How iPhone Applications Can Save YOU Money
If you think that iPhones are out of reach for a frugal person in these tough, economic times, think again, they can actually SAVE you money! If you currently own one or plan to buy one soon, check out the applications listed below to keep more of your hard-earned cash! I am not the least bit technical but my children are....I've found it's easier to find someone net savvy to download and install these applications....then have them teach YOU how to work them!
iXpenselt - you can very easily track your expenses.
It's an amazing application to manage your money. You simply enter your monthly budget in it and it will graphically display your purchases by putting them in several categories. It is also possible to store digital photos of receipts in iXpenselt. The concept behind it is - those who can easily organize their money well will have more of it to spend and invest.
Coupon Sherpa: the premise is quite simple: It displays a list of retail businesses, and tapping through you can see available coupons for each store. From there, you can tap the coupon, and it loads in the Safari browser. You’d present your iPhone to the cashier, who can scan the coupon off the iPhone screen with an optical scanner, or simply punch in the barcode.
Frugal Golf GPS:
Frugal Golf GPS by MapMuse is an inexpensive and simple to use tool that uses the iPhone’s built-in GPS to give golfers real-time yardage from their ball to any pin marked on the golf course.
This app is for DIY (do it yourself) individuals. Simply use the app to create a course by marking and saving pin positions either prior to play or while on the golf course. You can mark center of greens, front and back of greens, and hazards. Once you have marked a course there is no need to do it again but you can edit your pin positions whenever you want.While playing simply select a pre-marked pin to get an accurate distance from your current location to that pin. You can also manually refine your current position by selecting manual mode. Simply move your ball to get the yardage to the currently selected pin position.
If you are familiar with the course it should take less than 10 minutes to set up a course. Otherwise you can go to the course’s website and view the course layout to identify green locations. As examples we have marked the center of greens for two famous courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters.
Stanza -
Download Stanza, the premier e-reader and access over 40,000 books and articles through this application. It's not FREE - but Stanza charges you much less than the bookstores. If you are a voracious reader and buy a huge number of books, then consider this application to save a lot of money
Bill Tracker - It manages all your bills in one place. You can be aware of all your payment related things through this nice application. Time to say bye-bye to late fees
Cheap Gas - This application is completely FREE. Now you can easily search to find the cheapest gas in your area just by entering your zip code. Cheap Gas will provide you with a list of gas stations and gas prices in your area.
Debt Tracker Pro - It manages all your bills in one place. You can be aware of all your payment related things through this nice application. Time to say bye-bye to late fees
Truphone - lets you make free calls over a Wi-Fi network. Now you can make calls to other connected Truphone, skype, Gtalk users for free no matter where you are in the world. Truphone uses VOIP technologies. It can help you to reduce your monthly telephone bill in a major way.
BetterDeal This 99-cent application lets you compare prices of packages to see which is, well, the better deal.
Grocery Gadget: A Review from FinanceDad.com - “With Grocery Gadget and Grocery Gadget Lite, say goodbye to paper shopping lists! The Grocery Gadget shopping list applications for iPhone and iPod Touch are perfect for the household member who regularly shops at supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, office supply vendors, or any other provider of consumable goods.
Save time and money by preparing and managing reusable lists that are always at your our fingertips. Easily arrange list items in the same order you keep them at home, so you can quickly zip through your pantry, refrigerator, bathroom, laundry room, etc. and easily mark items for purchase.
Describe a list item in precise detail, by taking a photo that’s worth a thousand words. With the Grocery Gadget, you’ll create quick photo-enabled shopping lists that get you through the supermarket in record time; even if someone else has created the list.”
Kids Eat Free:
Designed to be the fastest and easiest way to look up the days restaurants near you have cheap or free kids’ meals.Information on what deals are available is completely user-managed, so if your area does not list anything, please enter it. It takes less than a minute to add a new entry.
Fring
This applications will let you make free local calls over a Wifi network. You can even make cheap international calls, which can help cut down on your monthly phone bills. Best of all, this app is currently free for download.
Mint.com:
This cool app allows you to track your budget and finances with the tap of a finger and while you’re on the go and away from your computer.
Leave the rat race behind and head for Kelly's Island
Take a trip to an island where there is NOTHING TO DO except enjoy the day...
Kelleys Island, Ohio USA
Located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo.
Just a 20-30 min. ferry ride from Marblehead, Put-in-Bay, Sandusky or Cedar Point
From their web site
There is not much here, not even a traffic light. This is a place where you can take your time... there is nowhere to go in a hurry. This appx. 4 mi. x 4 mi. island (commonly referred to as the Emerald Isle) has only your basics; beach, campgrounds, 2 grocery stores, few restaurant / bars, one winery, one microbrew pub, one coffee house, one mini-golf, one game arcade, and a bit of shopping. There is only one public restroom but not downtown of course, so be nice and buy a coke (or something stronger!) after you are obliged to use the facilities at one of the restaurant establishment (since, they have to take up the slack for the lack of village support in this area). We do have housing in the form of Bed and Breakfasts and Condos, no fancy hotels here... yet!http://www.caddyshacksquare.com/PressRelease.htm
10 Gardening Lessons Learned the Hard Way
From the Wall Street Journal - hopefully you will read these before you start on this year's garden projects.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704117304575137913236776010.html?mod=WSJ_Real+Estate_LeftTopNews
Recipes for the Fourth of July
Looking for recipes and ideas for the Fourth of July?
The Ultimate Baked Beans
Dessert - Why not go to BTO Yogurt on Wagner Avenue in Greenville and get a bowl of that frozen treat topped with all your favorite toppings?
ELDERTREKS - Designed for People Over 50
A WORLD OF EXOTIC ADVENTURE TRAVEL FOR THE OVER 50 TRAVELER
ELDERTREKS is the world's first adventure travel company designed exclusively for people 50 and over.
It was established in 1987 and offeres, offers active, off-the-beaten-path, small-group adventures by both land and sea in over 100 countries.
ElderTreks offers wildlife and tribal African safaris, active hiking trips to the Rockies, Himalayas and Andes, expeditions by icebreakers to the Arctic and Antarctic and cultural journeys throughout Asia, South America and much of the world.
They invite you to browse through their website, request a catalogue or give them a call... their web site says a real person will always answer during business hours. Don't forget to sign up for their newsletter while you're visiting their web site!
ElderTreks - Click Here
Take a Peek Inside BRC's Shuff Adult Day Center
Caregiving is hard work. It is sacred work. Sometimes your loved one needs additional socialization and sometimes caregivers need a break to run errands, go the doctor, etc. We are here to help.
Shuff Adult Day Center opened in March of 2010 on the campus of Brethren Retirement Community -
Take a peek inside the Shuff Adult Day Center - then give us a call to schedule a tour or learn more about how we can work with you and your loved one.
http://brethrenhomecommunityservices.blogspot.com/2010/06/take-peek-inside-our-shuff-adult-center.html
Easy Summer Recipes
Ranch Dressing... who doesn't love it? Seems it is America's favorite dressing. Not only do I use it for salad dressing, I cook with it - use it for dips, entrees, appetizers and bread. I prefer the dry mix over the ready made ranch dressing and I've watched the cost climb over the years.
Here is a recipe to make your own (dry) homemade buttermilk ranch dressing mix and keep a few nickles in your pocket.
"http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2010/06/homemade-buttermilk-ranch-dry-mix.html"
The video below has some quick summer recipes with things most of us have on hand.
New Study Shows Happiness May Come With Age
Check it out - Click here to read the New York Times article.
Seniors Fighting Fraud Workshop by Ohio Attorney General's Office
Brethren Retirement Community will host an educational seminar, titled, “Plan Well, Live Well: Seniors Fighting Fraud” workshop on Wednesday, June 30th at 10:30am in the Brick Room. This informative seminar will be presented by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
The seminar will include information on the latest scams targeting seniors, tips to fight fraud and a wealth of information on insurance, investments, consumer transactions and long term care.
This seminar is free and open to the public but reservations are required to 937-547-7655.
Refreshments will be served.
Summer Delight: Lemon-Walnut Bread
Summer Delight: Lemon-Walnut Bread
Another wonderful recipe from Alison Lewis from the web site, Ingredients, Inc. I am one of her biggest fans. I've never had anything of hers that I did not like.
Are Family Physicians an Endangered Species?
Dr. William T. Chushing, M.D., J.D, MBA
June 9th, 2010
I had breakfast last week with another Family Physician who, after 14 years of practice, had to close his family medicine practice because, during the last two years, he could not make enough money to pay himself. He could only make enough money to pay the rent and the salaries of the staff.
The burdens imposed by government and insurance companies on Family Physicians will make it impossible for Family Physicians to survive. The extinction of Family Practice physicians will bring the U.S. healthcare system to its knees. Family Physicians have been the front line of the healthcare system.
A Family Physician has to maintain an office, support it with equipment and supplies, staff it with personnel and obtain insurance. Now, the federal government is increasing the costs of maintaining a family medicine practice by mandating that electronic medical record systems be installed and used in these practices.
Electronic medical record systems have been shown to reduce the number of patients a family physician can see by 25 to 30 percent. This is even more devastating when taken in the context of the government and the insurance companies paying the physician less and less for caring for patients. Physicians are being paid less per patient visit and the government is guaranteeing that physicians can see fewer patients. It is a recipe for more Family Physicians to go out of business.
On top of this, the government is demanding more specific and tedious coding and administrative requirements for physicians. This will also add to the costs of doing business.
The costs, direct and indirect, of electronic medical record systems, decreased payments for patient care, more administrative demands by government and insurers, increased costs of maintaining a family medicine practice, increased medical malpractice insurance costs and increased medical malpractice litigation will guarantee the extinction of the Family Physician.
Something has to be done to save the Family Physician.
Dr. Cushing's blog
Rest and Renewal Tips for Caregivers
Cargiving is not only hard work, it's sacred work and caregivers need to get their share of rest to renew their energy. Here are some tips to help you find additional rest and renew your energy.
Hire a non-medical home care assistant for occasional events or on a regular basis.
Arrange for other family members or friends to provide care.
Consider a nursing home or assisted living facility for planned vacations. Call ahead to make sure you have the time to complete the paperwork and assessment.
Consider an adult day center to provide care during the day.Often transportation can be arranged.
Ask a trusted family member or friend to take on some responsibility regularly, such as paying bills, taking your loved one for a daily walk, giving a bath and shampoo or even running errands such as grocery shopping or preparing a meal.
Change your expectations, being a caregiver is your priority, not housework. Instead of doing chores every week, it may be a little less often.
Plan some time in your day for yourself - perhaps it's a long bath, or talking to a friend or reading a book, do something you enjoy that is just for you!
Join a support group - either a local group or an online group. Just talking to someone who understands can offer you additional support and sometimes a new way to handle different situations.
Recognize that for some people, nursing homes or assisted living facilities are the best option.
Don't try to guess what your loved one needs - Ask. Ask the doctors and nurses: What will my loved one need? What help is available in the community?
Consult a social worker or case manager, especially to understand Medicare and Medicaid rules and what facilities and services might be available should you need them.
Get information from the relevant national organizations. All kinds of good information is posted on the Internet, and a librarian can help you get it if you don't have access. Some groups also have toll-free phone numbers.
Do some research, either in the library or on the Internet. Try to become something of an expert on the particular illnesses affecting your loved ones.
There is help out there — don't do it all alone.
Saving Lives - One Story at a Time
It is important to capture not only the stories of our elderly loved ones, friends and neighbors, but also our own, for when we are gone from this good earth our stories will die with us... unless we record them now.
One of my most treasureed memories of my maternal grandfather is a written story he left behind for us to find after he was gone. It was a story of his youth, of growing up "tough". To read his account, he was quite a scrapper in his day. We know him differently but we also loved his stories, his trips down memory lane that he shared with us. These memoir's have the power to entertain but they also are able to convert experiences into wisdom and personal growth for those who came after them.
The time to capture these stories is now. Put it on your calendar, your "to do" list and do it. Make it a priority. If you can, video tape these stories.
Some tips about writing life stories from the Association of Personal Historians can be found here -
Are you a Military Veteran?
For more information please visit their web site - http://www.personalhistorians.org/
The Association of Personal Historians is a proud partner of the Library of Congress: Veterans History Project. As partners, we help collect first-person accounts of military service in World War I, World War II, the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf, and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. They also collect stories of civilians who supported these efforts, including men and women who worked in defense-related industries, as USO entertainers, and as Red Cross workers.
Sleep Apnea
This is a link to a resource for discount CPAP supplies and it has articles about how important it is to get a good fitting CPAP mask and to replace it on a regular basis.
http://www.apneamask.net/