Gotta Love the Boss

Today I went to show my boss the wireframes for the new young adult website. First thing out of his mouth “I hate it!” Wait! I have not even said anything yet! (Wonder if he is reading this, guess I’ll find out) This response is good and bad – I love feedback, well positive feedback, the negative stuff is hard to take. I consider my boss to be pretty open minded – did I just say that? I guess I should be happy he gave me a second chance to fix things. And in the end, I must say he made some pretty good points. (Don't let this go to your head)

Everyone has a good boss story – tell me yours!

College Drinking

Recently there has been talk of lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. College presidents from about 100 of the nations best universities are calling on lawmakers to consider this issue. They say current laws encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths from alcohol poisoning of college-age people in 2005 was almost double what is was six years before. Most deaths occur on the weekends.
The Amethyst Initiative is supported by Westminster College President Michael Bassis. “Irresponsible drinking among young people – college-age and high school students, and even those who are younger – is a nationwide problem,” Bassis said. “Westminster vigorously upholds the drinking laws of the state, and the incidents of irresponsible drinking here are substantially lower than on most campuses across the country. I signed the Amethyst Initiative because I advocate exploring new ideas and new approaches about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol. I did not sign to advocate changing the legal drinking age from 21 to 18.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) strongly oppose the initiative. They said that lowering the legal drinking age would result in more incidents of drunken driving.
In the end, both sides agree that alcohol abuse by college-age students is a huge problem.
What do you think?

Student Loans at America First Credit Union

America First Credit Union is one of the few financial institutions to continue its student lending program. In the past few months, Zions, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase and Key Banks have all pulled out of the student loan programs.
We are still here to help you with your continuing education. AFCU has no origination fees. Once you're enrolled in a federally accredited school, you can apply for your student loan. Here's how:

1. Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov You'll see a reply in two to four weeks. Be sure to request America First Credit Union as your lender. List our Federal ID number, 822373.
2. Ask about the qualifications and application deadlines. Complete any additional applications your school's financial aid department may also require.
3. After submitting an application, you'll receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). Double-check the details, and let your school's financial aid office know if there is any incorrect information.
4. If approved, your loan check will be received by your school. You may also review the status of your student loan, including balance information online at www.uheaa.org .

Always remember that a student loan is a serious financial commitment that has to be repaid. Never borrow more than you can handle.

Using Coupons?

Do you use coupons? I always have good intentions of using coupons. I get the Sunday paper, cut out the coupons, place them in an envelope and there they sit. I go to the grocery store, without the coupons. It seems in the past, that people would have to endure snickers and grumbles from others as they pulled out their fist full of coupons while checking out at the grocery store. But that has changed. With grocery prices higher, people are asking for tips on finding and using coupons.
Here are 10 coupon savings tips from Stephanie Nelson who wanted to be a stay at home mom and needed to make that financially feasible.
· Know how your stores' coupon policies work. Ask if they double coupons.
· Wait to use grocery coupons when the item is on sale. You might get the item free!
· Buy two to three copies of the Sunday newspaper to load up on grocery coupons.
· Print free coupons from coupon Web sites. Also download electronic coupons to your loyalty card from store sites such as Kroger.com.
· Be brand-flexible. Buy the brand that's on sale with a coupon, or get the store brand if it's less expensive.
· Sign up for your store's loyalty card and provide complete mailing information. You'll get special store coupons.
· Know the usual prices for your regular items and stock up when they're discounted.
· Shop once a week or less to reduce impulse shopping. Plan your week's meals around your store's sale items.
· Be flexible about your store choices. Check ads for area stores and shop at the one with the best deals on your items that week.
· Use the drugstore savings programs. Combine sale prices, store coupons and automatic rebates to get free merchandise every week.
For more ideas, visit her website http://www.thecouponmom.com/. Another good source is Ken Rosbery AKA The Grocery Guru, your local expert on saving you money on your monthly grocery bill http://www.utahcityguide.com/new/guru/index.asp .
Guess I should pull those coupons out of the envelope! Are you using coupons? What is the most you have saved by using coupons? We want to know!

It's So CUIL

Cuil, pronounced “Cool”, is a start-up search engine started by the former senior Google employees. They wanted to develop a more comprehensive and efficient way to scour the internet. They say that it can index faster and cheaper than Google. Cuil is an old English word for knowledge. Cuil searches for and ranks pages based on their content and relevance.

So, I decided to give it a try. The first thing I found different, is the completely black background. It was quick to give me information on what I asked for, and let me break it down in more detail to find what I was looking for. I kind of liked it.

Instead of “googling” yourself, CUIL yourself.

Let me know what you think – Are you going CUIL?

For more information of CUIL, go to http://www.cuil.com/info/