In tough economic times families sometimes make hard decisions concerning their assets.  Most of us have heard of families who have taken out second and third mortgages on their homes, but what I didn’t know it that it’s also possible to take out loans against the value of your vehicle, like these car title loans in Miami.

Now, I’ve never been able to visit Miami, but on days like today, when the mercury is really starting to dip (I think it went down to -18C last night), Miami and the beaches start to sound pretty nice!

I suppose, like everywhere else though, there are many struggling financially in Miami, even to the point of taking out car title loans like the ones I mentioned earlier.  I think that there are many steps that can be taken before resolving to take loans against already owned assets however.

Before considering taking out an asset based loan I strongly recommend you consider cutting spending drastically.  Look for unnecessary ongoing expenses in your pile of monthly bills.  Do you really need a cell phone?  How about cable television?  How about eating out on a regular basis?  Do you smoke or drink (that can suck your money down the drain very quickly). Some of these costs can easily be cut because they aren’t vital necessities, and will save you the interest you would incur on a car title loan.

Obviously, not only drastic spending cuts will remove the need to take an asset based loan, but I do strongly recommend you think the situation over carefully before doing so – it certainly isn’t something to go into casually, on a whim, or for superficial purchases.   Think it over carefully and examine all of your options before going ahead.  Above all – pray for guidance, your Maker knows your needs.

Off-site Wedding Caterers Provide Flexibility
Guest Blog By: Joshua K.

When preparing for a wedding, the bride and groom will be able to provide many reception locations that provide their own on-site catering. What happens if the couple would prefer to avoid using that in-house caterer and would prefer to look elsewhere for one? Some reception locations won’t allow this. Other locations will allow the couple to hire their own choice of Milwaukee wedding caterers to cater the event off-site from that caterer’s home location.

There are several advantages to using an off-site wedding caterer. The first is that the bride and groom can choose the caterer based on the food, instead of the convenience of coming with the reception hall. Some catering companies do not have their own catering hall locations, and only perform functions at off-site locations. This flexibility allows the bridal couple to choose their top choice for a caterer and their top choice for a reception location.

Think of it this way – is a couple obligated to choose the disc jockey just because he works at the reception hall they choose? The answer is no, and it should be the same situation when hiring a caterer. Remember, this is supposed to be the day of their dreams for the wedding couple. If that means choosing one of the Milwaukee wedding caterers that caters off-site, that should be an option open to them to make their day one to remember for themselves and their guests.

Do you ever worry about identity theft?  There was a time once when I DID have an identity theft threat, and honestly – it still gives me the willies sometimes when I think about it.  One time my identifying papers – like a wallet sized birth certificate were stolen from me along with a chunk of money I had in my wallet too, before someone found my wallet pitched on his back step.

If there had been a service like IdentityHawk for Canadians at that point in time, I would have been signing up for it very quickly.  As it was, I did get in touch with the government and they indicated that they’d put some kind of note in my file from there side, and that was the last I heard of it.  I’m not sure how effective it was, and sometimes I have my doubts…

Some identity theft protection services offer tracking for your SSN so you can be sure that no one else is using it.  That sounds really nice.  They also help you PREVENT identity theft before it happens, and provides you with identity theft insurance in case it DOES happen.  It truly is a suite of products for all identity theft concerns.

Some of my long time blog readers will remember that I received a gender prediction test to review when I was pregnant with my little baby Anne – she’s now 10 months old.  It was a urine test and it seemed to have some scientific merit.  It was accurate too – it correct guessed our baby gender, said I was having a girl, and I did.  Gender predictor tests are becoming even simpler to use than the rather complicated one I tried.

But what about websites that offer this kind of gender prediction test?  Can you really predict your baby’s gender online?  Well, first of all it looks like you have to know the precise date you conceived (heh, I NEVER know that, I was 2 weeks off last time).  Well, they do let you choose your day of LMP, but again…irregular cycles while breastfeeding over here.  And why do you have to put in your birthday and your husbands?

Ah hah!  The results include astrological information, so that explains it .  Now – can you make a determination of your baby’s sex based on the day they were conceived and your birthday?  I don’t think so.

Glad I don’t have to worry about it in any case – no matter how many boy or girl gender tests you try – God is ultimately in control, and He decided the gender of your baby before the beginning of time.  You and I can rest in His sovereignty.

I’ve been reading a lot of text surrounding the world of mobile apps for iOS devices – iPhones, iPods, iPads, etc.  And a key term I have been seeing used time and again is ‘addictive’.  When we speak of cigarettes being addictive, it’s a bad thing.  When we speak of alcohol, morphine, or heroin being addictive, again – this just isn’t good.

But when we speak of games?  Educational apps?  Puzzles?  I’m surprised by the breadth of apps that are being labeled as addictive.  It makes me wonder if the term is somehow changing in our language.  Is addiction positive?  People are certainly using it as such in some contexts.  Can losing oneself to a game, not having the willpower to resist, coming back again and again despite yourself…good?

I beg to differ.  Addiction – break the chain!  Whether it’s booze or tetris, don’t surrender your self control and consider it a good thing.  And just as importantly – don’t let your kids do it either.

The Primary Care Physician: Your Best Friend
Guest Blog By: Jacob N.

It is essential that everyone has a doctor they can go to when they are sick or injured, and that can happen any time. It is impossible to know whether tomorrow one will continue to remain healthy or will end up hospitalized. Doctors are taken for granted until the time comes when they become people who hold life or death in their hands. This may be an exaggeration, but nobody would dispute the fact that a good doctor can save a life.

Finding a doctor can sometimes be a chore especially in big cities when it is difficult to even be familiar with one’s own neighbor. In the smaller cities and towns, a doctor can seem become a center of the community and essentially become like family with many of the residents there. In large cities, finding a doctor that understands each person’s situation and lifestyle can take time and be disappointing. That is why having a clinic which is welcoming and inviting to new patients is so important.

Take the city of St. Louis for example. Finding a primary care physician in St. Louis does not have to be that difficult. Any search online will enable a person to quickly locate medical specialists in their area who are more than willing to set up an appointment in order to get to know any new patients. Often the doctors are willing to make an appointment for that same day.

This post brought to you by Aviva Community Fund. All opinions are 100% mine.

Our family lives in rural Alberta, and it seems like our community ALWAYS has development needs.  If you live in Canada, and have a great idea for bettering your community, and have the social media power to throw behind it to get people interested in your idea, then you need to hear about the Aviva Community Fund Contest!

This is the first year I’ve heard about the Aviva Community Fund competition, even those this is its third year running.  Basically, Aviva has $1,000,000 in their fund to give away for the purposes of community development.  You just visit their website to submit your idea, then get busy rallying people behind it.  The most popular ideas get a chance to win funds for their community.  As part of the competition, every time someone like Aviva Community Fund on Facebook $1 will be donated to Free the Children to support at-risk youth programs in Canada.  You can also Follow @avivacf on twitter.

The winners are chosen based on how many votes the idea receives.  To get people behind your idea you can contact your local press and encourage people to support your community campaign.  People are actively encouraged to use facebook as a means of spreading the word, and getting an insurance broker to support your idea increases the chances of winning!

Ideas can be submitted until November 30, 2011, so get thinking!

Our family seems to go through quite a few tarps. I think that is directly related to the fact that we live on a small farm. We use tarps to cover our hay with, tarps to drag animals around on, tarps to cover random piles of building supplies.  Covering our generator so it doesn’t get water in the fuel tank when its running outside, building the children teepees in the yard (we have one of those up right now!)

There are quite a few jobs that require a tarp around our place.  Even if you live in the city though, there are lots of uses for tarps.

I’m thankful for tarps (today IS Thanksgiving, right?) They are so much handier than animal hides!

To my Canadian readers – Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a big turkey dinner in the city yesterday and stayed overnight at my grandparents.  We just got home this afternoon .

To my US readers – Happy Columbus Day!  You’ll have to wait for the big T!

I really enjoy writing, so I’ve been considering more ways that I can make money by writing in my ‘spare’ time.  Well, does any mom of four really have spare time?  (haha!)  Well, even if I don’t truly have any spare time, writing is something that isn’t TOO difficult to do with children around.  You can write in snitches and snatches (though of course, I always long for chunks of uninterrupted time to write in.

It’s fairly well known that copywriters who work as freelancers (for themselves) have the advantage of having a very flexible schedule – which is something I absolutely need as a busy mom.  Most of my blogging and website building takes place in the late evening hours, from around 10 p.m. – 12 a.m. when my children are sleeping.  Even if I have to take my nursing baby with me to the laptop, it’s still much quieter than when my little ones are running all around.  And when you’re writing it just doesn’t really matter what time you do your work, as long as you get it done on schedule.

One of the main reasons why copywriting seems like an easier way to make money from writing skills than the traditional approach (trying to pen the great American novel) is that you write about a product, a service, a brand – something already established.  It doesn’t require character development, convoluted plots, etc. and the projects are oh, so much shorter than what you’d need to pen to reach the length of a standard novel (not to mention that you may not be able to sell your finished work).

Even though it’s easy to think of an advantage of freelancing, it does require that you drum up your own clients and business, which can be a distinct disadvantage if you aren’t prepared to market your own services in what can be a competitive marketplace.