How to Avoid the Post-Holiday Financial Blues
July 31, 2008
How to Avoid the Post-Holiday Financial Blues
by: Joan Peterkin
Are you financially prepared for the Holiday
Shopping Season?
Will you be making your purchases with cash or
credit?
Do you have a planned amount of money you will be
spending on gifts?
If you owe $5,000 of more on your credit card or
know someone who does, who only pays the minimum
payment each month, you are not alone. The levels
of consumer debt are increasing rapidly around the
world.
A Debt is Not Just for Christmas
Christmas is the time of year when many consumers
fall into the trap of spending too much money on
expensive Christmas gifts. Most of these purchases
are made on credit cards rather than using cash.
This means these consumers often end up with large
credit card debt in the New Year. The New Year is
also the time when bills for other expenses, such
as holidays, school fees and taxes come due.
Credit cards are an expensive convenient source of
money and many people don’t realize just how
Breaking Up
July 30, 2008
The first thing you should do is talk about what happened, to your closest friend or family member. Just let it all out. The more you talk about what happened, the better you’ll feel about it later on. You still have someone that cares about you, your friend or family member.
The next thing to do is to focus on other aspects of life. If you’re in school, focus hard on your studies, and challenge yourself to the limit. Have a job’ Try really hard at your job, put in the overtime. The key thing to do is to achieve something to be proud of. Once you’ve done this, you will end up feeling better about yourself. Maybe you’ve even forgot about the breakup, or the memory is just a very vivid one. And if you’re still feeling like crap, you might want to try something different.
Moving Home - A Stressful Time
July 29, 2008
Moving Home - A Stressful Time
by: Joseph Kenny
Moving home involves a lot of work. There are also a lot of financial considerations that people generally are not used to. Engaging a solicitor, arranging the mortgage, paying for bridging finance if it is necessary, seeking the best selling price for your home, and the best buying price for the home you are moving into, all of these are very large and important transactions that cost a lot of money and may also cause you a lot of stress.
Add to this the stress of actually moving house. There may be some emotional attachment to the home you are leaving and you may find this very difficult. Then you have all the practicalities of dealing with utility companies, having mail redirected, cancelling your services and informing friends and business of the move.
Traumatic
And this has not even begun to consider the hassle of packing up your belongings, arranging for a removal company, and transit insurance if you think you need it, and unpacking everything at the other end. It is really no wonder that so many people consider moving house such a major and traumatic experience.
Wedding Day Savings
July 28, 2008
A little strategizing can go a long way when trying to cut down on spending for the big day. Invitations, flowers, and music can cost a small fortune but by making some adjustments to these elements you can have an elegant wedding without breaking the bank.
The Invitation is the first taste your guests will get of the type of wedding to expect. Formal weddings will have the formal invitation and a more laid back wedding will have an informal invitation to reflect the setting and mood of the day. When ordering the stationary you should keep in mind how many invitations you need, order half of the number of guests with an extra 10-15 to provide for the single guests and any mistakes you make and maybe a few extra envelopes just incase. It is more costly to reorder another batch rather then order an extra 10 or so, remember the minister and the wedding party receives an invitation also.
Pregnancy Photos
July 28, 2008
Pregnancy Photos
by: Vera Raposo
During my pregancy I didn’t really have the desire to have my pregnancy-photos taken, I really wish I would have made more time to get them done.
If you’re anything like me, you’re usually the one holding the camera. Make sure to give the camera to hubbie so he can get the shots you can’t.
Here is what I believe are the best pregnancy-photos that you need to have done. Ok, some may sound a little strange, but believe me you will love looking back on even the silly ones!
Read my list of must have pictures!
Photo #1 Of course the day you found out you were pregnant! There are lots of women who keep the actual pregnancy test… why not take a picture of it and that can go into your pregnancy album?
Photo #2 If you have children…. take a picture of their reaction to the news.
Photo #3 Don’t forget the picture of the surprised daddy!
Photo #4 Get hubbie to take a picture of you calling your family & friends. If you’re having a dinner party to announce the wonderful news, be sure to click away that night.
Self-Esteem
July 27, 2008
It begins with you, and your attitude. There are a lot of misconceptions about what type of guys women date. Most guys start thinking, oh they only date the rich guys with thick wallets, or those supermodel guys who look super hot. First off, if you’re looking to find a date, you need to stop comparing yourself to other guys. This show isn’t about those guys with Porsches and Ferrari’s, it’s about you.
Believing that you can get a date will help you become more confident. If everyday, you think of yourself as a loser, then honestly, you will remain a loser. Actions have to come from you; the will to succeed and strive has to come from your desire. Sitting around and feeling like crap won’t help to your cause, trust me.
Now that we have focusing on yourself, and confidence taken care of, most guys start to be very self-conscious about their looks. Let’s face it, not everyone looks like Brad Pitt, and there’s nothing you can do about that it’s all genetics. What you can do, is start changing your habits and push them into tune. Brush your teeth regularly, shower everyday, buy some fancy deodorant (Axe, Old Spice), comb your hair (gel, hairspray), and most of all wear a comfortable yet good-looking outfit depending on where you go everyday. If your still in school or college, wear something casual, if you’re low on cash, visit some of the cheaper stores maybe in an outlet mall and look for coupons. There’s no excuse for not keeping yourself in shape either!
Saving Money Over The Christmas Period
July 26, 2008
Saving Money Over The Christmas Period
by: Joseph Kenny
Christmas is one of the busiest times of year. There are so many things to think of. People have usually got family or friends visiting, the Christmas meal to cook, gifts to buy and wrap and decorations to put up. It can also be a very expensive time of year. Many people report huge regrets every January when they have over spent on Christmas presents and all the related costs.
If you are worried about finances this Christmas, or want to cut down a little on expenses there are a few simple money saving tips you can take.
Secret Santa
First of all there are gifts. Depending on the size of your family you may spend a lot of money on gifts over the Christmas period. One of the things you might consider doing is arranging a secret Santa. These are a great way to cut down on gift costs and can also be a lot of fun. How it works is you get a group of friends or family members together and put everyone’s name in a hat. Then you each pick a name from the hat at random. This is the person you buy a present for. The game guarantees that everyone gets a present while at the same time meaning that you only have to buy one present. You can keep the gifts anonymous or not depending on your preference.
Creative Wedding Cards
July 25, 2008
You invitation is a reflection on the type of wedding its going to be weather it be formal, informal or themed this will be transparent in the invitation. The invitation is the only essential stationary required everything else is optional.
Save the date
This card is sent several months in advance to guests that have a long distance to travel, it is simple courtesy to let them know your plans so they can start making their own. These cards only need the Bride and Grooms names and the date and location of the wedding. It’s a good idea to include "Invitation to follow" so they don’t keep calling for the details that are not available yet like reception location and time.
The Invitation
As before these will reflect the type of wedding to come so chose the style accordingly. Most people spend between 1-2% of the budget on the stationary. When ordering your stationary remember to include 10 extra to provide for mistakes and late invites. This will be cheaper than having to reorder a new batch. It a good idea to let another person check the invites before they go out to make sure all is in order and spelled correctly. The invitation will include the names of the hosts; the brides name the grooms name, the ceremony location, date and time, the reception location and the RSVP address. If children are being invited include on the invitation if not leave out.
A Wedding For What?
July 24, 2008
A Wedding For What?
by: Richard Keir
Once the actual purpose of a wedding had much more to do with property, parenthood and moral propriety in the eyes of the community. And those 3 elements were strongly interlinked, particularly among those members of society who made the rules.
In most western cultures, inheritance passed from father to son. So who was the father of the child was an important question, generally answered by identifying the father as the mother’s wedded husband. And the issue of moral propriety tended to have to do with the fidelity of the wife rather than the activities of the husband.
Those days are largely passed despite lingering remnants of a double standard and the more modern belief in marrying for love rather than to ensure paternity and the orderly handing down of property. While alliances between powerful families may still be built based on bonding through marriage, generally the participants have a little more to say about the process these days.
Grooming for the Groom
July 23, 2008
The big day is not all about the bride; the groom is also in the limelight and would like to look his best too. With the increase of men’s beauty products like Clarins, Lancôme, Nivea, Decleor, suggesting that men are paying more attention to their image then ever before. So the following are tips for keeping your husband to be in tiptop condition for those wedding photos.
Skincare
Men have been experimenting with our exfolients and moisturizer for as long as we can remember, this is better than using nothing at all but men need men-specific products for their skin. Their skin is a lot drier and oilier due to higher sebum levels and high moisture evaporation rates. Men’s skin is also thicker than women’s, has a more acidic ph, and has more defined eye contours not to mention fragile due to shaving. In other words our skincare products just wont do the job.
The first step is to use an oil for shaving Decleors Aromessence Homme and L’Occitane Cade Travel Shaving Oil are two good examples. Applied to the skin before shaving will lubricate and soften the hair making for a more comfortable and closer shave, applying a few drops afterwards to sooth and calm the skin preventing in growing hairs.
