If you haven’t seen a personalized postage stamp yet, you may be surprised to learn about this extremely cool new concept developed by the US Postal Service. For many years now, printing companies have offered the ability to put your picture on a “stamp” just for fun. Those weren’t real postage though, they were just stamps made to look like a postage stamps and of course you couldn’t mail them. Well now you can put your picture on a real postage stamp and you can even mail it!
Creating your own stamps is a kick, and just wait until the lucky recipient receives an envelope, postcard or package with your face on the stamp. You could also use your kid’s face, your dog, your nature photography, or almost anything you want!
Currently, there are seven denominations of stamps available including standard 37-cent envelope stamps and 23-cent postcard stamps. There are also ten border colors to choose from, so you can make the stamp aesthetically pleasing to match any photograph.
You can also easily crop, zoom, or rotate your picture to fit the stamp perfectly. Most retailers also offer volume discounts for multiple-sheet orders. The possibilities for customized stamps are endless (see http://www.real-photo-stamps.com), but here are a few to get you thinking…
- Photos of your kids
- Pet pictures
- New babies (great for birth announcements)
- Wedding invitations
- Family photos
- Artistic expressions
- Nature photography
- Birthday cards
- Give photo stamps as a gift
- Frame them as a keepsake
Photo stamps are a great new way to add your personal touch to any type of mail, by turning your own photos into real US postage. The possibilities are almost limitless, and the new upload and customization tools make it a breeze to create your stamps in just a few minutes. There are still many online retailers selling non-postage personalized stamps, so please make sure to look for one with the USPS logo and approval. I hope you have fun with it!

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Even if your teenagers do not use drugs, you still need to keep an eye on them. It is much better to realize that things could change, and anticipate that your teen COULD become a user. Essentially, it is not wise to make assumptions about topics such as drug use. Also, having been a high school teacher afforded me the opportunity to witness peer pressure, and how even good kids could be convinced to try drugs - just to fit in. It is important that you play a proactive role in ensuring that your teenagers and the rest of your family remains drug free.
About drug use
Initially, I learned that the signs of drug use included three basic symptoms:

A loss of interest in hobbies
A change in friends
A drop in grades

What I later discovered was that not seeing these symptoms only provides a false sense of security regarding teenagers and potential drug use. The above behaviors apply more to signs of “drug addiction,” as opposed to “experimental” drug use.
Teens who experiment with drugs don’t start out addicted so logically, they do not show any symptoms. They generally look healthy and nothing seems to be wrong. In fact, teens can casually use drugs for over a year before their parents would even suspect any drug or alcohol use.
Many teenagers who decide to experiment with drugs start out casually, using them with friends and then progressing towards regular use. It is important that you look for clues pertaining to casual drug use so that if your teen is prone, you can proactively deal with it.
What you can do
You need to monitor your teen’s behavior and watch for signs of drug use, without appearing to be spying. Your goal should be to prevent him or her from feeling free to experiment with drugs or alcohol. The best way to accomplish this is to keep abreast of your teen’s activities and friends. You will be able to spot a problem early if you keep your eyes and ears open, and believe that YOUR teenager is capable of using drugs. Many parents get blind-sided by thinking that their teen would never try drugs. Only then will you be ready to intervene if the situation presents itself.
The following are ten ways to monitor your teenager’s behavior and watch for signs of drug use, without appearing to be spying:
1. Hug your teen as soon as s/he arrives home. Check for odors of possible marijuana smoke or alcohol. Remember that cologne or chewing gum may be used to hide the odor.
2. Teenagers under the influence will usually go straight to their room when they arrive home. While making eye contact, hold a brief conversation. Check for bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and their sense of balance.
3. Keep the lights on and stay up until your teenager comes home.
4. Ask your teen for the time and watch the way s/he looks at his or her watch.
5. If your teenager unexpectedly wants to spend the night at a friend’s house, and you have concerns, say no.
6. Maintain a flexible schedule. Be unpredictable so your teen cannot find it easy to plan around your activities.
7. Keep abreast of what your teen is really doing when away from home. Meet their friends and their parents and participate in mutual activities. This is a very effective form of networking.
8. Ask your neighbors to discretely keep an eye on any activities that may take place while you are not home.
9. Check to see how your teens are doing in school. Ask their teachers if there is any cause for concern or if your teen has been behaving differently.
10. After you meet your teenager’s friends, always ask them to identify themselves when they call. Get to know them. Always encourage your teens to invite their friends over while you are home.
Remember, your goal should be to prevent your teenager from feeling free to experiment with drugs or alcohol. The best way to accomplish this is to keep abreast of their activities and friends using the above methods.
Lastly, but most important, talk to your teenager on a regular basis about the drug use she witnesses, and how she feels about it. Also, if she has been approached, have her describe how she handled the situation. Strive for honesty and ask how you can help her to remain drug free.
2004 by V. Michael Santoro and Jennifer S. Santoro, All Rights Reserved.

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Buying food can be downright depressing. Personally, I love to shop for food, but in the past my experience was often ruined by the total of the bill when I reached the checkout. By learning a few simple rules to follow, I no longer frown when I fork out my money. Instead I smile, because I know that I have bought enough food to keep my family well-fed without spending a lot of money. Here are some ways you can save money too.
1. Make a list. It’s so simple, but it’s so important. Writing a list helps you identify and buy only those items you really need. Now, stick to it. Don’t even look at anything that’s not on that list.
2. Write out a meal plan. Think about the cost of each meal and try to include more low-cost meals. Try to think of ways that ingredients or left overs from one meal can be used in another meal.
3. Don’t go hungry. Go straight after lunch or dinner. If you shop when you’re hungry, you’ll be more likely to pick up impulse products. Everything look’s good when you’re hungry. Or you might feel the need to stop somewhere afterwards for a little snack.
4. Leave the children at home. Children have a tendency to ask for things. And when their irritable, and you’re frustrated, and you’re in a supermarket attracting disapproving stares, you’re more likely to give in. Save yourself the hassle and go by yourself. However, when the children are a little older, take them along every so often to teach them good budgeting techniques.
5. Treat specials with caution. Never buy something just because it’s on special. You might end up spending more than you usually do because you’re buying a more expensive brand. You could also buy items that you would never normally use.
6. Stock up. However when products that you normally buy and frequently use are on special, stock up. Work out how much of the product you would usually use before the expiration date. Buy accordingly, in keeping with your budget.

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Man’s Best Friend is a great companion around the home, but Rover will love joining you on road trips - short or long - as well. If you’ve tried taking your dog along in the car before and met with bad results, don’t give up. It might take a little longer to help your pet feel comfortable after a bad experience, but you can train your dog to ride quietly in the car. It requires foresight and patience on your part, but the rewards are worth it.
What kind of personality does your dog have? Is she a confident, mellow pooch or a high-energy, somewhat fearful animal? Consider, too, your relationship with your dog. Does she see you as the pack leader and obey your commands? Both of these factors have an impact on how much work you’ll need to do before the two of you hit the road. A dog that is calm by nature and obedient will more quickly adjust to sitting still in a moving vehicle. On the other hand, a “hyper” animal that doesn’t respond to basic obedience commands requires specific training to ensure her (and your) safety in the car.
Remember not to shout at Rover if she does something wrong - this will only upset her and may make her misbehave even more.
An uncontrolled animal is a serious car accident waiting to happen. It is important to keep your dog confined to one area of the car. This might be the back of a truck or SUV, a kennel, or simply sitting on the seat, secured by a safety harness designed for use in cars. If you plan on using a safety harness, introduce it to your dog outside of the car. Let her sniff and otherwise investigate it. Drape it over her and praise her when she stands quietly. If she shakes it off and runs, try again using treats and only placing it against her so she gets the feel of it.
Once she accepts having it placed over her, let her wear it while you take walks or sitting in her kennel. Be sure to give her treats and verbal praise whenever you put the safety harness on her. Make sure you have her favorite toy in the car, and a trusted human friend sitting beside her will help relax her too. You want your dog to associate the car with positive things.
The same holds true for car rides in general. If the only time your dog rides in the car is to go to the vet’s surgery she’ll associate the car with an unpleasant experience. Let Rover sit in the car while it is parked to let her get used to sitting in the car. Once your dog is used to sitting in a confined space, take her for short rides. If she has gotten carsick in the past, drive slowly along as straight a path as possible. Take her for a ride at least once a day, slowly increasing the distance and speed. Talk to her in a happy voice as you go, and give her a treat before you take her out, so she connects the car ride to something yummy.
The sight of a dog with her head out the car window, nose in the wind, makes just about everyone smile. Smell is your dog’s best sense. With the window down, she’s picking up all kinds of new, interesting smells. This stimulating experience is fine at slow speeds for short distances, be careful about letting your dog make it a habit. While dogs love the feel of the wind in their noses, dust and debris can cause respiratory problems.
If you can ensure that your dog is safe, and enjoying herself, in the car, you will find that going for a drive with your best friend will enhance both your life, and Rover’s, too.

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No one wants to pay more than they have to for anything, especially something as costly as a wedding. And if you’re like me, and you had to foot your own bill, then you certainly want to keep costs down. I was afraid it couldn’t be done, especially since my husband and I live in one of the most expensive regions of the country. But my wedding is proof that it can be done, and here’s how:
Reception Venue
Look for non-profit organizations that host wedding receptions, since their rental fees are extremely reasonable. And many of them - the American Legion is one example - have gorgeous, well-maintained facilities. If you prefer an outdoor wedding, then skip the country club and go to a state or national park, where you can get beautiful landscapes at a fraction of the cost.
Catering
Many rental halls offer full-service catering, which includes linens and tableware, wait staff, all food prep and cleanup, etc. But unless you’re at a non-profit (which hopefully you are, if you followed step #1), then this can be extremely expensive. Try to find a smaller catering company that typically does at-home meal service, since they know how to do things on a budget. And they are sure to give you excellent customer service.
Alcohol
You must, must, must buy your own alcohol. If you purchase it through your rental hall at retail price, you will be paying through the nose. If you have followed step #1, then you have most likely found a place that will allow you to bring your own alcohol, or will give it to you at a non-profit price. This is the only way to go.
Flowers and Decorations
Eliminate additional expense by keeping everything simple. There really is no need to have little party favors at each table, since hardly anyone remembers or appreciates those items anyway. And go easy on the flowers - having a few simple arrangements strategically placed can be very sophisticated and elegant.
Music
With the abundance of music available for (legal) download via the internet, it’s easier than ever to create your own CDs to play at the wedding. It’s great to have creative control over the music, and it gives you and your future spouse a project you can work on together. A lot of rental halls will have equipment available for you to play your CDs, but you can also rent this equipment fairly inexpensively.
Invitations
Save on invitations by only ordering paper invitations for family members. Everyone else, including your friends and extended family, can be invited via email. You may think it’s tacky, but it’s really the best way to get an accurate headcount. It’s much easier for people to respond to an email than to have to mail back a response via snail mail. But still use the paper invitations for your family, since this is the more traditional route. You can get very inexpensive invitations these days through various printing websites.
In addition to the recommendations I have listed above, there are many other little ways you can save. For example, going to discount bridal stores for your dress, getting a friend to make the wedding cake, etc. - but I have found that trying to micro-manage every little item on your checklist will make you crazy. So just keep it simple with the big items that I listed above, and you will have the ultimate dream wedding - a beautiful venue, excellent food, plenty of beverages, your favorite music, all on a budget!

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When I was a little girl, I remember my dad taking us for drives at night throughout our neighborhood to see the houses decorated for Christmas. There were some that had a simple wreath on the front door and some that looked like Santa’s Workshop on the front lawn.
I was always amazed at the beautiful lights, glistening snow, and holiday music. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized those beautiful displays took a lot more organizing, planning and money than I thought.
Whether you live in a cold or warm climate, you don’t have to break the bank in order to create a cozy and beautiful outdoor holiday display for your home. Here’s how.
Create a plan. You need to decide how much money you can comfortably spend. Many people wind up over-spending during the holidays, use credit cards and find they take on more debt than they should. August or September is a good time to start planning and it won’t take long. Many retail stores are beginning to announce pre-Christmas sales and this is the time to find bargains.
If you live in a closed community, check for rules and restrictions. This will save you any headaches later on if there are certain things not permitted.
Here are some things to think about when creating your plan.
To Theme or Not to Theme: Once you have determined your spending limit, next is to decide how creative to get. Do you want to create a theme on your front lawn such as Disney or Santa’s workshop or would you rather stay traditional with just some lights and perhaps just a reindeer.
Lights - How many front windows do you have and do you want lights on all of them? If you live in a 2-story house, don’t forget the second floor. Measure your windows, so you know how many strings or yardage of lights you will need. Equally important is to check for an outside electrical receptacle where you will be plugging them in.
Window candles - These are the electric or battery-operated lights that look like a glowing stick candle sitting in the window and create a nice, cozy effect. If you choose electric, make sure you have enough receptacles by each window to plug them in. If you choose battery-operated, you will need to have extra batteries on hand.
Front Door - Decorating your front door can be as elaborate as a gift box or as simple as hanging either a real or artificial wreath.
Lawn Ornaments - These can be anything from simple signs that say, “Santa, Stop Here” or “North Pole” to an entire village of animated characters re-creating Santa’s Workshop.
Roof - I am reminded of an episode from the TV show “Home Improvement”, where Tim literally fell through his roof when trying to re-create Santa’s sleigh and reindeer on his roof. Safety is always the first consideration. If you want to put holiday displays on your roof, you may be better off hiring a professional.
Once you have gone through this list and created your plan, start scouting the newspapers for sales at retail stores. Home improvement stores or discount stores will usually have an entire department established just for outdoor holiday decorations.
If you live in a cold-weather climate, putting up the lights and roof ornaments is best done before the snow and chilling temperatures arrive.
Plan early to stay within budget and you will have a great time decorating the outside of your home for the holidays.

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As with many other things in life, the internet has made planning a wedding a lot easier. Planning a wedding is one of the most complicated things you will ever do, and there are so many things to keep track of that a computer and the right wedding software can certainly make things easier.
==The Best Wedding Software==
The best wedding software will include places for the wedding planner to put deadlines, prices and other information.
This kind of information is vital to properly planning a wedding.
Keeping track of deadlines is particularly difficult when planning a wedding, since there are so many deadlines to deal with. Everything from ordering the cake to setting the menu to renting the reception hall will have its own deadline, and wedding software makes this job a lot easier.
==Locating Your Wedding Software==
There are many places to search for wedding software, from the local office supply or computer store to large big box electronic stores to the internet.
There are a great many software packages on the market, and it is important to choose the right one. Many wedding software packages feature trial versions that can be downloaded free of charge.
It is important for the bride to be or the wedding planner to try out a couple of different software packages until he or she finds just the right one.
==Your Wedding Software Should Be Easy To use==
It is also important that the wedding software you choose be easy to use, intuitive and user friendly. It is also important that it be easy to learn, after all you will want to use your time entering all those important wedding planning details, not learning to use the software.
The best wedding planning software will provide you all the vital information at a glance, including upcoming deadlines, the status of your wedding budget, and other important information.
The right software can make all the difference in the world, and make planning the perfect wedding a lot easier.

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Are you a credit card junkie? Credit card debt can often be a big, deep, dark secret for someone preparing for marriage. It’s an uncomfortable subject to talk about. Do you bring it up before or after he slips the engagement ring on your finger (or before you slip it onto hers)? Or do you wait until after all the marriage preparations are in place?
If there are large differences in your assets and liabilities, it may not be such a hot idea to get a joint bank account. Furthermore, you may want to sign a prenuptial agreement just to be clear about what came before your marriage, and what came after.
How you plan your wedding budget will largely determine how you approach money management as a married couple, in the long term. Wedding costs, by themselves can run up quite a tab. If you are noticing conflicts in the early stages of your joint money management, then get some financial marriage advice or premarital counseling.
Couple counseling can be just as much a part of a healthy marriage as family or financial planning is. It’s a way of ensuring solid communication skills from the get go; and that’s important when debts and assets are about to be split right down the middle.

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Do you have a kids birthday party coming up and are at a loss for ideas?
I’ve picked out the most popular party themes for boys and girls, sure to make your planning much easier!
1. Barbie Birthday Party
Barbie, girl’s best friend, inspired young girls for decades. She and her friends are still the life of the party even today!
2. Batman Birthday Party
Batman lives! As long as he continues in the hearts of those little caped crusaders and the parties go on and on, he never dies. Batman is eternal-and so are his parties - a Batman and Robin party is a real “smash” for little caped crusaders who like excitement and fun.
3. Care Bear Party
Whether it is Cheer Bear or Bedtime bear, the Care Bears are always a wonderful addition to any child’s birthday party, especially girls. They are bright, lovable, fun, and cheerful, and always leave children and adults happy.
4. Birthday Construction Party
The obvious decorative eye-catcher is having your home strung in “caution” tape, along with flashing safety lights. This will add a dramatic effect and will be a fun setting for children to play. The boys can wear their hard hats as they play in the construction site you have created.
5. Disney Princess Party
No decoration is more elegant for a Disney Princess birthday party than a grand castle. Swirls of light-colored streamers adorn the grand ballroom. You can have the basement made up to look like the inside of a medieval castle with painted wooden or cardboard sets.
6. Dora the Explorer Party
Dora the Explorer is a girl who loves to search, discover, and learn about and share with others. A Dora the Explorer party, then, should be fun as well as cultural and educational.
7. Hello Kitty Party
Hello Kitty likes her tea parties, her scrumptious sweets, and her crafts. At a Hello Kitty party, you can have plenty of all three!
8. Incredibles Party
The Incredibles were a super hero family forced out of action, but now they’re back! But it isn’t what they thought it would be. A whole new kind of adventure begins! An Incredibles party can be just as on-the-edge as the story. Let the excitement fly!
9. Spider Man Party
Spiderman spins a web and has captured the imagination of people for decades. He still keeps kids cheering even today. A Spiderman party will keep the kids entranced right from the get-go!
10. Spongebob Party
The decorations for a SpongeBob party should follow SpongeBob’s locale, namely the town of Bikini Bottom. Underwater motifs and imagery will place the kids in SpongeBob’s world, if even only for a couple of hours.
I hope these ideas helped spark some ideas for your upcoming kids birthday party. Have a sensational celebration!

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Free debt consolidation - yea right! The fact is, nothing in life
is free, which is exactly why you should be dubious of any
advertisements that claim to offer “free” debt consolidation. In
most instances, you can get a free quote or else a first-time
counseling session. And in most instances, the first-time
counseling session is to lure you into the company’s agreement.

Debt consolidation is a procedure that can take years to hash
out. In most case, people with bad credit or current debt
problems often believe there is no way out. They may go online
and find a source that will help reduce their debts, believing
that the amount of their debts is lower. Since few companies will
lead many to believe this is true, it is important that you know
that the debt consolidation companies are only reducing your
rates of interest.

If you own a home and want to use the equity to refinance, you
may want to understand that a good number of the Home Equity
Loans will actually land you deeper in debt. Once you are bound
to the contract, you will find the complications are more
frustrating than when you first applied for the loan.

I brought this up because many homeowners will refinance their
homes without looking into the details first, believing they are
consolidating their bills. They may feel they are getting
something free, since the amount on the mortgage appears reduced.
However, if you take out a loan to consolidate your mortgage, you
are only stepping into another debt.

Be advised that some mortgage contracts stipulate that if you
refinance your home during the contract agreement, you may face
penalties, which may include paying off your first home, your
second home, and the interest rates included. Therefore, if you
are considering debt consolidation, consider the entire picture
first-and don’t ever fall for the bogus claim that any debt
consolidation will actually be free.

Get debt help online now at www.debt-free-america.com.

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