That's right people - Saturday, January 24th at Cosmic Bowl at 9 PM, Go2Account members can come out and get their bowl on for free99. Thats right, the low, low, price of FREE!

RSVP online at tdecu.org.

What's that you say? For some reason, you don't have a Go2 Account? Goodness gracious, well we have a solution for you!

You could sign up for a free Go2 Account! It's totes free and you recieve awesome fringe benefits - like bowling at Cosmic bowl! You know you want it!

Or, you could bring a $10 donation for Relay for Life, a fantastic organization. That'll get you bowling shoes and about three hours of sweet bowling joy.

I'm excited about it - I don't know if you guys follow me on Twitter (youngfreetexas) but last semester I completed Bowling 101 at lovely baylor University, and I don't want to toot my own horn, but (toot) I bowl a pretty even 150. I even got a B in the class!

I'll definately be giving you more deets and the days draw nearer, but I want to see you in the place. For rizz. I suspect no one can match my bowling prowess!

DeAndre "I Bowl a 300 Every Time" Upshaw

Friendles.

Very soon we will be drawing the winner of December's contest! Yes, soon and very soon we will find out who won the spectacularly wonderful Tom Tom GPS just by signing up for E-Updates!

I can't wait. For rizzle.

November's E-Updates winner, Jamie, sent us a picture of her enjoying her super-awesome James Bond 5-Disc DVD set. Get it, Jamie!

Good look, Jamie!

Want to have the same look of face-melting awesomeness as Jamie, but didn't comment in December? Fear not, young grasshopper, because January begins a whole new month, and we have awesomeness in store for you.

This month, we are giving away a Pixar DVD Set, including the Pixar Short Films Collection, Wall-E and the delicious Ratatouille! And how do you get this collection of brain-shattering joy?

Simply leave a comment on any one of my blog posts in the month of January, and option to sign up for E-Updates. Thats alllll ya gotta do to have the joy of Y&F and Pixar plastered on your face.

You can thank us later. :D

DeAndre'

Today is the last day of 08! w00t!

As you are getting ready for your festivities and the inevitable countdown, there's something that you may find interesting about your clocks tonight:

The very last minute of 2008 will have 61 seconds as opposed to the regular 60. Nice, right?

It's called a leap second, and the last time it happened was three years ago. The difference between atomic time and Earth time is now great enough so that it needs to be adjusted.

If you are watching a clock connected to an accurate source (a phone or a computer) then you should see the clock go ..59..60..00..01.

If this seems normal to you, check out your clock right now - there usually isn't a "60," it goes straight from "59" to "00."

Yeayuh, one more second to enjoy 2008 before moving into 2009! See yall in 2009!

DeAndre "We Only Got 4 Minutes To Save The World" Upshaw

Note: The end of our week-long series about traveling and travel-type things in general. Woo ha.

Well friends, we've come to the end. The end of Travelin Week! I know, you're sad. This week has rivaled even Shark Week to be the best week of your life. Well, the best half of two weeks since we split it up for Christmas.

Anyways, I wanted to leave Travelin Week with something truly awesome that will give you not only some entertainment, but some knowledge. So! I present to you an entry into Young & Free's Financial Literacy encyclopedia: Buying a Car vs Leasing. Enjoy!

And special thanks to my sister! She helped me out on this video, even though you can't see her!

DeAndre "I Lit A Car on Fire In This Video And It Was Awesome There Were Like 30 Takes" Upshaw

A continuation of the awesomeness that is Travelin week. Woo ha.

I hope all you brothers and sistas had a great Christmas. Mine was fantastic! We're continuing Travelin Week, and I have a few more sprigs of awesome to throw at you.

Before you can even travel you have to actually have a vehicle. One of the first steps to buying a car is deciding if you want to get a new or a used vehicle.

One of my father's rules for life is to never ever as a young adult purchase a new car.

There are several reasons why. And I will now detail them for you.

A car is not an investment. I know what you're thinking, "Of course its an investment! I'm putting money into it, right?" Wrong. A car is what is known as a depreciating asset. What this means is, the moment you drive your new car off of the lot it begins to go down in price.

This is in direct contrast to an appreciating asset such as a house, which increases in value over time. That's because of car commercials which convince you that you MUST have a new car. Ever wonder why car models are a year ahead? Like, how 2009 model cars, began selling earlier this year?

It's so you feel like you're ahead of the car curve. Unfortunately, because every year there are new models released, there will always be a shinier, newer car than yours out.

Ultimately the choice is up to you, but the cost savings compared to buying new is substantial. It's your choice, yo.

Up next: buying a car vs leasing. I know your excited, right?

DeAndre "Depreciated?" Upshaw

It's Christmas Eve, ya'll!

Since most people will be out for Christmas the next two days, I thought it would be prudent to go ahead and give you your Weekend Awesome early! W00t, I know.

But wait - I promised you a whole week of fantastic travelin' goodness, didn't I? Silly me. I always come through on a promise, though, so we'll continue next week. I even have a super-informative video ready for ya.

But first, the Weekend Awesome!

One of my favorite things about traveling is stopping and getting delicious food. There are so many different choices and regional specialities that stopping to grab a bite to eat could be a history lesson in and of itself.

That being said, this commercial for Mr. Spriggs Barbecue is glorious. It was featured on Will Ferrell's site Funnyordie.com, and since then, it has experienced a surge in customers. I know it's not in Texas, but let's roadtrip there, mkay?

DeAndre "Meat Falls Off The Bun" Upshaw

Note: Day 2 in our Christmas week traveling edition. Rock on.

As I begin to travel more and more around Texas getting my Young & Free on, I've realized that there are some cool things about being on the road and there are some not so good things. Tollways are definitely one of the more annoying facets of a trip, especially if you have to stay on a tollway for a long time.

I know what you're thinking - Don't I already pay taxes for public properties and things such as the like. Don't I? DON'T I?

Tolls are in place to pay off the debt incurred by building the road without having to raise taxes. So instead of raising everyone's taxes, toll roads simply tax people who drive on those roads.

The main problem with toll roads, though, is that sometimes a county will opt to conitnue to charge a toll long after the debt has been paid off. LAME!

In order to get through the tolls as quickly and efficiently as possible, stop by your Kermit The Frog Piggy Bank and get a handful of quarters. Tolls range from $.50 cents to upwards of $1.50 in some areas, and you want to go through the tolls as quickly as possible.

There are (for the most part) three different toll lanes you can go through:

EZ Tag: EZ Tag is an account that you register to your car that allows you to breeze through the toll without stopping. EZ Tag is awesome, but only for people who make frequent trips through tolls, such as an everyday commute to work.

Exact Change: Just what it means. GO through this one, throw your coins into the bucket and move on. Remember, though: These usually don't accept pennies or cash, just quarters nickels and dimes.

Full Service: This is the one you'll want to go through if you have cash or don't have any money with you. These tolls are manned by a teller who can make change, or give you a bill if you don't have any money. If you can't find any change amidst the malage of dum dums and receipts in your glove compartment, you'll be given an envelope in which you must mail your check for $1.50 to the Toll Department.

Some things of note - If you have to mail in your toll, you typically get 5 to 7 days to do so. After that time, a fee of $5.00 is added to your toll, and this increases exponentially.

Also, some tolls have a "bill you later" type thing. If you go through EZ Tag without an EZ Tag, the cameras mounted above you will snap a photo of your license plate and mail a bill to the adress associated with the license plate. However, if there is no sign, then do not go through! You will be charged the toll and an additional fee. For the most part, not worth it.

Wondering why I know this and decided to post about it? I have paid roughly $10.00 worth of tolls in the last few days, and twice I had absolutely no money and had to use the option of mailing it in. Lame.

Please, if you know any tips to help keep some coin in your car for toll situations, please leave comments! I know I need some tips!

DeAndre "Secrets, Our Sandwiches" Upshaw

*Note: All this week we will be focusing on travel related things. Like gas, and cars and buying gas and cars and the like. Let's kick it.

Yo peoples!

Tis the season...to drive all around the great state of Texas!

I know a lot of you are blazing around the state to see relatives and friends for the holiday season and as we all know, rolling around Texas is the equivalent of driving through several smaller states. Because of this (and our penchant for gas guzzling Ford F-150s), our gas is especially important to us.

Even though gas is remarkably cheap these days, we're in a recession, dadgummit! So any way to save money is good, right?

So, without furthur ado, here are a few awesome ways to save money for or buying gas.

1. Get a Kroger, Wal-Mart or H-E-B membership card and save a few cents per gallon. Because these membership cards are free and don't involve any type of "credit" contract, they are perfect for shaving a few cents off each trip to the pump. How does the grocery store benefit from this? If you are buying gas exclusively from Wal-Mart, then you are probably going to shop there, too. It's a win/win.

2. Trade in your H3 for a Hybrid. Yeah, I said it. As a recent convert from a Jeep to a Prius, I can definitely tell you that the savings are worth it in the long run. Also, you may think you are too tall for a smaller car: Im 6'7", and I fit. For the most part. It's literally the difference between $60 per fillup and $20.

3. Drive better. Did you know that the way you drive influences how much gas you spend? For instance, for every 5 miles you go over 60 mph, you are paying an additional 24 cents for a gallon of gas? Of course, driving below 60 isn't always appropriate and will probably end in you getting cursed out on the freeway, but there are other things to consider. For instance, idling gets you 0 mpg. You can find more awesome gas saving info here.

4. Sell ad space on your car! Yes, being a mobile billboard can be very lucrative these days. Freegashelp.com has a pretty cool program where they give free gas cards to people who advertise different businesses on their vehicles. Then again, I'm partial...

5. Walk. OK, sorry to put this obvious one on the list, but aren't lists so much better when they have a nice, definitive number like 5?

If you have any additional tips for gas saving awesomeness, put it in the comment section friendles. And remember, each comment gives you an oppurtunity to win a Tom Tom GPS. Dare I say...succulent? 

DeAndre' "Myles MJ Peterman" Upshaw

Updates Are Now On 12Second.TV! on 12seconds.tv

DeAndre'

Watch the first few seconds and I think you'll realize why this Friday's post is Weekend Horrible as opposed to Weekend Awesome. 

I felt kind of bad for the fellow. Especially since he called for his mother after it happened. There is speculation on the Internets that this is fake, but I'm sure its happened plenty of other times.

Enjoy your weekend!

Ooh, and for everyone who is going to be at the TDECU Christmas Extravangza on Saturday, I hope to see you! Come to the cool kid's table and say hey!

DeAndre'