Changing the course in Blogs

Moving mom and dad

admin — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:40:57 +0000

Guest written by our friend Trent Horton

I am moving my parents into a new house. For the past two years, they have been complaining that their house is too big. I can see their point. At one time, they lived in that house with five other kids. Now everyone is grown and the house seems a lot bigger. None of us wanted them to move, but the time has finally come. I naively thought the move was going to be easy. It has been a royal pain. My parents are picky about everything. My mom wants me to make sure all the boxes are labeled correctly. My dad wants me to make sure the Direct TV is hooked up before we even start the process. Then we have to stop for snacks or a drink or just to take a break. At this pace, they are never going to have everything packed. I am tempted to move everything in the middle of the night. Then I will have it all done while they sleep and will not have to listen to the complaints.

Will this be the year for Chemcial M&A

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:42:30 +0000

If you watch the financial news then you know that 2012 will be a interesting year for industries like oil and gas, chemical, and technology companies. This could also be the year we see more activity in the chemical mergers and acquisitions due to tightening government regulations and the economy still trying to gain traction. While the landscape for a hostile takeover is possible many mergers that have taken place over the past few years have been more on the friendly side and more amicable for employees and shareholders. We have seen that while companies in most countries need regulatory approval for their mergers one of the biggest keys is cultural migration. Each company brings with it it’s own set of values and standards and the merger of different values can sometimes be tougher to overcome than a government approval. Having a chemical advisory group like the experts from the Valence Group can help both sides in their due diligence and uncover any possible roadblocks.
The Valence Group is a a chemical investment bank that offers a full slate of service options for their clients. With their experience in handling over 200 chemical M&A’s with value in excess of $80 Billion the Valence Group knows this sector and it’s customers. And because they are independent there is little chance of a conflict of interest that can happen with multi-specialty banks. In 2012 more and more companies are going to be looking to acquire talent and assets rather than try and develop in house and they will need experts in their respective fields to help in a smooth acquisition.

Check your free credit score

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:30:30 +0000

This year like in many years past credit cards play a major role in holiday shopping. While they are a great convenience they can be quite problematic if you over spend and then are unable to pay off the balance. Remember to always read the fine print on the amount of grace period days and when your bank actually starts to count interest. There are various credit cards that use a balance in your account or some other collateral to help you maintain your balance. Some provide 20-25 days, but I have seen others as little as 15 days. This means that you will start to accrue and pay interest before you even receive your statement, even if you intend to pay the balance in full. There are few things that you need to know about your credit report and how to obtain your Free Credit Score to help you get the best rate you can.

If you find yourself in a crunch it is always good to call the bank, and ask them for some added time. They know the cost of having to get new customers and will usually be accommodating to reasonable requests. It is a great idea to check out your credit report and make sure that there are no blemishes on your credit score. You want to do this on an annual basis because your credit score can determine your insurance rates, loans, and even employment. It is a known fact that prospective employers will check your credit score to see what type of history you have and can make a decision to not hire should you have a low credit score.

Enjoy coffee from Beyond the Grind

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:07:32 +0000

I live in the Pacific NW and one thing that we love is our coffee. I am just 4 hours east of Seattle where the birthplace of espresso thrives and has given major coffee shops like Starbucks and Seattles Best Coffee. The simple pleasure of enjoying a great cup of coffee has taken on a whole new meaning in the last 20 years. That has created an industry of espresso stands and coffee shops across the country. Where I live we have a coffee stand about every other block and the variation of drip coffee has increased as consumers taste has evolved. It is estimated that the die hard coffee drinker will spend about $700 a year on coffee if they purchase out a local establishments. I was probably one of those and have recently started to scale back and start making my own coffee at home.

Thanks to the availability of different roasts and blends now you can make your own coffee at home at a fraction of the cost. Companies like BeyondTheGrind have identified the home brewer as a potential growing market and have partnered with premium roasters to offer high beans for at home brewing. Known as one of the top Orange County Coffee Supplier for businesses they have started their coffee of the month club so that you can have various coffee beans that you chose to be delivered to your home. You can follow them on Facebook to see what is going on and find oubout any new specials they are running. I was recently sent a sample of their DG Origin coffee Summit blend beans and I really enjoyed the full flavor with just enough kick. So if you are looking to try some great coffee and maybe simplify your morning cup of coffee try out their various blends and check out their coffee of the month club. It would also make a great gift for this upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Express Scripts to discontinue partnership with Walgreens

admin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:30:24 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Two of the biggest names and providers of prescription drugs have not come to terms on an agreement that would allow Walgreens to continue filling prescriptions for Express Scripts customers. According to press releases Walgreens and Express Scripts were unable to come to an agreement on their partnership. PBM’s like Express Scripts and pharmacies have always had an interesting relationship in that PBM’s directly compete with your local pharmacy with their own mail order program to fill prescriptions. That is why this announcement that Express Scripts is not renewing it’s contract with Walgreens one of the largest pharmacy retail chains in the US very interesting. What get’s lost in these financial dealings is the patient. Walgreens understands this has even gone as far as offering their Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens at a discount. They also tried to negotiate separately for those with Tricare, the US military’s health and prescription plan, so to provide coverage for our folks in the military.

As of January 2012 thousands of customers will be forced to find a new in-network provider pharmacy and create a major hassle and disruption. You can stay on top of these events and show your support for Walgreens by following Walgreens on Facebook and Walgreens on Twitter. Most people have come accustom to using their local Walgreens because of the savings and convenience they offer. They are all over the US and offer 24 hour service in many of their stores. This stand off could be the signal of larger changes in the way patients get their prescription drugs as large insurance companies try and cut costs. If you are impacted by this decision then let your voice be heard by contacting your local radio or TV station and let them know what is going on.

Free online accounting tool from Outright.com

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:41:26 +0000

There are thousands of small businesses and online bloggers that are very successful in what they do. One of the ways to measure your success is through your financial health of the company. Large companies have a whole department dedicated to measuring revenue, overhead, and overall costs to help the organization understand where to spend more money and where to cut back. Now thanks to online companies like Outright.com anyone can get a free online accounting tool that will help you keep track and plan for a brighter future. Understanding where you are spending money that is actually contributing to your bottom line and expenses that are eating away at the companies success can be critical. Many of the online start ups have created this false sense of financial freedom and they just seem to burn through money with no real gains to show for the investment.
Most small businesses do not have this luxury and keeping this data on a spreadsheet in some PC can be limiting your business. There are hundreds of accounting software packages but none of them as far as I know give you access to info no matter where you are like with Outright. Having your data online in their secure platform can help plan and present your business to anyone anywhere and it is always current and up to date.

Become a tax preparer in 2012

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:17:01 +0000

The ability to file your taxes online has become very popular and has made it easier for many Americans to file their taxes and get their refunds. If you are looking for a job in tax preparation then you can find tax preparer jobs that help train and educate to become a certified tax preparer. As our culture and population has changed so has the need to provide alternative ways and means by which to file your online tax return. At various online tax preparation sites they can help with your Online taxes needs with both filing and answering questions. There are irs exam classes that can teach you how to help others prepare and file their taxes. They offer free eFiling, and you will receive your refund much faster. We have used online filing for the past few years, and it is clean, secure and simple.This year many Americans will put off the dreaded task of doing their taxes until the last possible minute. As our tax laws have become more complicated many people are turning to their accountants to assure that they are not overpaying on their tax bill. And if you are like us where we reside in one state and work in another the tax scenario becomes a little more unclear. This is because some state allow you to take credit for taxes paid to another state while others are not so forgiving.

With online tax filing you can have your refund directly deposited into your checking, and receive it 2-3 weeks faster than filing by paper. There are certified RTRP that are available to help you understand the new laws and help you file online or through traditional methods. The IRS actually prefers you to Efile taxes since the electronic version contains less errors and is much less labor intensive for them to process. In most cases there is a simple process to follow that will help you fill out the correct forms and collect the right information.

Create opportunity with your blog

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:32:18 +0000

One of the Number one traffic building secrets is adding content to your website. Have you ever considered that a blog could be the tool that makes this very possible, fast and extremely easy to do. we use our blog to help write about informative sites that will help our readers. The latest trend in content and brand awareness is social media optimization. This is where a company helps you across all the various social networking sites to understand where your traffic is coming from and how to capitalize on this great opportunity to engage with your customers. Blogs continue to grow and being able to use them to provide value and updates to your customers is still a viable channel. Blogs are written in RSS or Atom, both very effective content management systems. After you set up your blog you need to change your settings to archive daily so you have a new page of content every time you make a post to your blog.

Blogging daily is best if you want to add new content every day. If you archive daily, then post each day the blog software will generate a new page of content for you. It’s definitely the fastest and easiest way to add content. You can also partner with a search engine marketing firm to help you develop unique content for your blog and get it out to the masses. If you want to add some additional revenue to your blog then companies like BizzClick.com can help you find advertisers for your site.

The best way to integrate a blog into your website is to make your website into a blog. If you have fresh relevant content on your blog then top search engines like Google will return more often to gobble up that fresh content. Advertisers are looking for ways to reach new audiences and your blog may offer just the right demographics they are looking for. That means your site will be spidered more often, and if you just built another page you want spidered, just leave a link within your blog posts to that page and the spider will follow it.This is a great way to get your pages spidered fast. But it’s important to have the page you are linking to be somewhat related to the topic of your post. Google is getting more picky about the content of the pages where your incoming links are coming from.

New Dental Degree Would Expand Career Options

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:43:20 +0000

If Fort Hays State University in Kansas gets its wish, the university will be adding a new dental degree to its curricular offering: registered dental practitioner. If you’ve never heard of an RDH, you’re not alone. The university is proposing the degree as a potential solution for the state’s severe lack of licensed dentists. But offering the degree isn’t as simple as adding a new curriculum.

Kansas state law would need to be changed in order to allow graduates to practice. Currently, only licensed dentists can perform certain procedures, but a new bill in the state Senate aims to change that. The proposed legislation would allow registered dental practitioners to work under the supervision of a licensed dentist, and would perform basic dental work, like examinations, fillings and cleanings.

The proposed four-year degree would have strong career appeal for graduates of dental assistant schools and dental hygienists who are already working in the field and are looking for a career advancement path. At the same time, new practitioners would help alleviate the dentist shortages that have arisen in the majority of counties in Kansas.

Everyone isn’t welcoming the proposed new degree with open arms, though. The majority of dentists in Kansas oppose the legislation, saying they believe it would jeopardize the quality of care patients receive. The Kansas Dental Association, which represents about 75% of the state’s 1,500 dentists, is also fighting to defeat the bill.

Laws governing what non-dentist practitioners can do vary by state, and a few states allow dental assistants to perform any task delegated by a licensed dentist. The proposed Kansas model is already in place in Alaska. Kansas dentists who oppose the new degree say that it would create a two-tiered dental service model in the state, with dentist services available only to those who can afford premium care.

Others who support the bill argue that the state needs to take action to ensure that quality dental care is available to all state residents, regardless of where they live. By adding registered dental practitioners, known as dental therapists in some states, supporters argue that the state’s dentists can safely expand their practices and oversee the dental care of more patients.

One thing everyone can agree on is that there aren’t enough dental professionals in the field today, and that is primarily responsible for the move to introduce mid-level dental practitioners to the market. Supporters argue that registered dental practitioners can help alleviate critical shortages of dental care providers, saying that thirteen counties in Kansas have no practicing dentists at all. By placing registered dental practitioners in severely underserved areas, the state can help deliver routine dental care to the most rural parts of the state.

That isn’t swaying most dentists, who say that they’re being squeezed from all sides. According to a new survey released by Baird, dentists throughout the country are reporting a decline in the number of patient visits, and a decline in the number of services patients are requesting. According to the survey, 67% of dentists reported that their revenues this year are flat or declining when compared to last year’s numbers, and 74% of dentists said that their patient volumes have declined, compared to last year.

Dentists in Kansas argue that adding a lower-cost, mid-range provider to the mix will only ensure that fewer dental practices will remain financially viable. Supporters counter this argument by saying that only about 25% of dentists in Kansas accept Medicaid, leaving a large portion of the state’s low-income population without affordable dental services.

A recent survey by the WK Kellogg Foundation shows that more than 40% of US households have at least one member who has put off dental care for cost reasons. The Foundation is working with providers in Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington State to promote the use of dental therapists as a response to a growing healthcare provider shortage.

Update your cubicle with the Pimp My Cube Contest

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:00:27 +0000

This post brought to you by Contest Factory. All opinions are 100% mine.

It is estimated that the average commute for the American worker is 45 minutes a day and that they spend an average of 9.8 hours at work. With all the demands to improve ROI and reduce expenses workers are being asked to do more with less. Office space is being reduced but the work force is staying the same so closer working quarters is not uncommon. Having a great space to call your home away from home can help ake the day go by faster and actually improve productivity. That is what the Pimp My Cube Contest could not have come at a better time for millions of workers across America.

By simply uploading a video of your work space between 12/5/2011 and 1/31/2012 by noon you can be entered to win a makeover valued at approx. $1200. It is simple and very easy to enter and if you get your friends and co-workers to vote on your video you can increase your chances of winning the grand prize. Just by entering the contest you are entered into a drawing for a $200 gift card. Right now there are only a few videos that have been uploaded so your chance are very good. Head on over there now and simply upload a funny video of why your deserve this makeover and you may just be starting out next year with a new updated workspace.