I do a fair amount of password assistance at my job and I've noticed that people tend to use obvious passwords that are quite easy to guess. I see people using the password "password" – sometimes they jazz it up with a zero instead of an o – and I also see them using a series of stars. There is also the ever popular 123321 and its variations.

If you're trying to read an article at a free site that requires registration having a weak password isn't that big a deal. But if you have a weak password and use the same password for your banking you could be in very big trouble.

Which brings me to my next concern. It's human nature to use the same password at a multitude of sites. But this can lead to trouble. There are tons of apps that access your accounts at sites like Twitter. When you give the app permission to access your account you're assuming whoever wrote the app has the ability and inclination to guard your password. Maybe everyone on Twitter is suddenly using an app that counts how many times they use the letter q and comparing their scores. It's fun to jump on the bandwagon but do you know that your password will be secure? It's definitely something to think about.

I received an interesting email today, which pointed me to the following link. http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1978 The link leads to a press release from the California Dept. of Justice - Office of the Attorney General and is regarding a multimillion dollar suit against a woman who runs ads on television offering to assist taxpayers in reducing their amount owed to the IRS.

The release states "SACRAMENTO - Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today filed a $34 million lawsuit against television's "Tax Lady Roni Deutch" for orchestrating a "heartless scheme" that swindled thousands of people facing serious and expensive tax collection problems with the IRS.

"Tax Lady Roni Deutch is engaged in a heartless scheme that swindled people with tax problems," Brown said. "She promises to significantly reduce their IRS tax debts, but instead preys on their vulnerability, taking large up-front payments but providing little or no help in lowering their tax bills.""

The press release says that Ms. Deutch's ads features false testimonials that state her clients have saved significant amounts of money while in reality these clients have saved no money and have had to pay Ms. Deutch's fees, in addition to the IRS fees and penalties added while the clients waited for resolution.

If you or anyone you know were thinking about using this woman's services I strongly suggest you read the press release. I found it very disturbing.

Cancelling credit cards can be a tricky thing. Just paying off a balance can make your credit score go down, which doesn't make a lot of sense but then I don't make the rules. Closing an account can also be a little nervous making, especially today when credit is so tight. What if you have an emergency and you need those cards to pay for something completely unexpected? Not to mention closing an account can make your credit score go down, so if you pay off a big balance and close the account your score can drop dramatically.

All of this doesn't mean you shouldn't close your accounts, but it does mean you should time it carefully. If you have a big purchase coming up — car, house, etc — you should see if you can wait to close the accounts until after the purchase is completely finished. By this I don't mean get prequalified for your home then close the accounts as your credit score will most likely be pulled again right before closing (a new rule that is part of reg reform if I recall correctly) but wait until you have the keys and are walking away from either the car lot or the closing table.

You should be eligible for a yearly free credit report. You might want to pull this a couple of months after you close your accounts to make sure that the closing was reported for the proper reason. You definitely don't want your credit report to say your account was closed for a negative reason. If you find inaccurate information follow the directions that come with the credit report and let them know about the discrepancy.

I was intrigued to read that Coastal Federal Credit Union is implementing a new fee structure. Starting last Sunday their overdraft fee will be one penny! It's a bit hard to believe that with some banks charging 80 dollars for overdraft fees that a financial institution would lower their charge to essentially nothing, but it's true. I've also heard that other credit unions will be following suit. If you're still on the fence about joining a credit union this type of news might sway you.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if leftovers are still safe to eat. I tend to err on the side of caution and not want to eat anything that is more than two days old. But I've known people who were willing to eat a slice of pizza that had been in the couch for a week, once they dusted the spare change off.

Here's a good link from the USDA with advice on how old is too old.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news/NR_082405_01/index.asp

I was listening to the radio some time ago and was shocked to hear how cheap folic acid, the synthetic form of folate, is. It costs less than a dollar per pregnancy to supply enough folic acid to prevent neural tube defects; which are serious problems like spinal bifida. While prenatal vitamins should have folic acid some women, especially those who have been dieting, may start their pregnancies with an inadequate supply and be trying to play catch-up throughout their entire pregnancy. Therefore women who are considering pregnancy should make sure they get plenty of folate before they become pregnant.

For more information, including a list of foods high in folate, visit this page. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp

The FDA sent out a tweet today warning about eggs that are being recalled. There are several distributors affected, which are sent out nationwide. The eggs may carry salmonella, which you absolutely do not want to get. For details check the following link. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm222501.htm

Here's an interesting article from the MSN site. It gives some intriguing statistics about the effects of changing your roof to a lighter shade and explains how it saves on electric and damage to the earth.

A 2004 report that looked at more than 25 articles about the cooling energy used by buildings with cool roofs found the energy savings ranged from 2% to more than 40%; the average savings was about 20%.

and

"A worldwide installation of white roofs on low-sloped and colored roofs on sloped roofs in hot and temperate cities of the world will offset the emissions of all the cars in the world for the next 10 to 12 years," Akbari says.

My oldest son repainted his ex-roommate's roof, who keeps it silver to cut down on electric use. He said it took less than five gallons of paint and wasn't that much work. Something to look into?

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=24053715&page=1&GT1...

I hate to bring up such an unpleasant subject, but bedbugs can be a real problem and can be expensive to get rid of. The EPA has a nice FAQ with suggestions of what to do and what not to do. Many of the tips can be done on your own, which is nice as exterminators can be expensive.

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/bed-bugs-faq-fs.html

This Saturday you can trade your gas mower in for a big discount on an awesome battery powered mower if you live in Maryland.

"The Great Maryland Lawn Mower Exchange SATURDAY, AUGUST 14: Up to 66% off select Neuton electric lawn mowers.

Turn in your gas-hog mower and get a huge discount on a cutting-edge electric model from Neuton. It's The Great Maryland Lawn Mower Exchange!"

http://www.cleanairpartners.net/