Computers have revolutionized the way individuals and small businesses manage their finances. Imagine back 30 years ago when everything was done on paper. It was hard to keep track of everything and just as difficult to have up to the minute reports on how your finances were faring. Computers changed all of this.

Instead of keeping track of financial information with a sharpened pencil and an accounting notebook, computers were able to do all the dirty work, including the math and the balances. The early programs were not without problems. They were clumsy and difficult to use for laypeople, but most of all, they had a steep learning curve. That all changed when Quicken was released.

Quicken made it easy for people like you and me to manage their finances on a computer. If you could write a check or balance a checkbook, then you could take care of the finances for your household and your small business. Quicken made it all possible.

Today there are many different versions of Quicken, but they all share one thing in common, they are easy to use. If you are reading this, you are probably interested in buying it. Well, you are lucky because I found a great Quicken promo code that can save you significant money.

I just love using coupons that can save money online. In fact, I always look for them before I buy.

So much topsy turvy action on the exchanges. The DJIA continues to fall. The economist seem to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The dollar is slowly gaining strength in the market, ok maybe not so slowly. In the last few months it has gained more than 20% against the Euro. Even gold is falling. Things look bleak.

One thing that does interest me is the fact that commodity prices are down significantly since April and May. Oil is down by nearly 70%, rice is down almost 50%, the list goes on and on. After such a huge runup in commodity prices, the floor fell out from underneath them. This means that deflation could be on the horizon, and with consumer prices down 1% (core prices down 0.1%) in October, the case for deflation is just as valid as the case was for stagflation in April.

I wish I had some advice to give, but right now I am out of advice.

It’s getting to be Christmas time and that means it’s gift giving time. It also means that I will be looking at cell phones to buy for myself and my wife. Since I am a comparison shopper and I will look for the best deals, I am sure I will compare cell phone deals from many different cell phone companies.

I have several different models that I am looking at, including the BlackBerry Storm, the ATT Blackberry Bold, and the Samsung Instinct. They are all great smart phones and would work well for my wife and me. I like the features that they have and it means that I don’t have to worry about taking a planner around with me.

I have found one site, ifreecellphones.com, which is a really good help for finding great deals on cellphones. I was able to look up the best deals by brand and the best deals by carrier, such as Verizon Wireless. It’s a great way to ensure that I am going to get a great deal on cell phones. That’s important to me because with economy the way it is, saving money is more important than ever.

Now comes the hard part. Do I go with a Sprint Instinct phone that is just awesome. Should I go with Sprint? Or would I be happier going with a
Verizonwireless Storm? I do like Verizon. So many choices and with Christmas fast approaching, can I make up my mind in time?

I have never really been into cruises as either a form of vacationing or as a form of travel. For me, it’s trips for the elderly. Maybe that’s because the only person I know who has taken a cruise was my grandfather. Now, my atittude is changing. Either it’s because I’m getting old or I am starting to recognize the value in cruises.

For example, cruises are getting very cheap in the current economic environment. I was reading in the newspaper that Carnival Cruises has a 4 night cruise for less than $150. It’s hard to imagine any vacation as cheap as that, especially since it includes meals. That’s enough to change me into a cruise lover.

On a previous posts I talked about ideas on losing weight. It did mention that I had looked into taking a diet pill to help me lose weight. I did a lot of research into it. I liked the idea of having an appetite suppressant to keep my appetite at bay, but as I did more research, I discovered that there are many different types of diet pills out there on the market. They aren’t just appetite suppressants, they were more akin to health pills that create the healthy atmosphere needed to lose weight.

I just thought I would pass that along.