The Savvy Boomer

Breaking up is hard to do

If you're a boomer, you'll remember Neil Sedaka's hit song from the 60's, "Breaking up is hard to do."  Neil was singing about relationships back then but the song can also be applied today to the world of phone, cell, internet, etc. contracts.

I'm sure you have tried to cancel a service that is billed on a monthly basis and even though you are reasonably certain that you have nothing more than a month to month commitment, that seems to cause nothing but problems.  The person you talk to at the service provider, has 1 goal when you call to cancel and that is to finish the call with you still being a paying customer.

View your tech purchases as subscriptions

As discussed in my last post, technology products will always be replaced by newer technology and consequently their value will drop quickly.  So tech products have no chance of ever increasing in value over the long term.  That makes the buying process difficult because there are so many unknowns when dealing with technology.  Consequently, whenever I buy a tech product, I go through the following exercise:

When is the right time to buy a technology product?

The question I am asked most about technology by my friends and associates is "Should I buy a (insert name of technological device here) or wait?  My response is usually, "Wait for what?"  The answer is always one of the following:

• Until it drops in price
• Until the bugs are worked out
• Until an updated technology is introduced.

Let's deal with the last one first. 

100 product review sites

If you are looking for products in the categories below, then check out this extensive listing of review sites at Inside CRM:

• Automobiles

• Books and Movies

• Food/Dining

• Electronics

• Apartments and Real Estate

• Entertainment and Lifestyle

• Clothing and Beauty

• Toys and Video Games

• Pharmaceuticals

• Colleges and Universities

• Travel

• Computers and Accessories

How to track down spam source if you use GMail

If you don't use GMail, you should.  It is easy and powerful beyond belief.  It used to be available by invitation only but it is now available to anyone.  I think it's funny that they still call it a "beta" or test because there are millions of users and it's been a couple of years since I have had a problem with it.  Just type gmail tips into any search engine and you'll get a good idea why it is so popular. 

I found this tip on the Digital Inspiration website.  If you've ever wondered how spammers get your address, this advice will assist you track down how they got it and better yet tells you how to route it directly to the Spam folder if Gmail isn't already doing it.

Sell your old gadgets.

If you're like me, when you buy a new digital camera, cell phone etc., you usually put the old one in the drawer because it's too much hassle to try and sell it and besides who knows what its' worth?

Now there is a service that will buy it from you.  It's called Second Rotation and it seems to be a fairly easy service to use, both on the website and getting your gadget shipped to them.

Thanks to Webware.

I no longer hate my headphones

I have a few sets of headphones  for listening to different types of music on different players (I told you I was a music nut) so I always seem to have a few tangled headphones lying around.

But no more!  This how-to video is so simple that it's amazing.

I think I may need to get this jacket as well if it guarantees I can dance like this

Websites help find pet friendly accommodation

Us boomers love our animals and we love to travel.  It's tough leaving your pet behind when you travel but it can be even tougher to find a place to stay that will take pets.  Petswelcome.com not only gives you over 25,000 listings but also travel tips and a forum for pet owners to exchange information.

Other sites include bringyourpet.com and letsgopets.com.