I think that the Yamaha FG-402 is a great beginner acoustic guitar.  As with any musical instrument, I would always suggest that you play the instrument in person to get a good "feel" for the sound and other qualities of the instrument to see if they suit your needs.I got this guitar back in 1997 or 1998, and it is a sturdy, well-made guitar that has stood the test of time. ...

My husband has astigmatism, and has always had trouble finding contacts that work well for him.  Over the past couple of months, he has really put these contacts to the test, and they seem to be doing well. My husband is physically active.  He likes to work out at the gym and bike ride.  These contacts have been compatible with both activities - they hold up well despite the swea...

I wish that someone had told me about this earlier!  We are big fans of rechargeable batteries, especially with a toddler.  We had been using a AA and AAA battery charger, but it has been acting up recently - the batteries have been getting really hot.  I had some Best Buy gift cards, and went to work on finding a replacement.    On the Best Buy website, I ordered the U...

When we moved into our new house, we went from an apartment with a full dining room to an open kitchen with no formal dining room.  Our hand-me-down table was worn out, and it was way too big for the new place (it took up so much space it was difficult to walk between rooms).  With a baby on the way, we were looking for a new table and chairs with the following qualities:1. Affordable...

Last month, I reviewed TD Waterhouse and noted their lack of knowledge and customer service.  This month, I wanted to write a review about the better choice, at least for me!I opened up a Roth IRA with Vanguard after reading a lot on the internet and various financial magazines.  Vanguard is known for its low-fee funds, and was personally recommended to me from a person I trust. ...

We have 2 water turtles in a 30 gallon aquarium.  If you're familiar with turtles at all, you know that they are really effective at dirtying up the water.  Without a good filter system, you can expect to clean your tank every 1-2 weeks unless you want your entire living area to smell like garbage.My husband has always had turtles, and has even hatched them from eggs.  When w...

After we began digitizing our home movies, it became apparent that our 100GB hard drive was not going to cut it.  We also have a large music and photo collection, so I decided to start looking into options for backing them up.  There were some factors that we considered when picking out a hard drive:1.  We wanted an external drive.  With two laptops (one being a Mac), the co...

We got these headphones for free through the Pepsi Points promotion program, and I think that they are pretty nice. In fact, we just ordered a second pair so that both my husband and I can use them at the same time.When looking for headphones, we wanted something that was affordable (free is always a big plus), comfortable, and we wanted to be able to listen to a wide range of music.  Thes...

I had never heard of the Kettler brand until my husband contacted me wanting to know if he should get a used tricycle from his company classifieds.  I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about spending $50 on a used bike, but now I am glad we did.Kettler is a German company that makes solid products, including bicycles, toys, and exercise equipment.  This tricycle was made to ...

Many years ago, I had a job in college that offered a 401k.  I took advantage of it, and when I quit I had about $600 in the account.  I became a customer of TD Waterhouse (at the time there were no account minimums), and rolled it over into (what I thought was) a rollover account.  After I saw the transfer had been made, I filled out the paperwork to subsequently transfer the mo...

If you are looking for a simple baby monitor, I would suggest checking out the Fisher Price Sounds 'n' Lights monitor.  Here are some things that we considered when purchasing a baby monitor:1.  We live in a smaller house.  Our son's room is next to ours, and he spent his first months in our room.  The purpose of this baby monitor, for us, was to allow us to hear...

When I was a little girl, I used to have a doctor that worked out of his home.  I have the fondest memories of getting there early and being able to play with the life-size cardboard blocks.  When I saw them in our local craft store, I grabbed one of our 50% off one item coupons (available at least once a month).  I was able to grab the 40 piece set for $15 - quite honestly, I wo...

Anything would have been better than the shed we inherited when we bought our house.  The old one was rusty, had a hole in the floor, and made a ton of noise when we opened it.  We wanted to replace the heap of metal with a plastic shed, and we were looking for something small.  So far, we are fairly happy with the Suncast B52 storage shed.This shed is not meant for everyone.&nbs...

I should say that I am not a big fan of bridemaids dresses.  In fact, I didn't have bridesmaids at my wedding because I wanted all of my friends to relax and have a good time.  That being said, I was a bridesmaid in a wedding, and she used David's Bridal separates for her bridesmaids.  I do like the convenience factor of using David's Bridal - I was in a different sta...

Last fall, our local Lowe's had a clearance sale in their home and garden department.  We had been wanting a simple bench for our backyard, and this fit the bill.  At 50% off, we figured it was probably a good deal.  It was in the box when we bought it, and there were a number of different benches available.  There was no indication that this particular bench may have pr...

We had a small (about 30 people) wedding at some log cabins in the woods.  It was not completely informal, but it was not the most formal of events, either.  Because we wanted to be able to pay for accommodations for immediate family, we looked to save money in other areas. One of the things we decided to do was print our own invitations.  At work, I had access to a really nice l...

My son received this Superman action figure as a gift for Christmas.  It is part of the DC Super Friends series, and cae with a collectable card and a "wall" that Superman can break.My son is only 2, so the card didn't do much for us (I am not even sure where it is).  The wall is also useless.  It takes an adult to assemble, and the pieces are too small.  I wou...

I use Microsoft Money 2003 to manage our finances.  Overall, it takes awhile to figure out, but is a good piece of software if you are willing to spend the time with it.I started using Quicken way back in 1999 - it came with the computer, but kept crashing for no reason.  I had a free offer to try Microsoft Money, and since it didn't crash the computer, I stuck with it.  I up...

Yes, I drive a car that is over 10 years old.  Does it feel that way?  Not at all.When we found out that we were expecting, we knew that the sportscar had to go.  It no longer went into reverse or 5th gear.  There was no heat, and I kept a huge container of oil in the back just so that I could keep it going.  There was also the issue of putting a car seat in bucket seat...

Sesame Place is located near Langhorne PA, which is about 30 minutes northeast of Philadephia.  If you have young kids who like Sesame Street, I would highly recommend checking this place out!Just to let you know the costs up front, we spent roughly $250 for one day (2 adults, one child 2 years of age).  This includes food at the park ($30), gift store items ($30), parking ($13), and ...