This week, I’m away at church camp.  I’m actually the camp director - and things are going very well.  I’m pleased to report that all of the kids made it though the night, safe and sound, and we are looking forward to a good week.

Obviously, my blogging schedule will be affected, due to the fact that I’m away from home and away from my normal routine.  I want to thank those of you who continue to visit, and I encourage to check out the No Credit Needed Archives - a single-page list of every single article I’ve ever written, in chronological order!

Thank you for you patience while I’m away.  And, for those who do, feel free to pray for our camp.

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I’ve decided to go back to the future. I like the simple wordpress theme that I’ve been using for the past few days, but I missed my old-school bright green layout. I’ve changed a few things. (Please note the big, bad, green RSS Button! Click on it and you can subscribe to No Credit Needed.) I’ve been very, very bust over the past few weeks. For those of you looking for updates on the playhouse build, I’ve managed to install the door, two windows, and about half of the shingles. I’ve got some work to do in the morning, but tomorrow evening I’m going to do my very best to get the roof shingled, the last few pieces of siding nailed, and the majority of the trim work finished.

A quick thought or two about personal finance and the stresses with which must live. Even though I’ve been very, very busy, I’ve yet to worry about my personal finances. Why? Because, we are living on a budget, we have a plan, and we can focus on “life” and not on “money”.

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Dear Reader,

I usually reserve this space for articles about personal finance. Tonight, however, I would like to share with you the story of a young man who lives in our local community. His name is Steven and he was involved in an accident Thursday afternoon. He is currently in the hospital. It would be unfair to him and his family to disclose too many details, but the reality is that Steven’s situation can only be defined as “critical”. Steven is 13 years old. His mom is a member of our church. We live in a rather small county and Steven is well known and well thought of. He is a quiet, loving, unassuming kid. So, while I usually focus on personal finance, I wanted to share Steven’s story with you. For those of you who believe in prayer, I’d humbly ask that you say a prayer for Steven, his two sisters, and his parents. I have spent the better part of the last 2 days at the hospital, doing my best to help Steven’s family through this difficult period. Blogging, obviously, must take a backseat to “real life”. Again, if you believe in prayer, please say a prayer (or two) for Steven and his family.

In Christ and His Grace,

Jason (NCN)

(By the way, I’m still fiddling with the site design. I prefer a 3 column theme, but I cannot find one that I really, really like.)

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If you have a blog, you have probably signed up with Review Me. If not, here are the details. Review Me pays bloggers to review certain products and websites. Mostly, the sites that I’ve been asked to review are junk, and you would hate me for reviewing them. But, I’ve been asked to review SavingsAccounts.com. (In fact, not only have the ASKED me to review them, I getting paid mad cash to do so!) Back to the review: Savings Accounts is a sparse site which gives details about savings account rates.

Positives: Big, bold, easy-to-read rates

Negatives: Very few banks have actually been listed. It looks like they are just trying to generate press and clicks. Also, most of the articles are just AP News.

This is a new site. If you are looking for a savings account, you might want to check them out. (Personally, I’d suggest using my good friend over at Bank Deals. He does a MUCH better job!) Why did I review this site, and not some of the others I’ve been offered?

1. The other sites promoted credit or debt. Yuck!

2. This site isn’t promoting anything “harmful”. If you need a savings account, this site might actually help you to find one.

3. If I can get paid to review a harmless, potentially helpful site, I will.

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I grew up in a very rural area without cable television. When I was about 15 years old, my family purchased a satellite so that we could watch television. Prior to the satellite, we were able to receive three local networks. I used to really like to watch television. I like ESPN, the History Channel, HGTV, etc. Lately, however, I can’t really find anything worth watching. My wife and I will watch 24 and American Idol, but neither show is all that great. I have a month-to-month contract with Dish Network. I’m really thinking about getting rid of the satellite. My kids like the shows that come on Noggin and PBS, but we have plenty of DVDs that they enjoy watching. As an experiment, I’m going to try to go a few days without watching the television, and see how things go. We pay about $50 a month for satellite television and I’d love to put that money to better use. My wife enjoys Lifetime (the bane of my existence) but I think that she’d be just as happy without it. I’m sitting here right now and I literally cannot think of a single show that I’d like to watch.

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