Are Credit Union Personal Loans Better than Bank Loans? | My Debt ...

When you're looking for a personal loan, banks are usually the first option, but credit unions can provide better terms for their members. In fact, more and more people have switched to credit unions in the past years, and this trend seems set to continue, as there are a number of undeniable advantages.

Advantages of Credit Union Loans

Credit union personal loans for bad credit have better interest rates ? and that's the first thing to be said, and one of the most important aspects for people looking to borrow money. This is possible because credit unions are non-profit organizations. They still have to cover some costs, of course, but they're not trying to gain anything from administering their members' money, and therefore they can provide higher rates for deposits and lower rates for loans.

There are fees and commissions to be paid for each transaction, but they are lower than those paid at a bank, on average by about one third. Since these fees add up on the long term, this is also a major issue to be considered when taking a loan.

Also, credit unions often provide better access to financing, even for people with a low credit score. Banks have hard limits and rules in place, and it's very unlikely that they will take their time to understand your particular situation and make an exception for your case ? even when there are reasonable grounds for an exception. Credit unions, on the other hand, have a more flexible approach to this issue, and the staff is often willing to listen to your point of view, and to work with you in order to find the best solution for your current situation.

Advantages of Bank Loans

It may seem like a credit union is always a better option, but that's not entirely true. A lot depends on which union you selected, and on your general relationship with the institution. The first problem with credit union loans is the lack of options: typically, a bank has dozens of different products, but a credit union rarely provides more than one type of each of the major unsecured loans (mortgage, auto, and personal). If flexibility is important to you, this could be a serious drawback. Also, for certain amounts, you may still get a better deal from a bank.

Another problem is the lack of accessibility: banks have hundreds of branches everywhere, there's almost always one within 20 minutes of your location. Also, they have online portals, where you can check your balance, send inquiries, or make payments ? so they're accessible at all times. Credit unions do not have a lot of locations, and are rarely available online, so you have to plan your payments accordingly, which means you will waste a lot of time in the process.

On the issue of services provided, banks and credit unions are tied: banks have more experience and more staff available, so they may be able to help you quicker. Credit unions, on the other hand, offer a more personalized experience, and are often able to understand your individual situation better, since they deal with people in the same category as you.?

Source: http://www.mydebtreliefplan.com/2012/12/are-credit-union-personal-loans-better.html

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Source: http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/hero-cop-jumps-into-frigid-waters-to-rescue-woman-31397242.html

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Christmas Activities Grandparents can do with Grandkids | Richly ...

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The weeks leading up to Christmas are a busy time. Parents are trying to get Christmas shopping done, the house decorated and Christmas dinner planned.

Getting ready to travel or receiving overnight guests often figure into the picture. Grandparents can play a valuable role in doing things with their grandkids that afford valuable sharing and also free the parents up to get their pre-Christmas activities completed.

The following are some grand-parenting activities. I?m sure they will also trigger more ideas for sharing this special time with your grandchildren.

1. Give the Gift of Reading

Share holiday story books with your grandkids through bedtime reading, shared reading and/or a trip to the bookstore or library. There are lots of classic stories worth reading to and with your grandkids. See the resources list for my favorites. If your grandkids live a distance from you, why not do a Skype bedtime story every night in December? Or, send kids audio books you have taped and the book to go with it. Don?t forget to use a special sound each time your grandchild is to turn the page. You can also use a Hallmark recordable book. Record the book before sending it off, or let the grandchild record it. A lasting record of those childish voices is a great gift for all. As my Christmas gift to you, click on the URL below to save as much as 50% on your Hallmark recordable book!

2. Give the Gift of Home Baking

Baking with grandkids is a priceless experience for both grandparents and grandchildren. Many valuable skills are learned in the kitchen. Home baked goods also make great gifts for grandkids to give their parents, teachers, friends, and neighbors. See the RMC article Christmas Baking with Your Grandkids for field-tested recipes!

3. Create Christmas Clothes

If you are a sewer, why not create doll clothes or simple clothes for your grandkids. You can have them help pin patterns, cut material, pin pieces together or even sew seams. You and your grandchild can pink around pieces of Christmas cloth to put in tins before filling them with Christmas goodies.

If you are not a sewer, why not shop online or at a retail center for a Christmas outfit to wear for opening presents Christmas morning or to pre-Christmas parties and concerts or Christmas dinner. Don?t forget those Christmas morning photographs! Kids of all ages love Christmas pajamas are extra cozy. Give them early! If you live a distance you can order Christmas pajamas or clothes online and have them sent directly to the grandkids. Receiving a package is always a thrill.

4. Go on a Christmas Outing

Whether it is a shopping trip, breakfast with Santa, a Christmas Parade, seeing a Christmas play, a mall visit to see Santa, a sleigh ride, a hayride and apple cider, or a visit to a seniors? home to drop off home baked goodies, these are priceless memories. There are lots of Christmas opportunities in your community.

5. Create a Family Photo Album

Work with your grandkids to select photos from your albums and take some new ones. Use the photos to make a surprise album or calendar for kids to give their parents. Lots of great discussion about vintage photos will arise from browsing through albums. If you are good with home graphics program, create your own photo pages. If not visit Blacks, Walgreens, CVS, Staples, Wal-Mart or any other store with a photo department. Staff will be very helpful.

Online sources are also available. A good inexpensive one is Snapfish.

6. Teach the Gift of Giving

There?s no time like the holiday season for a lesson about sharing with others. If your grandchildren live close to you, you can take them to pick out toys to donate to children in need. Your family can adopt a family and shop for them at Christmas. Contact seniors? centers, Salvation Army the food bank, a homeless shelter, soup kitchen or a local church group for details about how you can help.

If your grandchildren do not live close by, you could make a donation in their names to a charitable organization such as: SPCA; Toys for Tots; World Wildlife Federation; World Disaster Relief Fund; Salvation Army;

7. Christmas is for the Birds

Christmas is also a wonderful time to remember the birds that share our planet. Why not create a winter feeding station with your grandchildren or decorate a tree with birdie snacks. Then you can sit inside with binoculars and a bird book and identify your guests together!?

If your grandkids live a distance from you, you can send them bird feeding supplies and a bird book for their backyard. A good source is Wild Birds Unlimited and here?s a coupon to save $5 on your purchase. Merry Christmas.
http://coupons.answers.com/Wild-Birds-Unlimited-coupons

8. Make a Christmas Memory.

Christmas ornaments that you make with your grandkids will become lasting mementos of the time you spend together long after you are gone. Craft books have lots of ideas. Here are a few:

Yarn angels are wonderful keepsakes. Get step-by-step instructions:
http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2011/12/yarn-angels-loads-of-pics.html

Snowflakes
Make Stunning six-pointed snowflakes for your tree following these simple instructions.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-6-Pointed-Paper-Snowflakes/

Gingerbread Men
Make gingerbread men tree ornaments from scratch with your grandkids.
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1710,152183-255192,00.html

9. Make Snowflake Mobiles

Follow the directions below for creating six-sided snowflakes. If your folding skills are a little weak, you can print a folding paper pattern at: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1710,152183-255192,00.html
Hang them from such shapes as a coat hanger or a ring suspended from a light fixture or a ceiling tile. These make great Christmas decorations for a child?s bedroom. If your grandkids are too young to fold these, they can cut the one you fold and open them! Use various interesting paper and colors for your snowflake mobile.

Directions for folding: http://scrapbooking.about.com/library/weekly/blsnowflakes2.htm

10. Create a holiday poem or story or card.

Another great child-made gift is a poem or story or card created especially for someone. If you?re a long-distance grandparent, you can mail or email your poem to faraway family members.
Work with your grandkids to create photo cards at: http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/fe/photo-cards/christmas-cards
Great resources for creating picture books with your grandkids are available at:
http://www.darcypattison.com/picture-books/30-days-to-a-stronger-picture-book/
These step-by-step instructions will help the two of you create a wonderful picture book!
Great ideas for helping kids write poetry are available at: http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/tips-howtos/help-child-write-poem-30317.html?

11. Sing, Sing a Christmas Song!

It?s fun to sing Christmas carols and songs with the grandkids. Many of these are becoming a lost art with TV, video games and computers filling kids? time.

I went to a Christmas concert last night and almost no one?except the seniors?in the audience knew the words to traditional Christmas carols and songs until someone put the words on a screen.

Rekindle the Christmas tradition of singing Christmas songs. If you need background accompaniment, CDs are available for a karaoke-type experience. If you live a distance from your grandkids, how about having a Skype sing-along? A great source is: http://www.the-north-pole.com/carols/index.htm

12. Keep Your Family?s Christmas Traditions alive!

Every family has Christmas traditions whether they realize it or not. These are simply things you?ve always done at Christmas like: a special food that is always served; a Church service or a play or movie or concert you always attend; decorating the tree; carol singing; Christmas breakfast; gift opening; Christmas cookie baking; a sleigh ride; ice skating; an open house; volunteering to serve Christmas dinner; inviting someone from the community to share Christmas dinner? Celebrate these Christmas traditions with your grandkids.

If your family doesn?t realize they have a special Christmas tradition, maybe it is time come up with an idea and start one this holiday season!

13. Christmas Movies

Whether you go to a movie theater or watch one of the wonderful Christmas movies together, this is priceless grand parenting time. Make hot cocoa, pop some popcorn and get comfy! You can buy, rent or borrow great Christmas DVDs from the local library. See Resources for Suggestions!

14. Decorate Christmas Stockings

You and your grandkids can decorate Christmas stockings for each member of their family or for a seniors? home or neighbor.

I buy stockings from the Dollar Store. Get sticky foam Christmas shapes, glitter glue pens?to decorate them.

Take your grandchild shopping or buy ahead for stocking stuffers.

15. Create a Cr?che

Look at manger scenes in books and in the community. Work together with your grandkids to create a manger scene using play dough or clay or Plasticine.

Do you have Christmas activities you share with your children or grandchildren? We?d love to hear from you!

?

Christmas Books

A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens
A Wish to be a Christmas Tree. Colleen Monroe
Eloise at Christmas Time. Kay Thompson
Frosty the Snowman. Golden Book
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Dr. Seuss
Mr. Willoughby?s Christmas Tree. Robert Barry
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Dennis Shealy
Santa Mouse. Michael Brown
Snowmen at Night. Caralyn Buehner
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Barbara Robinson
The Christmas Bus. Melody Carlson
The Christmas Sweater. Glenn Beck
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. L. Frank Baum
The Secret of St. Nicholas. Ellen Nibali
The Truth about Santa: Wormholes, Robots and what really happens on Christmas Eve. Gregory Mone
?Twas the Night before Christmas. Clement Clark Moore
Who is coming to Our House? Joseph Slate

Christmas Movies Kids Shouldn?t Miss!

A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Christmas Story (1963)
A Year without Santa Claus
Elf
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Frosty the Snowman
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Miracle on 34th Street
Home Alone
Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Polar Express
Disney?s A Christmas Carol

Be the change you'd like to see in the world. Gandhi - Always, Gail

Source: http://www.richlymiddleclass.com/christmas-activities-grandparents-grandkids/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=christmas-activities-grandparents-grandkids

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Eric Ladin Welcomes Son Maxfield David

The former Killing actor and his wife Katy welcomed their first child, son Maxfield David Ladin, on Friday, Dec. 21 in Los Angeles, his rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/5WHn9dY1OgU/

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Wordament, the first Xbox Live game from Microsoft, hits - and misses on - the iPhone

Microsoft has just released Wordament, their first XBox Live game for the iPhone. Wordament is really well regarded on Windows Phone, but the iPhone version is... disappointing, especially coming from one of the biggest, best software developers in the world, and one that owns its own mobile and gaming platforms.

Despite it being 3 months post-iPhone 5 launch, Wordament doesn't support the new 16:9 screen resolution, so it's letterboxed. The interface is also middling. For example, once you get past the intro screens, you're given a button to sign in with your Xbox Live credentials, but a text link to skip that step and play as guest.

I tried signing in with Xbox Live but it didn't work. (I typed in my login, it spun, gave me the sign-in button again, I tapped it again, then without asking me to sign in again, it just went back to the sign-in button. Over. And. Over. Again.)

If you skip it, like I did, you're then dumped into a screen filled with tiny text and no clear way to start your first game. After jabbing at some names on the board, that either did something, or wasted enough time for something automatic to happen. Either way, a game started with a countdown timer. Here interface elements are unnecessarily crowded together, the gameplay instructions butted against the un-labeled back button, the rotate button crammed between the board and what looks like an add for the game you're already playing (and when the banner goes away, simply crammed against the board and nothing.)

If you're screen turns off, or if you hit the Home button to exit, when you come back to Wordament you're inexplicably shown the Microsoft splash screen and the last page of the intro screens again, where again you're presented with the button/text link login/skip screen. If you had a game in progress, it looks like the timer is still at the same place, so that state is at least stored, but the cruft imposed to get there is flabbergasting.

It's as if multitasking was never introduced in iOS 4.

Maybe that only happens in guest mode but I have no way of knowing, as I'm not able to sign in.

Once a game ends you're shown another screen filled with tiny text and you can swipe around and tap to see words you missed. There's no Next button, however, and [when a tiny timer, lost amid a ton of other tiny text runs out] you're forcibly moved to the leaderboard again, and after a few seconds, you're suddenly playing again.

I might be missing something here. There might be some genius level interface and mechanics going on that I'm too dull to see, or are just impenetrable to me, but given the lack of iPhone 5 support and the ridiculous way Wordament resumes, I'm inclined to think Microsoft simply didn't do a very good job here.

It would be better to present obvious buttons saying "join next game" and "skip next game" so the user is in control of how they move through the app. What if it takes me longer to read all that tiny text? What if I want to play again but would prefer a few more moments to go through the jam-packed stats. What if all that text bothers me and I want to jump ahead to a clear staging area and just wait for the next game to start?

I get that it's real time and you're competing against other people. The idea is fine. The implementation is not good.

Which is odd since, again, the Windows Phone version is adored. And if Wordament really is that good on Windows Phone, Microsoft should have made it killer on iOS to show people how good apps can be on that platform, and entice them over.

In that regard, the real win here is Xbox Live making an appearance on iOS. Apple has Game Center, but it's exclusive to Apple, of course. There are third party gaming networks, but Xbox live has a massive following and being able to game against friends on other platforms will be a huge plus. If there's one ounce of redemption to be found in Wordament for iPhone, it's that.

Perhaps Microsoft will improve Wordament for iPhone with the next release, but frankly Letterpress, made by lone indie developer Loren Brichter, is so far beyond Wordament when it comes to interface and experience, I don't think many people will stick around to find out.

• Free - Download now

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/J4FBr4kAAxg/story01.htm

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Google not-so-subtly reveals Nexus 10 dock in holiday video

That "Happy Holidays from Android" video was adorable, wasn't it? Well if you weren't taken back by the Android meeting up with all of his bugdroid friends for a holiday get-together, you may have noticed a Nexus 10 being put in a dock on a desk. Alongside a Nexus 4 and a couple of Nexus 7's, the biggest Nexus was dropped right into this dock you see above to show off a Photo Sphere.

The Nexus 7 dock has come up for pre-order through 3rd party retailers in the last couple days. Your guess is as good as ours when the Nexus 10 dock could make an official retail appearance.

Grab another look at the video after the break. The Nexus 10 fun starts around 1:00 in, and you can see it again at 1:14.

Thanks, rfmike!

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/2Orhh4XuNU8/story01.htm

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Which foods can cause a hangover? | USA TODAY College

By Annabelle Breakey, Digital Vision

It?s not just alcohol that can give you a hangover headache.

When the Greatist team read this article in the Wall Street Journal announcing that certain types of chow can cause hangover-like headaches, we were scared.

Donning shades and avoiding loud noises after a night of New Year?s Eve toasting is one thing ? but paying the same price for putting away a plate of pigs in a blanket? Who knew it could happen?

Why It Matters

Besides alcohol, some of the edible culprits behind hangover headaches include cheese, processed meat, fish, and chocolate ? exactly the kind of fare we expect to find at holiday festivities.

The worst part is scientists aren?t even sure why these foods (or alcohol, for that matter) can cause headaches for some people. One possibility is that specific foods trigger a response in the immune system or the vascular system that leads to a headache. A potential offender is tyramine, a chemical found in foods including cheese, yogurt, liver, fish, chocolate, and of course, alcohol. Unfortunately, most of the research that cites tyramine as a potential cause of headaches is pretty old, so we can?t necessarily rely on it. More current research suggests that people taking certain types of antidepressants may be especially sensitive to foods containing tyramine.

Other possible causes of the non-alcohol hangover headache are nitrites, found in processed meat (read: mini hot dogs), and preservatives such as MSG, though it?s unclear if any of these substances can really cause headaches.

Is It Legit?

While researchers may be coming up with new theories to explain the food hangover, scientists have known for years that certain types of chow can trigger headaches and migraines. Of the more than 10 percent of adults who suffer from chronic migraines, about half already focus on changing their diet to avoid foods that can trigger a problem. Many health experts recommend keeping a food diary so it?s easier to see which foods are causing the problems (or if food is the issue at all).

And while people may have different headache triggers, scientists have discovered a few ways to prevent food hangovers. Sodium cromoglycate, for example, can help reduce allergic reactions; it comes in a pill that can be taken before eating the problem food.

If you think you might experience food hangover headaches, consider seeing an allergist or another health professional. And this New Year?s Eve, lay off the shots of cheese and chocolate.

Do you think certain foods might trigger headaches for you? Let us know in the comments below or tweet the author at @ShanaDLebowitz.

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Source: http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/campuslife/which-foods-can-cause-a-hangover

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