MomReviews

No, I’m not giving away a million dollars, not that I wouldn’t if I had the chance! I’ve been asked to share a website with you called No Debt Today, which has programs to help you with debt reduction. They specialize in helping people tackle what might seem like an impossible amount of debt, starting with a free, no-obligation debt consultation. No Debt Today offers three types of programs:
*If you need to consolidate a variety of debt both secured and unsecured, they work with your creditors to reduce the amount you owe and then group all your monthly payments into one.
*If you have just credit card debt, No Debt Today can get your total amounts due reduced into one lump sum payoff, or a much lower monthly payment.
*If you need to get caught up on back taxes (local or Federal up to 10 years’ worth), No Debt Today has solutions for that as well.

I’m speaking from experience when I say, don’t let your debt drown you. Use the free debt form on the No Debt Today website to get a free online debt consultation. There is no obligation to do anything and you can take as much time as you like to decide. You don’t have to feel like you are trapped under piles of debt anymore!

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I would say that my husband and I are about as educated as parents can be regarding how to keep our children safe online. We don’t allow them to surf the Web, they can only go to sites that we have approved and bookmarked for them. Of course, once they are on a Web page, they could type just about anything into the browser and go anywhere, but they also know that we are going to be walking by their computers at any time to see what they are doing. And, if necessary, we will use Remote Desktop Management software to allow us to “take over” their computer and see what they are viewing.

It’s scary, isn’t it? I know it is possible to keep kids off the Internet entirely, but my husband works in PC Support and I’m a blogger, which means the Internet is a big part of our lives. I’d much rather teach my children how to be safe while they are online, and not only HOW, but WHY. It’s hard for them to understand that someone who sounds like a kid asking to be their friend on Xbox Live could actually be an adult. They want to watch videos and play games, but I don’t want them seeing porn. So what is a parent to do? Well, Michael Cafarelli founded GuardChild.

GuardChild was founded by a team of parents concerned by the explosion of news reports about child predators frequenting Internet Chat Rooms and exploiting children. We realized a need for a ‘one stop’ website where parents could gather to share their knowledge and experiences, educate themselves about Internet security, and review and purchase the latest child-monitoring software.

The GuardChild Knowledge Center provides FREE resources including toll-free phone numbers for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, links to similar child safety sites like CyberAngels and NetSmartz, articles, safety tips, and recommended reading. The Knowledge Center also explains how to choose Child Protection Software, which is the next part of the site that I want to explain to you.

GuardChild also sells monitoring software for your home computer, with prices starting at just $39.95. Whether you want to simply see what your children view online, chat protection that sends you an email if your child is chatting about a topic that you have set as off-limits, the ability to schedule which times your child can be online, even monitor entire IM conversations, GuardChild has software you can purchase. Should you monitor your child’s “private” IM chats? In my opinion, YES.

The issue of trust revolves around both parents and children understanding what is and isn’t allowed. Monitoring your child’s online activity to make sure they aren’t getting into situations they shouldn’t be in is not spying, it’s PARENTING. Wouldn’t you want to know if your child was discussing drug use, or viewing porn, or even just using inappropriate language in their chats? The Internet has lots of great uses, from educational sites to sites that are fun, but children are not adults and don’t need to be in adult situations, either. Letting your child know that you are paying attention to what they do online lets them know that if they do get into an uncomfortable situation, you’ll be able to step in and be the “bad guy” and get them out of it.

While there are free resources available on GuardChild, there is also a community that costs a very reasonable $19.95 a year to join. With paid membership in the GuardChild Community, you are entitled to:
* Hundreds of websites (with access to thousands more embedded in our sites and new sites added monthly) for family-friendly websites, online safety resources, parent resources, educational websites, and much more (GuardChild has done this research for you, so you don’t have to spend hours online searching for relevant information)
* Articles about online child safety and family Internet use
* GuardChild Community Blog: interact with other parents who share your concerns, learn from online safety experts, and contribute your own articles, advice, and questions
* Discounts on the best web-filtering software and child-monitoring software available.
* Access to a searchable State-by-State Sex Offender Registry
* An Instant Messaging/Chat/Text Messaging/Emoticon Glossary
* Email alerts of new Feature Blog postings and product updates

If you are interested in learning more about how to keep your kids safe while they are online, please visit the GuardChild website.

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I’m sorry to say that since the last time I wrote about needing to replace our carpet back in April, we have made absolutely no progress on the replacing of our playroom carpet. My husband is driving me nuts! Every time I say honey, it’s time to do something about the disgusting carpet in the playroom, he makes an excuse about how he just doesn’t know what we should do. I know what we should do! We should call for HELP from Empire Carpet!

Empire Today has that jingle I’ve bet you’ve heard, “800-588-2300 Empire!!”, and they don’t just sell carpet. Empire sells hardwood, laminate and ceramic flooring, window treatments, and bath and shower liners too. Don’t remember the jingle? Around the Chicago area, it sounds like this- “Five eight eight, two three-hundred, Em-pire!” The “Eight Hundred” is added for other areas. It was covered in concert by bands like PEARL JAM, and is even shown at the beginning of the movie Wayne’s World. Like this:

The “Empire Man” was first introduced in 1977 and has become so popular, he is shown in commercials, has been made into a line of collectible bobblehead dolls, is featured each year in the annual McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and inspired the Chicago Cubs to declare an official “Empire Day” at Wrigley Field in 2007! Watch this:

You can read about Empire Today’s history by reading the Empire Today Wikipedia page. The company is based in Northlake, Illinois, and “operates in over 50 major metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada, making it the leading provider of home improvements and home furnishings in North America”. After looking through their site, I would love to schedule a free visit by Empire Carpet to redo my playroom, maybe a nice Berber that’s durable and can stand up to my children

Now, here are some of the services that make Empire stand out from it’s competitors. With approved credit, you pay NO INTEREST and make NO PAYMENTS for one year, you can purchase Empire products even if you rent rather than own your apartment or home, they will bring samples of the flooring you are interested in to your home at no obligation, most products can be installed the next day, AND, they give out a free gift that varies with their current promotions with your purchase! Which is why the poor Empire Man is sitting here in this commercial:

If I didn’t want to replace the carpet in the playroom, I could always get Hardwood Flooring from Empire Today instead. They carry both traditional and specialty hardwoods in either natural or stained finishes. With a nice Area Rug on top, thick enough to be comfortable for playing and sleepovers, that might just be a better solution for us anyway.

That number again (sing with me!) is 800-588-2300 Empire, call them today for a free in-home estimate and check out their website for all of their flooring and other products. This is the YouTube page for more videos, including cute ones featuring kids singing the jingle

Now if I could just get my husband to agree to let me call them and replace that gross carpet in the playroom!

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One way to manage your finances is to take a look at your credit cards. If you are currently paying an Annual Fee, have a high interest rate, or have several cards with small balances, you can find information on getting better credit card deals by visiting Credit Cards Club. This clean, easy-to-navigate site has links to credit cards by category, such as no annual fee, low interest rate, balance transfer, cash back, and 0% interest. A low interest credit card often gives you 0% interest for a limited amount of time, giving you a chance to pay down some of the principal balance.

This would also be a great time to get a credit card that pays you cash back on gas purchases, as well as on other items you buy. Every dollar helps at the gas pump these days! If you want more information on types of credit cards, understanding your credit score, and repairing bad credit, Credit Cards Club has financial articles with lots of great information. You can apply for dozens of different types of cards right on the site, so if you are looking to get a credit card or replace one you already have, Credit Cards Club should be on your list of sites to visit.

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Do you need help paying your rent? Right now, you are so not alone in that. The price of gas is driving up the price of groceries and other goods and services, everything is getting more expensive, but paychecks aren’t rising as well for most people. If you are really in a bind, you can get rent assistance and there are several options to consider:

* Housing Choice Voucher Program ( Section 8 ) – find your own place and use the voucher to pay for all or part of the rent. To apply, contact a public housing agency.
* Privately owned subsidized housing - HUD, for example, helps apartment owners offer reduced rents to low-income tenants. You can apply for this type of assistance directly with the rental offices.
* Public Housing - affordable apartments for low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities. To apply, contact a public housing agency.

RentAssistance.us is a very basic, easy to use website that shows you what programs are available in your State to look for help paying rent. I searched in Michigan and found two in the Metro Detroit area and two in the Upper Peninsula. The site is free to search which gets you the address and phone number of each agency. If you want to get agency email addresses and web addresses, you register for the site, which is also free. Please take advantage of this free site if you or someone you know needs help with rent assistance.

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