Easy Change

Kiva is a wonderful site that provides opportunities for regular people to provide loans to people in other far-off places, often in developing countries with the goal of helping their businesses become more self-sufficient. Kiva borrowers have a very high payback rate -- I think it was in the high 95+% so the loans are relatively safe. Of course, there is no interest, so there's not any goal of making money. Instead, the goal is to provide access to cheap credit/capital for these businesses. This is something that we have here in the United States at very low cost. If you want, you can use this referral link to sign up and get a free loan opportunity worth 25 dollars.

One of the things that I really like about the internet is the ability to connect to organizations and efforts that are often halfway across the world. One major thing that I have noticed as a change in my life has been when I got a dog this year. He is less than a year old and was purchased at an AKC breeder so that I felt confident in his genetics etc. However, that does not mean that I am heartless and don't understand the importance of rescue for animals. In fact, one such organization came across my inbox today and I thought they were worth donating to since they were handling such a difficult situation. There are many dog rescue organizations, but this one really stuck out for me because it is the same breed as the one I own and also because the sheer volume really is staggering. Here are some links for the organization; please donate if you are able. I am sure they need every penny they can get. http://www.facebook.com/HomewardBoundPugs http://homewardboundpugs.chipin.com/32...

Does everyone remember any childhood trips away from home? I remember going away to camp and feeling a little bit sad and lonely when other campers would get mail to open and whatnot. The same is true for college when you feel like you are far from home and days on end go by without hearing from loved ones.   Xerox has captured this feeling/idea and put it to work to benefit soldiers in Iraq. Regardless of how you feel about the war, I think it is a great way to do a little something that doesn't cost anything but a moment of your time. It is a site where you can add your name, town, and message and Xerox will copy a card designed by a child and include your message and send it to a soldier in Iraq. And it is free.   Go to <a href=" http://www.letssaythanks.com ">lets say thanks.com </a> to fill one out.   http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/letssaythanks.asp

Most of us remember last month's ban on spinach due to E coli, one of those nasty intestinal bugs that can easily cost you significant cash by putting you out of work, into the hospital, and for some who are really unfortunate, even kill you. The situation is not much better for those who drank contaminated carrot juice made by bolthouse farms, the producers of one of my favorite drinks - a strawberry/banana blend of juices which are quite tasty. In the end, there is not much to say about the ideas of prevention because in these circumstances, there is not much that can be done at the consumer level with regard to prevention. So, as was done by many, these products are simply avoided or banned by federal agencies to ensure that people don't get sick. <b>What does this mean to your Investments?</b> It does not take much imagination, however, to recognize that this is going to have a significant impact on your investment portfolio if you hold stocks of these compani...