These days, much of our lives are conducted online. So what happens to our photo archives, videos, Facebook pages, domain names, blogs, websites, Tweets, music libraries and the rest of it after we die? Policies vary from company to company regarding what is done with your account and who, if anyone, is allowed to access it. To make sure your accounts are not ultimately lost, deleted or accessed if you don’t want them to be, you need to plan ahead. Read more

The good news for consumers is that it’s much easier to shop for credit cards than it used to be. First, consider how you plan to use the card. Most cards fall into one of three categories: cash back, travel and low interest. If you pay your balance in full every month, you should consider a cash back card with a higher interest rate. If your goal is to rack up frequent flier miles, get a travel rewards card, and if you can’t pay your balance in full every month, shop for a card with the lowest possible interest rate.

While I haven’t found an objective review of credit card comparison sites, Read more

When was the last time you vacuumed under and behind your refrigerator? It’s amazing how much crud builds up back there, as I discovered while getting a start on my spring cleaning. As I scrubbed away, I began thinking about the origin of this annual ritual.

To find out more, I called Ernie Andrade, owner of Allbright Maintenance Services, a Diamond Certified company. He told me that the idea originated in China. The Chinese clean homes in anticipation of the New Year. A thorough cleaning eliminates bad luck and misfortune from the previous year. In Jewish custom, Passover, which comes around April, is a time of house cleaning as well. And when homes were heated with coal, Read more

Flea prevention and control are needed all year round in California for all animals, especially kittens and puppies. According to Dr. Kristina Hansson, a veterinarian with North Bay Animal Hospital, a Diamond Certified company, small animals are more at risk.  Dr. Hansson warns, “With the chronic ingestion of blood by the fleas, it can actually lead to anemia and stunted growth because the animal is not growing as fast as it normally would with the nutrient loss from the blood.”

Flea collars aren’t recommended for prevention. They often contain toxic chemicals that can irritate your pet’s skin, and they’re uncomfortable. Flea combs are useful to check whether your pet has fleas and whether your flea control is adequate, Read more

I love getting a good deal as much as anyone, so when an offer for 50 percent off a luxury manicure/pedicure floated into my email inbox recently, I couldn’t resist. Heck, I deserved a little pampering!

I called a couple days later. The owner was eager to schedule the appointment and emphasized getting there on time. When I showed up five minutes early, the salon was locked up tight. Ten minutes later, the manicurist dashed in, apologized and started setting up. That gave me time to observe the shop’s state of disrepair and neglect—empty display cases, cotton balls under couches, paintings askew. So far, the atmosphere was less than soothing.

When the owner finally arrived, Read more

Teenage drivers are at higher risk than other drivers. That’s why they’re required to take driver’s education, including behind the wheel training and they must be monitored and tested. Safety experts believe in involving parents from the beginning by inviting them to ride along for the driving lessons. They can see for themselves what and how the teen is learning, and this helps with continuity and consistency when the parents monitor practice sessions.

A good driving teacher shows parents not only how to communicate with their teens, but specifically explains what it means to be proactive in preventing automobile crashes. He shows them how not to overwhelm students by putting them beyond their skill level when practicing. Read more

This is useful consumer advice from CALPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group) that I want to share with you. They say we leave up to $5 billion on unused gift cards.

“It’s tough to beat the convenience of a gift-card, but consumers should be aware that about 2-5% of gift-cards end up going unused,” said Jon Fox, Consumer Advocate with CALPIRG. “In California that money stays with the retailers and is essentially a $5 billion gift from consumers every year.”

“Here in California, consumers have some of the toughest laws regulating gift-cards,” added Jon Fox. “For example, most gift cards are prohibited from having expiration dates or service fees,” noted Jon Fox, Read more