If you, like me, wear corrective lens, then you know that it is a must that you also have a pair of prescription sunglasses, too.

More and more, information about eye damage due to the non-use, under-use, or improper use of sunglasses appears in the news. And, sunglasses are not just a summer thing; the winter glare of snow and ice make it a necessity to protect your eyes at all times when outside. This advices goes for children as well as adults (I’ve seen too many parents wearing their “shades” only to see their kids left defenseless).

Just one of many Zenni Optical choices

Zenni Optical makes it easy for you to get tinted glasses. In fact, their ordering process, and their prices, make it entirely affordable to have more than one pair. While retail eye shops charge an arm and a leg for UV this, and tinting that, Zenni does not have the overhead, and therefore, does not have to “mark up” your prescription sunglasses to make a profit. They also have a wide selection of frame styles (the photo is but one choice). I like the look of these, but I’ll be honest… I do go for more “side protection” and the best part is… they have those, too

You do need, of course, a prescription that includes “your pupillary distance” prior to ordering. This is not unusual by any means. But after your examination, you can stop right there, head home, and select any number of frame styles starting as low as $8 at Zenni’s.

I looked over their ordering process and found it, too, is super easy. You choose the frame(s), enter your prescription information (do make sure you enter this information correctly), add your purchase to the shopping cart (continue shopping if you want more than one pair), and when you’re ready, just check out.

As I said above, sunglasses are no longer a fashion accessory, they are a must. A recent visit to my own eye doctor confirms that statement. One of the things she asked me (told me really) was I must always wear sunglasses ANY time I was outside.

Protect your eyes, protect your children’s eyes, and protect your wallet. Check out Zenni Optical and see what’s available that “strikes your eye”.

I started the day doing an FBI news story that you really need to read, and then, strangely enough, saw an ad later on that caught my eye.

The web site I ended up on is called Swipebids. Now, first and foremost, I did NOT create an account. I will tell you it looked awful tempting, BUT I’m savvy enough to first investigate.

Always look before you leap.

This auction site looks impressive at first glance. It’s ratings in terms of traffic are through the roof. The products shown on the front page, in real time bidding, also impressive. Information on what’s what, well I did not go by what the site says, I first put it into Google to do a “background check”.

Turns out that when you open an account, it works the opposite of say eBay. On eBay you can bid, but it doesn’t cost you anything unless of course you are the lucky winner and get what you wanted.

Swipebids makes you pay upfront each time you bid. For example, say you see something for $2 and there is, oh an hour left on that item. According to sources online, your $2 is removed from your account right then and there. You literally put your money where your mouth is… and then you wait. If someone else bids, and you still want it then you bid again.

This time say you want it badly enough to outbid the last bid by another $2 (let’s assume the other person bid $4). It now costs you $6 on top of the first $2 you initially placed.

And, yes, the money is taken… gone for good, unless you win the bidding war and get that precious whatever for $6.

I found comments at Yahoo! Answers ranging from “don’t go there” to “swipe bids is ‘legit’ but you need to know what’s up with these sites”.

So there you have it, my advice for the day. Plus you really, really need to read the FBI news story. It, too, is advice you don’t want to disregard.

Have a great weekend!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Coldwell Banker. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you remember, 2009 provided first time home buyers with tax incentives. The idea, of course, is to get our economy moving again, and with home prices at all-time lows, those who have been saving for that “it’s all mine!” home were (and still are) in a prime position. The government was set to help you into your first home.

2010 promises even more with the interesting news that there are 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credits available! And the best part is that these homebuyer tax credits now extend to help even more people (not just the first time buyer). Here is what’s new: (more…)

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bidazzled. All opinions are 100% mine.

Bidazzled recently caught my attention for a number of reasons:

1. The premise of the web site was founded around The Ruch Foundation (a lung charity organization)

2. It’s a “penny auction” or “pay-per-bid” auction web site. These are always fun and you never know what’s coming up for bid – so keeping your eyes wide open is a must

3. Everybody wins! Even if you’re not the winner for the item you are bidding on, Bidazzeled still awards you up to 50 “bonus bids.” Their personal way of saying thank you for giving it a go – and of course encouragement to come back again and again to this auction fun zone.

They have also covered their bases since not everyone is a fan of bidding. So if an auction is not your style, but the item online is, then you can “purchase the auction item less the investment you had in the auction.”

What is truly odd, or unique, is that they, in turn, offer the winner of the auction the ability to sell it back to them! Yeah, I know it sounds odd, but they will buy it back for cash (PayPal or check); cash plus bids; or more bids.

You will also love the fact that a bid costs just $1 with a minimum purchase of just $25 per pack. And, just so you know, in Bidazzled’s first month online two people won Nintendo Wii’s. How much did it cost them? Just 5 free bids!

Honestly, as if that wasn’t enough, they also have a referral program so you can build up your bidding power like crazy just for spreading the word about this amazing – and truly strange (in a wonderful way) auction website!