Notable Websites Series - Netflix

I believe that it is reasonable to spend some money on entertainment, even when you don’t have much money to spend. Much like the line from the Shining, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” I love movies; therefore, I love Netflix.


Netflix is an online DVD rental service. Plans start at $4.99 per month for one DVD at-a-time, 2 movies per month; shipping is included. In addition, the plans include time to watch movies instantly on your PC, and there are no late fees or due dates.

We selected the $13.99 per month plan for 2 movies at-a-time, unlimited movies per month, and we get our moneys worth! We typically watch both movies the same day we receive them and return them the next day, averaging between 8 – 10 movies a month; that’s $1.40 - $1.75 per movie. A great source for fairly cheap entertainment.

Notable Websites Series – Flickr

After the birth of my son, I discovered a passion for photography. I could easily snap a minimum of 300 photos a month of my son. I initially archived my photos onto a CD, but started thinking that if something should ever happen to my house, such as a fire, they could all be gone. I already had an account on Flickr, where I am part of a private online photography group consisting of a bunch of moms with cameras, and decided that was where I would archive my photos. I had to upgrade to a paid unlimited account since I took more photographs in a month then the free account allowed me to upload, but for the peace of mind of knowing I will always have my photographs the cost seemed worth it.


Flickr (part of the Yahoo! company) is a great site for photo management, hosting, and sharing and has recently included the ability to upload short videos. The free account gives users the ability to upload 100MB each month. You select your comfort zone for sharing your photos and have the option to make the photos private, friends and/or family, or public. The majority of my photos are set to friends/family, though I do have some, mostly landscape-type photos that are public.

One of the features I like most about Flickr is the photo hosting ability. Many of the other photo hosting sites provides you a code for your photo as uploaded. On Flickr, you have the option to select the size of the photo you want to host. This is particularly useful when hosting photos for use on message boards. On Flickr, you can upload the photo in its original size and then select between thumbnail, square, small, medium, large, and original for the photo url; depending on the size of the original photo. Very cool!

Notable Websites Series – Snopes.com

Everyone with email has received those forwarded messages. You know the ones, they warn you that thieves are stalking parking lots with plots to get you, they warn you about products that you may use everyday that could kill you, they claim that Bill Gates wants to share his wealth with you, and so much more. Yep, you know the ones. Admit it, how many times have your read these emails, took them as fact, and forwarded them to everyone in your mailbox. What if there was a way to check the validity of these emails, a site to refer to that looks into these messages in Mythbusters-style. Well guess what, there is!

This brings me to Snopes.com a site dedicated to urban legends, a term that (on Snopes.com) embraces common fallacies, misinformation, old wives’ tells, strange news stories, rumors, celebrity gossip, and similar items. I recommend this site, not only to check the validity of your forwarded email, but also for pure entertainment.


You would not believe how I first discovered this site. I received a forwarded message in my email, I can no longer remember the message it included, only that it claimed it was true as seen on Snopes.com (with a link.) The funny thing was, when you clicked the link to Snopes.com, the page clearly identified the email as being false. HA! I guess who ever started the email figured that if they referenced Snopes.com the recipient would take the email as fact without checking the link. (This brings up "the chicken or the egg" type question - which came first, the false email, or the Snopes.com page that identified the email as being false.... hmmm?)

So next time before you hit the forward button, check Snopes.com first. You may potentially save yourself some embarrassment.

Notable Websites Series – Scam.com

I do not visit this site as much as I use to and will not say much about it. Scam.com is a message board focused on identifying scams. It is a great resource for anyone about to be involved in or considering any form of money exchange that you are not 100% sure is legitimate; work at home jobs, paid surveys, emails that claim to give you money, home business opportunities, and so forth. The “search” feature may (or may not) be your friend on this site. The search button is located just below the sign in box, far right.

I am a registered user on this site, but have not posted much. I learned quickly that even though the information here can save you from being scammed out of your hard earned money, the members of this site can be tough. Perhaps they harbor hard feelings from having been scammed, I don’t really know.

Notable Websites Series – WAHM.com

After six weeks of maternity leave following the birth of my son, I started doing some work from home with my then employer. It was agreed upon that I could telecommute for 3 months before returning to the office. This agreement “spoiled” me and as the date of my return neared closer and closer I knew that I would not be able to find the strength to leave my son and return to the office. I also knew that there was no way that we could afford for me to be a stay at home mom, I had to find work.

While searching for legitimate work that I could do from home I came across WAHM.com, the online magazine for work at home moms. I have to admit, I have a love/hate relationship with WAHM.com. I love this site because it has a wealth of information for anyone wanting to work at home (WAH) and it is on this site that I found my current job. I hate this site because it tests my patience with slow downloading or refusing to load at all. I have recently learned that WAHM.com has been sold. The site is not expected to change other than moving the site to “bigger, faster servers”, so hopefully there will be improvements to the site soon. However, even with the current slow server, I continue to visit the site frequently and would recommend it to anyone interested in WAH.


My favorite feature on this site is the message board. This is where people get together and discuss all things WAH. You can find information about potential WAH jobs, identified scams and how to avoid them. One comment regarding the message board, if you leave a message, only hit the “submit” button once – even if it takes forever for the submit to occur. If you hit submit more than once your message will be posted an equal number of times in the thread.

One final note on WAHM.com, you will notice “Ads by Google” posted all over this site. The “Ads by Google” are from Google’s AdSense. If you are not familiar with AdSense, an optional feature here on Blogger, AdSense is a “pay-per-click” program that scans the content of your page and then places ads relevant to the content. The site owner is then paid for each click of an ad (no, I do not know how much it pays.) Sounds great, right? Well, this is actually a potential problem on WAHM.com. Because WAHM.com contains content focused on WAH the AdSense ads on the site are related to WAH and unfortunately, many are scams. I once saw someone ask why a site that is focused on legitimate WAH would have ad links to scams. The answer is simple, the owner is not able to select or refuse an ad, but since the ads generate revenue for the free-to-use site, the ads remain. The thing to remember for WAH, you NEVER EVER have to pay for a job. If they want money from you, it is a scam.

Notable Websites Series – Dave Ramsey

If you have been reading my blog then I am sure that you can predict that I could not do a “Notable Websites Mini Series” without including the official website of Dave Ramsey. I typically visit Dave’s site once a day, Monday through Friday. My favorite feature on this site is the Dave Ramsey Radio Show. You can listen live if you tune in between 2 pm and 5 pm eastern time. I however, found that I prefer to listen to the archives at my own pace, so I listen one day behind.


Dave’s site contains a wealth of information where you can visit the online store, learn about Financial Peace University, read Dave’s column, and get information on where you can see Dave live among many other things. And if you have some spare money to spend, you can join the My Total Money Makeover online community.

The official Dave Ramsey website is a must visit for anyone on a total money makeover.

Notable Websites Series – Simple Mom

I thought that I would start on a website review mini series. I will write one post per my favorite websites. These are websites that I frequent or have found useful and may be of use to you.

The first website I want to review is Simple Mom. This is a blog that is on its own domain. The blog is updated with a new post frequently. The author of Simple Mom is known in the blogosphere as Toblerone. In her words, the blog “is a cross between a mom blog and a productivity blog.”


It is the Simple Mom site that first introduced me to Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover. However, this site is not solely dedicated to finance. The focus of the blog “is for the mom who needs that extra nudge of motivation to manage her home in a productive and balanced way.” Topics to look forward to on Simple Mom include: managing the household, budgeting and family finances, healthy cooking, quality entertainment, organizing, sewing, gardening, and living greener.