When it comes to special occasions, birthdays, holidays, etc. I like the idea of sending flowers to whomever deserves them for that day. With mother’s day coming up, I know for sure that I’m getting them for Kay but I also think I’m going to send them out to my aunt as well. I go through the usual websites looking for them but recently I came across 2flowers.com. The cool thing about this company is they deliver arrangements and gifts in many countries, all orders are hand delivered by premium local florists. Their pieces are all inclusive with absolutely no hidden fees. Orders are delivered next day, to any city.

I find larger companies like 1800flowers to be a bit impersonal. Sure, they deliver promptly and can create some nice looking arrangements but I like the idea of having mom and pop kind of florists to do the work, getting flowers away from the corporate world. I came across a few arrangements that I thought were really sweet for mother’s day gifts. The Many Thanks Bouqet has roses, ranunculus, gerbera daisies, and lilies in shes of pink that are complimented by white snapdragons and larkspur. If I were to wake up with this arrangement on my night-stand, I think I’d grin to the point of my cheeks popping off.

It’s really an interesting site, and I suggest you head over to 2flowers.com to get in your purchases for Mother’s Day – you only have until May 13th to do it!

I know I’ve noted it before but many people still don’t know that I play backgammon on a regular basis. The game actually relaxes me, almost as much as mancala or checkers. I started playing backgammon when I was younger. My father taught me and it was our ‘thing to do’ whenever nothing else was going on and we just wanted to find something to keep us entertained. At the rate of there never being anything good on TV, playing often was the only option. I do a lot of surfing online for tips and tricks and I spend quite a bit of time floating around backgammon masters, they’re a great site for keeping up with rules and what not.

Recently, BackgammonMasters.com purchased Roman Greenberg’s boxing shorts for quite a bit of money to help him make it to the top professional boxing ranks. The money will go directly to Greenberg for training for improvement of his boxing skills. After the match they’ll auction off his shorts starting at $100,000 and all the proceeds will go to charity for Arab and Jewish youth.

So it’s not just about playing the game anymore. To some degree it’s about helping others in need as well. Sure, they’re sponsoring someone to get their name out there but in return they’re giving quite a bit of money to children who need it. Give a little, take a little…nothing wrong with that.

Anyone will tell you that the real money lays in investments and real estate. Investing in property is probably one of the most financially sound things to do, if you can afford it. A sound investment is Overseas Property. While there is still a mound of debt troubling the world, there are some people still making quite a bit of money, enough to travel the world if they really wanted to, especially with credit card reward miles. When traveling, it’s always a good idea to look at some of the possible investment properties out there as well. Maybe you’d come across a house that’s absolutely beautiful, and up for grabs. Having a vacation home is great, but owning it for local renters or even listing it on hotel websites for Bed and Breakfast type rooms is great as well. One hot-spot at the moment is in Bulgarian Property.

Those in the investment field will consider Bulgaria to be untapped potential in regards to properties. Bulgaria is a country of variety, both graphically and culturally. The country has only received widespread recognition within the last couple of years, many locations in Bulgaria have yet to be discovered by international tourism. Tourists find Bulgaria beautiful based on their beaches along the Black sea, hundreds of thousands of people head here yearly for fun in the sun, in a beautiful environment. One place I looked into the most had to be Golden Sands, a resort on the Black Sea (show in the image to the left).

If you’re looking into investing in something that will give you not only a great turn around, but beautiful scenery…Bulgaria is the place to go.

I spent many years of my life without a mother figure, I didn’t feel that sense of ‘female authority’ until Alicia and I spent more time together than we did with our own families. While I haven’t spoken to her in quite some time, I do consider her mother to be a mother-figure to me. I also consider Baby’s mom one as well, she’s probably one of the sweetest women I’ve ever known. Since mother’s day is coming up, I figured I’d do something special. I’ve considered the plethora of ideas and the one that sticks out quite a bit is a product named FullBloomTea.

FullBloomTea is a very unique kind of tea. Not only is it visually appealing, they taste great too. A quick description of how it works, and how it tastes:

When steeped in water that has been boiled, our tea blooms twist, turn, move and appear to bloom right before your eyes into amazing floral bouquets. Not only are these teas beautiful, but they also contain the finest rare Silver Needle White Tea leaves rich in antioxidants and are infused with beautiful dehydrated flowers such as Jasmine, Globe Amaranth and Marigold just to name a few which give additional flavors and health benefits to our teas. Mild in flavor, our tea blooms can be re-steeped up to 3 times each. And once you are done steeping and drinking, why not put the used bloom in a clear glass or vase with clean water to enjoy the beauty as a centerpiece or on your nightstand for an extra day or two.

FullBloomTea.com is featured on 6 popular tea-based blogs it was also featured on Great Day San Antonio Health Bites (TV). Their most popular blooms are: Let Love Bloom, Happiness Bloom, Teapot Bloom, Star Bloom. If you look at some of the images behind it, they literally just come in small little packages that pop when they hit the water, that’s pretty darn nifty if you ask me. There are quite a few tea’s to choose from, they don’t just have blooms – they do have your standard tea leaves as well. There are quite a few gift packages available as well, starting at just $29. I guess I’m going to have to get two, won’t I?

There are a plethora of options to keep yourself on top of your bills. Unfortunately, a lot of employers are now only handing out paychecks twice a month (I guess it cuts down on paperwork). The problem with this is a lot of bills are due at separate times during the month, because of this – there is a rise in bankruptcy based on a rise in things piling up. There are options though, payday loans being one of them.

A payday loan is a short term financial device intended to help people cover their bills or unexpected expenses during a temporary loss of income or a time of financial duress. Payday loans are secured against a future source of income such as a paycheck or government stipend that are deposited directly into your account within 24 hours of a completed application.

In order to become qualified for a payday loan you need to meet a small list of requirements. You obviously need a job or regular source of income which must total at least $1,000 a month. If you have an active checking or savings account and are at least 18 years old, you’re eligible for a payday loan.

The approval process is anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Funds are transferred directly to your bank account overnight, so you’ll need direct deposit enabled for your bank account. There’s no need for a credit check because payday loans are secured against your paycheck. So whatever your financial situation is, as long as you’re making a minimum of $1,000 a month – you’ll be approved. There’s no application fee and it’s safe to apply for one online, especially through sites like powerpaydayloan.com.

If you’re having financial troubles because of an unexpected occurrence, you should try for one today.

As a business owner, I’m always looking for new and interesting ways to make my life a little bit easier. I do not have a traditional billing system for my hosting clients, one of the most commonly known products is Modern Bill, I didn’t see the point in having a subscription payment going out just so I can keep track of the subscription payments coming in. Because of this, I use a very hassle-free method, a 3 ring binder. I have one for each server and each client is listed in alphabetical order (by domain name) with their email, Paypal address, and account status. All of my invoices are sent out with Paypal. But once a payment is received, it’s marked off on the users page as “Payment Dates” and since it’s mainly in pencil, I have a ‘running balance’ section to show exactly how much each client has made me.

The problem is that, while this is a very organized process, it’s a bit more time consuming than I’d actually like at the moment considering everything going on. I’ve come a program for online invoicing and payment named Simplify This. It’s a web-based application that lets the user (you) easily invoice clients and get paid faster online. It’s designed for freelancers, small businesses and independent professionals. It helps you free yourself from using a complex accounting software so there will be no more forgotten invoices, and no software to install. Since it’s web based, you can use it anywhere. So if you’re at the library, work, home, or any other computer in general – you can still access your records. It does help for those whom do frequent conference calls with clients, this way you can log into your account and check on it anywhere.

There are some key features to this program. It’s easy to use, you can customize it to your business needs, invoices are sent via email, you can accept payments online and then track your payments as well. It even records one-time and recurring charges. Right now it’s currently a free trial, I think it’s worth trying out…don’t you?

It’s nice to come across a resource that’s more valuable to the consumer than anyone else. My newest bookmark is SavingsAccounts.com. The site was created to help you, the consumer, find the perfect savings account for your needs. They help you to compare online banking services and to find the bank that offers the highest interest rates with account features that suit your individual needs. Right now, their top ranking savings bank is HSBC. They offer 6.00% interest rates with no money fees, no minimum balances and they also have a range of accounts from savings to checking, credit cards and certificates of deposit.

I’m currently with Washington Mutual, and they only offer 5.00% interest rates, which aren’t that bad but I’m not content with their services. In order to get a savings account with them you need to create a free checking account. You’re charged monthly fee’s on your savings account and after a while, it really just becomes a hassle. Before I moved to Delmarva, I had to make it a point to close my savings account because it was really screwing me up. I’m glad to have found this resource because now I know what other banks to look for that won’t wind up messing up my finances.

They have a very helpful resources section where they give you a few articles with ideas that help you understand your online banking and taking control of your finances to plan for the future.

I’d say it’s a site worth checking out, honestly. Head over to SavingsAccounts.com and poke around, you may learn something valuable about the bank you’re currently with.

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Since I’m going away in a few weeks I know for sure that I’m going to have to make sure to have my credit card on me. The room, as of right now, is being held WITH my card and there’s hardly enough money in the account to cover anything. That’ll change over the course of the next few weeks though, considering all the work I’ve been doing lately. It’s my goal to hit like $1,000-$1,200, sofar I’m about $350 towards it (in two days) so I guess I can handle making the rest in the next 40 days…right?

I think, at this point, everyone depends heavily on their bank accounts considering there’s no real need to carry cash anymore. Sure, a quick stop in the store is easy to cover with cash but if the cash is stolen, there’s no getting it back. It’s easier to have a debit card because your bank will honor what was withdrawn and you haven’t lost any money…just your sense of security.

I don’t like credit cards, I don’t really like the idea of the whole “buy now, pay later” stuff. My “credit card” is my Debit Mastercard. I only spend what I can afford. Anyone who’d ask me about it would most likely get the same answer. I don’t believe in Debt, I don’t feel sorry for those IN debt. “Quit crying, stop buying” is all I really have to say to that one.