The Ethical Grifter's Amazon aStore - Grand Opening!

Today is the public Grand Opening of my Amazon aStore! I've been populating it with books and magazines that I'd recommend for reading, as well as the Amazon Kindle eBook reader.

Come check it out! It's a work-in-progress so it will be changing a bit within the next few weeks. One of the main pages that I want to add will be a "Deals of the Week" page where I'll have the best percentage-off deals that Amazon has for the week it's posted.

Come check out The Ethical Grifter's Amazon aStore today!

Video Time: Distraction Theft Techniques..Keep Your Guard Up!

It's been awhile since I've had a video up and with the warmer weather coming around I've been thinking of vacations...just as the targets in this video are on. Even though the video highlights these type of thefts being done while out of town, they're easily done in any public place so it's ok to carry with you a healthy level of paranoia.

The highlighted techniques in this video both show a leanining in technique that will invade your personal space for just a split second or so. This is hard to avoid in many situations, i.e. my sardine can packed subway ride to and from work every day, but these are those times where checking to make sure you have everything should be occurring a little more often than usual. Even if you don't catch the thief in the act, you'll know about the missing item sooner and can take preventative action against the thief running up the bills on any accounts you have.

And speaking of vacations, Travelocity is having a deal on Virgin America flight until the end of Friday this week. I've heard great things about the airline (bigger TV screens than JetBlue at each seat and mood lighting throughout the cabin of all things), so if you're planning a trip soon it might be worth checking out:
Why Drive When You Can Get One-Way Flights from $46+ w/ Virgin America! (Expires 4/25/08)

Don't want to be turned down for a credit card? Find one to match your FICO score

Nobody likes it when they apply for a credit card only to receive a letter in the mail a few weeks later stating that their application has been rejected. With the amount of junk credit sites that turn up with every web search engine it's difficult to know which cards are best suited for your FICO score and which ones you have the best chance of being accepted for.

Financeglobe.com has an excellent tool called Score Match that allows you to input your FICO score and select a score range (Your FICO score +/- 0 to 30 points). With that information they will search their databases and instantaneously show you which cards are the best choices within that score range.

Less credit inquiries equal a better credit score so make use of this tool to keep from getting those dreaded rejection letters

You don't know what your FICO score is? Get it straight from the source at the link below:

Thinking of starting a business? Here's some great How-To info!

If you're at this site there's a good chance that at least once you've considered starting and owning your own business. Whether it is a small home-based venture or a large corporation that you intend to have there are certain steps that need to be followed.

Our friends at CNNMoney.com were nice enough to create How To Build A Bulletproof Startup - a step-by-step guide on finally making that dream of your own business a reality. This guide mainly focuses on how to get your product idea to take off, but there are excellent tips that can be used for service-based business as well.

Be sure to check out some of the other links on CNNMoney.com's page. There is a lot of good, free information provided through that site.

Another great source of information is Entrepreneur Magazine. I have had a subscription to it for over a year now and each issue has new insights on how to make your business reach it's maximum potential. There is also much information concerning purchasing and owning a franchise-based business. I still don't have the funds to get into this yet, but it is interesting to stay on top of the trends. Also be sure to check out their site at entrepreneur.com for some more free insight to starting and running your own business.

Hopefully, with sources of information like these, it will give you the motivation to make your dreams of owning a business for yourself a reality.

Hot Deals on Amazon.com

Today's a nice, lazy (and rainy) Sunday. Perfect time to do some online deal hunting. Here are some of the best deals going on at Amazon.com right now, but hurry, most of these prices are expiring within the next few days!

First up is the Invicta Men's 10 Collection Watch #3280 It's only $34.99 (usually $125.00) and qualifies for Free Super Saver Shipping. That's 72% in savings...deal ends April 26th though!



Next is a Sterling Silver 3mm Round Cubic Zirconia Tennis Bracelet, 7.25" Priced at $23.99 it's a 60% savings in comparison to its normal price of $60. This deal expires at 2 am EST April 21st, so act quickly. Free Super Saver Shipping on this item as well




For those of you that don't already own it, or just need a new set, the Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc) is currently just $34.99 (50% savings, regularly $69.98). Expires April 29th and comes with Free Super Saver Shipping.



Also, they are also offering a deal where you can Buy one television DVD set, get one free From the ones I clicked on it looks like they all have the Free Super Saver Shipping. Expires April 21st though, so don't delay if there's something you want!

Get rid of junk mail and protect your identity! Part 3 - Telemarketers

Well, we've stopped receiving pre-approved credit offers and insurance offers in Part I and in Part II we stopped almost all of the other junk mail and catalogs, so what next? Part III of course...getting your name off of telemarketers lists.

Luckily, the government is on our side in the battle against telemarketers and has set up donotcall.gov as an easy way for us to take of either our home phone or cellphone (or both!) numbers off of the calling lists. The site looks awful (think mid 90's web design) and the registration for is probably the quickest one that I've ever filled out. That's the beauty of it, it's so basic that it takes no time at all to get done.....so no excuses!

After registering here, there is a 31 day period before the delisting of your number occurs, but after that you will be all set and those calls from the random salespeople that come in right when you're about to eat dinner will cease.

The Federal Trade Commission has a very thorough Frequently Asked Questions section on their page. It's worth checking out if you're interested in learning more about the history of the site and how it the Do Not Call list works.

Part III delayed....CVS & Ann Taylor coupons in the meantime

Sorry about the delay in the series, it seems that the site I was going to link to is down, so instead of giving you dead links...how about some savings?

First up is CVS. Via an email I've recieved I've got a coupon for $4 off your next purchase of $20 or more. Not a bad time to stock up on things. I stopped by this past Wednesday and there were quite a few specials throughout the aisles. This may require a CVS ExtraCare card, which is free at CVS, so if you don't have one just ask your cashier prior to purchasing your items. It expires 4/27/08. Click on the picture for a full-size, printable view.



Next, for the ladies (hey ladies ;) ) is a 25% off all purchases coupon good at any Ann Taylor store. This includes Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, Ann Taylor Factory Store, and Ann Taylor's online store. It's good from 4/17/08 to 4/20/08 so make use of it quickly. Again, click on the picture above for a full-size printout if you are going to a regular Ann Taylor store.

Hopefully the link that I wanted to share will be active again tomorrow so I can share the trick to getting telemarketers off your back, but for now enjoy the savings!