Free Education!

Does your son or daughter need help with an algebra assignment they're struggling with?

How about something from US or European History?

Want to know a little more about biology or chemistry or physics but either don't have your old college textbooks or don't feel like cracking them open?

Never fear.  Be sure to check out the Khan Academy.

With over 3,500 videos on a variety of subjects, from the ones noted above to dozens upon dozens of others, this is the epitome of FREE EDUCATION at its finest.  One can earn accomplishments the more videos you go through, as you increase your knowledge about any number of topics.

Want to know more about black holes or the birth of stars?  How about an in-depth look at microeconomics?

Then check out the Khan Academy.

AuraVie - AVOID DOING ANY BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY

I am going on a rant today.  On July 25th, I (using my wife's name because she is the one who ordered it) sent the following message to AuraVie using their online form--both my wife and I tried to call them several times but could never seem to get a hold of anyone.

July 25th - sent at 6:17am CST

I recently received a package from you that I never ordered.  I don't even want to open the package and I just want to send it right back to you.  (Here at this point I inform them of the package number on the box).  Please refund the $97.88 you took from my account last week.  I also noticed you took out $97.88 last month and I never received anything from you.  I will now be contacting the bank to block any further transactions from your company.  Please cancel all future business transactions.  It's funny when you look online at your reputation, and it's not a very good one.  Auravie is in all sorts of rip-off reports.  This is not a way of doing honest business.

If that # above doesn't help, my address is (here I give both my wife's name and our address).  Please refund all of my money right now ($97.88 from both this month and last) or I will report you to the state attorney general and the federal trade commission.  I am sending the package back through the mail to you today.

P.S. my husband maintains a blog and is on Twitter, and we both have Facebook accounts with lots of friends, and if this is not corrected immediately, he will be advising everyone he knows not to do business with you.

To top it off, I also created the following videos, which can be viewed on YouTube:

Then, I also created these two videos regarding both my mailing of the package, on July 25th, and my final rant for the day.

On August 3rd, a week and a half later, we still have not seen any refunds from AuraVie.  So, I found their e-mail address (once again, we tried calling with no success) and I sent the following e-mail:

Dear "Support"

Last week, on July 25th, I shipped a package back to you that I
didn't order. I did not sign up for recurring shipments of your
products, thereby you've also been charging me $97.88 in June and
July. I demand that you pay us back for the shipment that I just
sent back to you. It was unopened. My husband is an accomplished
blogger and has made a video of it, which he will put on YouTube
absolutely trashing your business practices if our money is not
refunded. For the June shipment, we never recieved it so unless you
can provide proof that it was, we demand a refund of that $97.88 as
well.

Get this taken care of today. If it isn't, I will also be in touch
with the MN Attorney General's Office.

I contated you also on July 25th to notify you that this package was
coming. Did I get any response from you? No. What business does
that, ignores people?

Contact us and get this taken care of. Today.
I hereby state to everyone not to do business with AuraVie.  This has nothing to do with their products and if their products even work.  This is in regards to their absolutely poor customer service and rip-off business practices.

Let me repeat: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH AURAVIE!

Was I unclear?  If you don't believe me, type in the company's name on Google.  The first entry is their website.  What's below that: complaints and ripoffs.  Avoid them!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Temporarily cutting back

As you may have known, I've been regularily posting every weekday for the past few months.  Since the publication of my ebook, I've been working back on my thriller novel--for updates on this, please see my other blog Views From The Outhouse.

I have been ramping up on my thriller so much that I've found that I'm not doing this blog justice by posting everyday.  I will be temporarily cutting back to 2-3 days a week, unless I feel compelled to delve into a topic that I just need to get out.

If you wish to help with this, and know of any topics you'd like me to cover here, please let me know by commenting below or e-mailing me at phazerpub@yahoo.com

How to gain knowledge without having to go to a classroom

While I was growing up, if you wanted to take on a field of study, for the most part you had to go to school.

At least, that's what I thought.  How wrong I was!

Earl Nightingale once said that if you spend fifteen minutes a day reading up on your current field of study, in just a few years you will become an expert.  This type of learning requires a commitment to learn something every single day, for . . . fifteen minutes.

What are you interested in learning about?

The field of knowledge is practically endless, and you shouldn't have any excuse for not doing so.  When I was growing up, I went to the local library at least once a week.  And today, with the advent of the internet, anything can be researched.

Listen to your favorite podcast every single day.

Read a few blog posts--ones that stimulate your mind, not fill your head full of garbage and mindless banter.

Take the time to do it.

 You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Graduate school doesn't guarantee anyone a job. Do it for the right reasons.

I have a bachelor's degree from Bemidji State University.  Although I have a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology, the degree itself doesn't guarantee me a job.

Neither does graduate school.  In the news lately, more and more graduates are finding themselves disappointed that the supposed truth of graduate school guaranteeing them a job is all a myth.

There have been times when I've thought about going back to graduate school, but two things have held me back: first, I didn't have the money to do it, and I certainly wasn't going to take on more student loan debt; second, I didn't have a good enough reason to go to graduate school.  I've always wanted to be a writer, but having a Masters in Creative Writing never would've guaranteed me that my book would be published.  The only way I could control that is plain hard work over time.

There's nothing wrong with education, learning to expand your current knowledge base, and also nothing wrong with going to graduate school.  But do it for the right reasons.

What topics would you like to see covered here?

I'm keeping this post short, as I would like to see some reader feedback on what topics you'd like to see covered here.  It can either be new ones or expanding old ones.

You can either comment on this blog post or e-mail me at phazerpub@yahoo.com

Psst! You can buy stuff on eBay or Craigslist too!

In all the excitement about selling on eBay, I forgot the flipside to that: buying.

If you're in need of something, shop around and don't forget about eBay or Craigslist.

Be careful.

Not everyone on these websites are legit.  Review their online ratings, and make sure you understand all of the fees involved.  Years ago, I was looking at buying computers on eBay and I noticed someone was selling them for $.99.  Holy cow!  Here's the kicker: the shipping was around $200.  Ouch!

Read the fine print.

Shop around.

Part 2 of the free annual credit report

As I posted previously on the free annual credit report (https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index) let's say you don't to do all three at once.

There is an alternative.

Do a different one every four months.

Want to get extra creative, if you're married?

Do one for you, do another company for your wife.  Alternate these credit bureaus every four months.

How to "really" get your free credit report

How does one really get a free credit report?

You've seen the advertisements, gone on the popular site, only to discover that it's not really free.

The website is https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index

This is the site that will give you your free credit report, from each of three reporting credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion), once every 12 months.

Fuel for your brain

In a previous blog, I spelled out that I don't carpool.  Here's why:

I don't listen to a radio while driving.  I drive about 20 miles to work every weekday, which means I have roughly 40-45 minutes of time alone in my car--when my wife isn't calling me and giving me a list of things to get at the store.

I use those 40-45 minutes to listen to various podcasts and audio products from motivational speakers.  Speakers such as Earl Nightingale are among the many I listen to, and I typically download Dave Ramsey's daily podcast and Dan Miller's weekly podcast.

I use it to fuel my brain with ideas for improving my life.

I then use that knowledge at my work and when I've gained upper managment positions at my company.

Decrease the amount of junk mail

Annoyed by the amount of junk mail that floods into your home?

It's easy to almost eliminate it all.

Click on the OptOut Prescreen and follow the instructions.

Want a deal? Take Axel Rose's advice.

If you're looking for something in particular, try not to look desperate to the salesperson.

If you look eager to buy, your chances of landing a deal is slim.

Instead, take Axel Rose's advice (for those who don't know, he's the lead singer for Guns N' Roses)--"Need a little patience."

Official website under construction

Last week, I bit the bullet.

No, I didn't literally bite a bullet.  I'm certainly not that skilled.

What I did do is start my official website: Mark S. R. Peterson

It's under construction right now, and might be for a little while as I learn more about it.  I'll let everyone when I officially open.

Do you need a rider mower?

Need a rider mower?

If your budget is on a shoestring, consider yard sales or even paying cash for one at the end of the summer season.  Deals can be had, even like the previous post regarding a push mower.

Nobody ever needs a rider mower though.  I push mowed my lawn for years before I acquired my rider mower--my parents gave me their old one, which was an even better deal for me (and them, I suppose, as it was just sitting in their garage.)

A revolutionary way to mow the lawn

Living on a shoestring budget and need to mow the lawn?

Buy a push mower.

Look for a good used one at a yard sale, if you can't afford to buy a new one at a store.

A good way to acquire a new one is to buy one at the end of the summer season.  Stores will typicaly discount these items way down just so that they don't have to hang on to the inventory until next year.

Also, offer to pay cash for a discount.  You'd be surprised at what kind of deal you can get.

The 10% discount - part 2

In the previous post, we talked about asking for the 10% discount in lieu of signing up for the in-store credit card.

You may ask, "Why wouldn't I just sign up and then cancel the card as soon as I get it?"

The answer: because if most people did that, there wouldn't be such a credit card epidemic right now, with more and more people living beyond their income and purchasing them on credit.

You may just keep the card and never use it.

Read the fine print.  They may charge you a hefty annual fee just for signing up.

Hmmm . . . some 10% discount, huh?

Get that 10% discount

Ever been to a store where the clerk asks you if you'd wish to sign up for a store credit card?  And, if you do so, you'll get 10% off today's purchase?

Tell them no to the credit card but that you'll take the 10% discount.

Ask to speak to a manager if they won't.

The in-store credit card is a gimmick to lure you into to buy more, to make more money by charging you a ridiculous interest rate on the credit card.

Ask.

You'd be surprised at how many of the times they'll give it to you.

Because they have no reason not to.

Keeping up with your parents' lifestyle

When did this generation (I'm speaking to the 20,30, and 40 year olds) not realize how long it took their parents to achieve what they've achieved?  This generation I'm referring to looks at their parents and seems to want the big house, the fancy cars, the jet skis, the four-wheelers, and the vacation home RIGHT NOW.  Not ten or fifteen years down the road.  NOW!

Don't settle for the lifestyle your parents have right now.

Sure, it's easy to go into debt and have all of this fancy stuff.  But debt is a crutch that will keep you from achieving the level of success you are capable of.

Work hard, save, and start out small.

Remember the fable The Tortoise and the Hare?  Who won?

Marry your best friend

During my freshman year of college, I took an introductory sociology class. Weirdly enough, I only remember one piece of advice he ever gave: marry your best friend.

Now, some of you guys out there may look over at your best buddy and think this is absolutely absurd--and for obvious reasons (present company, included). But let me expand on what he taught, and then you'll understand.

When one looks for their soulmate--the one they want to spend the rest of their life with--you should look for someone who is like your best friend. Someone who knows all of your secrets and dreams, and who's been with you for better or worse.

With today being Valentine's Day, honor your most loved one and do something creative.

Do you remember when you first started dating?

What brought you together?

Do something both creative and unexpected. Write a poem, with something like:

Roses are red

Daisies are white

I've always loved you

For all days, to the rest of my life

Okay, it's a little cheesey, but I didn't want to do the old standard of roses are red and violets are blue bit.

What you'll find here

What you'll find in this premiere blog of Mr. Shoestring are ways to stretch your dollars further, how to live within a budget, and even some short-term money-making tips.

Many of the blogs here are from my personal experience.

Enjoy!