Better Business Bureau for Charities

Hardly a day goes by without a call or direct mail piece from a charitable organization wanting money. All sound like worthy causes, but how can you really know if your money is being put to good use? The answer is to check out the Better Business Bureau, which has a list of charities and a variety of information that you can use to determine if you’d like to support the cause. Not only can you learn more about the organization, its services and history, but you can see what percentage of monies are used towards the cause, and whether or not it meets the BBB’s Standards of Charity Accountability. The BBB offers a resource library with information on make the most of your charity giving and if you’ve had a problem with a charity you can file a complaint.


To learn more, visit the Better Business Bureau’s Charity information.

Your News, Your Way with Topicfire

If you’re a news junkie wanting up-to-the-minute news on your favorite topics, you need to check out Topicfire. While your regular RSS feeds provide you with current news, Topicfire delivers news in real time.

Simply choose the topics you want current news on:

Then check the news! You’ll hear a little bleep, each time your news feed is updated. Or subscribe to your topic-feed’s Twitter or Facebook feeds.

A Bathroom When You Need One

It happens to everyone. You’re traveling in parts unknown, when someone in the car needs a bathroom. Looking at the car window you see only trees or fields; no sign of a bathroom. But now you have help. Over at SitorSquat.com you can enter a location and find the nearest public bathroom. It even offers bathroom updates (open or closed) and ratings – sit or squat.

If you don’t have a network on the road, you can get the mobile app for iPhone/iTouch, Blackberry, and android phones. Or you can send an SMS text message “sitorsquat” to DOTCOM (368266).

For those who love public bathrooms, there is even a community filled mostly with bathroom humor.

Discounts on the Best Stuff to Do, See, Eat, and Buy in your City

One of the best ways to get a discount is to buy in bulk. With that idea in mind, Groupon has created a site in which people can get big discounts by buying in a group. The best part is that Groupon finds the deals and puts together the group. When members see a deal they want to take advantage of, they “buy” in. If enough people indicate they want in as well, members are billed and sent a Groupon. Business are guaranteed a minimum of customers while the customers get a great deal. Its a win-win.

The types of deals you’ll find vary and include things like $20 for $50 worth of groceries, $20 for a $40 meal at a restaurant, and $45 for $100 worth of apparel.

The downside is that Groupon is only available in 52 major cities throughout the U.S. If you don’t live near a major city, you’re out of luck. However, Groupon does take suggestions and indicates that it will target cities that it receives the most inquiries about.

To learn more, visit Groupon

Journal In Secret with Penzu

Journaling is a great way to express thoughts, feelings, concerns, worries, anger…and all those other things that you want to get out but don’t want others to see. The problem is that journal books and blogging aren’t necessarily secure. But Penzu offers a free web-based journaling option that is safe and secure from prying eyes.

Entries made with Penzu are automatically saved and kept private. If you’d like to share your entry with others, you have the option to do that as well. Penzu allows you to add pictures and works with Flickr as well.

A paid version offers even greater security, journal customization, and the ability to past-date entries.

To learn more or to start journaling, visit Penzu.