For my daughter’s events and things though, I can’t very well lug my laptop around and point the webcam at her. For all purposes, I have been considering one of those flip video cameras. I did find out recently that Cisco is ditching the Flip Camera Biz and that left me wondering if maybe a flip camcorder isn’t such a fantastic idea. As noted in the article, the blame seems to be on cell phones with video. I don’t think the iPhone can be entirely to blame for that though, since in my case shooting a vlog while holding my cell phone in the air would result in a) a pretty odd shot of me and b) very tired arms.

And of course, I am Miss Bankrupt so I must consider the price. Let’s just say I’m looking for basics and really, really cheap. So what kind of video camera do you use? And furthermore, what do you think of vlogging– or am I the only one that thinks that’s a super cool, awesome idea?

To address my two ridiculous reasons for renting instead of working toward buying I will say that buying a house is similar to deciding to have children. No one ever thinks it’s the “right” time. As far as #2 is concerned, I have decided to look harder. In my particular corner of the world, the housing arrangements vary from either really cheap and crappy to really nice and way too expensive. Yet, I know there has to be something in the middle that I will be happy raising my daughter in. Everyone knows that renting is throwing away money and I will not feel the least bit satisfied until I have some place of my own.

Still, there are things I need to get in order and here are the things I’ve come up with so far:

1) Pay down credit. I need to make a huge dent in what I owe in order to raise my credit score. This will help a great deal in getting a decent mortgage that I can pay and keep up with (which is my main concern).

2) Save a large down payment. I would like to have a large enough down payment saved up to help get a house with payments I can afford. I will need to be able to make the mortgage plus pay property taxes and insurance, which I am factoring into a monthly payment regardless of how it has to be paid. This means that I need to start saving more than the $100 I’m putting into my ING savings account.

3) Figure out my banking situation. This one is tough because I recently found out that one of the main banks that provides mortgages in my area is the small town bank that told me I would never make it as a single woman that has filed bankruptcy. I don’t wish to be prideful, but when I left that office in tears, I decided I would not ask them again for anything. Unfortunately, my parents’ realtor said that the Credit Union I adore won’t be able to provide any of the government programs for me. So either I need to start looking at other banks or I need to suck it up and eventually go back to little bank that I hate.

My bankruptcy is old enough that when combined with a clean credit report, it should be less of a problem when mortgage hunting. I am in no way delusional and know that in order to counter a bankruptcy from almost 7 years ago, I need to have perfect credit.  I really just need to save a lot more and pay down my credit cards a lot more, which seems daunting, but at one time, even acquiring credit seemed hopeless.

The biggest problem that weighs heavily on my mind is dealing with small town bank. What do you think? Suck it up…or find a lender somewhere else?

According to this article, cable generally costs at least $500 to almost $1300 per year and I know that a lot of consumers have a bunch of extras in their cable packages that raise the monthly bill. The article also gives a few ideas for alternatives if you can’t go cold turkey, but most rely upon an internet connection so depending on how much internet costs for you, these alternatives may not end up saving you much. Most of the alternatives I looked into at the time involved my computer, and since I work and go to school, my computer is pretty much tied up. My daughter wouldn’t be able to watch it anyway. So, we opted for straight out DVDs and since she watched television way more than I did, I thought I’d give you some idea where to find inexpensive (cheap) DVDs for kids.

Walmart and Target

Seems like a no brainer, but you have to look in the cheap areas otherwise, both Walmart and Target have some pretty expensive DVDs. Yes, I ended up buying a lot of DVDs out of the $5 bin at Walmart. Luckily, my daughter is young enough to appreciate most of the cartoons and kid’s shows that are in those bins, although she thought the cover for Lassie looked way better than the movie actually was.

DVD Rentals Are Not Dead

There aren’t many places that still rent DVDs but I live in a small town that has a discount store almost literally down the street. We can rent movies from there for $2 a day. If I rented a DVD from the discount store every day, I still would not be spending as much as I did on Dish Network.

Borrow and Beg for DVDs

I am lucky to have people in my family that pretty much hoard DVDs and allow me to borrow a movie for free from them on occasion. I am also lucky enough to have someone in my family that owns quite a few new releases. If I ever needed a movie that was not animated or made by Disney, I could borrow one from them (as well as the kid’s movies too).

Garage Sales and Discount Stores

Not only can you find really, insanely cheap DVDs at garage sales and discount stores, but you can also find VHS movies as well. Yeah, that’s right. I said VHS. I don’t have a VCR but I was always amazed at the movies you can still buy on VHS for less than a dollar and sometimes just pocket change.  If you have one, hook that thing up and watch some cheap movies. Kids don’t know the difference. In fact, they may think they have found something new when you pull out the rusty, dusty VCR.

Don’t Go for New Releases

My daughter has become a huge fan of I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show (for some unexplainable reason) and I can find really cheap DVDs with entire seasons of these shows in most stores. We never ever bought new release movies and I can save that for a special treat to the movie theater. I know it’s cheaper to actually buy the DVD, but sometimes it’s nice to get out and do something. Plus, it’s a lot of fun for kids.

I’m glad that I disconnected the satellite TV when I did. I hated the idea of wasting so much money on channels and television shows that we never watched and I think it made a big difference in getting caught up on a lot of bills. If you are considering cutting cable, I would definitely say go for it. You don’t have to go all Amish and actually sell your TV, although I did but that’s another story, there are tons of alternatives available that make living without cable a lot easier.

What do you think. Could you live without cable or satellite television?

This Explorer was in my father’s name, so the payments I was making was not helping my credit. We were also entering the great gas crisis when gas was supposedly going to reach $4 or $5 a gallon. A lot of money went into gas for that Explorer and the mileage was horrid. I started to notice small things going wrong (like the check engine light and other things I have no knowledge of ) and decided I should try to find something else.

What Car Lenders are Looking For:

Credit History - I had filed bankruptcy in 2006 and had credit cards all in good standing. There were no late payments, judgments or any negatives on my credit report except for the bankruptcy that occurred two years earlier. Lenders look at whether your payments have been made on time, how many are paid off and the number of inquiries on your report.

Employment and Monthly Income

I was employed at a law office for 2 years at the time. I had no other income. The length of time you have been employed reflects stability and whether you are able to pay a loan.

Down Payment

I had a $1,000 down payment from my tax refund. Lenders typically suggest putting down at least 10% of the price of the car for a down payment. If you have a bankruptcy on your report, try to have the highest down payment you can. If you are able to, save up until you have one that is sufficient.
You can still get a loan with a low down payment, but this will sometimes result in a higher interest rate and even owing more on the car than it’s worth. Post bankruptcy filers are already susceptible to higher interest rates from the start.

What I Ended Up With

I went to the car dealership searching for an SUV but quickly found out that I wouldn’t be able to afford one. This was the time right smack before everyone started dumping SUV’s so if I had waited I probably could’ve gotten one cheaper, but then I wouldn’t have had the Explorer paid off. The good think about my timing is that they paid what I owed on the SUV, which was more than it was worth at the time, especially when a few months later no one wanted SUVs.

Instead, I selected a car that was only a year old and asked them to put in a sun roof. That was my only other requirement. I know. Silly. My dad went with me when closing on the car because I wanted him to look at it. After going back and forth with the car dealer with statements like “dude really. I’m a single mom. I cannot pay that monthly payment”, I got the payments down to what I could manage. Before running my credit, I did mention that I had a bankruptcy. I also mentioned that I banked with the local credit union. To my surprise, he came back with a great loan from the credit union with an interest rate of 8.94%. We were all shocked of course but I remember the car salesman saying “I don’t know. For some reason they love you.” And to be honest, after my experience with a different small town bank (and I wasn’t even asking this one for anything) I have to admit I love my credit union right back.

As with the post where I listed the credit cards I have received after my bankruptcy, I will say that situations vary. I do not advise anyone to go through car dealerships that approve you right there regardless of your credit history. You are almost always going to end up with a bad deal and an extremely high interest rate. Waiting, if you can, is always the best way to go. I also learned from this experience to stick with your terms. If your monthly payment cannot be more than 200 or 250 than do not waiver and make sure the car dealership knows that. Yes, you can squeeze in another 50 without starving, but if you don’t have it in the budget, don’t do it.

Also, take your dad. If you don’t know cars you need someone with you that does. If anything, for moral support, but most of all to show the salesman that you aren’t falling for any wonky gadgets. Even with a bankruptcy, my experience with the car dealership went well, and I will return for my next car. You never know, you may find a lender that loves you too.

The SafeCell App for cell phones seems to have figured out a way to keep drivers from using their cell phones while driving and earning rewards at the same time for gift cards for places like Macy’s, Apple and Amazon. As soon as your car is moving at a speed faster than 5 mph, your cell phone will be disabled and you will earn rewards points. Every 500 miles is $5. If you’re a passenger or for some reason really, really need your phone you can turn the app off, but you won’t earn the miles for the rewards. There is an Emergency Call button if you need to make an emergency phone call as well. Additionally, you can set up the app to give callers a message or text that says “the person you’re trying to reach will return your call is driving and will receive your message upon reaching their destination.”

Sure, it seems sad that we can’t stop using our phones long enough to wait until we aren’t driving. Drivers survived a very long time without cell phones or the ability to make phone calls on their journies to work. If the sheer safety isn’t appealing enough to you, maybe the opportunity to earn rewards for gift cards from popular retailers will be.

The SafeCell App is currently available for $11.99 for lifetime access and updates until December 2010 when the $11.99 will only cover an annual subscription fee. As someone that uses only the free apps, I would still say that SafeCell is worth it, if only for breaking a bad habit. Most of us can also rack up a lot of miles for those rewards which would definitely exceed the cost of the subscription.

You can purchase the SafeCell App if you have an iPhone or Android and they are working on a version for the Blackberry. I would recommend this app for anyone that wants to break the habit of texting or calling while driving. Safer drivers and gift cards? Pretty much the best collabo ever.

And of course I figured I should google it. Never google symptoms by the way, because an itchy back can turn into anything from pregnancy to food poisoning. I did think in this instance, it may be safe though.

Buying Things You Don’t Need or Can’t Afford:  Yes. I think many people do this, but common sense is supposed to tell us that we don’t need a new costume for our dogs or we can’t afford a new car.

Shopping to Feel Better: I can’t say shopping has ever made me feel better. If I am depressed, angry, lonely or anxious, the last thing I want to think about is shopping. This does seem to be one of the main symptoms that shopaholics share though. Many addictions result in a need to “feel better” and usually end up making things worse.

Do You Hide Your Shopping?: Do you hide your purchases from others? Do you feel guilty or ashamed after going on a shopping binge? I have to answer “no” to both. First, I don’t have anyone to hide my purchases from except my 6 year old daughter, who would most often give me a thumbs up on anything new. I do feel guilty sometimes that I have purchased something I shouldn’t have could’ve waited on.

Has Shopping Affected Your Job or Social Life?: No, and to me this is ridiculous, not intentionally minimizing the fact that this is a true symptom of a real illness. I don’t miss work to shop and well, I don’t really have a social life. If I did have a social engagement I’m not missing it to go shopping. This symptom involves making the choice to shop instead of doing something else that may be considered “normal”…like going to work.

Shopping to Avoid Doing Something Else: I can’t say I completely understand this symptom either. I can’t really fathom how buying something would help me avoid doing something else. Let’s see, I hate going to the grocery store. I can’t really go buy a new sweater because I hate buying food. I still need to buy food.

I think these are the main symptoms. There are a bunch more, but they seem to be similar to these that I have covered. You can read the article here if you’re interested in all of the symptoms of a shopaholic. I should mention that it says if you answered “yes” to any of the questions, you should take the questionnaire with you to a doctor or mental health professional. Almost makes me want to go back and change my answer. I would say considering my results I may be just someone that should stop buying things I don’t need or can’t afford. I don’t think I need medial attention quite yet.

I did find out that I’m not pregnant or have food poisoning though. So it was worth looking up.

Seriously. Have you never been to a garage sale that had items for sale that made you snicker? If not, you’re not going to the right ones then. If you don’t walk away from at least one garage sale per summer that made you shake your head and wonder what in the heck those people were thinking, you’re missing out on some valuable yet cheap entertainment.

Things You Should Never Ever Buy From a Garage Sale and alternatively Things that Should Never Ever Be Sold at a Garage Sale

1.  Underwear. Please don’t make me explain. I do think unworn baby pants are acceptable to sell and buy from garage sales. Grandmas don’t even like grandma panties and really don’t want your Grandma Bea’s old underwear either.

2.  Makeup. Used cosmetics are unsanitary and I don’t care who only used that mascara twice, it should not be for sale. If you’re going to buy someone’s used cosmetics, you may as well wear the underwear they’re selling as well.

3.  Personal Hygiene Products. True story, I’ve seen sanitary napkins at a garage sale. And worse, they weren’t even extra cheap. Purchase personal hygiene products from the Dollar Store or if you’re really strapped for cash, make your own at home. Note: if you click on that link, you’ll go to a site that includes directions on making sanitary napkins. Reusable and washable ones, mind you. Not for the squeamish. By the way, this also means the garage sale is not the place to purchase disposable razors or half used bottles of shampoo either.

4.  Food. I’m not talking about the garage sales that offer refreshments. I’m talking about the ones that have the original Wheaties box of cereal that has been opened. If you think you’re getting something valuable, you’re wrong because a half eaten box of cereal is not only not worth anything, I wouldn’t trust consuming what is still left in the box either. If you don’t recall seeing the product in the grocery store ever, it’s too old. A picture of OJ Simpson in a Buffalo Bills uniform is a good indication the cereal is older than dirt also.

5.  Medication. Of course most people know not to purchase medicine second hand, but I have seen a number of things for sale at garage sales that shouldn’t be. Any kind of cream or ointment including denture cream or packets of pills or cold medicine should not be purchased from or be sold at garage sales. Unless of course you throw the used dentures in with the cream. Then that’s a steal.

This should in no way deter anyone from garage sale-ing. There are plenty of steals and deals to make up for the weird things that shouldn’t be sold. What’s the grossest or weirdest item you’ve seen for sale at a garage sale?

Have a great weekend, and hope you catch some of those deals!

My boss scheduled it on our calendar and then went through my files himself, while I piled up all of the mustard, ketchup and butter packets onto my desk. “What happens if I need hot sauce one day?”

“Yeah,” my boss said. “Because not a day goes by that I don’t wish I had a packet of hot sauce.”

I think I annoy him. Anyway I threw it all into the trashcan after he made a comment about how hoarding starts.

I did hoard all of those packets of sauce. I also hoard money except not in a good way. I have found that lately I’ve been afraid to spend any money, like on bills. I’ll wait until the last possible second to pay just because I don’t want to pay. Yet, if something at the store is less than $10, I’ll probably buy it. Which is stupid, because an electricity bill of $200 is way more worth paying than a bunch of gadgets at multiple times that cost less than $10 but by the end of the month total $200. See what I mean? I’m so afraid of not having any money that I neglect to pay larger bills but waste money on a bunch of smaller ones.

If I’m going to be a hoarder, I would prefer to hoard savings accounts. I don’t see how I could go wrong with a bunch of savings accounts or a bunch of money in savings accounts. I think I’m going to make a point of paying my large bills early (and not when faced with disconnection) and stuffing everything else into my savings account at ING.

Would make more sense. Until then, I’ll refrain from saving hot sauce packets and spending my money on cheap things just because they’re cheap.

1.  Electric Garage Door Opener- Number one on their list, and could’ve been on my list of must haves, until the electricity went out one morning and my dad showed me how to manually open the garage door. I’m ashamed to admit that at first I really didn’t think I’d be able to get my car out of the garage until the electricity came back on. Thank God for dads.

2.  Credit – I don’t use credit anymore, thus I know I can live just fine without it.

3.  Remote Controls – I can’t even find my remote controls most of the time, so both me and my daughter know how to work the televisions and the DVD players without them. In fact, the remote control for the living room television has needed batteries for years and doesn’t even work.

4.  Air Conditioning – I use ceiling fans, and luckily since we live in an area of the country that only experiences deathly heat on special occasions we rarely need air conditioning. When I do turn it on, I literally feel my electric bill rising and to tell the truth, I feel like I’ve somehow wimped out. I am in a game of chicken with my AC and can’t stand when I lose.

5.  TV – not only can I live without remote controls, I can also manage just fine without television. We have officially been without cable or satellite for months now and I have only missed it a few times when my co-workers accidentally slip and ask me if I saw the latest contest on the Food Network. My daughter and I have figured out that we don’t need the televisions and sometimes don’t even turn them on, but I suspected this before we canceled the satellite service. Still not missing it enough to pay $60 or $70 a month for it.

There were a few things on the list that I could clearly not live without, one being my computer and internet service. Cable internet to be more specific. I can’t imagine going back to dial up. I also could never live without coffee and my iPhone, but believe it or not, all of these things (including the coffee) enable me to work and generate extra income and to me they are all worth keeping around.

What about you? Are  you the average American, or what’s on your list of things you can clearly live without?

When searching for the ivideo app, I came across Qik Video Camera which happened to be on “sale” from 1.99 to .99. After reading through the reviews, which I find are extremely helpful, I decided to give the Qik Video Camera a try.

The Awesomeness of Qik Video Camera

1.  It records video easily. I didn’t have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to “work” it. Unfortunately, with a real camcorder, I would probably need to spend a few hours getting really familiar with it.

2.  Select a frame of the video as a photo. Have you ever watched a video and wished you had a photo of a specific piece? This feature on Qik Video Camera allows you to do that.

3. It includes cool special effects options. You can change the picture to black and white, avatar and mirror mode. My favorite although I haven’t used it yet, is the red option which changes the picture to black and white except anything red.

4. Upload the video to Facebook, Twitter or a number of other social networks. You can also email a link of the video or upload it through WiFi or to Qik.

What I Don’t Like So Far

I’ve only tried a couple short videos to get familiar with the app, but the main thing I don’t like thus far is that I can’t send the video via text message. But, for 99 cents, I have no problem emailing the link to family and friends.

Other than that though, I would certainly say that Qik Video Camera is worth 99 cents. It works with the 2G and 3G iPhones and even though the 3GS has its own video camera feature, this app will work with that as well, if  you just want to fiddle around with the special effects features. If you need a video camera and don’t want to spend the money on one or a new phone, I would suggest trying out this app.

I’ll let you know if there are any problems after the recital tomorrow, but after trying it out, I’m guessing it’ll work out fine.