How to Avoid the Perils of Plumbing

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy pxhere

Everyone thinks that electricity is the zenith of modern society.  While the electric light is one of the greatest inventions of all time, of equal or greater importance would have to have been the invention of indoor plumbing.  I mean you might not like it, but you can survive for a few days when the lights go out if you have to.  Take it from a Floridian where the occasional hurricane blacks out entire neighborhoods for days on end.  But if the water were to stop flowing, now that would be a catastrophe.   Without water to drink, bathe in or flush the commode, the lack of every other modern convenience would quickly pale by comparison.  What's almost as bad is when a pipe bursts or a sink or a toilet backs up.  That's when most of us are forced to bite the bullet to call in a plumber, and we all know how expensive that can be.  To help keep your home dry and your family happy, I thought I'd take a few minutes to show you ten things you can do to avoid having a plumbing crisis.

Can Thieves Steal Your Home?

 By Catherine Philips

Image courtesy pxhere

Unless you live in a tiny house or a mobile home, most homeowners don't believe it's possible for thieves to steal their home.  But what some people are learning the hard way is that crooks don't have to rent a tractor trailer to haul away their domicile.  All they have to do is go down to city hall and get a copy of their deed.  Then they're off to the races.  Called house stealing, this crime is one of the fastest growing and most lucrative ripoffs around.  Below I'll show you how this crime works, how it can cost you your home, and what you can do to thwart the thieves.

Don't Fall for These Text Message Scams

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy pxhere

Texting used to be a useful and efficient method of communication.  It allowed us to interface with friends, send birthday greetings, and enable us to interact with others without having to step outside to take a call. But now thieves, con men, and hackers are using this medium to make many people's lives miserable.  Known as smishing, text message scams are on the rise.  Before you wind up succumbing to one of these con games, here are ten things you need to know.

10 Things to Know Before You Rent an RV

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy pxhere

Summer is right around the corner.  Soon the school year will be over and now that the Covid pandemic has wound down for the time being, many of you are itching to go on vacation.  While jetting off to some exotic destination is always a possibility, if you're sick and tired of being treated like a felon every time you board a plane, perhaps you're looking to rent an RV to hit the road.  RV's have certainly gotten popular and with good reason.  RV's not only come in many shapes and sizes, they allow you to choose where you go and how long you stay at any given destination.   Instead of having to go through the time and trouble of booking a hotel and renting a car when you take a trip, an RV combines the best of both worlds in one package.  However, before you run down to your local RV rental agency there are a few things you need to know.

The Keys to Buying Your First Car

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

There are many hallmarks of adulthood that define the rest of our lives.  I clearly remember my first day of work as clearly as my first apartment that came soon after.  But the single biggest event that caused me the most thought, effort, and anxiety was purchasing my first car, which in my case was a Dodge Dart.  While the vehicle itself was nothing fancy, I fancied myself all grown up when I no longer had to borrow the family sedan every time I wanted to go somewhere.  I also got a quick lesson in economics once I realized that buying a car and owning a car were two different things.  Before you go through the trial by fire that I did after I drove off the used car lot with my rolling debt bomb, let me give you a bit of well-earned advice.

ChatGPT: Savior, Slanderer or Spy?

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

In the past couple of decades the public has seen the arrival of technology that isn't just game changing, it's revolutionized the way we live and work.  Some of these technologies have been beneficial, such as the amount of money saved in postage due to email and texting.  Some of these technologies like ransomware have been harmful.  And some, like autonomous vehicles and cryptocurrency have yet to be decided.  Yet none of the technologies that have come before offer the kinds of promise and perils of artificial intelligence.  To most of us the idea of AI brings to mind dystopian Sci-Fi flicks like 2001: A Space Odyssey where a conscious computer loses its electronic mind, or The Terminator that portends all out war between robots and humanity.  While entertaining, most people don't believe that either of these outcomes is likely to happen.  At least not for another hundred years or so.  Well, I'm here to tell you that a taste of a future where artificially intelligent machines have a profound and sometimes troublesome effect on humankind has already arrived.  What I'm talking about is web-enabled, AI-powered chatbots that do much more than hold a lively conversation with users.  While several are in the beta testing phase, at least one, OpenAI's ChatGPT is not only readily available to the public, it has already created considerable controversy.

Is Your Bank a Bad Bet?

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

If high inflation and low interest rates weren't bad enough, now it turns out that some of the nation's financial institutions aren't as solvent as they had led us to believe.  At least, that's what the headlines read after two regional banks went belly up last month, sending many Americans into a panic.  While it's true that Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were closed by federal regulators, before you decide to pull all your money out of your bank only to hide it under the mattress, there are a few things you need to know.