Freaky Frugalite

I use a third-party software program for my passwords. I don’t like my web browser storing my most secret passwords! I’m concerned that an addon or some malicious program will read them. Somebody just came up with the idea to use a kind-of third-party software for online shopping. At least, that is how I see it. It looks good, and I am all in favor of Identity theft protection. I have had identity theft TWO TIMES. The first time was someone stole my bank account and made some charges. I had to file all these reports, and the police came over to do a report. It was so stressful! The second time, my credit card numbers were stolen. The data breach was discovered quickly, before any purchases were made on the card. It was a nightmare. I’m getting too old for this! The first incident is still a mystery. It was either an inside job by a crooked employee, or someone sniffed my bank numbers when I did some online stuff. It was scary.

So I’m very interested in something like StopShield. Has anyone tried it? I looked at the website and it is basically the middleman between your financial information and the online store. It replaces your credit card/bank information when you shop online or register at a web site. Your real data is never entered at the online stores you shop; instead, the data is stored at StopShield. So StopShield is like a middleman. The same thing with online registration– StopShield creates usernames, passwords, and anonymous email addresses for you (for free). This keeps all your personal information secure, since you aren’t distributing it to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who wants it. The StopShield website has loads more information and some videos that show exactly how this works.

My curiosity is piqued. Has anyone tried this? I’m a great proponent of third-party stuff like this. I’ve HAD IT with my data being stolen. My hair is getting gray fast enough! If you’ve got StopShield, please let me know, because this sounds great!

Well, I’m going to do it! Check out Bloggerwave, that is. I had actually signed up with them a year ago or so, when they were new. Not too much came of it, and my interest waned. But I’ve seen some fellow bloggers buzzing about it, so I checked it out. Wow, Bloggerwave has gone through a complete overhaul and they look fabulous! I am happy to try to make some money blogging. I always hear that the best job is the “job you love to do,” and I do love blogging. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes with them. Here’s hoping Bloggerwave explodes!

[bump] This is a popular post, and I believe an important one. I bumped it to the top for today. You can see more new posts, below.

I saw this video and it blew me away. My husband got one of these cards recently– an American Express credit card with an RFID chip. All for your security, of course.

But the sneaky little deception is that it’s not for your security at all! Watch this little video of a “Hacker/Futurist” who swipes the credit card information with an $8 device he bought off eBay.

The thing that REALLY blew me away most was that the Hacker said that credit card companies are not at all interested in security for the consumer. They are interested in the appearance of security for the consumer. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY THIS IS!

I don’t for one second believe that any bank or company are unable to make electronic transactions secure. The big question is WHY won’t they?

I’ve been reading news about gas and food prices and am just getting madder and madder. The really lousy thing about this all is that I think it’s been avoidable. Governments are too big, they cater to special interests groups, they make their deals, and we the people are shafted. High gas prices are tough, but you can live without gasoline (like, getting a horse, lol). But everyone NEEDS food. Food prices are too high, thanks to idiots who legislated the ethanol crock. And my heart is bleeding for people in countries like the Philippines, where they are having a rice shortage. It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle and all the pieces are fitting together. Yes, I believe in a conspiracy!

So what are people to do? What else, go deeper in debt! :-p That stinks. We have a lot of consumer debt because of various hard economic times, and have been scrambling to pay it off. I now work at home (blogging) so I am thankful I can help with the bills. But we still have to shop around for credit card reviews to find the best rates. The site is great because you can just look around and see what other companies are offering. In the past, we have always waited for all the junk mail credit card offers to come in. Now, I can check online!

Debt is very painful, though. I fully intend to pay it off! How about you? How are you coping with the price rises and credit debt?

I found these charts at New York Chica. This makes me so mad I could blow a gasket!!

First, there’s this.

OK, wow. Gas is almost $11 in Bosnia?! Holy cow. The European prices don’t surprise me. And in the U.S., that’s the AVERAGE cost. Here in Upstate New York, we’re paying $4. And that was yesterday’s prices.

OK, and then I saw this:

That makes me so mad! Arg arg arg!!! The really crappy thing is that taxes contribute a lot to gasoline prices in the U.S. New York State has a 70-cent tax PER GALLON. And then, the U.S. restricts itself because our government will not allow drilling where oil is abundant in our own country. So we ravish the Middle East for their oil and pay through the nose.

MAD MAD MAD! I’m MAD!

Well, I’m making progress on this (still) new blog! I’ve signed up for two wonderful new blogging communities, Parent Reviewers (which I’m looking forward to posting for) and PayU2Blog, which is a great way to make a little money and still own your own blog! I’m sporting some new badges in the sidebar. The only thing about PU2Blog is that sometimes they want me to link to things like mesothelioma, and I don’t even know what that is!! But it’s an enjoyable hobby and with the money I’m making, I’m able to buy all the groceries for my family of six! How’s that?!

Photo from Groovy Green.