Saving Money Doesn't Necessarily Mean Spending Money

Thought I would impart a quick tip on a relatively easy way to save money without having to... well spend a bunch of money. If you're like many Americans suffocated by credit card debt, there are two simple and immediate solutions that can save you money.

First, contact your current credit card company and negotiate an interest rate decrease. Be prepared to do some leg work and don't give up easily without speaking to a supervisor first. Faced with the possibility of losing your business to a lower interest credit card, credit card companies will be more inclined to listen.

If resistant, then consider transferring your higher rate balances to a new card with a low intro APR. This will allow you to focus on making small, manageable payments every month without being sucked into the vacuum of finance charges. According to an article from MSNBC, it's entirely possible to save up to $730 if you transfer a $2,000 balance from an 18-percent card to an 8.25-percent card and then pay off your balance at a rate of $50 a month. Now the math is a rough estimate that could change depending on many variables, but it does illustrate that a low interest rate credit card goes a long way in helping shed some of that pesky credit card debt and save money in the process.

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Welcome to the New and Improved WhiteFence Blog

Hello, faithful readers. In an effort to give you a better platform for reading all our helpful hints on home services and what not, we have given ourself a facelift (not as painful as it sounds) as well as moved to a new URL: blog.whitefence.com. We will continue to provide you great tips on your communications services, energy conservation and more...everything for your home and life is our motto.

With that said, remember to change your bookmarks if you haven't yet! See you soon.

Are Americans Willing to Change their Conservation Habits?

A brand new survey commissioned by Green Mountain Energy Company and conducted by Harris Interactive^® conveys surprising results.

According to the Green Mountain survey, "88% of U.S. adults said they would be willing to make changes to be more environmentally friendly as long as it didn’t cost a lot of money; 83 percent would be willing to make changes if they were easy."

The survey also shows almost half of those Americans surveyed believe the leading cause of harmful emissions comes from automobiles, as well as 77 percent that were unwilling to change certain habits, such as riding a bike to work.

For more information and specifics on the survey, view the Green Mountain press release.

Reviews You Can Use

Ever needed to try a new service that you didn't know anything about? There can be a lot of unease and trepidation about spending your money with a business that you're not familiar with. I mean, what if they don't do a good job, or if something of yours is damaged because of something they overlooked?

This can happen with mechanics, home repair, electronics — the list goes on and on, really. Most often, we try to find friends, family or acquaintances who can recommend a good service. But what if nobody you know is able to help?

Lucky for us, there are services available that can help us connect to some great recommendations. Whether you need to find a contractor to work on your roof or paint your home, or you need a place to take a date for a night on the town, there are services that can give you all the info you need. Here are some of the review services you can find on WhiteFence:

• Angie's List is a word-of-mouth network designed to let consumers see reviews from other consumers about different services. It's especially useful for local service companies that you might not know about. What better way to find out about new services than from someone who's recently used it?
• Zagat is a service that can send you updates through your cell phone about local restaurants, nightlife, hotels and other attractions in your area. Perfect for someone on the go.

All of these services can be found in the Reviews You Can Use section on WhiteFence. If you'd like to find out about more places in your area, or just need to brush up on some local entertainment, it's definitely worth looking into.

Saving Energy and Cutting Costs at Home

It's no mystery that there is a ton of useful information floating through Internet space on how to cut energy costs at home. I've probably researched and read well over a 100 articles myself on being more eco-friendly, but I must say that sometimes I stumble across a great resource of information that I have to pass on to you right away.

Gwendolyn Bounds recently provided some fantastic tips with her Saving Energy on the Cheap article over at The Wall Street Journal. I'll often come across articles with what seems like sound money-saving advice on the surface, but then the author fails to offer additional details to help consumers actually enact these changes/suggestions. This is definitely not the case with Ms. Bound's article, which goes in great length to provide both specifics and a map to getting it done.

Items of note:

• Some interesting statistics from her own adventure in reducing energy consumption—"I saved about $86. Keeping that up, I'd be on target to save roughly $500 -- or nearly 40% of last year's electricity bills -- over the next 12 months."
  
• Practical advice is the best kind in my opinion, and her suggestion of increasing cold-water washing netted a 20% reduction in the cost of washing laundry.
• My favorite aspect of the article is that she provides links to specific products that will help you actually be energy efficient, not just hope that your electricity bills will magically disappear.
  

I highly recommend families and consumers interested in saving energy and cutting costs, without having to live in an igloo, check out the article and see for yourself how easy it can be to go green at home.

Saving Energy on the Cheap - Gwendolyn Bounds

The Beneficial Bodywash

During natural disasters, there are many ways to get involved and help. There's volunteering, sending food and bottled water, those are the usual things. But bodywash? That's a new one.

Amber at EnviroMojo recently posted about a new effort from Brad Pitt and Kiehls to support victims of Hurricane Katrina. The initiative is called Make it Right, and focuses on using the sales of one of the company's bodywashes to support those displaced by the storm.

Being a guy and not knowing much about bodywash or hygienic materials in general (though I can sing a rousing rendition of "Oofa loofa" to the tune of Willy Wonka's "Oompa Loompas"), I'd do better to pass you along to EnviroMojo. Amber's got all of the information there, and you can find out how to do your part to help others.

And hey, getting clean in the meantime doesn't hurt, either.

All the Entertainment You Need at Home

We've all been there. Waiting in line to go to the movies after having spent several minutes parking. Then, you make your way into the crowded dark theater and end up getting bubble gum and popcorn all over your feet before sitting behind a guy that's taller than Gulliver. You start to wonder if maybe things would be better off at home on the couch.

With the advent of online shopping, it's now possible to get almost anything delivered straight to your doorstep. Did you know that it was even possible to get entertainment services like movies and games online, all from the convenience of your home. What's more, you can even find all of these entertainment services online with WhiteFence. Here are some of the services to choose from:

• Movies. Rent your movies from home! Who needs to go to a store when you can subscribe to a movie rental service? With some rental subscriptions, you can even stream your movie rentals online for no additional charge. The perfect addition to your living room for movie buffs.
  
• Games. Whether you're looking for the next blockbuster video game, or simply like playing word games on your PC, you can find a gaming service that keeps you entertained at a reasonable cost. For gaming aficionados like myself, this is a must-have.
• Music. Let's be honest- it's becoming more and more appealing to purchase music online and download straight to your PC than it is to go out and get a CD these days. With the right music subscription, you can download all kinds of songs from your favorite artists, and listen to tunes at your heart's content.
• Newspapers. Need to do that morning crossword puzzle to unwind? You can get a subscription to your favorite newspaper, delivered straight to you. There's something about holding the news in your hands that is still special in today's world.
  
• Magazines. No matter what your interest, you can find a magazine devoted to it. There are multiple magazine services available that cover a wide array of topics such as sports, fashion and even entertainment. If you're looking for some reading about your favorite subject, getting a magazine subscription online might do just the trick.

It's easier than ever to make your home a haven of excellent entertainment, without leaving it and going through the hassle of all the browsing and waiting in line. All of these services are available at your fingertips, at a moment's notice on WhiteFence.

Auto Insurance Deals for Teenagers?

Typically, there are a few constants about our society that we tend to accept. Green means go. Red means stop. Turn off your cell phone at a movie theater. You know, the usual. One of those staples of our modern world happens to do with teenagers and car insurance. More specifically, that it's typically expensive to insure a teenager to drive. However, it seems that things are changing.

According to CarInsurance, more and more insurance providers are starting to offer better, cheaper coverage for young drivers. It seems that this "move comes amid greater competition among insurance companies, and at a time that young drivers are not quite the risk they once were for a variety of reasons".

Some of the factors that are easing the bill on young drivers include:

• State restrictions on teenage drivers. Texas, for instance, has a curfew for young drivers. In addition, some states have "no cell phone" policies and a limit on whether or not teenagers can drive others to and fro.
• Parental involvement and investment with devices like DriveCam, which "can record what's going on inside a car and the view outside through the windshield". There are even mechanisms which act like a GPS signal on the car, telling parents where the car is. This device can also be used to shut the car off.
• Safety programs. Some auto insurance agencies are offering discounts for drivers with good grades, or who participate in certain recommended safety courses.

All in all, it's good to get informed about what insurance companies are doing when it comes to young drivers. To read more about auto insurance for teenagers, head to CarInsurance.

If you're currently in the market for auto insurance, did you know that you can find that in addition to other insurance services online at WhiteFence?