The Best Back-up Software

I present my pick for the best software to use to backup the data on your computer:

Second Copy by Centered Systems.

$29.95 at www.secondcopy.com

If you want to make an image of your entire computer (which is useful to restore your computer to a fresh install without having to go through the process of actually reinstalling everything):

Acronis True Image 10 Home

$49.95 at www.acronis.com

Saving Money on Rental Cars

If you've ever needed to rent a car, you've probably noticed that Hertz, Avis, and all of the big companies are much too expensive. The secret to renting through Hertz and Avis, and the other large rental car companies, is to get a discount. The undiscounted rates are way too high, but it seems that discounts are available to almost everyone.

When making a reservation through Hertz, you have an option to supply a CDP number, which is the code for the discount plan. You can get a discount on Hertz through dozens of organizations, and you probably already belong to more than one of them. Here's a list of common groups that qualify for discounts, along with the CDP numbers that I found on their web-sites or in magazines:

Costco: 336436
American Bar Association: 13000
AAA Southern California: 00014
AARP: 50075
Marriott Rewards Program: 154080
Southwest Airlines Rewards: 205418
American Airlines Mileage Plan: 217692
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: 321739
American Express Open Card: 306613 (this was in a magazine ad for Amex)

If you don't belong to any of these organizations, you can join most of the rewards programs (American Airlines, Alaska, Southwest, Marriott) for free. Different organizations have different discounts, so if you belong to more than one, check them all. Also, organizations also offer additional coupon codes to save even more money, but the coupons change every few months, so check your organizations' web-site before making your reservation.

Avis has a similar discount program, but their number is called an "AWD number". They also offer coupons. Check the web-sites of the organizations listed above to find your AWD number and coupon codes, or go a google search for "Avis AWD".

To get the best rates, always rent over a weekend. Weekday rentals are the most expensive because they assume you're a business rental. In fact, it is sometimes cheaper to rent for a whole week (because you go over a weekend) than it is to rent from Monday to Thursday. That's right: If you keep the car over a weekend, it is cheaper.

Also, some of these discount codes also qualify you for free membership in their elite/gold programs, which allow you to bypass the rental counter and go straight to your car. Check out the web-sites of any organizations that you belong to for more details. Or, do a search online for "Hertz Gold Free" and you'll find a list of organizations that qualify.

Here's a site with even more information:

http://www.mousesavers.com/hertz.html

Also, when renting, it is rarely a good idea to take the rental car company's insurance. Also, many major credit cards will provide the rental insurance for free, but only if you decline the rental car company's insurance. Check with your credit card company for details before you rent.

How to Save Money on Your Cellular Phone

There are two easy ways to save money on your cellular phone.

1. Most cellular companies have employee/student discounts. Just click on the appropriate link and enter your work/school e-mail address, and you may save up to 25% on your cellular bill:

Cingular:

https://www.cingular.com/discounts

Sprint PCS:

http://sprint.p.delivery.net/m/p/nxt/ais/wdyw.asp?id12=NEXTEL_promo1_WhereDoYouWork

Verizon:

http://b2b.vzw.com/employee/employeediscount.html

If these links don't work, just type in the name of your cellular provider and "employee discounts" and the appropriate link will show up.


2. Most cellular companies have special departments that handle customers who call to cancel their service. These departments are empowered to make special deals to keep departing customers, even if you are on a contract.

Just call your cellular provider and tell them that you are thinking about cancelling your service, and ask for the retention department. Explain that the service just costs too much money and see what they say.

The Best PDF Software

Adobe PDF is taking over the world. I present my choice for the best PDF software:

If you just need to make PDFs:

CutePDF Writer- Free software to make PDFs. Just print from any program and the CutePDF Writer shows up as a printer.

If you need to modify PDFs:

CutePDF Professional- $50.00 and you can create and modify PDFs to your heart's content.

Both are available at www.cutepdf.com

Listen to Your Favorite Radio Station Online

If you want to listen to your favorite radio station online or using your internet-enabled mobile device, check out this web-site, which will give you the direct link to the streaming audio for every station in the U.S.:

http://www.radio-locator.com/

The Best Medical Manuals Online

Did you know that Merck publishes some great medical manuals? Even better, they've put all of that information online, for free:

http://www.merck.com/pubs/

The Best Ratings Web-Site

Do you want to find out which company makes the best cars, boats, and electronics? Want to find a good bank or investment company? Want to find the best health insurance, home builder, telephone or cellular provider? How about airlines, airports, hotels, or rental cars?

Check out www.jdpower.com
and www.consumerreports.com

The Best Web-Site About Nutrition

I present my pick for the best web-site about nutrition.

The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/

How Much is Your House Worth?

If you've ever wondered how much your house (or someone else's house) is worth, check out www.zillow.com, which provides house values for just about any home, town, or county in the U.S. The site also includes graphs showing trends and information concerning the square footage and prior sales of many homes. You can also use satellite images to check out other homes in the same neighborhood. Its free and doesn't require you to register or get a call back from a Realtor.

Getting a Real Human Being When You Call Your ...

Having trouble getting to a real human being when you call a business?

Check out http://gethuman.com/us/, which will give you a list of hundreds of major businesses and the secret to getting straight to a real, live human being.

How to Save Money on Long Distance Calls

Do you pay more than 3.5 cents per minute for Long Distance calls?

The cheapest long distance telephone companies do not advertise. To find the best choice in your area, go to http://www.abtolls.com/. Choose your state on the front page and you'll immediately see a list of a dozen long distance companies and their rates.

Look for a provider with the lowest rates. Note that the "in state" and "out of state rates" are often different, so pick according to the type of call that you most often make. Check to see if the provider charges a monthly minimum. Sometimes, it is better to pay a little bit more per minute if the company bills in six second increments. Many of these companies also offer very inexpensive 800 numbers, if you need them.

The Best Sprint Plans

The best Sprint PCS plans currently available are on the Sprint Employee Referral ("SERO") Plan. The strange thing is, you don't need to be a Sprint employee to get them.

Just go to www.sprint.com/sero, and use "savings@sprint.com" as the e-mail address.

$30 per month for 500 minutes
$50 per month for 1,250 minutes
$99.00 per month for 2,500 minutes

All plans include unlimited data/internet access (which would cost $15. per month extra on almost any other plan), unlimited roaming (on Verizon's network), unlimited long-distance, free nights and weekends, unlimited mobile to mobile. You have to buy a new phone and commit for two years to get the plan, but the phones are also reasonably priced.

Make Your Cellular Phone Better

If you have unlimited data/internet on your cellular phone, there are three programs you should immediately download on your phone:

Google Maps- www.google.com/map - Never pay for directory assistance again, plus it gives you maps, driving directions, and even satellite images on your phone.

Google Mail- www.gmails.com/app - If you use Gmail (and why wouldn't you?), you can use this application to check and send mail. You can even view many types of attachments.

Opera Mini- mini.opera.com - a full featured web-browser on your cellular phone.

The Best Web-Site About Kids

I present my pick for the best web-site about children and their health

www.askdrsears.com

The Best Single-Line Telephone

I present my pick for the best single line telephone ever:

AT&T Trimline Telephone

For a standard, one-line telephone, you can't beat it. The dial is right in the handset for ease of use and it is back-lit.

$12..99 at http://www.amazon.com

The Best Ant Bait

I present my pick for the best ant killer/bait:

Terro Liquid Ant Baits

Its the only one you can't find at Home Depot or Lowe's, and its the only one that I've ever used that actually worked. Put it in the ants' path. In an hour, they'll be all over it. In three hours, there will be multiple paths of ants. The next day, they'll all be gone.

$7.95 for a pack of 6 at http://www.amazon.com

The Best Water Bottle

I present my pick for the best water bottle:

Camelbak Water Bottle

Camelbak became famous for making hydration system for use in mountain biking, with their patented bite valve. This water bottle puts the bite value on top of the bottle and includes a removeable straw so you can drink without having to tip the bottle backwards. Great for taking ice water to the gym. Just bite down and drink!

$9.99 at http://www.amazon.com

The Best Personal Finance Book

I present my pick for the best book on personal finance:

Personal Finance for Dummies, Fifth Edition
By Eric Tyson

They don't teach personal finance in high school or college. If you make money, you MUST read this book.

$13.19 at http://www.amazon.com, or free at your local library.

P.S. After you're done with this book, you should also read "Investing for Dummies" which is also by Eric Tyson

The Best Wireless Headphones

I present my pick for the best wireless headphones:

Sennheiser RS 140 Wireless Headphones

These are perfect if you want to watch TV, and your mate is trying to sleep.

Overall, I like these headphones a lot. Here's what I really, really like and one thing that I don't:

1. In order to charge them, you just set the headphone band on top of the base station. Two metal strips inside the headband sit on top of two metal bars on the base station and it immediately begins charging. It is very, very easy. My old JVC headphones required me to hook-up a separate cable by plugging it in and unplugging it. A pair of Sony headphones that I tried required you to set the headphones on the base station in a very particular way, or it wouldn't make contact.

2. It has a smart charging system. This means that when the battery is full, it slows to a trickle charge, and you don't have to worry about overcharging and killing the batteries.

3. The sound is quite good. No, it is not as good as a set of top quality wired headphones, but that is not what these are for. And the sound is still much better than listening to the audio from the TV speakers across the room. In using the headphones, I've noticed a lot of details that I would have otherwise missed.

4. The headphones do a fairly good job of blocking out other room noise. This makes them excellent when my daughter and wife are chatting and I just want to watch TV.

5. They make cool beeping sounds. When the battery is low, when the TV is not providing an audio feed, or when you turn them off, they produce a distinct series of three beeps. The unit offers an option to turn these noises off, and I originally assumed that I would do so. However, I came to find the beeping noises quite helpful. For instance, if you turn off your TV and forget to turn off the headphones, a short series of beeps will remind you. Likewise, if you inadvertently turn them off, another short series of beeps lets you know that is what happened. The beeps are not intrusive and are generated inside the headphones. They aren't loud enought to disturb anyone, and you can turn them off if you don't want them.

Here's what I don't like about these headphones:

1. The balance control is too easily bumped. If you're lying in bed and your head is against the pillow, it is too easy to bump the left to right balance knob. The knob is located on the lower rear of the right headphone. It should be on the front, so that it won't get bumped. However, it doesn't happen very often, so its really a minor complaint.

Around $150.00 at http://www.amazon.com

The Best Iron

I present my pick for the best Iron:

Panasonic NI-L45NR

The Pansonic CORDLESS Iron.

This iron has three features that make it great:

First, its cordless. Not having a cord to get in the way makes ironing much faster and easier.

Second, it has a detachable water container, so when you need to refill the water, you don't have to carry the iron to the faucet (or carry water in a cup to the iron). You can simply detach the water container and fill it at your leisure.

Third, it has a base unit, which makes for a convenient place to set the iron while you are adjusting your clothes.

When I bought the iron, I just assumed that this product was a battery operated product that would heat itself using power stored in a battery inside the unit. Not so.

Instead, power is supplied by a base unit which you put the put the iron on. When you want to use the iron, you turn it on and the base unit supplies power to the iron and heats it up. Then, you remove the iron from the base and do your ironing. Panasonic says that the iron will eventually cool down if it is off the base for long enough, so you should put it back onto the base in between passes to let it heat back up.

I found that the unit maintains its heat very well and for a long time, so there was absolutely no problem with having enough heat to iron, and using the base unit was a real convenience.

Panasonic's manual states that most people iron for eleven seconds and then adjust their clothes for about 8 seconds. Thus, Panasonic theorizes that this cycle will be no problem and I agree: Whenever you ordinarily set the iron on your ironing board to adjust your clothes, you instead set the iron on your base (which is also on your ironing board).

$54.75 at http://www.amazon.com

The Best Toaster

I present my pick for the best toaster oven:

Panasonic NB-G100P

That's right, Panasonic makes toasters. It has a digital countdown timer and uses an infrared heating element in addition to the traditional electric heating element, so it toasts much faster.

$99.99 at http://www.amazon.com

The Best Flashlight

After hours of research and testing, I present my picks for the best flashlight.


1. The best all-around flashlight:

The Coast TT7438CP Tactical Flashlight

This German-engineered super-bright, focusing LED flashlight runs for 85 hours on 3 AAA batteries, is 5 inches long, weighs less than five ounces, and is brighter than a 4D Cell Mag-Lite.

It is the perfect flashlight to keep in the nightstand by your bed.

I was surpised at how much I like this flashlight. I've never heard of Coast before, and their name (Coast Cutlery) definitely doesn't sound technology oriented. Despite that, their standard flashlights are way brighter than the competition and I liked that they use standard AAA batteries, instead of the specialty lithium batteries that Inova and others use in their tactical flashlights.

The best price I found was $63.95 at UtilitySafeGuard.Com
http://www.utilitysafeguard.com/Coast/Tactical-Use-Flashlights/LL7438-Tactical-Focus-Beam-Flashlight

You can also buy Coast products at www.lightsandknives.com, which is a seller that operates out of Coast's warehouse in Portland, Oregon.

If $63.95 is too much, Coast also has a whole series of flashlights, including lights that use a single AA battery and rechargeable versions. http://www.coastcutlery.com/. Coast also makes very affordable utility knives.


2. The best keychain flashlight:

The Inova Microlight

This LED light is perfect for every keychain in the house. It has three modes, bright, dim, and flashing. It comes with varying color bodies and LED lights. The translucent body looks the best. You get the light in white, red, and many other colors. Red is supposedly best for preserving your night vision.

This flashlight is perfect for every keychain. The only downside is that it uses watch-style batteries, but given how often I'll need to replace them and my preference for a smaller light on the keychain, I'll take it.

$5.49 at BatteryJunction.com
http://batteryjunction.com/inmi2witrbo.html


3. Best Multifunction flashlight:

The Inova 24/7

The Inova 24/7 is the most versatile flashlight I've ever seen. It has six modes: (1) Bright white light, (2) dim white light, (3) bright red light (to preserve night vision), (4) SOS Light (sends SOS in morse code using the bright white lights), (5) emergency signal light (flashes multiple colors - Red, Yellow, and White in a very bright, noticeable pattern), and (6) warning signal (Red and Yellow alternating).

It also comes with a number of useful accessories, including a headband (to make the light into a personal headlight), a magnetic mount, brackets for making the light a fixed mount, and a neck-strap to wear the light around your neck.

I've put one of these in each of my car emergency kits and I keep one in my backpack.

The only downside is that this light also uses a specialty lithium battery that may be hard to find in an emergency. The upside is that the light has a very compact form factor and is very, very bright.

$37.95 at BatteryJunction.com
http://batteryjunction.com/24smwiackit2.html

Note that despite my recommendation of Inova's Microlight and the 24/7, I hate Inova's standard tactical flashlights. They all use specialty lithium batteries, have very short operating times, and are nowhere near as good as the comparable Coast products.