited to live with her again since we haven’t been together since high school! I love having my own place but her rental money will sure help me afford it. That eight thousand dollar tax credit didn’t really go as far as I imagined it would when I first cashed that check last year!

Don't pay extra for those extras

Are you double paying for those little extra services in your life? I bet you are. The most common is roadside help such as towing or flat repair. Most car insurance companies have the option to add that little extra to the policy for only pennies each month. Compare that to some roadside assistance clubs that can charge over $100 a year just to be a member.

Another little extra is life insurance. Most banks and even credit card companies offer a minimum policy coverage for free to their customers. You just have to take advantage of them and sign up. Why pay for it when you can get it for free?

Even your utility company has many services that are free that other companies charge for. Some of them offer free pick-up and disposal of appliances and some even pay YOU for them. Why pay to have them removed?

Stress from lack of money

Money worries are a major cause of stress in families. I can't say that it is because of the economy nowadays because money worries have haunted families for decades. I can remember when I was a child that my dad told me that we would be living like kings if he could earn just $15K a year. Those were the days when brand new homes in San Jose, California would cost only $18K and the really nice ones were $23K. Of course gasoline was only .25 cents a gallon and "gas wars" were a regular occurrence. To keep it all in perceptive, the minimum wage was about $1.25 an hour in many states.

Why does it seem that once we have gotten a pay raise or finally earn what we think was enough to get by comfortably that prices of everything seems to out pace it? That well known part of life has affected everyone of us.

I cannot imagine starting a family now, everything is so much more expensive. Yes, a young family can make baby clothes, buy used baby supplies and do away with birthday cards and send baby announcements via email, but what about health insurance? That is one cost that keeps on rising along with food. Children need healthcare and food.

The number one thing that you and I need to do, is to quit stressing over something that is elusive such as more money and learn to live on what we have. We have to learn that the quest for more of anything is stressful and that being satisfied with what we have will lead to a better life in the long run. You see, my dad never did get that elusive $15K a year salary, he became disabled from a work related accident. His dreams became dashed and he became a bitter man as the years went on. If only he had learned to be satisfied then maybe he would have enjoyed the rest of his life instead of worrying about everything.

That's enough for now. Now go and learn not to stress out.