The Importance of Common Sense when Shopping Online

This post brought to you by Insurance Hunter. All opinions are 100% mine.

Your best opportunity for getting a decent car for a reasonable price is simple: buy a used car. Insurance Hunter recaps all the essential information for making a car purchase through online means.

But sometimes, life will throw you a curveball, especially if you don't know exacrtly what to look for.

Not sure where to start? Want to shop online but don't want to get hosed? Looking to buy a used car? Use common sense when shopping online. That is the number one way to keep yourself out of trouble, and into the best car for you.

Finding cars online, just like any other product, comes with the risk that the advertisement isn't what it seems. For that reason, look at every car in person before you pledge and if possible, get it looked over by a mechanic before you put any money down.

You might get cheaper auto insurance if you get an older model car, but good insurance won't save you if your car falls apart due to lack of maintenance by the previous owner. Cover your own bases, don't automatically trust anyone.

I've bought used cars before, and they are always in a rush to get their money and get you off the lot. This is especially true online, where the seller just wants the product out of their hands. But you are the one buying, so make sure that you ask the questions that need to be asked, and if you don't feel comfortable doing so then be sure to bring along a friend who will.

Insurance Hunter has great tips with further detail about how to properly protect your finances and assets when considering buying a car online. If you decide that a used car is your next vehicle purchase, be sure to check out all the information so that you can make the best decision possible.

Stay safe, stay secure, and watch out for yourself. Nobody else will.

Peace, love, and vroom vroom!

I HAVE A NEW WEBSITE!

I have a new website that I will be updating on regularly instead of here, so please go there if you want to see my random thoughts and blah blah blahs.

Here it is:

http://laurakaeding.com

The Shadow of Wrath by L.W. Patricks

Hey everyone! I am pleased to introduce my very first promotion of a new book by author L.W. Patricks.

He has just released a new book, the first of seven, and I am absolutely pleased to help him out, and help you all, by introducing him and his amazing novel to you all.

 Without further ado, here is the official synopsis for the book The Shadow of Wrath:

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In the Arena, you’re either a killer or a victim.

If survival meant murdering an innocent person in cold blood every week, could you do it? Are you able to stick the knife into your opponent’s heart while they look at you with fear in their eyes? Life in the Arena turns everyone into sinners.

A homeless boy is kidnapped from the streets and finds himself imprisoned in a far more horrifying place: the Arena, a place where teenage boys fight to the death for the pleasure of various lowlifes in a modern gladiator pit.

The Arena is the brainchild of Ryker, an ex-convict addicted to alcohol, gladiatorial-esque combats, and money. When not devising new ways for boys to kill each other, he’s ruling his small empire with a ruthless fist, rewarding his guards with sex slaves and punishing those who oppose him with barbaric executions.

Renamed Dog, the boy from the streets must turn himself into a killing machine if he is to continue surviving, but as he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake, the ghosts of slain boys haunts him and the violence threatens to wake a beast inside him.

Allegra, a slave girl in the Arena and a victim of Ryker’s constant abuse, is his only key to salvation. She has lost everything already -- her family, her innocence, and her dignity -- while her will to live hangs on by a thin thread. Can she save Dog’s humanity before she too succumbs to the horrors of the Arena?

Seeking to defy Ryker as Dog rises to power as his champion, the stage is set for something to give in this murderous world of young gladiators.

A tale about survival, tragedy, and human perseverance, the complete Shadow of Wrath is the first book in the Sins of the 7 series.

Fans of edgy and controversial dystopian books will love Shadow of Wrath.

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If you're as excited to read this novel as I am, here are the links to purchase the ebook. Either on Amazon or on Smashwords.

Thank you in advance for any support you show to this great author. I hope that if you do purchase this book because you read it here, that you will share your experience with it.

Peace, love, and read on!

My brain is turning to mush

Writing on a whim is relatively easy. You throw your thoughts out there, whether on paper or on the computer, and you give it a once over to make sure you make sense.

Academic writing is mind-numbingly hard. It is damn hard. I have been working on two paragraphs. TWO PARAGRAPHS. for almost 3 weeks now.

This is crazy to me. I normally just write something, like this post for example, as I think of it. Then I post it. Maybe I'll save it for later, if I know I want to add something. But this has been a fairly constant effort towards these two paragraphs for THREE WEEKS.

Crazy.

I'm not complaining, not really, I know I signed up for this when I started working on my B.A.

But I was definitely surprised at how... informal my normal writing style is.

I hope that you, loyal readers, will benefit from the improvement in my overall writing skills.

Once my assignments have been marked, I will be sharing them with you, so that you can see the results of my painstaking effort. Then at least it won't be just my professor who gets to read the blood, sweat, tears, and sanity that went into all of this writing.

Until next time,

Peace, love, and mmmmmush!

February 2013 Resolution Update! (a day late)

Two months ago, I posted my 2013 goals and resolutions. If you don't want to click through and read the whole post again, here is what I posted as my goals:

1. Fit back into a size 8 and be healthy about it.
          a. Work out at least two hours each week
          b. Stop eating so much junk food. Eat fruits and vegetables instead.
2. Pay off the car loan.
          a. Find my cheques
          b. Stay within budget
          c. Track spending and budget
3. Write more
          a. Edit my NaNoWriMo2012 novel to readability and have people read it.
          b. Continue working on the first draft of my other novel
          c. Add new content to this blog and to my Helium.com profile every week.
4. Finish 3 of my university courses
          a. one at a time, starting with Introductory Composition


So, for the update, continue reading:

1. Fit back into a size 8 and be healthy about it.
          a. Work out at least two hours each week

Still haven't lost a pound, but I started getting more active in that at least once a week I go for a ten minute walk, and separately I walk up and down the stairs at work for 5 minutes every now and then. Work in progress.

          b. Stop eating so much junk food. Eat fruits and vegetables instead.

February was a bad month for this, for some reason. I started off well, but as the month continued... donuts and delicious junk food everywhere. March is here now, so it's time to restart.

2. Pay off the car loan.
          a. Find my cheques

Done last month.
          c. Track spending and budget

Did okay for this, but we stayed on track and ended up spending less than usual, so that's nice!

3. Write more

          a. Edit my NaNoWriMo2012 novel to readability and have people read it.

Just don't look at this one...

          b. Continue working on the first draft of my other novel

Ehmmmmm....

          c. Add new content to this blog and to my Helium.com profile every week.

Added one thing to Helium, and a few things to my blog, so at least that's something!

4. Finish 3 of my university courses

          a. one at a time, starting with Introductory Composition

Almost halfway through Introductory Composition. I'm about a full unit behind, but I've been plugging away at it most of the month, and I am hoping to have completed Unit 4 (of 6) by the end of March.

So that's it for now! As I mentioned last month, I have been making bi-weekly videos, so if you want to check out my Youtube channel, click here.

If you have any questions, tips, suggestions, or anything else, share it below! Thanks for your continuing support!

Peace, love, and March on!

Quick update: School and lost phone

So it turns out that univerisity courses are harder than I had originally thought! I am currently about a full unit behind on my coursework, and that includes writing a full 1000-1200 word essay on something.

Good lord.

So you may not hear much from me for the next little while, except occasional blips when I think of something witty. I will also be continually transferring posts from my old blog on an ad-hoc basis. I have been doing this here and there over the past while, but I foresee a lot more tranferral over the next few weeks, just to keep things fresh here.

I appreciate your patience, and hope that you will comment on the posts that are of interest to you!

Also, I lost my phone, so that's upsetting. I get a new one tomorrow, but it won't have any of my settings, documents, photos, or anything on it so... F$#*K!

Stay classy.

Peace, love and STUDY!

Money Stress: Part 2 - Use what you have

Yeah, remember this whole thing? Money stress? Right now, I may not be overly stressed about money personally, but there are always things that I want that I need to save up for. You too?

Maybe you are living paycheck to paycheck, and maybe you aren't. Maybe you are trying to save up for a house, or a vacation, or even just a new computer/music player/phone. If there is ever something that you are trying to accumulate more money for, there is always a way to save up that money.

Not only are there always ways, but there are also almost always ways to change so slightly that you don't sacrifice much in terms of your day-to-day life. Which is really what we're all after, right?

The main things that people, like you and me, tend to hear about when it comes to saving money are the clichés. Bring your coffee, don't buy your coffee. Bring your lunch, don't buy your lunch. And yeah, these tips are effective... but they don't apply to everyone. Each person has their own priorities and preferences for how they live their lives. I love coffee, and am lucky enough to have access to coffee at work, as much as I want, for only 10$ a month. Not everyone has this luxury. Not everyone drinks coffee.

My second big tip (my first can be found here) is to use up what you already have. If you have, like many people, extra food sitting in your freezer that you bought while it was on sale, but it isn't what you usually use... try it! Try something new, find a new recipe, and use it up. Not only do you now have more space for the usual stuff in your freezer, but you also got to try something new, and the food that you used up will not go to waste.

If you already have mascara (that isn't clumpy), why buy a new one just because it's on sale? Use up what you have first, so that less (or ideally, nothing) goes to waste. I don't know about you guys, but I HATE throwing out things I have purchased. Whether it's food, cosmetics, clothing, etc... I just hate throwing it out. Drives me crazy. Because that is, effectively, throwing your hard-earned money in the garbage.

Ew.

Use up what you already have. If you need to organize a bit, do that! It's a great way to spend your time without buying anything (I don't know about you, but I spend money when I'm bored). Then you will be able to see your things more easily, which makes it easier to use them up!

Do you have any tips or tricks for finding ways to stretch your cash? Please share them! I am always looking for new ideas and things to try!

Peace, love, and save your nickels! (Pennies are gone!)