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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A Camping We Will Go!

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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Like Doc And The DeLorean

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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Real Life

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 Finally Received A Decent Site To Review

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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Television Is Boring

This part 4 of my 10 part 100 Comments Series. (Is that a difficult-to-read sentence or what?) The other parts can be found here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Comments 31 – 40

31. Medicated Money,
I love me some eBay, too. (BTW, there is something funky going on with your site… all of the info is at the bottom of the page. I’m using Firefox…)

If I get sick, will you take care of me,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

32. Merle Sneed,
HOLY COW!

Hoping you make it home safe,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

33. Mighty Bargain Hunter,
I hope that I make the round-up for next week. Pick me, pick me!

Green blogs rule,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

34. Money Blogger Podcast,
Your podcast rules! I love the interview set-up. (I need to learn how to record conversations so that I can do an interview or two.) Great, great stuff!

Jealous of the great interview skills,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

35. My Open Wallet,
Good one!

My wallet is open too,
NCN

This Comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

36. My Money Blog,
Thanks for the info. Right now I use TradeKing, and they charge 4.95 and have pretty decent service. I’ll look into this company though, if they stick around for a while.

I bet you get tons of Google hits when people search for “money blog”,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

37. Neville’s Financial Blog,
Besides Boston and Austin, where else might you go?

BTW, my blog is now over 1.5 years old, and you were the first person to leave me a comment,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

38. Personal Finance Advice,
I have Compulsive Blogging Disorder. My fingers twitch, my back hunches over, and I have a crushing need to check traffic stats. Who will save me?

Loving the PERSONAL finance advice,
NCN

This Comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

39. PF Blog,
I must admit, E-Loan is looking mighty inviting. I do hope they don’t pull a quick bait-and-switch and adjust rates downward rapidly. I’d stay away from CD’s for liquidity sake.

Your site is one of the originals, and one of the best,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

40. Punny Money,
I hate feeds altogether. (Except for awesome podcasts, of course!)

I always want to pronounce it “PUE-KNEE” Money,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

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100 Comments Series Part 4

After many auctions, much fee-payment, and a late night shipping party, I am happy to report that I cleared $466.14 in eBay profits in the last 2 weeks. Hopefully, this amount will push me towards my 20,000 dollar goal by 10-10-2006.

I will post my final numbers tomorrow morning, and I will have several updated charts for the NCN Network, as well.

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eBay Push Update

This is a continuation of my 100 Comments Series.

Initially, this project was going to take 1 day. But, I’ve decided to stretch it out over the weekend, so that my wife and kids will actually see me for a few minutes today.

Part 1 can be found here. Part 2 can be found here.

Comments 21 – 30

21. Free Money Finance,
Great idea for a contest! I wish that I had cool ideas like that!

Looking for my own free money,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series at No Credit Needed.

22. Frugal For Life,
I love the last suggestion. I always wonder how you are supposed to measure sticky stuff. I wonder if this will work with syrup or honey?

Keep it Fresh and Frugal,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

23. Healthy Wealthy and Wise
I’d never heard of this stuff. I’ll have to go to the store and look for it. Thanks for the heads-up.

I wish I were more Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed

24. How To Be Poor,
I’ll never forget my first job. I worked as a farm-hand on a blueberry farm. Those were the longest days in the history of my life. Talk about “watching the clock”! I think that every salaried employee should figure their hourly wage, so that they can get a good understanding of how much or how little they are making.

Your blog is green (but not as green as mine),
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series.

25. In Action
Stop buying so much stuff. You don’t need it.

I love your blog, but come on,
NCN

This comment is part of the 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

26. Irregular Payments,
WOW! That’s a detailed answer!

That’s a big RSS Button,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

27. It’s Just Money,
Georgia will win! I’m calling it, here and now.

Loving the College Picks,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at NO Credit Needed.

28. It’s Your Money, Money Musings,
I love ING, but am seriously thinking about moving to E-Loan… But, I don’t know if I can bring myself to do my banking with a company with “loan” in the title…

It is OUR money,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

29. Make Love, Not Debt,
You rocked a pager… and a sub 3000 dollar car. You’ve paid your debt to society… :>

Your blog is purple and PURPLE,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

30. MapGirl’s Fiscal Challenge,
When I was in high school, we had a girl who went to sleep in class, and this dude in class CUT OFF HER foot long pony tail. He got tossed out of school for a week, and I later heard that her DAD went looking for the dude! You DON’T mess with a girl’s hair!

I love a blog with personality,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

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100 Comments Series Part 3

I have a little eBay update to report:

I made another 215 dollars today, for a total of 458 dollars for this week! Yay! I have one more closet to clean, one more storage bin to go through, and several more auctions to list. Pressing forward towards 10-10-2006.

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A Little More eBay Goodness

This is part 2 of my 100 Comments Series. Part 1 can be found here.

Comments 11 – 20

11. Canadian Capitalist,
I applaud Ms. Langtry. It sounds as if she had a career she loved and a desire to leave a legacy. Bravo!

Keep up the Canadian Information,
NCN

This comment is part of my “100 Comments Series” over at No Credit Needed.

12. Consumerism Commentary,
I don’t know what I WILL buy, but I know what I WON’T be buying… Thanks for the list..

Keep up the Consumerism AND the Commentary,
NCN

This comment is part of my “100 Comments Series” over at No Credit Needed.

13. Crazy Money,
10 Percent, No Risk? Awesome!

Digging The Crazy,
NCN

This comment is part of my “100 Comments Series” over at No Credit Needed.

14. Debt Free,
I like this idea! I’ve even seen whole budgets arranged by prioritizing spending in this way.

Debt Free is the way to be,
NCN

This comment is part of my “100 Comments Series” over at No Credit Needed.

15. Debt Hater,
My wife would probably take my car over me…

Keep Hating That Debt,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

16. Debt Monster,
What IS that?

Pictures worth 1000 words,
NCN

This comment is part of my “100 Comments Series” over at No Credit Needed.

17. Everybody Loves Your Money,
I don’t play the lottery, but I wonder if one of our fellow pf bloggers won the thing, would they blog about it? Would they share would the rest of us? Would we ever hear from them again…?

Everybody Loves Your Blog,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

18. Fat Pitch,
Here is the letter I wish old WB would send me…

Dear NCN,
I just realized that you are my long-lost grandson. Enclosed, you will find 100 shares of each of my favorite stocks. Your blog rocks!
Your granddad,
WB

Swinging and Missing,
NCN

(This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series at No Credit Needed)

19. Financial Baby Steps,
Your uncle rules…

Keep Learning To Walk,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series at No Credit Needed.

20. Five Cent Nickel,
My wife went for a job about 11 years ago, and there were TWO different people using her SSN. Interestingly, here maiden name is also “Smith”.

Keep Picking Up Those Nickels,
NCN

This comment is part of my 100 Comments Series over at No Credit Needed.

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100 Comments Series Part 2