Misc

Thoughts On Selling On Facebook Marketplace

In the past, I’ve sold some items on Craigslist.  While I love selling online, it’s no longer my go-to site.  I have started selling on Facebook Marketplace.

Why Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace was rolled out a couple of years ago.  With so much selling going through Craiglist, eBay and the like, it was natural that Facebook would want to get in on the game.

I like Facebook Marketplace for the following reasons:

  • Familiarity – I use Facebook almost every day.  So do many people.  You don’t need a different login to sell (or buy items).  You don’t need a different app.  It’s all right there.
  • Real People – When you’re buying or selling on Facebook Marketplace, you’re using your regular profile.  So is the other person.  You instantly have a name and a face.  It seems to make things more personal.
  • Size – Facebook is huge as it is.  So right away you’ve got a built in audience.

It’s been a cool experience so far.  But, I have some observations.

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Everyone Might Get Lucky Every Once In A While

I don’t consider myself a lucky person.  My grandmother, on the other hand, now she was lucky.  Her and my grandpa went every year to Las Vegas, and it seemed she always won.  When she went to play bingo, she often came home with money.  She was once on the TV lottery show, and won a jackpot.  Unfortunately, her luck didn’t run out on me.  I don’t get lucky when I gamble, so I usually don’t.

But, hey, every once in a while, you get lucky in other ways.  I recently did.

Grinding Hard Drive

My wife has a laptop that she uses for her Etsy shop.  She does custom designs that are all sent electronically.  As such, she has a lot of digital files.  There are graphic files, clipart, pictures, proofs and final designs.  She keeps most of her data on an external hard drive.

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Affordable Web Hosting Hacks You Can’t Afford To Ignore

It’s time to bring your business idea to life, and one of the most important aspects of that is having a powerful online presence. That being said, you also want to stick to your startup budget, which means choosing affordable web hosting. The good news is that there are a few hosting hacks you can employ.

From pricey hosting add-ons to the different types of hosting services, there is much to consider. The following questions can serve as a quick guide that may save you a few hundred dollars.

What Type of Web Hosting Service Do You Need?

Choosing the right hosting service is a very essential factor is an essential element to launching your new online business under budget. There are plenty of web hosting services to choose from, but not all are created equal, and cost-effective. Three types of hosting services to research are:

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DTE Insight v3 Review: A Big Step Back

Like many power companies, our local company rolled out smart meters a few years ago.  These smart meters are in constant communication with the power company.  Benefits for this include real-time monitoring capabilities and the elimination of meter reads.  Drawbacks are, according to some, increased exposure to RF radiation as the communication takes place.  Like it or not, they are here to stay. Our company, DTE Energy, made it really cool. They came up with a device called an Energy Bridge and an app called DTE Insight that allowed real time monitoring of your usage. They recently rolled out DTE Insight v3.  Here’s my review.

Energy Bridge and DTE Insight

The Energy Bridge and the DTE Insight app went hand in hand.  With the app, any electric customer could monitor their usage.  It provided breakdowns by day, week, and month.  You typically had access to your statistics after a day or two.  With the Energy Bridge device, it moved this up to real-time.  This device had a data connection that you plugged into your home router. It paired with your electric meter, and you could view your usage in real time.

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No Emergency Fund? These Consequences Might Change Your Mind

“Emergency fund or no emergency fund? Who has the extra money in their budget to set aside for a rainy day?”

“Every day is rainy and there’s always something to be paid right now.”

“You can’t take it with you when you’re gone, you might as well spend it now.”

These are common things people say when the topic of emergency funds come up. Though each of these statements is true in some form, failing to organize your finances for unforeseen circumstances could put you in a really bad position.

No matter what reason you have for putting off the need to save, eventually it comes back to bite you. Many people end up finding this out the hard way.

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10 Reasons That I Miss The Old Internet

Nowadays it seems like the Internet has always been around.  For many people, grown ups even, it always has!  Yet, at the age of 43, I distinctly remember the time before the Internet. But along with that there was the time when the Internet was new.  Those were some cool times.  Of course, all those ‘new’ things are now old.  That’s the way it happens.  But, there are times when I miss the old Internet.  Here are a few throwbacks that many will remember.

The Dial-Up Tone

The Internet was first accessed over phone lines.  You had to connect your computer’s modem to another and establish a connection.  This was done with a series of bongs and boops and clicks.  It was a pretty cool sound.  I was such a geek that I could often tell just by listening to the patterns if I was going to get a good connection or if I’d have to re-dial.

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Investing in Airplanes or Helicopters – Making the Choice

A lot of people who can afford to buy an aircraft and have a short amount of time to spend in travelling tend to buy airplanes or helicopters. Generally, people investing in airplanes and helicopters do not have a problem with funding them. However, it is rather smart to compare the benefits of the product you are investing in. Both the aircraft are designed to transport passengers from one point to another in a shorter span of time than transports like trains and buses. Nevertheless, there is some difference between the uses of each of them which might prove to be beneficial or problematic with respect to the owner’s requirement. Below are given certain details about it.

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Five Ways To Get The Most Value From Netflix

It seems like everybody has Netflix these days, doesn’t it?  I remember subscribing to Netflix before most anybody knew what it was.  I can’t tell you the number of people I explained it to.  You clicked a few buttons on your computer, and a couple of days later a DVD showed up in the mail.  That was before they did any type of streaming.  Ah, the good old days!  Now, if I’d only been smart enough to buy their stock and hold onto it at the time!  Oh well.  In any case, Netflix is bigger than ever.  Here are five ways to get the most value from Netflix and your subscription.

Review Your Plan

Netflix has a pretty solid menu of options.  You can stream online.  You can get DVDs.  Or, you can get both.  Then, you look at how many devices you want to use or how many DVDs you want to have out.

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Smartphones Are Really Kind Of Dumb

Aren’t smartphones great?  They take care of everything, right?  Well, maybe not everything.  But they’re totally smart and intuitive, aren’t they?  After all, smart IS part of the name.  Personally, I don’t think we’re there yet.  Smartphones have made our lives easier in many ways. But they still have a lot of things that could be improved.  In fact, I have come up with five reasons that smartphones aren’t all that smart.  Yet.

Battery Life And Charging

Apple recently caught a lot of heat because they were purposefully slowing down older phones.  Why?  Because the batteries were wearing out, and would last longer if the phone did less.  So, Apple sent an update to make the phone work slower.  Oh, and the age of some of these phones was less than two years.

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8 Simple Ways To Be Happier

Are you in a rut?  Feeling blue?  It might not just be the time of year.  You might have just hit a low spot.  If you’re there, that’s OK.  But, how do you get out of that and find your happy spot?  It might not take a big change.  Here are a few simple ideas to be happier.

Make Time For Yourself

The demands of life can take away all of your free time.  Family, work, the house, even planning vacations can all drain you.  One thing all happy people do is make sure that they have time for themselves.  This could mean time to exercise.  Or read. Maybe it’s just time to unwind. Either way, it’s important.

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