Plan on getting into an accident soon?

None of us plan on getting into an accident. "I'm a safe driver," we pat ourselves on the back, warding off any thoughts of something that could potentially go wrong. None of us plan on getting sick; "It'll never happen to me," we insist, touting how well we take care of ourselves. The problem is, no matter how safe we think we are, there are other people out there that can influence whether or not we get into an accident, and sometimes, there is no amount of healthy eating that can keep you from, say, having a stroke.

This brings us to a topic few people want to think about - life insurance.

Advantage Term Life can help you save money on insurance, especially if you have a family. If you want to make sure your children are taken care of - or your spouse, or your cat, or what have you - after something happens to you, you need to have insurance. That's unfortunately the way the world works, now - if misfortune befalls us, those that we love most have to pick up the slack and take care of what we did wrong. If you have a family, you need to consider getting family insurance - now.

Thankfully, places like Advantage Term Life have quoting insurance services, a way that you can get a quote online to see if it would be better than what you have now - or better than nothing, if you haven't gotten insurance yet. People don't like to think about things like this - especially in America. It's difficult to contemplate that anything bad could possibly happen to us in a society where we shun the concept of death and illness (How many times have you said "passed away" or "he's left us for a better place" instead of simply saying "he died"?), a society where we demand our "birthright" of receiving everything we want and wanting more after that. Unfortunately, this is not the golden society we profess it to be, and people do get injured, people do fall ill and people die. Taking care of your loved ones is the best legacy you can leave behind.

It can happen to you - plan ahead.

Well now I just want to go to France.

I hadn't really realized that France was... well... so PRETTY! When you imagine France, what comes to mind? I sort of start having thoughts about really long, skinny bread, black berets and snooty accents. Honestly though, I've been looking into France and its culture and honestly... the countryside is breathtaking. And I found out a little about how you can get a hotel in Paris. As in, near the Eiffel Tower. As in staring out your window at it. Tell me that isn't cool.

Did you know about Paris Fashion Week? Displaying all of the finest wares in Paris, one of the hotspots of culture and fashion? Paris apparently has some of the best shopping in the world. (See: Yves Saint Laurent , who makes sensational handbags... ^_^) There are museums, wineries and fine dining - but hey, anybody that thinks of France can immediately pick up "Hey, there is fantastic food in France!" You can stay in Paris for pretty cheap too. Hotels in Paris can be as little as 72 euros a night. That's pretty darn good for PARIS, FRANCE, people - as in, romance capital of the world. Bring your man (or woman), and be prepared to cry (or get down on one knee, depending on your role in the relationship).

They have some *amazing* beaches, too, and also some neat little markets. The Nouvelles Galleries is apparently the French version of a shopping mall - several floors of stores and galleries. Please, stop and wipe the drool off of your keyboard. Seriously - Paris. France. Go. For the love of God, we all need to go to France and spend money on delicious handbags, fine French cuisine, and hotels in Paris where we can see the Eiffel Tower.

In case you couldn't tell, that was a hint. (C'mon... you know you want to take me to France... Please?)

Do you want to make your website pretty?

Not everyone has friends like I do, who will shortly be making my blog pretty. (Hint hint, LG.) There's a Computer Consultant company called Langtech that can prettify your blog. It reportedly can also do some pretty nifty things if you have a business - which seems to be what the target audience of Langtech is in the first place.

Langtech can make your blog pretty (HTML, MSQYL, PERL, CGI, Apache, SQL, Oracle, and a whole bunch more anagrams are listed on their site). It can also help you plan how to use the internet to your business' advantage – they claim to be able to develop specifics and plans for putting your ideas on search engines, technical specifications, and existing applications into your appearance on the World Wide Web.

I'm not sure if anyone reads this that actually needs a computer consulting company, or if anyone wants a Real Professional Awesome-looking Layout, but Langtech seems to be an interesting option for business owners looking to expand onto the web. It's based out of New Jersey - so you know that they're good!

Auctions!

Well, since no one suggested anything that they wanted to see, we're going to move right into our semi-regular "What the heck is that?" product session. I recently came across this auction site - it's called "Bid4Prizes." I know, I know, it seems like it's just one of those things you read about in your junk mail, but it does seem interesting. According to the website, you can get free gifts by bidding on items. You can only do it if you live in the U.S. or District of Columbia but somehow I don't think too many international readers are on this blog anyway!

There are several ways to enter the Sweepstake. You can do it by text message, but really, who wants to pay for something on the internet when you aren't even sure about it? You can also just go to the website and log in there. There are two different types of registration - paid and free. (If I sign up, I'm going for free.) You get points for signing people up, and then you get to bid on things. You put in a FAKE BID - please keep in mind that the numbers you're slinging around are FAKE. You don't pay what you "bid." You can win by getting the "lowest unique bid" - that means that if six people enter, and they bid $2.50, $2.50, $2.75, $2.75, $5.00, and $6.00 but you bid $3.26, yours will be the winner, as it's the lowest number that no one copied.

Supposedly you can also win a cash prize, but from what I've seen it's an either/or scenario - you can win a car OR a cash prize.

I'm not too sure about this - it sounds unreal. And the catch?

You have to pay taxes on all items that require it, like if you were winning it on a game show. Which isn't too bad in the long scheme of things, but it's still somewhat scary. On the whole, though, the website's easy to use, and if it's for real, it looks pretty fun, especially since the prizes involve things like iPods, Wiis (yes, really), designer bags...

Everything your little college heart might desire. Might be fun. Let me know if you sign up.

Advantage Auto Quotes

Advantage Auto Quotes has some services that I wasn't aware of - they can help you get insurance for your car if you're buying a new car, if you have a bad record, or if you have a really, really old, antique vehicle. It doesn't matter if you have a terrible driving record - though obviously your insurance will be less expensive if you haven't smashed into a few mailboxes. You'll have higher rates, of course, but they even give you tips on how to improve your driving record and how to lower your insurance when you do get some.

If you get a new car, you might be interested in what's called "Gap Coverage" for a new vehicle. Gap coverage is for when you buy a new car - say you get into an accident right after you buy it. Unfortunate timing, of course, but what can you do? If you have gap coverage, it will help keep you from losing the new car right after you get it in case of an accident. It might be extra, but who knows what might be lurking on the way home from the dealership? What would happen if a freak accident occurred, and you hadn't filed for gap coverage? That computer that mysteriously flew through your windshield would still be sitting in the front seat, and you would be out of a car. It will probably be more expensive to set up gap coverage with your dealership - hence why Advantage can give you, well, an advantage.

Advantage also covers classic cars. You might not get insurance for your prized baseball collection, but classic cars could be considered quite a bit more valuable than that - and thusly, you might want to consider insuring those babies. Advantage Auto Quotes gives you a lower-costing option than most insurance - since most people keep their antique cars in their garages and maintain them personally, the policy that requires you to keep the car from getting too many miles on it would be perfect. It's a lower cost - but even if you do drive your car around town, they've got an option for you there, as well.

Checking around the Advantage site gave me all sorts of good ideas, tips and tricks about improving my driving record - and we all know that the average person could use a little boost in their record. It's worth checking out!