Valuable Resources

Moving With Kids

Moving is as hard for kids as it is for adults. By considering a move in three stages - before, during, and after - and thinking about your children's needs during each stage, you can make a big difference in how your kids feel about the move and how they adjust afterwards.

Official Change of Address Form

This section allows you to change your address information and then print your completed Change of Address form. In addition, you can use the entered information to print Address Change Notification Letters and mail them to family, friends, and business associates to let them know of your move.

Moving With Your Pets

If pets are a part of your family, remember that moving, whether down the block or across the country, is just as stressful for them as it is for you. However, this stress can be greatly reduced with good planning and the tips that you'll find here.

Packing Your Stuff A-Z

From air conditioners and artwork to big screen televisions and washing machines, learn from the experts how to get everything ready for the moving van.

After Your Move

Congratulations - you survived the big move! Now what? Here's a list of the most important items to attend to during the first week after your move.

U.S. Cost-of-Living Comparisons

Use an interactive cost-of-living comparison calculator to understand the effects of relocation on your dollar's buying power.

Currency Converter

Find today's rates for over 164 countries. This site includes historical tables, too.

Fast Area Code Look-Up

Need an area code for a city? Have an area code you don't recognize? This fast source helps with both.

US Postal Service Zip Code Directory

This site contains zip+4 codes for the United States. You can look up associated zip codes, and even file a change of address online.

Hiring a Contractor

Your home is your most valuable financial asset. That's why it's important to be cautious when you hire someone to work on it. Finding a competent and reliable contractor is the first step to a successful and satisfying home improvement project.

Better Homes and Gardens®

Whether you're fixing a clogged drain, building a deck, wiring that new addition, or adding landscape to your yard--we've got the site for you. Search from more than 1,000 home improvement tips that can save you time and money.

Kitchen & Bath Consumer Resources

Excellent online resource from the National Kitchen and Bath Association includes helpful planning checklists, a guide to understanding the remodeling process, and tips from the pros.

Toiletology 101

Hometime is the source for information on home improvement, remodeling, and home repair. Our website is divided into four main categories: Projects, Information, TV, and Store.

Home Improvement Tools

Whether you're planning an addition for a growing family or simply getting new storm windows, finding a competent and reliable contractor is the first step to a successful and satisfying home improvement project.

Popular Remodeling Projects: Cost vs. Value

Updating and remodeling kitchens and baths will add the most value to your home. In some instances, these projects could possibly return more than 100% of the cost if the home is sold within a year. Here are the highlights from Remodeling Magazine's special report.

The Old House Web Guide

This site has expert advise on several home owner projects. It will even help you find a contractor in your area. It has an online magazine you can sign-up for and receive at no charge.

The information provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will help you with all of your tax questions. This site provides homeowners what expenses they can and cannot deduct. Residential Rental Property (Publ 527) helps you with dilemmas by discusses rental income and expenses, and explains how to report them on your return. Moving Expenses (Publ 521) explains the deduction of certain expenses of because you changed job locations or started a new job do to a move. Selling Your Home (Publ 523) explains the tax rules that apply when you sell your main home. Tax Information for First-Time Homeowners (Publ 530) provides tax information for first-time homeowners including how you treat items such as settlement and closing costs, real estate taxes, home mortgage interest, and repairs.

Files will be viewed as downloadable PDF files.

1031 Exchanges

Exchanging can sometimes involve complicated legal and tax issues. And, the failure to comply with applicable Like-Kind Exchange Regulations can jeopardize the potential tax deferred status of your transaction.

Government Links

Government links to dependable consumer health information.

Harvard Library of Congress

A catalog using Library of Congress classification. It has several links to worldwide sites for medicine.

National Library of Medicine

Free Access to a variety of databases, maintained by the National Library of Medicine, such as MEDLINE, AIDLINE AND HEALTHSTAR.

Web MD

This site providing services that help physicians, consumers, health care providers and health plans understand the complexity of the healthcare system and research questions they have about medical problems.

Sites to Help Identify Health Fraud

These sites will help identify how fraud may occur by both the educated medical experts and the common person with unsupported advice.
http://www.fraud.org
http://www.quackwatch.com

Consumer Action Handbook

The Consumer Action Handbook is a free resource guide that provides general information on shopping for goods and services and tips about your consumer rights.

The Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau provides instant access to business and consumer alerts as well as many other helpful resources. You can even file your complaint online. This web site is provided by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., and the BBB system of over 150 Bureau's located throughout the United States and Canada.


Kelley Blue Book

Kelley Blue Book...don't buy or sell a car without checking out this invaluable guide. Learn your car's trade-in and resale value, get free new car pricing reports with specs, photos, invoice and more.

Consumer Line

Consumer Line is the online service of the Office of Consumer and Business Education of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. It offers the full text of approximately 150 consumer publications on a wide range of categories.

AARP Consumer Protection

Frauds, scams and common mistakes are something you can avoid if you have the right information. Protect yourself and your loved ones with important information about all the latest scams out there.

Gardening Basics

Sometimes even a professional gardener needs a little help now and then. HGTV.com's Gardening Basics are designed to help both novice and experienced gardeners with detailed, step-by-step instructions for a wide variety of gardening activities.

National Gardening

This site provides articles, gardening tips, and a Q&A section for all your needs. You can find how-to projects and check out regional reports.

Growing Herbs

Look here to find advice on growing herbs and explore the rich uses of herbs, from cooking to crafts, aromatherapy to natural cosmetics.

The Rosarian

A site devoted to roses and the gardeners who cultivate them. The Rosarian features articles, images and forums to discuss with others this aroma pastime.

Gardening Advice

This site has a wealth of information for anything you would like to grow. From vegetables and herbs to flowers and fruit.

Your Elected Representatives

Find your federal, state and local representatives and learn how to contact them.

ATM Locator

Enter your location anywhere in the world to get a street map of the three ATM's closest you.

The Stain Solution

The Stain Detective represents 50 years of practical, clinical and scientific investigation into what stains are made of, how they occur, and what the best procedures are to remove them. Our experts have assembled a vast wealth of data, knowledge, and information into this simple online program that lets you request a solution to your own specific stain, and delivers expert advice tailored to you.

Several Sources to Locate People

We have provided several sites to allow you to locate friend, relative and others. Search the sites for our favorites.
Switchboard Assistance to locate your friends.
Locate by phone, name, etc.
People locating resources.

Weather Links

Weather Anywhere in the World
National Weather Association

Create Slide Shows with Sound

Turn your photos using a music library and the Mslide Wizard, you can build and broadcast a streaming slideshow in minutes. It's easy, fast, fun and FREE!

Build Photo albums

The following sites provide ways for sharing photos with family, photo storage, album creation and ideas for buying prints and gifts.
www.shutterfly.com
www.picturesnow.com
www.snapfish.com

Star Chefs

A culinary dream come true for gourmet cooks, foodies and the curious. Secret ingredients, anecdotes, tips, and recipes from famous chefs and cookbook authors.

Epicurious Food: For People Who Eat

Access such fine publications as "Gourmet" and "Bon Appetite" or check out their extensive "Drinking" index with over 700 libations.

Cooking With Kids For Dummies

This site contains excerpts, additional tips and recipes, fun & games, links to other kids' cooking sites plus "The Peppered Leopard Kids" area.

Calorie Control Council

If you're looking for information on cutting calories and fat in your diet, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, or your favorite low-calorie, reduced-fat foods and beverages (and the ingredients that make them possible)....you've come to the right place!

Pandora

Pandora is a music discovery service that allows you to enter an artist or song and then matches other music which you can then give a thumbs up or thumbs down to create your own streaming station.

Spotify

Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs. Save playlists, share with your friends and discover new music.

Junk Mail Filters

Most e-mail programs have filtering tools to weed out spam. But they are often difficult to set up. The following programs have thousands of filters already created to rid yourself of those unwanted emails.
www.spamfighter.com/SPAMfighter/small.asp

Cookie Crumblers

Cookies are files deposited on your computer - often without your knowledge. They are used to track your movement across the Web. Most experts advise removing them from time to time.
www.kburra.com

Password Protection

Security experts advise the use of several passwords on different web sites. However, most use the same passwords on all sites. Here are two sites that manage the passwords for you.
www.dashlane.com
www.lastpass.com

Privacy Web Sites

One of the emerging issues on the Internet involves our privacy. Here are several sites that can assist with those issues and lodging complaints.
Privacy Information
Privacy Rights
www.anonymizer.com