I just came across something pretty cool. Have any of you ever taken a time capsule and buried something in the back yard? I remember doing it at my grandmothers house when I was about 8 years old. I think there’s a doll and some random little toys in there that I felt I could do without. Knowing that my grandmothers house is going to be in the family for many decades, I figure it’s still save to have it back there. My sister and I both wrote little letters explaining where we’re going to be when we finally open it up. It was a big project that my grandmother did with us. She knew that she’d be passing away soon so having some place in the back yard that was just between the three of us was important to her. We didn’t understand it back then but now I can truly say that I understand why she had us do that. Based on a conversation I’ve had with family, my aunt has informed me that when she passes away I’m considered next of kin and will be almost an instant owner of the house. So while this may be a certain number of years down the road, I’m honestly happy that I’m going to have real estate on Long Island that will be more valuable to me then any amount of money could buy. How could you not love having a 1800 sqft home on an acre of property? Seriously now. So I know that I can take my kids and dig it up in the future, then replant our own. I think that’s something I would seriously turn into a family tradition, I know that for sure.

Today I came across something pretty interesting as well. It’s called the Virtual Time Capsule. You can take photos, videos and even text to have them stored on a password protected website where the creators promise to keep the site up for the next hundred years or so. It seems like a pretty cool idea, and even after that it proves how technology has really come a long way. The thing for me, even if I do have another 60 years left in me, by this time next year I’ll have forgotten that I even HAVE the site, lol. But, if you are interested, head on over to http://www.the100yearwebsite.com/, maybe you have a better memory than I do.

While I hate to say it, I know that my father is officially a Senior Citizen. He’s pushing 60 and while he may feel old, he truly is young at heart. With age comes it’s downside though, he’s slowly beginning to lose his eye sight. He’s had to wear reading glasses for the last 10 years or so but now he’s going to have to start using them for every day driving, so that has him a little bit annoyed.

He didn’t grow up with fancy technology the way today’s generation is, so him getting a cell phone was a pretty big deal to him. He had trouble seeing the buttons on the phone because even I’ll admit that in some cases they’re a little bit too small. He has very thick hands, but that’s a trait on that side of the family, all the men do. Today I found out that they actually have an option for a Senior Cell Phone service. He just renewed his contract with Verizon so I highly doubt that he’d be interested in it, but they seem to have some pretty decent options available. Not only do you get bigger buttons, you also have brighter screens and easier to hear ring tones for those losing their hearing as well.

I went looking through their services and they have pretty easy to to use cell phones that can be used as your standard cellphone or an emergency cellular to keep around the house. They’re pay as you go plans, but I’m sure somewhere down the road there will be enough of a backing for a standard monthly service. I look at it this way though, there’s more of a benefit to having a prepaid service to a monthly service if you’re only using the phone for emergencies. I hardly ever use my phone, hence the reason for having a prepaid. I see no point in keeping a phone for more than $10 a month if there’s no point in it, again this is just me. My father hardly ever uses the phone at all and now he’s spending about $40 a month with Verizon. I think switching over to jitterbug.com will actually help him out, especially when it comes to saving money. I’ll have to let him know about it when his plan is up for renewal in 2009.

I recently found out that my father had to take out a loan just to take care of his credit card debt. He had about 3 cards and after coming across a low interest credit card he transferred all three cards to one, began payments and then found himself taking out a loan just so he could pay it all off on one shot. Naturally I wouldn’t recommend doing this unless you absolutely have to but thanks to my mother’s love for QVC and everything HOME SHOPPING, he’s spent the last 10 years paying off close to $40,000 in credit card debts. He’s now debt free, in regards to his cards, and working on paying back the loan that he took out. By transferring all of his funds to a low-interest credit card, he actually found out that his credit score had improved. He’s now got a credit score above 760 and couldn’t be happier. His interest rates dropped, his financial standings, as a whole, have improved and he just seems like a happier person in general.

I learned a lot about credit cards from him, which is why I don’t see myself getting one anytime soon. Unless I need one for absolute emergencies then there’s really no point in spending money that I just don’t have. I understand that everyone’s situation is different and I’m, by no means, saying that you’re a complete moron if you’re depending on other’s money in order to get through daily life. However, I do strongly believe that if you can maintain a proper bank account, you won’t need to worry about going to an outside source for funding.