Localism: Alaska

Credit Card Consolidation | Credit Card Debt Loan | Credit Counseling

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:36:42 -0600

Debt Consolidation Loan

The typical debt consolidation loan is a type of unsecured personal loan where the only collateral that you have to offer the lender is yourself. Debt Consolidation loan shortly means, exchange of one loan for another. Debt Consolidation loan can be taken anytime if you feel you cannot afford your monthly payment. When you have several high interests debt you can consolidate it into one lower, fixed rate loan.

Debt Consolidation loans are various sorts of credit types that you are able to use in order to consolidate your debt. There are several different types of loans out there that will allow you to consolidate your debt in different sorts of ways. These ways include second mortgage debt consolidation loans, such as a home equity line of credit home loan, or cash out refinance debt consolidation loan, or even a credit card balance transfer is available to help consolidate debt that you have built up over a period of time.

There are several different types of debts out there that can be consolidated through debt consolidation loan in different sorts of ways. Debt Consolidation loan can be of two types Unsecured and Secured Debt Consolidation Loan. In unsecured debt consolidation loan they have higher interest rates as without collateral and a solid credit rating, the borrower is considered at high-risk. So consolidating this loan can give you low interest rate than you are paying rite now. Whereas in secured debt consolidation loan you can get low interest rates even with bad credit as the property is provided as collateral. These loan can be got easily as the creditor is at less risk. So its beneficial to both creditor and debtor. The added advantage would be, it will also improve your credit score as subsequent payments are made to pay off the new loan.

The type of debts which most people look to consolidate are bill debts. Nearly half of Americans are currently dealing with the devastating stress of unmanagable bills and unsure whether they'll be able to make ends meet each month. So Bills Consolidation Loan is solution to your bills debts problems. It would simply lower your monthly payments by applying one interest rate to the whole debt amount, which is generally lower than the collective rate as too many different payments mean different rates of interest.

There are special debt consolidation loans for student and military debts. Student Debt Consolidation Loan may be a great way to lower your interest rate and to allow you only one monthly payment to one lender. Another is Military Debt Consolidation Loan. These military debt consolidation loan programs will allow you to make monthly payments in a timely manner and will also allow you to take advantage of having an easy budget to maintain.

Get your Low Interest Debt Consolidation Loan for Free !!!

Debt consolidation is an excellent way to reduce the amount of outstanding bills that you needed to pay or even lower the interest rates of your current bills or perhaps even to get some tax relief from it. By utilizing debt consolidation you are capable of getting relief from your current budget. It will allow you to bring down your current monthly payments on your debt and to as a result have more cash available in order to spend on other things that you may need. Not only this, but some of the options available to you will also allow you to get some tax benefits in the process.

If you end up taking out another loan you need to make sure that you stick with it, or else you could very well end up going even further into debt and hurting yourself. To succeed you need to make certain that you change the spending habits and budgeting that got you into this situation. You also need to be careful not to empty out the assets of your home equity as you may need that cash in a pinch one day.

Following these simple steps can allow you to take advantage of debt consolidation and to be a step ahead of the game. Debt consolidation is designed to help those individuals that have piled on a fair bit of debt to relieve the burden of multiple bills and to allow them to focus on budgeting and managing their lives. Debt Consolidation can help anyone that is looking to get back on the path of financial freedom if they are able to have the wisdom to stick to it.

AEDC Announces Prospector.com

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:20:22 -0600

The Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) has announced the recent launch of it's new website, Prospector.com.

Businesses big and small, local and global are using the Internet to research business demographics, opportunities and potential locations. AEDC believes that Prospector.com will become one of the most powerful business recruitment tools ever developed in the State of Alaska .

AEDC has developed a website for businesses around the globe to access available commercial properties and specific business data for the Anchorage area. This comprehensive online tool allows the business community to access data regarding the dynamic business atmosphere in south-central Alaska .

Anchorage Prospector.com offers a "one-stop-shop" experience for businesses looking to move to or expand in the Anchorage area. The portal offers businesses information including business planning, economic data, infrastructure, demographics and geographic data.

Anchorage Prospector.com allows users to search for available commercial properties determined by their specified search criteria. The accompanying interactive maps not only displays the location of the property, but the streets and surrounding byways, beneficial transportation data (ie, railroad) as well as nearby educational facilities, parks and points of interest.

Prospector.com provides the user the opportunity to create reports based on their particular wants and needs. These analytic reports include information such as the area's demographics, consumer expenditures, business and workforce data and employee wages. In addition, reports can be created that will analyze an area's competition and/or business in the area which will compliment and support their business or product.

If you are a business owner or are considering opening a business in the Anchorage area, Anchorage Prospector.com is a business tool that will prove invaluable to you.

Northern Lights

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:40:59 -0600

As can be attested to by the photo's on the right side of my blog I'm somewhat of an amateur photographer. Over the years I have taken tens of thousands of photo's that now sit in steamer trunks, photo albums, are stored on CD's and online and even have a few stacked in shoe boxes waiting to be organized. I've found it's a great way to take my mind off work. Scotch also works well but that's another story.

Watch The magic of the aurora

Last week a friend emailed me to say that the northern lights were going to be active that night. After dinner I decided to drive around the lake to see if I could catch them in action. As it turns out they didn't make much of an appearance while I was out so I spent an hour shooting light pollution from several points around the lake.

As I'm driving along the river road I see a perfect photo op across the river to an open field. I stop the truck, get out and set up the tripod for the shot. Now, I'm doing this at about 10:15 at night with temps hovering around -15. 10:15 at night in Fairbanks in November isn't exactly bright. As a matter of fact it's downright dark as coal. I set the camera in place and turn around to turn the truck off and kill the lights.

I focus in on the shot and click the shutter button. In this level of darkness it takes about 3 minutes for the camera

to gather enough light for the photo. As I'm standing there I look across the river and see something moving. The cold must have been causing my brain juices to congeal because it took me a few minutes to even think bear despite seeing this sign go up recently.

Now, Mr. Bear is across the river from me... I think. All of a sudden I blink and he's headed my way in what appears to be a dead run. I stand there (more proof my brain was freezing) and wonder "...is he on this side of the river or not? No, he's too far... isn't he??" Realizing I can't really tell how close he is I grab the camera (still attached to the 6' tripod no less), open the door and step up on the running board only to end up flat on my a$$ looking up at the night sky. "Holy chit, get your fat ass up," I'm thinking. Covered in snow thanks to 5" of fresh powder that was still falling, I get up and jump up in the drivers seat just in time to see him top the bank of my side of the river.

Moral of the story... This ain’t called the Last Frontier for nothing. We live in their country and if you think you see a bear, don't ‘think’ about it too long or you'll be a midnight snack... Had I waited a day I could have taken these from my own yard. Gotta love life in Alaska.

Holiday Food Drive

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:13:49 -0600

There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies.
-- Sir Winston Churchill

My family and I are blessed. We have a roof over our heads, we have our health and we don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. At %*#@ pounds, heaven knows that I could certainly do with a few less trips to the kitchen. Like many, our cupboards and pantry are full. Open the doors at any given moment and you'll find a snack or meal sure to satisfy darn near any craving.

Sadly, many are not that fortunate. According to the US Department of Agriculture, more than 38 million Americans (15 million children) live in homes where there isn't enough to eat. Regardless of how they got to that point, it breaks my heart to think of anyone, but certainly a child, going hungry because there isn't anything in the house to eat.

Consider this your holiday call to arms. From now until Christmas We will be collecting non-perishable items to be donated to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank. Canned vegetables, soups, pre-packaged meals, rice, pasta, etc. are all welcome. The next time you go to the grocery store, pick up a few extra cans of vegetables or a box of pasta (or two) for the food bank. Open your pantry and bag up a few of those cans that have been sitting on the shelf. Hunters are encouraged to donate fresh game or items being rotated from the freezer.

Last year the Fairbanks Community Food Bank fed more than 30,000 people with 1.7 million pounds of donated food items. With folks are feeling the pinch of a slowing economy our help is needed now more than ever. We will have a collection box set up for you to drop items off at the office or we can arrange to pick your donations up. Carriage House Realty agents and staff have made an initial donation of 50lbs of food items and will match individual donations pound for pound. Last year we were able to donate almost 150 pounds of food. We hope to exceed that number this year... with your help we can.

For more information or to arrange a drop-off or pickup, please call 907-699-6024 or email jesse@the-spouses.com.

I would encourage all my fellow ActiveRain members to join me in organizing a food drive in your city. If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. -- Mother Teresa.

God Bless!

Community Councils, Get Involved Now !

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:38:08 -0600

Community Councils…Get Involved Or Don’t Complain.

We just had a presidential election in which about 60% of the registered voters in Alaska participated. Some people think that is a pretty good turnout, I think it’s pathetic. BUT, what people don’t think about is that local government actually has more effect on your everyday life.

It seems that the more local the government becomes, the less participation we see. In the Mat-Su Borough we generally have these levels of government: state, borough, city, community council. There are many opportunities to become involved at each level. Of those four, the community councils are the most local.

The amazing thing is that although everyone can be involved in their community council, the only people that show up are the activists that want to change the status quo. All the people that are happy with the way things are remain at home and complain when their world changes around them.

For example, in the Chickaloon Community Council area the minimum lot size is five acres. This was passed by the community council and now has the effect of law. If you had purchased 5 acres with the intent to subdivide a portion off for a family member you are now out of luck.

I believe that community councils are an excellent way to get residents involved in local government, but it needs community participation to function well. I attended the Lazy Mountain Community Council tonight. It was held at the Lazy Mountain Bible Church on Clark-Wolverine Road. At this meeting there was a sparse turnout, but Chairman Jim Sykes reported much better participation earlier in the year.

The Lazy Mountain Community Council has their own website here. On it they show the agenda and report on each meeting. This is an excellent way to keep the community informed. Here is a copy of their comprehensive: Lazy Mountain Comprehensive Plan, On their website I noticed a plan for the Wolverine Lake Trail Access. This trail may go right next to a fantastic lakefront property I am marketing.

Not only is it normal to have low community participation in the community councils, often the council will restrict who can vote. For example, I received a report today that the Meadow Lakes Community Council restricts voting members to residents of the area. So you could own a rental property in the area but not be allowed to vote. However, your renters will be able to vote to determine what you can do with the property they rent from you. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Here is the Meadow Lakes Comprehensive Plan. You will notice that it is over 300 pages, while the Lazy Mountain plan is 72 pages. If you live there, you might want to read it carefully.

I searched the web for other community council websites but only found a defunct site for the Butte Community Council. . If you want to know what is going on in your area you will need to dig. You can start with the Borough’s list of community councils here.

The final step for the community councils is some sort of zoning. Meadow Lakes Community Council is in the middle of that right now. The borough will eventually have zoning over all of it’s millions of acres of land. The question is, will you have a say in the rule changes, or will you let someone else make the rules for you?