Ed Icionsub

The Broadway stage troupe of the hit play, Wicked, celebrated its 1000th performance on March 23, 2006. It has been going strong ever since, with both a Broadway show and a national touring troupe.

Wicked, an open-ended show, has enjoyed capacity crowds for almost every performance and it’s weekly gross  is over a million dollars. It broke the record for the highest weekly box office gross in Broadway history.

Based on the character in The Wizard of Oz, it is set in the days prior to Dorothy’s arrival from Kansas. It’s a great idea brought to life on the stage and deserves it’s long running success.

The economy is still a mess, but it seems that we aren’t hearing as much about big swings in the stock market lately. I hope that is a good sign. I was just about to get started in the stock market a couple years ago when the banking crisis hit and I decided to wait.

Now I am looking for an online broker to get my start with investing. I don’t really want to call a local brokerage office and hear a lot of sales pitches. I think I know which stocks I want to buy and I would rather try online trading and see how I do on my own. If I mess up, it will be my own fault and I am OK with that.

Stock Trading is still the basis for a lot of people’s retirement plans. I don’t want to be retired and start learning about the market. I want to learn now and get the learning curve behind me before it is critical to my financial health.

Today I found a list of charitable organizations working to help the innocent victims of the recent floods in Pakistan. They are all asking for cash contributions to perform their work saving lives. Each organization has a web site and method for sending contributions directly to the Pakistan relief efforts.

American Red Cross

Provides emergency humanitarian aid.

Church World Service

Distributes food packages and shelter material for families affected by the floods in Pakistan’s provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

International Rescue Committee

Brings help to victims of monsoon floods.

Islamic Relief

Carries out an emergency campaign to aid the victims of the Pakistan floods.

Oxfam

Conducts emergency aid effort for victims of the flood.

Save the Children

Provides humanitarian relief as emergency health care and providing non-food items and shelter.

UNICEF

Provides assistance with clean water, sanitation, health, and nutrition.

World Food Programme

Mobilizes their resources to make sure relief measures in Pakistan are met quickly.

One more computer bites the dust and I’m shopping for a new one. Part of my wants to get a new, upgraded desktop model from Howard custom computers. I used to go to one of the big box stores and shop from a limited selection of expensive name brand computers. But then I discovered what a huge difference there can be with custom computers for about the same amount of money. With a custom desktop, I can get just the capabilities and features that I want and need, and pay for only those. With the pcs off the shelf, I am paying for a lot of things that I don’t need or want.

My burning question now is: should I get another desktop or should I get a custom laptop? I wonder if there is any advantage in the desktops anymore? At least with the laptop I can easily take it with me wherever I need to go. The desktop stays tethered to the home office. But it should be more reliable and probably more powerful. So I’m thinking hard on the two options and have to figure it out tonight. I need a computer at home by the weekend.

My youngest brother, Eugene, has been living in Australia for over 12 years now. It funny that he has been there so long, as when he was transferred by the company he was very annoyed. At the time of the transfer, he was living in San Diego with his family. So the company gave him a 3 week, all expenses paid trip to Australia with his wife and both kids so he could check it out and make up his mind about going. They loved the trip and he accepted the transfer.

Outside of his company’s benefits package, he decided to get a term life insurance quote, just in case anything happened to him while the kids are still in school. Most companies have life insurance as part of their benefits packages, but if you leave the company for any reason, you lose the life insurance. For people his age, it is wise to also look at funeral plans.

He also had to get his own aussie accident cover policy, as that is not part of the benefits. But if you get an insurance broker who can quote a personal package, you can often get a multi-lines discount on one or more of the policies you buy through the same company.

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Maybe I’m a slacker, but I’ve heard about getting a free credit report every year and how important it is to check your credit report. And I’ve been aware of it but putting it off for quite a while. So, it’s nobody’s fault but my own that when I finally got around to looking at my credit report, I found some problems. In fact, a lot of problems. And today I decided to get serious and fix my credit.

Some of the problems on my credit report are bizarre and I have written letters to refute them. The other problems are something that credit repair services might be able to help me with.

A quick search on the internet came up with DSI Solutions. So I am getting together the information I think they will need and tomorrow I’ll have afresh start on building the credit history I’ll need to qualify for a new mortgage -hopefully as soon as next year.

One of my sons is interested in the stock market and he knows that I do a little Online Trading, so he asked me for some tips on getting started researching different companies and starting a modest portfolio of stocks. We talked about the different types of companies and the way the economy has affected the stock this past year. He understands the risk involved and we both believe that the down market offers some unique opportunities for smart Stock Trading.

We are hoping that a handful of smart investments bought now at the lower market prices will result in those stocks increasing in value as the economy improves. So the next step is for him to sign up with an Online Broker and set up an account. Then he can start finding the bargains and buy his first stocks.

Mywife uses a debit card when she shops. I like keeping a certain amount of money in a household account for her shopping expenses rather than a charge card that runs up a balance due. But I read an article online that talks about the drawbacks of using a debit, especially during the summer months, when apparently identity theft is a greater concern.

One big drawback to using a debit card is that someone can get your card info and fraudulently use it to drain your entire bank account. Although you are legally liable for only $50 of the fraudulent use as long as you report it within 2 days of the theft, your money is gone until the bank investigates and gets around to replenishing your account. There is not a set length of time for the bank to investigate and resolve the issue, so you could be without funds for quite some time. That aspect bothers me, so I have instructed my wife on how to check the daily activity on the debit card account and she knows that if there are ever any charges on there not made by her that she is to notify the bank immediately to freeze the remaining balance in that account.

Talking with my neighbor, Wendell, about the economy, I realized that some people who have been out of work due to the recession are going to have to rebuild their credit. Not many people can survive on their savings for an extende dlength of time. Without an income, the bills are going to pile up and your credit rating is going to suffer.

Wendell has been out of work for almost one year. His contract with a major company was canceled due to the economy.Thankfully, he has found part time work to help with his cash flow. But when he goes back to work and starts earning a regular paycheck, will probably have to work with a credit repair company to help rebuild his credit rating. Without some help, he is going to have a tough time getting a loan to buy a new car.

He has been asking around for recommendations on the best credit repair company. He believes in word of mouth and recommendations from friends and family, although I believe that the internet can be very helpful, too. Sometimes your friends and family have had only bad experiences and can give you a list of people or companies that they were unhappy with. So I like to check out the internet and then ask friends and family if they have had any personal experience with the list of companies that I have compiled from my own research.

The search term for “credit repair company” was a good start for Wendell. I was flattered that he took my suggestion seriously and is giving that method a try. He is a good guy and I hope that things work out for the best for him.