Mahalo's How To Blog

Stuff They Don’t Teach You In School: Car Loans

Julia — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:07:47 +0000

Unless you are independently wealthy, you will probably need to secure financing to buy a car. And, if you’re anything like me, this is not something they taught you how to do in school. Just the mention of APRs and financing deals makes my mind go a little fuzzy, but at some point in life, you have to take control of these things. If you don’t, you will get a crappy deal care of some pushy car salesman, and you’ll be paying for that car far longer than you’d care to.

So, here are some quick tips on Life Skill They Didn’t Teach You in School #571: How to Get a Car Loan:

1. Get a free credit report. Your credit score is used to determine the interest rate you will pay on your car loan. Know your score before you shop for financing. The only website authorized to give you a free credit report is AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Start with banks and online lenders. Secure financing from a bank or online lender before you negotiate financing with the car dealer. You’re liable to get a better deal from the bank, and having your financing in place before you hit the lot makes you one seriously empowered buyer.
3. Get three quotes. Before signing on the dotted line, shop around. Get a minimum of three quotes before applying for a loan. The big online lenders include Capital One Auto Finance, HSBC Auto Loans and E-Loan Auto Loans.
4. Read the fine print. Ask whether or not there are any penalties associated with your loan. Are there any hidden charges, or can you be penalized for paying the loan off early?

Need more of the nitty gritty on securing that car loan? Check out Mahalo’s guide to How to Get a Car Loan.

Image: Creative Commons photo by Rick Hall

Funding your band

Evan — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:47:40 +0000

As a musician, I’m always on the lookout for online promotion tools for artists and other great services. One of the more common sites that every independent artist could benefit from is CD Baby, which not only allows anyone to sell their CD online to fans across the globe, but also provides digital distribution to the iTunes Music Store (and just about every other digital music store) and has an advice area on their site in which musicians can discuss promotional techniques, making money with music, touring tips, etc. Also, their sister site Hostbaby is website hosting geared specifically towards musicians. Both sites are well known for their artist-friendly attitudes and attentive customer service.

One of the more interesting concepts I’ve come across recently is SellaBand.com. The site is basically set up to allow fans (called “believers”) to become angel investors for bands that they like. They find bands registered with SellaBand and invest as little as $10 (or more if they desire). Once a band reaches $50,000 they record an album and everyone who invested will receive a free copy (well, almost free… The $10 is more like a pre-order). Then the profits from the music that gets sold is split between the band, the site, and the believers who helped make it all happen.

Something of a revolutionary concept, really. While it may not be the ideal scenario for some bands (if you’re a garage band playing the local talent show circuit, good luck finding up to 5,000 people to support you), it just may be a sound business model for today’s internet-savvy indie bands. If you’re interested, check out their how it works page to learn more!

How to Play Grand Theft Auto IV

Sara — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:14:10 +0000

Grand Theft Auto IV is the big video game of the moment. If you’re a gamer, and old enough to buy this violent and mature-rated game, then visit Mahalo for a complete GTA IV walkthrough.

How to Adopt a Purebred Pup without Going to a Breeder

AndrewM — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:52:46 +0000

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to adopt a purebred dog. It doesn’t make you a snob, and it doesn’t mean that you love dogs any less than the proud mutt-parents at your local dog park. But unless you want to support the crueler side of the breeding industry, you should be very selective about where you get your new pup. According to a report from MSNBC, many breeders who are “certified” by the USDA or the American Kennel Club engage in questionable practices; and many pet stores acquire their purebreds from these same operations. The abuse may or may not be less extreme than what goes on in unlicensed “puppy mills,” but can still cause emotional and physical suffering to innocent canines. Below are some great ways to find a purebred pal without supporting breeders of any kind.

Contact dog breed rescues. Rescues are networks of animal lovers dedicated to finding homes for animals in need. There are numerous rescues nationwide that specialize in particular breeds of dogs and cats. Browse lists of breed rescue groups on Love of the Breeds and American Kennel Club.
Use an online pet-search site. Both Petfinder.com and Animalshelter.org have thousands of searchable pet profiles, listed by shelters and rescues all over the nation. Best of all, both sites allow you to search by breed and region.
Call the Humane Society of the United States: (202)452-1100. The phone operators in the Companion Animals department can help you to locate a breed-specific rescue in your area.
Lastly, try calling your local animal shelter and asking if they have the breed you desire. You can always consult the Yellow Pages, but SaveOurStrays.com provides a comprehensive list of no-kill shelters in the US.

For more information, see Mahalo’s guide to adopting a canine companion.

Image: Creative Commons photo by Joel Burslem.

Writing the Great American Screenplay

Julia — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:17:04 +0000

Everybody and their mom’s got an idea for a screenplay. So, what separates the wannabes from the Diablo Codys? Hard work, of course, but knowing where to start doesn’t hurt either. If you’re going to be a screenwriter, you’ve got to immerse yourself in screenplays. Eat them, breathe them, sleep with them tucked under your pillow. Lucky for you, some of the best are available for free via websites like The Daily Script, Drew’s Script-o-Rama and Weekly Script.

You can not only pick up formatting by downloading scripts of your favorite films; you can spend hours dissecting them. You can figure out how many jokes happen per page, when the first act becomes the second and how much of a character was on the page before the actor ever stepped in. Start by reading screenplays in the genre you’re most interested in, but don’t forget to check out scripts by the big guns like William Goldman, Judd Apatow, Diablo Cody and Shane Black among others.

Want more tips on how to unleash your inner Tarantino? Check out Mahalo’s guide to writing a screenplay.

Image: Creative Commons photo by Mahalie

5 Tips to Beating the Blank Page

Julia — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:12:54 +0000

It doesn’t matter if you’re a student with an eleventh hour essay on the line, a blogger who needs to crank out a post or a business person preparing a keynote; no one is exempt from writer’s block. Fortunately, there are a few sure-fire ways to get the words flowing:

Walk: Science proves it: walking has a connection to brain function. A good 20-minute jaunt around the block can get your writerly juices flowing.

Read: Take a break, and read something else, anything else. It’s not an excuse to procrastinate; it’s an excuse to get inspired and come back to your own project fresh.

Write Something Else: Doesn’t matter what it is. Write a letter, write a dialogue between your rational and irrational selves or just skip ahead and write a different section of the project you’re working on.

Put Perfectionism to Bed: Let go of the editor in your head and just write. Get out what you’re trying to say as though you were talking it out to someone. Don’t worry about making it pretty. You can clean it up later.

Make a Change: Get out of your rut. Take your laptop to a library, a coffee house or outdoors. Or, really make a change and ditch the computer for a pad of paper for awhile.

Want more tips on overcoming writer’s block? Check out Mahalo’s guide to ending writer’s block once and for all.

Image: Creative Commons photo by Fabio

Dining Out

Lia — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:38:47 +0000

I have a close connection to How to Dine Out and Not Embarrass Yourself. In a not so distant time in my life, I worked in the restaurant industry. I worked there for many years. And I learned not only how to be a good server, but also how to be a good customer. But my experience alone wasn’t enough to support a official How To on the subject of dining out. I needed definitive authorities and experts to back up all my back talk. I needed proof! I found two funny, well-written blogs about the life of the professional server, and what it is like to wait on people who just don’t appreciate good service.

Waiter Rant and The Insane Waiter will make you laugh, cry (that might be a stretch) and laugh some more. They are an inside look into what goes on behind-the-scenes in restaurants all across America. They remind me that we should all have a good laugh and not take any of it too seriously. It’s not rocket science, it’s just food.

Flirting for beginners

Evan — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:18:36 +0000

Flirting is an art of such nuance that even the most enlightened Eastern philosophies dare not attempt to explain its mysteries. Consequently, my spiritual journey led me not to the Bhagavad-Gita but to the annals of the Internet, where even the most spiritually inept man or woman can find the occasional bit of accurate information. After stumbling upon such excellent resources as the BBC’s Science of Flirting and SIRC’s Guide to Flirting, I performed a public service by writing up Mahalo’s guide to How to Flirt.

But I couldn’t allow myself to stop there. I needed to give more back to the community; I needed to be sure the valuable and powerful information I had discovered would reach all who needed it. And, judging by what I’ve seen in day-to-day life, a lot of people need it. So I made this instructional video. I hope you enjoy it.

Walking Where You Live

Sara — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:00:37 +0000

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when choosing a place to live: prices, schools, commute to work, etc. The New York Times suggests also consulting Walk Score, a website that’ll show you how “walkable” a prospective location is. Walk Score assesses how many stores and services are near enough that you can walk to them, instead of driving; the more places you can reach on foot, the higher the score. Consulting it is a great way to know how tied to your car you’ll be in a new neighborhood.

Deskercising

Sara — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 04:55:48 +0000

Anyone who’s worked in an office knows that it’s all too common for an entire day to go by with minimal exercise. And heading to the gym isn’t always feasible. So what’s a cubicle dweller to do? Well, why not start exercising at your desk? The Times of London has an online video tutorial about “deskercises.” And one yoga instructor has created a series of poses you can do at work.

Mahalo’s guide to exercising at your desk has more suggestions for you. So get back to work - and start getting in shape!