Be Brave Not Safe

Remember, sharks need to earn a living too.

As a result, there are many “schemes” and “programs” that will be brought to the marketplace for sharks to take our money, even though we might actually be able to acquire the services for free.

Let’s get high-tech (again) by going wireless, the old fashioned way!

Ever considered what one of the first wireless service offerings was, which is still available today?

The answer: Television broadcasting.

Did you know that MANY channels broadcast over the airways – for FREE! And, they are broadcasting the same high-quality digital signal that we can choose to pay for from a cable provider?

Make no mistake, cable is going to die, as it should. Subscribers are unplugging in droves as people are acknowledging the reality that they can obtain programming via other (much less expensive) means. In a prior post I covered my family’s experience cutting this cord, many moons ago. And, we have survived quite well 🙂

If you’d like to determine how many and which channels you can receive for free, over the air, go to: www.antennapoint.com. Simply plug in your zip code and voila!

Identity theft / fraud protection

Another hot topic these days…

As you may know, there are companies that will offer identity theft and fraud protection services, for a fee. Here is what I’ve learned, and done…

First, what is one of the most scary forms of identity theft? Someone taking a loan out in our good name, that we are “expected” to pay back. Ouch.

Did you know that we can stop this activity dead in its tracks for next to nothing? All we need to do is contact the 3 credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and follow their simple instructions to put a FREEZE on our credit report. To learn more, or get started, simply click on each of the 3 credit bureau names provided above.

Once setup, if/when anyone attempts taking out a line of credit in our good name it is immediately refused.

And, they offer a simple method that we can use to quickly / temporarily “thaw” our credit report, if/when we were seeking to establish a new line of credit – for real.

In closing, why pay $100+ per month for air (I mean cable) when digital signals are being broadcast over the air for free? And, why pay $100-$200+ per year for a 3rd party to “monitor” our identity (i.e., watching for new lines of credit being established in our name) when we can stop that activity dead in its tracks (“almost” for free)?

Rest assured, there are other things that we can choose to pay for, if we are too lazy to seek out the “for free” alternative. Sharks realize this and feed heartily.

All the best!