Insurance Blog Week in Review – April 29 – May 5, 2012

Every week, the Insurance Blog Week in Review quickly goes over all of the blogs that were posted in the past seven days. There can be anywhere between twelve and fourteen different blogs that appear here weekly. What did you miss? This is an easy way to “ketchup” on everything. Ohio Requires Insurance Coverage for Exotic Animals Ohio now requires owners of exotic animals to purchase a certain amount of liability insurance coverage for each animal they own. They also have to prove that they are providing proper care for the animals, and that they have good fences. The Insurance … Continue reading

Watch Out for Fake Collection Call Scams

Beware of fake collection call scams. They will try to separate you from your money in no time. With the current economy, many people are finding that they have to juggle a bunch of bills and may be used to getting calls from collection agencies, or they may have a friend or family member in such a situation. But what if the collection agency isn’t real? If you aren’t careful you could wind up giving your hard earned money to con artists. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which was formed from a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation … Continue reading

Watch the Application

One factor that can hurt your credit score is too many credit history reviews. A credit report “review” is when a business checks your credit history. There are really two types of inquiries into your credit history. One is more of an overview, like when a credit company wants to pre-approve you. The other is a more significant inquiry; when a creditor is determining whether they will approve your actual application for a loan. Too many inquiries can erode your score. The worst kind of review is the “harder” one performed when you fill out an application. If you want … Continue reading

Cooperating and Collaborating on College Applications and Financial Aid Forms

Getting ready to apply for a child heading off to college is challenging for any family (not to mention the almost adult!)—but in single parent families, filling out all those forms and FAFSAs can have the additional challenge of needing to accumulate information from two homes. Attempting to collaborate and cooperate on such a process can be tough! Tax forms, financial records, making sure the test scores and transcripts get sent to the correct address—it can take extra diligence for a family that is divided by divorce or separation. It can also be confusing—who pays for what? Whose income do … Continue reading

Random Resources for Genealogists

Today, while I was procrastinating and playing around on the internet, I found some really interesting stuff for genealogists to check out. It seems I accidentally fell into a treasure trove when I wasn’t expecting it at all. Unexpected good things can randomly happen with genealogy. Remember the Halloween family photo contest that MyHeritage held shortly before Halloween? Maybe you entered it with a photo of your family all dressed up for Halloween. Have you wondered who won? MyHeritage has announced the winner on their blog. Go check out the really cute photo that won! Want to make a calendar … Continue reading

Halloween for the In-Betweens

My 8-year-old is crazy excited for Halloween. She’s got her costume picked out, her plastic pumpkin’s ready to be filled, heck, she’s even created a list of “Most Wanted Candy,” with estimations on how long her stash of free sweets will last if she devours four/five/six pieces per day. Like mother, like daughter. Meanwhile, my neighbor’s two children are at that “in-between” stage in regards to All Hallows’ Eve. They love the idea of getting mountains of candy, but are not as enthused about going door-to-door to gather it. They’d much prefer having it delivered to them a la the … Continue reading

Great Math Apps for Primary Kids

It’s the time of year when outside becomes a lot more focus than inside, and so it should. It’s a beautiful time of the year, and the kids need to be outdoors. However, when they’re looking for down time on the computer, and they love math, where can you send them? Here are some of the top math apps that I’m looking at as teaching tools for the summer. My daughter and I both love Math Drills and Math Drills Lite. The lite version is free, and the paid version is only $1.99. While the app is not beautiful, it’s … Continue reading

Finding Affordable Health Insurance – The Next Step

Previously, I wrote about how I had to cancel the health insurance I was approved for, because it was too expensive. I also wrote about getting help from an insurance broker, in the hopes to successfully complete my quest to find affordable health insurance. Here is an update of what happened next. I got approved for a health insurance plan that was too expensive for me to afford. In order to cancel, or terminate, a health insurance policy, you must send the insurer a letter that clearly states that you want to cancel the plan. You cannot cancel over the … Continue reading

Best Apps for Preschoolers

Over half of preschoolers have played with a tablet, iPad or smartphone. This technology is not only taking adults and teens by storm but little ones as well. Applications for these devices are being designed for children as young as babies. Many are educational, engaging, and fun. In moderation, these apps can hold value. Instead of a child watching TV, a child can now interact with the screen and be a part of the game. As with anything balance is key. Make sure your child is playing outdoors and with others and not sitting in front of an iPad or … Continue reading

“Newsies” Show Debuts on Sunday

I can’t believe it’s actually happening. Almost a year ago I wrote about how “Newsies” was slated for Broadway, but although I read reports about it happening I didn’t quite believe they would come to fruition. But they have. “Newsies” opens on September 25 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, only 25 miles from Manhattan. It runs through October 16, and if it’s successful, who knows, it could come back for more. In further proof of the musical’s existence the Disney Blog has a variety of videos about the show, from rehearsal clips to an interview with composer … Continue reading