Day: March 4, 2011

The chill of winter winds might have you wishing for the first buds of spring, but garden lovers don’t need to let the cold season get them down. In fact, this can be the ideal time to start planning your landscape for spring and summer. Leaving the work until the last minute, when plants are starting to push up through the ground, will only delay your enjoyment. So harness your excitement for spring and prepare a plan with some expert help.

Are you in the market for a new or used car? With the interest rates as low as they are right now and competition for customers fierce, there are plenty of deals to be had.

The holidays are long gone, but for many people, the bills racked up during the season are still lingering. If you aren’t diligent about paying down the balances, those leftover holiday expenditures could really hurt your ability to meet your financial goals for the year.

The economy is moving again – and so are Americans. About 38 million people moved to new locations, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Warm weather locales seem to be top-of-mind these days. If you’re planning a move to any state this year here is some advice for making your move as easy as possible.

One of the more difficult parts of having a family member in the military is deployment. This can be particularly hard for a spouse and children. Having open communication and planning ahead can make this ordeal easier for everyone. Setting up a planning list can help all members of the family – including the soldier – feel more prepared for the duration of deployment.

Storing documents at home could expose you to identity theft if someone breaks in. Identity thieves also pick through trash looking for identifying information, so it’s important to properly dispose of documents you no longer need. Here are some guidelines for what to keep and for how long.

There’s no doubt the past few years have been difficult economically, but there’s no better time than now to finally take control of your finances.

When it comes to the car buying process, which is better? A factory incentive, rebate or promotion? The dealers would like you to believe they all mean the same thing, but they are actually very different offers. When you’re looking for a new car, it’s important to be able to decipher the language.

The more you know about credit card information, the better you can manage your financial life. Beverly Ladley, Unsecured Borrowing & Small Business Products executive for Bank of America, offers the explanations and truths behind five common misconceptions about credit cards.

Being smarter about money is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions, whether it’s cutting back on spending, saving more, or making sure to pay bills on time to avoid late fees. Making good on those promises is easier than ever, thanks to the gadgets that are constantly by our sides or in our hands. Consumers looking to take control of their money and improve their financial health should look no further than their digital devices to get the tools and advice they need.

With record-breaking snowfall occurring in many parts of the country, Americans can’t be blamed for already fantasizing about spring. The truth is, however, that many areas have a lot of winter left to get through before warm weather arrives. In the spirit of helping you warm up to dealing with winter weather, here are some tips for making your snow removal tasks easier – and possibly even more enjoyable.

The term “holiday cheer” is often lost in the endless logistics of drafting to-do lists, coordinating family schedules and cooking festive holiday meals. Despite extra vacation time, we still find ourselves wishing there were 25 hours in a day. Here are some tips to help you stay on track this holiday season

Spring’s arrival might mean cleaning out the basement, attic and garage. But while you’re making a clean sweep, you might also want to consider other areas of your life that could use tidying up. One of the best places to start is with your finances.

It can be one of your worst nightmares, an event you hope will never happen to you. The time of day doesn’t matter – neither does the weather. But when you press your foot down on the brake pedal and your car doesn’t slow down, what do you do?

Hitting the trail on a couple of runs before the winter season ends is a great way to spend a little more time enjoying your snowmobile and the last days of cold weather. Snowmobiling clubs across the country work hard to build trails for both short trips and long, overnight adventures. If you’re planning a trip, take care to be a courteous trail user, so it will be just as nice for the next snowmobiler following in your tracks.

Whether you’re buying for yourself or someone else, you are putting your hard-earned money to good use. Unfortunately, there are also people out there with bad intentions, preying on shoppers every day.

Special events offer a way for businesses to reach audiences they might not normally reach. But being present at an event is only part of turning a special event into a business opportunity. Whether you are hosting an event, or taking part in a larger event in an attempt to promote your business, you can do many things to help maximize turnout and make attendees remember your business.

Many people set personal goals with the arrival of January, and it seems a majority of those resolutions for the New Year (link to: http://www.allstate.com/property-insurance/end-an-ominous-sign-for-holiday-safety.aspx) are forgotten by the time spring rolls around. Healthy eating, financial management and self improvement are popular goals, but they don’t work if you aren’t able to continue working on them throughout the entire year.

As the new year approaches, many of us begin thinking about our New Year’s resolutions. However, we often forget one resolution that is increasingly important – to protect the health of our PCs. To prevent malicious software and poor PC performance from ruining your New Year, consider these four easy steps.

When it comes to finances, searching online for answers on loans, credit scores, cash advances and handling bad credit can be very tedious.

Even for those who remember when it was a novelty, online shopping has become the new norm. Long gone are the days when people were wary of buying from websites – retailers have worked hard to make the process secure, and record sales are proving that customers appreciate the effort. But since online shopping is now the status quo, buyers are looking to get a little more value when they hit the Web to make purchases.

There’s no denying it. Times are tough for a lot of people right now. Millions of Americans are unemployed, and countless others have had their hours and pay cut by companies struggling to make it in the current economy.

The temperatures are warming up and the snow is melting away. It can only mean one thing: The traditional spring cleaning season is right around the corner. In addition to cleaning your home, you might want to consider giving your PC a spring scrub-down as well. Cleaning your PC can help it run faster and more efficiently and improve your overall computing experience.