1: Have a long term game plan. We often view life on a day to day basis, but how many of us actually sit down and think about where we will be in life 5 or even 10 years down the road? It is an interesting question to think about and it is one that should always be thought about.

2: Buying stuff on the basis of want versus necessity. No, I am not saying that you shouldn’t go out and buy yourself something every now and then, but this is something that shouldn’t be done all the time. Whenever I look to buy something, I usually ask myself, “Do I really need this right now or at all?” or “Can I live without it?” Also I keep track of not only how much money I have in my bank but also what bills I have coming up to see if I can really afford to get what it is I want. This leads me into my next point.

3: Budgeting your money. I can’t even begin to count the number of times my mother would ask me,”Where did all your money go?” The worst part of it was I could only respond with “I don’t know” because I really didn’t know. I was spending with no regard for keeping track of it all. Dave Ramsey says it best when he says, “A budget is simply telling your money where to go.” It is a way of you staying on top of your finances and seeing where it is your money is going without you being broke and not knowing where all the money went to. It also teaches you to live on less than you make.

4: Free (or cheap) alternatives. A lot of times I can go around on the internet and find software that works just as well as commercial software and the best part of it all is that it is free. Perfect example of this is Photoshop and its free alternative, the GIMP. Sometimes being an early adopter in something new is not always the best option. Take for example the iPhone. Not 2 months into its release and there is a price drop, and a huge one at that. Being patient and waiting for the right time to buy most often pays off in the end.

5: Investing. I have only started to look into this about a year ago and I am happy that I am doing this. On a monthly basis, I put money into my retirement account so that it can grow and mature until I am ready to draw it out. In an age when we do not know if “Social Insecurity” will be around much longer, it has become more imperative that we take a more proactive approach to our own retirement. In other words, take this matter into your own hands because you are the only one responsible for your own financial future.

~Tony

A video to kill some time with.

Happy Easter

This is in continuation of a previous blog…

I came across this blog today regarding Apple’s decision to bundle iTunes with Safari on the PC and found it quite interesting.  This is an article written by John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla, and he was not happy about this at all.

“It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that’s bad — not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web,” Lilly states.

It makes perfect sense as why would you force something on me that I do not want at all.  If I want a particular piece of software, I will get it myself.

Anyway, what do you think?

~Tony  www.tonyutter.net

1: Don’t use simple passwords.  I used to use a password that was very easy to remember such as names or phone numbers.  I have even caught people doing this very thing and have constantly reminded them that the easier a password is for you to remember, the easier it will be for someone to figure out.  The best thing to do is to create a complicated password that only you will remember.  Also, make sure to write it down or use a password manager like 1Password or keepass (keepassX if you are on a Mac).  This will make it easier for you to remember passwords and if you use a password manager, you can then copy and paste that password into the password field when you need to.  Also you can use that password manager to generate passwords.

2: Do not use a “universal” password.  This also makes it easier for people to figure out because once someone has figured out your password to one site, they will likely try to use that same password on different sites that you use.  The best advice is to use different passwords for all the different sites that you use.

3: Avoid creating simple answers to security questions.  As we all know, there are methods of accessing your account should you forget your password, usually in the form of security questions.  Remember, the easier you make the answer, the easier it will be for someone to figure out.  The nice thing is that you can put anything into that answer field when setting up your security questions, so what I like to do is make up a jumbled alphanumeric mess that I only know.

4: Change your passwords regularly.  The longer you keep a certain password means that it gives more time to the individual trying to figure out what it is.

I hope that this helps because I find this to be a serious issue that people need to be aware of.  No, I am not saying to be paranoid about it, but be more aware of what could possibly happen.  This is your life we are talking about anyway.

~Tony   www.tonyutter.net

I came across this article entitled “Tips for Simplifying Your Life” and it amazed me after I read it just how many times I have seen similar articles on this very subject.  Anyway, I thought about it for a while and decided to break it down based on how they did it, so here we go.

1: Turn off the TV.  The way I see it, there is really nothing on anymore.  I have over 200 channels and, with the exception of a few shows, there is really nothing on that excites me anymore.  However, if you are one of those that just can’t miss a show, a DVR might be your best bet as it will allow you to watch TV whenever you want to.

2: Limit the time you spend online.  Yeah, here is where I fall short as I spend a lot of time online and not enough time doing other things.  When you are blogging, chatting, or working on the personal site, it is very easy to lose track of time.

3: Don’t nuke your food.  Well this is something that will be hard to give up as I view the microwave as a really big convience.

4: Did cavemen drink soda and frozen juices?  I have always heard that if you give up sodas for a year that you can lose weight.  Well I have decided to put that to the test and so we shall see whether or not that is true, so get back with me later on that.

5: Stop and take a deep breath.  I can’t even begin to count the number of times that I have lost track of time because of how stressed out I was.  For me, becoming stressed always took my mind off the more important things because I was always dwelling on the things that I was stressed out about.  Clearing your mind and refocusing on the tasks that need to get done that day will help you avoid doing things at the last minute or, worse yet, forgetting to do them at all.

6: Move.  I am beginning to view exercise as an essential par of daily life and with especially what I will be doing in the coming months.  Sometimes stress can be caused by not being physically or mentally fit.  I am definitely living proof of that.  Sitting around and doing nothing can also lead to depression, which is why I must always try to be doing something.

Anyway, this is how I applied it to my own life.  Check out the article and see how you can apply it to yours.

~Tony   www.tonyutter.net

In the words of Chris Pirillo, “The Community is Always Right.”

Anyway, here is a link to his article on this issue and, as always, you be the judge.

Link: It’s All About the Community

~Tony  www.tonyutter.net

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor

~tony  www.tonyutter.net

All I had with me besides my MacBook, which I could get no internet on, was my phone, a Samsung SGH-C417. It is not what I would call a fantastic phone, but it does get the job done. The only thing that I worry about is my bill for all that usage when I had to check my email. Oh well, I suppose. It’s not exactly the end of the world.

Anyway, time to catch up on some stuff and call it a night.

tony

I have been under some scrutiny for my purchase and have heard the same old reasons why I should have never bought a Mac, but let’s run down some things:

1: I don’t do a lot of gaming like I used to, and if I did, I would by a console for that (such as my DS).

2: I have yet to have any issues with OS X and everything works like it is supposed to.

3: Yes, this thing is expensive, but you do get what you pay for in the end.

4: You can’t choose a computer based on what operating system is better, but rather what operating system will work better for you. Vista was not cutting it for me anymore, so I decided to give Leopard a shot and I have yet to regret it.

5: (the ultimate reason) It was MY money I spent and I chose to spend it on this.

All I can say is that I am glad that I was open to try something new because the Mac experience for me has been good so far and I am looking to purchase an iMac when I return from my deployment next year. Always be open to something new because it just might end up changing your whole perception on things. It certainly did for me.

~Tony www.tonyutter.net