Reality Upgrade

Yes, it is only July, but now is the time to start planning for Christmas (or Hanukkah, etc.).  By thinking ahead, you can prevent the costs of presents and travel from overwhelming you when the big day gets closer.

After all, it may seem a little early for snow, but Christmas is only5 months away. Black Friday, the superbowl of shopping the day after Thanksgiving is only 4 months from now.

LaToya Irby from about.com has a great list of steps to help you prepare for the holiday season, minus the stress.

• Decide who I’m going to buy for
• Decide how much I’m going to spend on them
• Add it up
• Divide by the number of paychecks left until December 15
• Open a special savings account and save that amount each paycheck

Check out the full atricle here.

Ever wonder just how far your salary would go in another city?

Ever wonder how people are able to afford living in those expensive apartments in Manhatten?

Ever wonder how they make Raisin Nut Bran taste so much better than Raisin Bran?

Well, I can’t help you with the last one, but this is a great website for checking out how much you would have to get paid to maintain your current standard of living in another city. (continue reading…)

Back in the day, when the internet was first becoming popular, I used to call looking something up “asking the Magic Oracle”.

Well, now the real Magic Oracle is Google. Unfortunately, like most oracles, sometimes Google’s answers can be a little criptic.

It is still the best and brightest of the search engines, of course, and if you can learn some of the more sneaky and less known things that Google can do, more power to ya.

Here is a list of 10 not so common things that Google can do:

Become a Google Ninja

(continue reading…)

The economy is tough these days, and health care costs just keep going up. If you find yourself adrift and in need of health insurance, this is a great article on how to choose the right kind.

How to Buy Health Insurance by Yourself

Good luck!!

First off, let me be clear that what you do with this is your own business. Knowlege is power, and like any power, the knowledge of how to pick locks and hack into WEP wireless networks can be used for good, or for evil.

Muhahaha!

Ahem. (continue reading…)