Buying Flowers on Valentine's Day - Choosing Between A Local Florist Or Ordering Online

By MoneyBlueBook

Well Valentine's Day is here again and it's time to carry out the age old tradition of sending flowers to that special girl in your life. While women today frequently send flowers as well, I think the great majority of gift flowers purchased for Valentine's Day are made by men for their love crush, their girlfriends, or for their wives. Anyway you look at it - women love flowers - the commercially universal symbol of love (that and diamonds). They love to receive them, look at them, show them off to friends and co-workers, and display them on their desks for all to see (I see it all the time). Today, flowers make great presents for any occasion, and they're no longer just for the major holidays and birthdays anymore either.

Since giving flowers during those special holidays is almost a given, for the guys, if you really want to score bonus points, try sending your special lady flowers for no special reason at all - it's even better when she's not expecting them. That will really brighten her day. Not that I am an expert in the flower-sending department or even have that extensive of an experience in wooing girls with flowers, but I've done it before - through both traditional local florists and through online flower delivery services. Both techniques have always yielded great results.

Flowers Are Expensive, But Buying and Sending Them Doesn't Have To Break The Bank

Now one of the biggest gripes with sending flower arrangements as gifts is that they're usually quite

By MoneyBlueBook

Update: Read About The Possibility Of A 2009 Second Stimulus Check

With both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate having nodded their respective approvals of the nearly $160 billion economic stimulus package (that's "B' as in Billion), the bill has finally been signed, sealed, and delivered to President Bush for final approval. The President has already indicated that he will quickly sign the economic aid into law - so I believe the rebate checks will soon be on their way to a mailbox or direct deposit account near you.

I shall try to explain how the 2008 economic stimulus package will work and how much you can expect to receive in the way of a rebate check.

1) Why Are We Getting A Tax Rebate Check?

The Tax Rebate Check is part of the U.S. government's emergency pro-growth economic stimulus plan to prevent the U.S. economy from stalling out and entering a period of prolonged recession. Due to the recent slowdown in the economy caused by housing bubble problems and subprime mortgage related issues, the federal government wants to keep the economy on the up and up by putting money into the hands of U.S. consumers to encourage increased consumer spending. Like jump starting a car, the government wants to hand consumers extra wads of cash to encourage increased business investment and consumer activity. Surveys have indicated that at least half of consumers intend to use the money to pay down existing debt, while the other half intends to either save or spent

By MoneyBlueBook

If there's one group of zealots you never want to upset, it's the eBay sellers. Ever since eBay announced several key changes to its pricing and feedback policies over a week ago, eBay sellers have been flipping out and storming the discussion forums to express their outrage over the impending doom and gloom. A great number of them have become so upset that they've banded together to plot a futile boycott of eBay's auction services around the February 20, 2008 launch date to protest the new fee hikes and feedback policy changes.

Here is an overview of the key controversial eBay pricing and system changes that have sparked such emotional reactions as well as my own thoughts on the matter. You can view the actual eBay price structure changes (here).

1) Listing Prices Will Be Reduced But Final Value Fees Will Be Increased
The new eBay pricing changes will cause up front listing costs such as Insertion Fees and Fixed Price Listings to be reduced. This upfront listing fee reduction is to encourage more listings since eBay auctions have been stagnant for years now as auction interest has waned. Although it used to come at a small cost, eBay now plans to make Gallery picture listing free - a nice free addition that will save a few cents and dollars for some, but it's basically a trivial bonus. It's nothing that will greatly benefit eBay sellers, but with the way eBay has been cleverly marketing the changes by

By MoneyBlueBook

Updated List Of The Best Airline Miles Credit Card Offers (Free Miles For Free Flights)

One of the simplest ways to save money on airline tickets is to take advantage of free frequent flyer mile offers - namely the credit card bonus rewards and free miles that many airline miles credit card issuers promote to attract new customers. Most of the time, the instant bonus miles are enough for a free domestic roundtrip flight or at least enough to tip you over the mileage limit if you are just short. For those interested in earning free frequent flier miles with each card purchase, please view my list of the best airline miles credit cards.

Over the years, I've taken advantage of free frequent flyer mile bonuses and airline credit cards to earn free flights and air travel tickets. A while back I needed to book a flight but was just shy of the free flight limit. Rather than going ahead and paying the $200-$300 for the ticket, I decided to apply for the airline's own branded credit card to take advantage of the free mileage offers. While some of these airline credit cards have an annual fee, their introductory sign-up terms usually waive the fee for the first year. If you aren't looking to get a free domestic ticket but instead are trying to save up for an expensive international flight, be sure to keep track of your frequent flyer miles expiration dates.

Here, I've gathered a list of all the airline mile credit card

By MoneyBlueBook

Despite what some people may think, many people still visit public libraries - such as myself. Although the societal trend seems to be shifting towards an entirely digital world where the internet dominates the information landscape, traditional brick and mortar library branches still serve their useful purpose.

Other than studying at the school library during college or university, the last time most people were inside their local public library was probably during high school. These days, your local public library branches are a bit different than those that are affiliated with schools. Rather than focusing on academic research type resources, many cater more to community and family needs. Today they offer a wealth of free services that should be part of everyone's everyday frugal living strategy. Instead of buying expensive books, movies, video disks, or audio tapes without sampling first, you should think about test driving them out at the local county or city library before committing.

Here Are Some Free Services Your Local Public Library Likely Provides That You May Or May Not Be Aware Of:

By MoneyBlueBook

For the last few weeks I've been receiving incessant phone calls several times daily from some unknown toll free number - specifically 1-800-261-1646. Because I have a habit of screening my calls and not picking up my cell phone if I don't recognize the caller ID, the missed calls kept coming in. The unknown calls were perplexing because I recalled signing up my number for the National Do Not Call List. Eventually I gave up and chose to call the number back to see what was up.

The Verizon Wireless Sales Pitch - May We Bind You To A New Multi Year Contract With Just A Few Freebie Offers?

When I called the number, at first there was dead air and I wondered if I had called a scam number, but then a voice over the phone introduced himself thanking me for my interest in Verizon Wireless and requested my cell phone number. I was a bit suspicious but since my cell phone was indeed serviced through Verizon Wireless and I figured my cell phone number wasn't really confidential information, I gave him my information. If he had inquired about the last 4 digits of my social security number I might not have readily given him the number, since I was still a bit suspicious at that point. But with my phone number information, he immediately ascertained my name so I figured he was at least somewhat legit.

Immediately he launched into a sales pitch to get me to sign up for a new binding multi year