Category Archives: Cool Sites

A New Way to Watch TV

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As part of our Less is More effort to spend less, give more, and save more, we recently made the difficult decision to cancel our cable TV. We enjoyed having cable, especially after not having it for so many years in the apartment and house, but decided it was a luxury we should give up to achieve our financial goals for next year.

However, all is not lost in TV Land. Our uber-techie friend Joel told us about a site called Hulu.com that lets you watch a huge variety of TV shows through the internet for free. I tried it tonight and watched part of this week’s Simpsons episode. It’s like watching Tivo only better in a way – I don’t have to remember to set up the recording ahead of time. I assume they pay for the service through the commercials that run during the shows, just like watching live TV. If I can figure out how to do it, I might be able to watch shows on the “real” TV through Hulu.

Phone Book Opt-Out

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This might not be as effective as the National Do Not Call list, but it’s a start. A new organization called YellowPagesGoesGreen.org gives you an easy way to tell your local phone book publishers to quit sending you phone books that you never requested, don’t want, and never use. We get at least 2-3 phone books a year and immediately dump each one into the recycling bin or the trash. I think they are a ridiculous waste of paper in the Information Age. Sign up today via the link above and let me know if it works!

Also, vote in my phone book poll on the right. Thanks!

Microloans You Can Provide

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For a variety of reasons, including poor performance and disappointing changes in their policies, I decided to sell my eBay stock and give the money to someone who needed it more than eBay or I did. I debated what to do with the money for a while. Finally I gave most of it to fund microloans through WorldVision, one of my favorite organizations. Microloans, as the name implies, are small loans given to people in developing countries who run very small businesses or want to start new ones. Recipients of the loans generally are part of a group that shares ideas, supports its members, and cross-guarantees the loans. They also receive training in business management to help them use the loans most effectively. Due to their support, training, and strong desire to succeed, they repay the loans 96 percent of the time. I imagine that’s higher than a typical bank would get and certainly much higher than I got from my Prosper.com borrowers. Instead of returning to the original lender, the repaid loan stays in a fund and then goes out to another borrower, making microloan programs almost self-perpetutating. Microfinance is a fantastic idea that is changing lives all over the world. I encourage you to get involved! Skip one dinner out this month and use the money to help change someone’s life instead.

Forwarded Emails

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One of my pet peeves is forwarded emails that are intended to scare or anger people or give them something for free. You know what I’m talking about: emails about the latest serial killer techniques, a politician’s religious beliefs or recent meeting with troops overseas, fake printable coupons to Blockbuster, computer virus warnings, etc. People receive something inflammatory or scary from a friend (who got it from a friend at work, who got it from their aunt in Muskogee) and blindly send it out without doing any kind of research or even using any common sense. I just found a great article on factcheck.org on this phenomenon and how it relates to political email forwards.

If you receive a forward, you can investigate it through several websites that do the legwork for you. My favorite is snopes.com. If you send me a bogus forward, there’s a good chance I’ll write back with the appropriate Snopes link. I might even copy all the other people you included. Other options include breakthechain.org, factcheck.org, and urbanlegends.about.com. Before you forward something, PLEASE do your homework and try to ensure that it’s true. The chain won’t stop unless you stop it. Do the right thing, people!