Surviving the Lean Times
Surviving the lean times
While the political sources may refuse to acknowledge it, we’re going into a recession
almost equal to the Great Depression. The only difference being that the social safety net
is better equipped this time to help those in need. This is also the best time to practice
frugality 101 and avoid the debt traps that got us into this dilemma in the first place.
Here are three key tips on how to survive the lean times and come out stronger on the other
side.
1. Budget - If you never develop a budget before, take a look at this article. Developing
a budget and sticking to it will not only keep you on the straight and narrow financially but
also provide you with a better view of what you can cut from your spending.
2. Cut out the non-essentials - In addition to the budget, the second important step to take is to reduce spending on non-essential items and services. Review your cell phone bill, do you use all your monthly minutes? If not, can you modified your plan to one with lower minutes? If you only use your cell phone on limited occassions, perhaps a pre-paid plan may be more economical. Review your cable subscription. Do you need really need both HBO and Showtime? If you only subscribe for a single show. Perhaps a DVD collection of the show would be a better way to watch the programming.
3. Negotiate - This is the best time to negotiate for better deals for products and services. If you usually carry a balance on your credit card. You can call your card provider to negotiate a better interest rate. The same applies for mortgages and personal loans, provided that you are on good terms with your bank. The recent FHA approved program for mortgage re-adjustment may help some homeowners who are currently stuck with adjustable rate mortgages.
While there may be no silver bullets to carry us through this tough economic times. The steps above will at least provide some of us with the right approach to survive this economic crisis.
APATHY’s GTAIV rip (and why this game WILL blow you away)
Enough can’t be said about Rockstar’s new addition to the GTA family, Grand Theft Auto IV. You’ve all heard about it. You’ve all read the reviews. Yeah, IGN.com gave the game a perfect 10 for their review (a first for any title on the 360).
GTAIV is handsdown the most powerful and engaging title for the Xbox 360 to date.
You get to play as Niko Bellic, a bad ass war vet immagrant from somewhere in Eastern Europe. Niko arrives in Liberty City in search of the American Dream (acquiring lots of money and women).
You get to work your way up from a nobody to a powerful crime figure in the city of crime. Did I already mention Niko is a bad ass?
As far as visuals go, textures are picture perfect, models are organic and fluid, landscapes and surroundings are breathtaking, and lighting is just incredible. As far as graphics go, GTAIV undoubtedly sets a high standard for the potential of all next gen games.
Liberty City, although smaller geographically than San Andreas, is simply breathtaking…
Many of you veteran GTA players will quickly realize that GTAIV loses a bit of the arcade feel of past titles and embraces a much more realistic edge of presentation.
You’ll quickly notice that the gameplay is much more quickly paced and that missions are not so go to point A and then B and then back to A. Also, much of the down/grinding time of the game has been removed, as missions are more locally based and require less long distance travel that many of us resented in San Andreas. Also, Rockstar added a mission retry feature if you fail a mission, so that you don’t have to spend time traveling to the mission start point again.
All in all, this game is one of the best I’ve played of any genre and on any system period.
Niko is one amazing man…
In it’s first week, GTAIV amassed over 500 million dollars- a clear example of h0w mainstream and influential the gaming industry has become (The Dark Knight has amassed 512 million dollars overall in 8 weeks).
APATHY’s rip works flawlessly and is available on both public and private trackers.
This game is a must have for any gaming library.
Links: ign
Release Name: Grand.Theft.Auto.IV.PROPER.NTSC.XBOX360-APATHY
Size: 1 DL DVD, 6.32 GB
Low Cost Blu-Ray Player Spotted at Wal-Mart
The Bluelight special
Blu-Ray players have finally hit below the $300 mark. This was spotted recently at a Walmart in NY. Maganovox, which isn’t too bad of a brand, is the maker of this particular model.
However, we would still recommend spending the extra benjamin and getting the PS3 instead. Not only will you have the cutting edge game player but you will also gain the only Blu-Ray player upgradable through software firmware updates.
Xbox 360 60GB already out at Target
Xbox 360 60GB SKU
Target, the venerable retailer who seems to have the inside track on most new video game skus, is at it again. What did we see in Target this Sunday but the new Xbox 360 with 60GB hard drive.
This SKU isn’t scheduled for release until August 4th. Apparently your local Target may have jumped the gun again. This was spotted in a NYC Target. You may be able to find the same SKU at your local Target. Comment below if you have similar success at other Targets.
However, with the $399 PS 3 80GB SKU coming online in Sept. Will this unit present a good value? On the positive side, with the original Pro package at $299, $50 extra gets you three times the storage capacity (20GB vs 60GB).
Here is what we wish to see from Microsoft on the Xbox front:
$249 Xbox Arcade Bundle
$275 Xbox Pro (20GB) Bundle
$300 Xbox Pro (60GB) Bundle
$350 Xbox Elite (120GB) Bundle
It would be nice to have a $400 Xbox with Blu-ray player bundle as well but then that would just be dreaming.
Free Tax Filing
There are two certainities in life - Death and Taxes. While we can’t do much for the first, we can certainly make the latter less taxing, no pun intended.
IRS FreeFile
Tax filing is the bane of every working man and woman’s existence. On one hand, filing taxes means that you have achieved a certain level of responsibilities in your life. On the other hand, it means that you’re mature enough for contribute a percentage to the greater good of civilized society.
However, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would like to help you with your tax filling. If fact, they want to provide you with the option to file your tax for free if you’re under certain salary thresholds. The program is called FreeFile. It is a voluntary program that the IRS administers but operated by the leading online tax preparation software companies.
The rules to qualify for the free filing program differs from company to company. However, IRS has a handy selector tool on their website that can help you choose a provider that may qualify you for free online tax filing. If you qualify, you can use the selected tax preparation service and e-file your tax for free. The quality of the software varies from one provider to another. So if you qualify. I would highly recommend you select a provider with a well known reputation such as TurboTax, H&R Block Taxcut, or TaxAct.
The TurboTax software, in particular, has been a winner year after year for its ease of use and assortment of helpful information provided in the program. See the website belows for further information on these programs.
http://www.irs.gov
http://www.taxfreedom.com
http://www.taxact.com
Mass Effect-PROTOCOL
Enough can’t be said about BioWare’s hit RPG for the 360, Mass Effect. The Edmonton-based developer earned its stripes back in 2003 with Knights of the Old Republic, based in the Star Wars galaxy. They decided to leave the Star Wars universe and create their own space opera- Mass Effect, the first title in a new trilogy, implements extensive free-roam game play coupled with a revamped live action squad-based combat system.
You control the actions of Commander Shepherd, an elite galactic Spectre, as you interact with with the universe’s complex alien races. Explore numerous planets and systems within the Mass Effect universe to defeat evil and save the human race.
As Commander Shepherd, you are the ultimate bad ass of the galaxy- you can choose throughout the story to good or a renegade.
Facial models and animations are simply amazing.
Mass Effect’s combat engine takes around an hour for you to get acclimated. Be prepared to save incessantly, while you’re still a noob.
PROTOCOL’s Mass Effect NTSC release for the 360 runs smoothly and flawlessly. Be aware; however, that you will need to get a rarfix for this torrent to get it to work.
Links: ign
Release Name: Mass_Effect_XBOX360-PROTOCOL
Size: 1 DL DVD, 5.86 GB
Xbox360 Bundle Is What You Need To Get Yourself Started
Naturally, you do not want spend all your money on the Xbox360 console itself. You want lot of additional extras along with the basic Xbox360 console. So, Xbox360 bundle is what you need to get yourself started.
Apart from the console, you also want, at the minimum, the controllers, the power supply and other accessories that Microsoft feels that you should have for the best gaming experience.
Xbox360 bundle comes with everthing that you need. It comes with the console, of course, extra controllers, a power supply and even some games. Some Xbox 360 bundles even come with extras that you can’t get unless you spend the little extra for the Xbox 360 bundle.
Look in The Internet
To find an Xbox360 bundle, do an internet search using your favorite search engine. Just type in what you’re looking for and you will likely find several sources trying to unload an Xbox bundle. Sites such as Ebay are great examples of places where you can find the ultimate Xbox 360 bundle. You can get great games, extra controllers and lots of extras that you can’t get if you just buy the Xbox 360 at the store. Think of how jealous your friends will be when you get the latest Xbox 360 bundle for the same price as they spent on the Xbox 360 console alone.
Do market research
Some people, when selling an Xbox360 bundle, will make you shell out a bigger price on their products because they know they are in such high demand. Your best bet is to shop around. Search for people who want to sell an Xbox 360 bundle but aren’t trying to take advantage of others by making the price so outrageous that nobody will pay for it. There are great deals on the latest Xbox 360 bundle, you just have to do your homework and search for them.
The Xbox bundle is the best way to set up your complete Xbox 360 entertainment system. There are so many different peripheral pieces of equipment that you can add to your Xbox 360 that you can make an Xbox bundle in any number of combinations. You should be able to find an Xbox bundle that suits your tastes that also fits within your budget.
I also did quite a bit of research and found that there is one place where you get a lot of things for your Xbox 360 at a great price. Check out Everything For Xbox360 where you get a lot of stuff at a great price.
In the coming weeks, I will also be reviewing various other places which will give you bargain deals.
Tags: xbox 360, xbox360, xbox360 bundle
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