Headaches with Medical Billing

Hey there.  You know what... I really hate dealing with medical bills.  If it's not one thing, it's another.  We've been in a constant battle with medical bills ever since our son was born.  We've already spent countless hours on the phone with our insurance companies to assure ourselves that we know what is covered and what was not.

First, it turns out our son was not covered... How the hell can that be when we are insured and our son should be automatically added for a month or so, to our insurance.  After a lengthy battle there, turns out he was covered and we got it taken care of.  Then we had to deal with the ear doctors since our son needs to get his hearing screened (turns our he has fluid in his ear so they couldn't do it in the hospital).  After that nightmare, we finally got "authorization", we got the appointment done and we took care of business.  Now we get a call from those same people saying we never showed up for the testing.  What the....  My wife was there... I yelled at some people there because the docs "lost the chart".  My wife took a pic of the girls near some giant ear because it would be a cool pic.  Yet... these people say were missed our appointment?!?!?!  Now we gotta call them back and set them straight... Not to mention to call back the hospital where our son was born because it turns out we owe them money for stuffs we thought was taken care of by our insurance!!!  UGH!!!!

I was pretty upset this morning when they called saying what they had to say.  I'm allowing myself some "calm down" time because I don't want to yell at these people while I'm at work.  I plan on calling after lunch and taking care of this because we were clearly under the impression that all was taken care of and we were good to go.  Now, almost 7 months after our son is born we get this call out of the blue saying we owes money.  Hell with that...  We didn't receive any bills and it's extremely upsetting that these kind of calls just spring out of no where.

Oh... and we just got a call from the school...   Turns out our daughter got whacked by a kickball.  What a way to start the week....  Later!

Using Cappex for College Reviews

Hey there. My wife and I have been meaning to go back to school. But it's tough to find the time when you have a family to take care of. I'm not saying it's impossible, though. With some strategic time management, both my wife and I could be back in school before we know it. A good tool to help out has been Cappex.com It's free to join and helps match your student profile to a college that best suits your needs. Now, it's an up and coming site so instead of 1000s of colleges, you're more to see 100s but the database is growing everyday and considering that it's free, why not take a look to check it out. Check out the review of the cappex site by eduinreview.com. Later

Help Your Career Blast Off with Allison Maslan

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Allison Maslan, author of "Blast Off!". All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. I awhile back, I wrote about my passion for my work. How I no longer displayed that "fire" and passion that I did when I first started. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my work, but I guess I'm just not putting forth that extra effort that I once did. Now, is it that my fire is diminished, or that I simply need a push to the right direction. I feel as if I need to be my own boss. When I found out that my web site is a considered my personal small business, I was excited. I felt a fire burning again. What I need is something, or someone to help me get my business priorities straight.

Allison Maslan is a well known life, career, and success coach. That's right, someone that knows the ropes and help guide and motivate average people like myself to greater things. I mean, she managed to guide Sam Zien, The Cooking Guy on Discovery Health, to launch his career. So, why not me?

Her latest book, Blast Off!, is now readily available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the Borders websites. Retail price is $24, but you know I'm a bargain hunter. I'm sure I'll be able to score and find it for less on Amazon.

The book was released on Jan. 19th and almost instantly hit the US best sellers list. I'm sure millions of people can't be wrong for seeking her guidance. It would be great to have some direction. Nobody wants to feel lost when it comes to their career or their life. I would love that guidance right now. I have a small business that I am not 100% sure how to manage. What I should keep track of and what steps I would need to take to make it grow. That book again is Blast Off! Get your copy today and find the inspiration to take the next step to a better career and a better life.  Later!

Metallman's Reverie is a Business

Hey there.  I just recently found out that that my blog, Metallman's Reverie, is considered a business.  How great is that!  This site has existed for over 2 years now.  The first year was spent experimenting on writing styles that ranged from all sorts of topics.  It was also spent trying our many of the social media networks that welcomed personal blogs such as this one.  I also tapped into the stream of online revenue but was not very successful that first year.  And rightly so.  It takes time to build a name, an audience, and reputation as a dedicated blogger.  So for that first year, Metallman's online income was not very much.  However, year #2 is a different story.

It may not be an amount to live off of, but I managed to make over $1,000 last year in online revenue.  That averages out to under $100 a month, BUT it's good enough to pay a few bills and have some "fun" money to use.  Not bad for someone in their second year of blogging, no?  Once I received my tax forms and handled that whole process, I was advised that my blog is considered a business and it is allowed to have business expenses.  Who knew!  I surely didn't so I was advised that if I have certain expenses that my business needs, I would be allowed to deduct those for next year.

I'm actually excited about this.  First and foremost, because I'm a business owner.  My own boss!  Second, because I'm able to deduct certain expenses to reduce my tax bill next year.  Now, I still consider myself a rookie here.  I just starting my third year (Earlier this month) with this blog and it's the first time I encounter the "business expense" aspect of it all.  So I'm curious as to how it will work.  I was thinking out loud the other day with my wife and we came across certain items that may or not be considered business expenses.  If I were to get a laptop, would that be considered a business expense since I would use it to work on my site?  What about the FiOS internet that I use to log online?  Or my cell phone which I use to receive and respond to Emails in regards to my site?  I have plenty of questions and if you're on the experienced side of it all, I would love your input.  In the mean time, I'll just keep tabs of those expenses, just in case I'm able to chalk them up to, "Metallman's expenses".  =oD   Later!

I'm Heading to Phoenix

Hey there. I'm off to Phoenix, AZ for a credit conference later this week. I'll be in the Phoenix area most of Thursday and Friday, coming back home on Friday evening. I've never been to Phoenix so I'm excited about visiting a new city. One of the perks of my job (Sr. Credit Analyst/Credit Manager) is that I've been asked to attend credit conferences/meetings. I've been fortunate to be sent to New Orleans, New York City, and San Diego. San Diego shouldn't count, since that's just a car drive away, but still, it make me feel somewhat important to represent our company at these meetings.

I was hoping to catch some sight seeing, as I did in New York and New Orleans, but to be quite honest with you, I'm not exactly sure what I can see or do in Phoenix. My brother suggested seeing the "Shaqtus". lol I would if I could find it, but if I remember correctly, only Shaq knows where it is and I doubt I'll be running into Shaq on the streets of Phoenix. lol

I don't know any people in the area and I don't believe any one that I know have visited the area. I'll try to spend some time later to day to find a good restaurant or something to check out. If you guys are from the area, let me know what's good out in Phoenix. Local knowledge is a lot better than online information.  Later!

Heated Water No More

Hey there. Last week, I mentioned how our water heater went out. I went out and got the necessary parts to fix it and even vented my frustration via Twitter, since I had to travel to many stores just to get the parts. Well, now it turns out that I'm just going to have to get a new one. I managed to get it to work, for about a day or two. Then the pilot light went out again. I had the gas company come and check it out, since they'll do a courtesy check. The guy left me a note stating that it looks good but doesn't know why the pilot light won't stay lit. He suggested I get a plumber or private heating company to check it out. So I did. That happened tonight and the dude tells me that my water heater is 15+ years old. Daaaaaaaaaaaaamn! He was astounded that it was still working and after he checked it out, told me what I feared. I need a new water heater.

The guy was honest and told me that if he were to do it with his company, it would run me approx. $1400. That's a lot of money. He said I should shop around and I should be able to get that taken care of for less than half of their price. I thanked him and he sped away. Now, I'm on a mission to get a great deal on a water heater. He showed me how it should be connected and he said that it's a fairly easy job. The fact that it costs so much is mainly due to the fact that they need to get permits and sit around for a few days while the inspections and what not get approved. Ugh... I remember going to Home Depot and Lowes and seeing them for around $300 or so. I'm going to see if they have some kind of installation kit and maybe I'll be able to get it taken care of for a few hundred bucks instead of over a thousand. Man.... Looks like my weekend is determined. Later!

Donating to Charity

Hey there.  At the request of a recent cash prize winner of this site, I donated the cash prize to a charity of my choice.  Considering that it's a noble alternative to receiving the cash, I happily obliged.  My problem???  Many of the well known charities do not accept PayPal donations.  That's just plain crazy.  Millions of online transactions are done securely through PayPal.  It's a great alternative to providing a credit card or debit card when making purchases online.  I think it's great that PayPal will never provide your personal info when making purchases or payments.  With that being said, I am greatly disappointed that many charities have not added PayPal as a viable option to receive donations.  Breast cancer research... Nope.  Feed the hungry....  Nope. Lupus research...  Nope.  Cancer research... Nada...  It was upsetting that I couldn't find one... but then I did and I feel that I need to let everyone know that this charity gets it.

That's right.  Toys for Tots was the only reputable charity that I was able to come across that accepted PayPal as an option to give donations.  Now... their mission may be to accept toys for underprivileged children during the months of October, November, and December, but they accept cash donations year round.  The funds come in throughout the year in order to purchase gifts for the holiday season to combine with those that were accepted via toy drop off locations nationwide.  They get it.  They know that in today's world, you need to be a little more tech savvy and I'm extremely surprised that many of the other charities have not followed suit. Who knows how much charities are missing out on donations because they do not offer PayPal as a means to donate.  PayPal, having millions of verified users, should be offered as safe and secure way to donate.  If you are interested in donating to one of the rare charities that accepts PayPal, check out the Toys for Tots site and make your contribution.  Who better to receive help than the children and future of our nation.  Later!

Term Life Insurance

Hey there.  I'm a little on the fritz when it comes to life insurance.  I am currently under the plan at work, but am not sure if that is enough in case something were to happen to me.  I'm going to see where else I can be a term life insurance quote for free and check out my options. This whole getting older thing makes you think, you know. I got to make sure my family is well taken care of. Later!

10 Days Til Christmas

Hey there. Today, I took a day off from work. Mainly because my wife had a doctor's appointment and I wanted to take her, since it's in Downtown Los Angeles and it can be hell to drive there. We also decided that it would be wise to start tackling some of our Christmas shopping, since we have done absolutely none of it. Our tree is not even up! Yeah, it's kinda sad, but we've just haven't had any time to do ANYTHING. Something always seems to come up and we've been getting home later and later. We really don't want to set up any Christmas stuff without the kids and we send them off to bed at 9 PM. It's already close to 9 and they are rushing to take their showers, all the while my wife and I are sorting the gifts (while I sneak in a sentence or two) so that we can tackle the wrapping. I think we'll end up setting up the tree without the kids this year. We're going to have all sorts of wrapped gifts and no tree to place them under if we continue to wait.

So our day started off with some breakfast at Dennys and after spending a good hour and half chatting and eating, we went on to our shopping. We went off to the mall and I was expecting some holiday hell, even though it was a weekday, and we experienced none. We ventured int Victoria Secret, but came out with nothing. We then figured that we need to get the kids in our family first and foremost so we ventured into The Disney Store. We ended up with a bunch of gifts, a bill close to $150, and about half the kids knocked off the list. Whoo hoo!

After killing a few hours at my mother in law's, we took off to my wife's doctor's appointment. The camera crew for Deliver Me was there and we saw them shooting an interview with one of the doctor's patients. That, coupled with the fact that Dr. Bohn was just getting back from a delivery, she was backed up 4 patients so we had to wait longer than usual. All checked out well and off we went to get our kids.

Then... off to Target for more holiday shopping. Since I worked at a Target many, many moons ago, I know how the holidays look and I was expecting some holiday hell. Especially since it was close to 7, I was expecting it to be bad. None of that. I was surprised. We gathered another 9 or so gifts and another $130+ bill. Score!!!

Not bad, my friends. We tackled 19 or so kids out of 30. Not too bad. All in one day too. And the best part? None of it came out of pocket. I recently received my business debit card from Paypal (I'm still trying to grasp my head around that Metallman's Reverie is a business) so all the gifts purchased was paid by online income. SCORE! SCORE! SCORE! I was hoping to save it up for a family vacation, but hey... this is just as good, right? I know that many family members are tightening their belts this Christmas so I know that not many gifts will be given out. If our family is able to provide gifts for the kids, why not? I'm sure that they will be more than appreciated this year.

Well, it's time to start wrapping these up. 10 more days, friends. We're almost there! Later!

Gross Profit, Current Assets, and Financial Statements

Hey there. Today was just a tough day at work. A tough week actually. I have been asked to follow a certain Major Department store that our sales team wants to pursue. I have looked over the financial statements and this company is just not profitable. Why would you want to invest in a company that is losing millions of dollars a quarter? I just don't understand that logic. I've spent the last 3 days spreading financial statements, reading their SEC reports, and typing up an extensive report on my findings. All for the best interest of the company that I work for. Yet, I feel as if my word means nothing, even though I have been labeled as "an integral and vital part of this organization". Instead of a good old pat in the back or a "good job", I get an Email from the president of sales stating that we're pursuing them anyways. lol Yeah... Just like that... 3 days of hard work, all for it to be flushed down by a simple Email. *sigh* The life of a credit analyst is never easy... Later.

Knowledge Thrown Away

Hey there. I am a geek. There is no denying it. When I was in school, I had certain subjects that I love. I managed to get through high school without doing any homework, yet graduating with high honors and passed many AP courses. My problem with school is that I simply didn't want to attend. I studied the material on my own time and I pretty much showed up just to take the tests. Now, I don't condone that type of behavior but it's what worked for me. I'm more of the "give me a book and I will learn it" type.

I haven't been in school in a long time. I last attended Santa Monica College several years ago and told myself that once I have my priorities straightened out, I'll go back. Now, with a loving wife and wonderful kids, it's tough to find the time to get to school. Well, the educational gods were smiling on me yesterday.

When I got home from taking the kids to school, I noticed that the neighbor had several boxes to be thrown out. First thought, boxes should be in the recycle bin and not the trash bin. Second thought, my wife needed a box to put some stuff in and they look to be the perfect size. So I go to get a box and I see that the boxes ARE NOT EMPTY! Hmmm... It's in the trash bin, it's meant to be thrown out so it wouldn't hurt if I emptied the contents and kept the box, right?. Once I got the box open, I was thrilled to see that the box contained college courses. FREE TEXT BOOKS FOR COLLEGE COURSES!!! Oh man, I went back out there and grabbed more boxes to check em out. They had everything: College Algebra, Sociology, Anatomy, Chemistry, American History, Literature, Business, and many others. Check it out!
I should have known what the contents where once I realized that the side of the box says, "The College Network".
I looked up this College Network and found out that people have paid thousands for the materials that I found in the garbage. I could not believe it. Someone literally threw out thousands of dollars worth of stuff and the boxes were not even opened. The materials were still sealed. I couldn't be more ecstatic. Me, that I love to learn by the book, without someone holding my hand, could not believe that I came across several college courses that I plan on doing. I won't receive any college credit, i won't have a teacher, but you know what? I don't care. I have the opportunity to obtain a college level education for free. I can't wait to get started! I'm starting with Algebra. I love math so I'm looking forward to digging right in. I plan on starting on Monday. I'm up late as it is so I'll devote an hour or so of online work for my education. I'm giddy. lol Later!

Auto Insurance Quotes Made Easier with PremiumAutoInsurance.Net

Hey there friends. As many of you know, our baby boy was born last week. We are thrilled that our family is growing. Too bad that our car does not grow with our family. We currently own a 4 door sedan. It's perfect for a family of 5. We are now a family of 6 and we need more space in our vehicle. Well, good news came about earlier today. We may very well be the proud owners of a 2006 Kia Sedona. Our car will be ready for pick up by mid next week. Now, I'm on a mission to find the lowest auto insurance that I can. Good thing that
PremiumAutoInsurance.net is around to make that search a whole lot easier.

Just by entering your zip code, a list of auto insurance providers in your area come up. Big names like All State, Geico, and E-surance too. I tried out a few to get an idea of how much I'll be paying in car insurance. I''ll check those out to see who fares best. Especially since they are Free Auto Insurance Quotes. You can never go wrong with free.

Geico:
All State:
E-Surance:
Interesting. E-Surance seems to give me the best quote. Especially since All State claims to be the best and Geico will save me "15% in 15 minutes". Thank you PremiumAutoInsurance.net. If you're in the market for auto insurance, or want to see if you can save a few bucks on your current policy, check out PremiumAutoInsurance.net and receive your free quotes. It doesn't hurt to check it out since they are free quotes. If they're not saving you money, you do not have to purchase. That sounds like a win-win situation to me. I'll be discussing these with my wife to see which is best for our family. Later!

Breakfast, Car and the Hospital

Hey there. What a day. I decided last night that I would treat the family to breakfast this morning. Yesterday, while I was at work, my wife was enjoying breakfast at IHOP. I wanted IHOP! lol I think it was more me not wanting to be at work. lol Anyways, we got up this morning having most of our planned out.

We left this morning for breakfast at around 9 to 9:30. We went to Norms for breakfast. We had ourselves a lot of food. We all had pancakes and steak and what not. We didn't finish it but while we sat there we decided that we needed to go to the hospital to register. It helps to register early so that when it's baby time, the hospital will have all your info and you're streamlined into a room. I told my wife that I wanted to get everything done today so that I could watch football tomorrow uninterrupted. We agreed and the next stop was the bank.

We need a bigger vehicle. Our Mazda Protege does not accommodate more than 5 people and once the baby is here, we'll be a family of 6. There is a friend of the family that fixes cars for a living. The guy is straight up with us and tell you exactly how it is. You pretty much tell him the model of car you want, he'll go out and bid on one for you, he'll fix it up, and then you pick it up. My wife's family has bought 3 cars from him, including the one we drive now so we have the utmost confidence that he will be able to get us a reliable vehicle.

So after getting the money we were off to drop off our deposit. Then we realize... Our registration papers are at my mother in laws house so we have to go and pick them up. So off we go to go and get them. Naturally, it was out of our way. lol Once we pick them up, we get some directions from my brother in law and off we go to drop off our deposit. The ride over there sucked. Living in LA, I'm used to being able to reach my destination via freeway. Well, we couldn't reach him via freeway so we driving through the streets for most of the way. Stop and go traffic is frustrating. So we finally get there and I tell the guy what we're interested. We'll looking for a Mazda MPV. Mazda's are reliable. I have not had one person say that they are not happy with their Mazda. So once we give him the scoop, I get my receipt and off we go to the hospital.

Just my luck, my boy decided to tell me about some cool thing he read in his Game Informer magazine and I ended up taking the wrong exit and drove a few miles in the wrong direction. After getting off the freeway and going back towards downtown Los Angeles, we finally make it to the hospital. We grab our forms and into the hospital we go. We tell the security that we're here to register and guess what he says. Guess....

"Sorry. Admissions is closed today."

UGH!!!! All that driving and we can't even register?! My wife showed the security that the admission form that she filled out clearly state that admissions is closed at 8:30 PM. The guy says that admissions is closed at 12:30 PM on Saturdays and it being close to 3:00 PM, then points to the admission desk and shows that there's no one there. My wife and I were upset. We walked out in disgust and head towards to the car.

We jump back on the freeway and head towards Babies R Us. I promised my wife that we would purchase the crib bedding. Once at the store, we browse around and end up with more than the bedding. We got a sheet and a mobile as well at this really cool emergency kit with medicine. Afterwards, we finally headed for home. We must have gotten there at around 4:30 ish. That is approx. 7 hours away from home and a good chunk of that was spent driving. Needless to say, we are tired.

My mother sent me a text saying that she MAY stop by tomorrow with a crib so that we can have it set up. Baby may coming soon and that's the last piece of furniture that we need. Hopefully, she'll show up tomorrow and get that set up. Until then, later.

Get Ready for Back To School with Sears' Campus Ready

This post was sponsored by Sears. All the opinions are mine.

Hey there friends. We are now in August, which means that many retailers across the country and gearing up for "back to school" sales. While retailers generally target the elementary school kids, those of you that are getting ready for college can be left out in the cold. Going to college and living is a dorm room is a huge transition and our good friends at Sears are here to help with their CampusReady website. Sears makes it extremely easy to get your dorm room furnished with what you need. Below are some of the highlights of the site:

*You can shop by dorm room

You can view pre-furnished dorm rooms and pick and choose items from that dorm room that you like. Considering that Sears went all out and created more than a few dorm rooms, you should be able to find a style that suits your needs.

*You could shop by coordinating dorm room products and design ideas

If you select an item that you like, Sears will automatically display several other products that coordinate with the item that you chose. Making it extremely easy to have a well organized dorm room.

*You can shop using the interactive checklist

This handy tool organizes strongly suggested items that you will need to make college life that much easier. All items needed will be neatly categorized for easy check off.

*You can shop by necessary items

This is a god send for all parents that are about to see their child off to college. This interactive list will display all necessities for college life. The items are organized into the 5 categories of eating, sleeping, studying, playing, and cleaning.

*You can shop for clothes

Campus Ready not only offers furniture, but clothes as well. Keeping the clothes simple, young men and young women can shop by tops, pants, and t shirts, among other categories. It also provides tips on how to keep your clothes lasting the longest, offering advice such as this tip for jeans, "wash jeans in cold water and turn them inside out".

*Sears provides financial tips

The "Money Sense" tab is there to help students with tips on how to be money savvy. It emphases on the importance of a budget, but offers such money saving advice, such as "buying used books", and "search for free entertainment".

You can't go wrong with a site that goes of it's way to make things simple for a college transition. As an added bonus, you can check out CampusReady on Facebook and make things even easier with their facebook application.

College tuition is on the rise all over the country. Sears is doing it's part by offering a great site where a soon to be college student can get a grasp of what's going to be expected of a soon to be adult. For all us parents out there, be sure to sign up, for free, at Upromise.com to help pay for tuition costs. The program is extremely simple. You make purchases through Upromise.com to online retailers and a portion of the purchase will be returned to you in the form of an online account. And to sweeten the pot, Sears has teamed up with Upromise.com to give away up to $25,000 in cash for college tuition if you make a purchase through the Upromise.com website. Free money for college is not easy to come by so make sure you get your entry in for your chance to score money for college. Later.

Banking Your Baby's Cord Blood Offer Extended

Hey there friends. Cryo-Cell has extended their offer of up to $725 off if you decide to bank your baby's cord blood. I wrote about the offer about a month or so ago in this post detailing the offer which, then, expired on 6.28.09. The offer has been extended to this weekend so if you decided that banking your baby's cord blood is right for you, you must enroll with Cryo-Cell using promotional code:995PS by midnight Sunday evening.

Cryo-Cell's exclusive premium family service, "Protect Baby, Protect Mom", is geared towards families that need a little extra assistance with finances. This is the main reason why the offer was extended. They are aware that may of us are experiences tough economic times and by entering the promo code 995PS by midnight Sunday night, not only are you are enrolling in one of the best offers in cord blood banking but also one of the most affordable. But if you want a little more for your money, you can enroll in Cryo-Cell's Signature UCORD Service and Exclusive C’elle Service, by using Promo code P2PS. Check out Cryo-Cell's website for more details.

I know this is a big decision for families to make. Cord Blood research is still in it's early stages of development. Yet, doctors have been able to use your baby's blood to treat over 75 diseases and the procedure has been performed in over 12,000 patients. Those may not sound like staggering numbers but the only number you should be concerned with is 1. 1 child, your child, may be stricken with a disease that may be treatable with his or her cord blood that was drawn at birth. Is it worth it to have that safety net just in case of such a tragedy? I cannot answer that question myself. My wife and I are still debating on whether or not banking our soon to be born son's cord blood is something that we want to do. It's not an easy decision to make, but Cryo-Cell does an excellent job of detailing the pros and cons. Visit the website to be as best informed of the processes and procedures. I know we will. Later.

Need Help Looking for an Apartment?

Hey there friends. You know, a few years back, when my wife and I married, we struggled to find a place to call our own. We were newlyweds with kids and we needed to find a place to call our own. We did what most people do while they're searching for a place, we stayed with family. Staying with family has it's perks, but let's face it, there is no place like a place to call your own. During our search, we went through online listings, we drove around looking for "for rent" signs, we even went as far as to pay for an "exclusive" list of available apartments. It was a HUGE pain. I would not want my friends to go through the hell that is apartment hunting without useful and proficient tools.

Good thing we live in a time where technology is there to aid us. This is why the iPhone's latest application is a godsend to those that are in the hunt. MyNewPlace is a is a great app that lists over 6 million apartments and rental homes across the US. You can easily filter searches to specify for exactly what you need. You can find MyNewPlace in the iPhone app store and because it's absolutely free, you won't need to waste time and money on "exclusive" lists when the the MyNewPlace app is updated frequently. One of the great features of the app, and my personal favorite, is the option to search for listings based on your phone's GPS. This is great because for those that have been on the search for a place to rent have more than likely experienced the following scenario:

You drive through a beautiful neighborhood, your significant other LOVES the area, but you have not the slightest of clues as to where there is a place to rent since you're driving aimlessly hoping to run into a "For Rent" sign. You drive off feeling pretty bummed out that you couldn't find anything after driving around for up to an hour.

Don't let that happen to you! With the MyNewPlace, the above could have been easily averted by searching through your phones GPS. It would readily display the locations that were for rent and instead of driving around wasting time, you'd actually be checking out the places to see if they suit your needs.

Apartment and home hunters need to get this free application. Do not let the renting game damper your hopes of finding a good home. You can find all the information you need in regards to the application at http://www.mynewplace.com/iphone .

Later.

Fighting with Bank of America

Hey there. I am on the phone, on hold, with Bank of America. We recently got a loan modification done on our mortgage to reduce the amount. We were happy when it was slashed considerably. We signed the docs and sent them back. Soon after, we received a second set of documents and that slashed the first offer even more. We were confused, at that point. Can this super low offer really be our loan payment? I started calling BofA. I spoke to 2 different representatives that clearly said that the second offer would override the first. I had them repeat that to assure that I was hearing correctly and again, I received the "second set of documents will override the first." My wife and I were thrilled at point. We started to plan out the rest of the year, with dreams of her not having to work with with this great windfall that we were blessed to receive. We even received a check by BofA saying that we overpaid in escrow fees so even more joy came over us. Until last week, that is.

We receive our statement and it says that our payment is what the original loan documents stated and not what we were told over the phone. Not cool, Bank of America, not cool and at. Now, I'm on the phone trying to get to the bottom of it. Personally, I am none too happy that Countrywide busted and BofA bought it out. I've had some awful experiences with BofA. Many years ago we had a checking and savings account with BofA. It was not something that we wanted to do but considering that there were everywhere, we went ahead and open the accounts. On top of all the fees that were assessed, even after doing the "automatic savings" thing that supposedly made your accounts, free, we had issues with them. The straw that broke the camel's back was the moment that some one by the name of "Ruth" created a check, that's right, created a check with her name and her address on it and cashed it against our account. I don't remember the exact amount of the check but I want to say that it was close to $1K. I was furious. I called and complained to BofA how my name is clearly not Ruth and the address on the check is clearly not mine and yet, they cashed this check. On top of that, they gave me a hard time. Them bastards gave me a hard time! They didn't give me my money back "the next day", as their fraud commercials stated at the time, and I had to call them everyday for a full week just to get them to admit fault and give me my money back. Of course, because I was out so much money and it was unexpectedly gone, we started accumulating overdraft fees that again, BofA said were my fault and not theirs. I fought for those to be reversed too since I told them that they cashed a check that was not issued by me and therefore I should not be held accountable for the fees. After all the yelling and all the screaming I did to supervisors and directors, I finally got the money back into my account. I immediately withdrew our money from both saving and checking accounts and vowed never to bank with them again. I bash them every chance I get, and with more than good reason, and to my surprise, others usually share their horror stories as well.

Now, it turns out that they need to research as to why my documents are not matching... Typical BofA bullshit, if you ask me. I am not happy and if I need to pay more than what my documents say, I'm going to be raising some hell. Later.

FYI... I did this whole post while I was on hold... Bastards!

Is Banking Your Baby's Cord Blood Right For You

Hey there friends. My wife and I are now well into our second half of our pregnancy. We are in what I like to call, full baby mode. We've gone out to buy some clothes, check out some strollers, look into cribs and fancied a few bassinets. We've also received a few pamphlets and coupons in the mail. It's almost as if the world knows we're expecting since we're receiving all sorts of baby stuff in the mail. One particular pamphlet got us talking. It was concerning the baby's cord blood.

I know that it's a touchy subject to some and I don't know the full details of what or how banking your baby's cord blood can help, but it is something that we decided to look into and inform ourselves on. One such company that offers banking is Cryo-Cell .

Cryo-Cell offers a very user friendly interface and we were able to get all the information that we need to better inform ourselves. Cord blood is proven to help aid in over 70 diseases, that's good. But it's only been performed about 12,000 times, that's not too good. Could it be because it's still a relatively new process? I can't say. It's also a little pricey, but what price can be put on your child's health? They also have financing which is as low as $57 a month. Not too bad, I think. The cord blood collected is 100% effective on the donor and 25% chance that it will be effective on a sibling. It's proven to be helpful against Leukemia, Hodgkin's Disease, Hunter's Syndrome, among many others. That list itself is pretty impressive.

This is something that is not for everyone, but it is something that surely deserves some consideration. Especially since Cryo-Cell is offering $750 discount if you sign up by 06.28.09 and using the promo code HOT during check out. This is definitely a life changing decision for our family and is something that should be discussed in detail. Check it out. It may be something that you are definitely interested in. Later.

Supplement Your Baby's Nutrition with Parent's Choice Infant Formula

Hey there friends. I'm sure that the majority of us with children will agree that a mother's breast milk is the best source of vitamins and minerals for your baby. Breast milk is jam packed with everything that your baby needs. But what if the baby refuses to take breast milk or mommy needs a little break from feeding? There are a number of brands of infant formula for new parents to choose from and during these times, it's tough to pay up to $30 for a single can of infant formula.

Parent's Choice Infant Formula is a great alternative to the brand name infant formula. With a price that is almost half of the leading name brands, this is a great supplement to you baby's health. And since all infant formula must adhere to the FDA's standards, you know that you are getting a quality product for your baby.

Now, before you go on and say that cheaper must be lower quality, let me fill you in as to why those name brand formula's cost more. It's called marketing. Those brands are trying to make a profit and the cost of the free samples and advertising that we see inflates the price for those brands. Parent's Choice Infant Formula will not push those costs to the consumer and rely on the word of mouth of loyal customers to stand behind their product.

Check out their online calculator so that you can compare the prices of infant formula and see how much you could save switching over to Parent's Choice Infant Formula. Parents need many products to tend to their baby. Using Parent's Choice Infant Formula will scratch one item off that list.

Hell With Pascual & Associates Tax Service

Hey there. Last night, we went off to do our taxes. We've been loyal customers to Pascual & Associates Tax Services. Well, last night was the last straw. Many years ago, on our very first appointment, we were well taken care of and had excellent service. As the years went on, service greatly diminished, prices went up, and the wait time has gone to HELL. EVEN IF YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT!!! That is what peeves us the most. We're understanding people. We know sh*t happens so we usually say expect to be called 15 to 30 mins after an appointment. But last night, the wait time was an unprecedented 90 mins. 90 MINS!!!! Even though you had an appointment, you had to wait 90 mins to get called in. That is ridiculous. Every single time that we've had our taxes done, we spend no more than 30 mins in the chair. You pass over your forms, they get entered, you answer some questions, and before you know it, you're done and on your way home... Happy. I was NOT happy last night. After sitting there for an hour, I got up to ask the receptionist how much longer, she calmly looked back and said and least 30 more mins. Hell with that. I grabbed my wife and we went home. Mouthing off in the car and extremely frustrated. We both agreed that they have just lost clients for life.

We want to say that our main gripe with them is that they cannot manage their time correctly. Considering that 30 to 45 mins is needed to prepare taxes, why in the hell would you schedule appointments every 15 mins??? That's just ridiculous and stupid time management. If you know that you can't get it done in 15 mins, then why would they make their customers wait? They have about 8 tax preparers, all handling their business at the same time. During the time that we sat there waiting, we only saw one couple leave. ONE COUPLE! Are these people preparing taxes or are they socializing?!?! Don't they know that people HATE waiting. It was extremely frustrating. Ugh...

I checked out Turbo Tax this morning and was able to get em done in no more than 30 mins. Quick, fast service. Turbo Tax is the best damn thing the government has come up with since, well... tax refunds. If you can plug in letters and numbers, than I would suggest going with Turbo Tax. Quick, easy, and convenient. AND NO WAITING!!! Just how I like it. Later.