A few more months till the little guy is here, and I’m still searching for baby stuff.  I ran across a baby photo contest.  You can win $2,500 bucks for your uploading baby picture.  Of course I don’t have any pics yet so I sent in my sisters baby pictures.  If nothing else I got lots of information from various companies that appear to sponsor the contest and a free child safety kit.  Join the baby contest here.  Its amazing how much baby stuff is out there!!

I was browsing MSN today for some travel ideas, and on their front page was an article about the cruise vacation industry.  It was extremely interesting on how the cruise lines make money.  Bottom line is that they don’t make money without you spending money when on the cruise and the metrics for break even was stated to be 104% capacity.  What that means is that Cruise lines need you on the ship at all cost or no cost, and they need you to spend money when on the ship.  Its clearly a buyers market now if you want to take a cruise. I was on cruise directand the pricing is ridiculously low.  You can get a week for as low as $399.  Obviously you have to spend some money on board, but if you can budget properly, especially the overpriced alcaholic drinks, a cruise at this point can turn out to be a great deal.   Most entertainment is Free on board.  A friend also referred me to free cruise getaway at free cruise getaway.  He provided contact information and they called him about the deal, and he booked a free cruise to the bahamas.  He said that the he had to pay the taxes, and it was on Majesty Cruiselines, and only available to US residents.

Nautica just added a final sale section to thier website.  Great deals with 50-60% savings on items.  Take a look at Nautica deals

Today is Earth Day.  Its a day to inspire awareness and appreciation for the environment.  Everyday should be earth day, which was started in 1970.  To stick with the theme of earth day and trying to make everyday earth day, I recommend a “smart” Power Strip.  If you have not heard or seen one, they are gaining in popularity with many choices for consumers.   Your electronics, such as computer accessories, and TV accessories still draw current when they are off and not in use.  This idle current drawn can be stopped by unplugging your devices, but that’s simply not practical.  Smart Strips monitors power consumption and can sense power differences, knowing that if they are on or off.  The Smart Strip figures this out and will shut off the power eliminating idle current draw. The cost of a Smart power strip is about $30-$40.  I found a deal on one for $39 buck at savings headquarters.  It works great and I like this particular smart power strip because it has control for sensitivity.  They all claim that they pay for themselves in as little as six weeks.  I have not found this to be true, I put three in my house and noticed about $10 savings a month.  That means it will take me a slightly less then a year based on my loose estimates.  Still a good deal and more importantly, think about the reduction of power consumption world wide, if everyone was using them.  Check the Earth day smart power strip deal.   Happy Earth Day

Tax filling deadline is fast approaching for Canadians.  No need to panic just get online, e-file and get it done.  Theres several companies that you can go with or you can go pick up the tax software package at your local Staples store.  Online offerings are fantastic, easy and cheaper!!!  Both QuickTax and Turbo Tax are great options.   QuickTax and Turbo Tax offer quick e-file and returns within 9 days, both QuickTax and Turbo Tax offer Free editions for individuals with simple taxes, and both QuickTax and Turbo Tax let you prepare your taxes for free prior to paying.  I actually used both packages and ended up choosing with Turbo Tax.  It provided me with a greater tax return amount even with the slightly higher cost of Turbo Tax.   They both claim that they are the number one Tax software, so take your pick.  Check out QuickTax products here,  and/or  Turbo Tax here.