10 Advantages of Credit Cards

Do you know that your credit cards are wonderful tools to save money, track your spending and you can enjoy many benefits? Here are the advantages:

1. Track your spending: Every month when you receive your statements, you should look at them as tools to track your spending because every single item that you have charged to the cards is listed. Study your spending pattern, trim unnecessary expenses, and allocate a budget for the future.

2. Interest-free credit: Everything that you have charged to your cards in the current month is on credit and you only need to pay for them in the following month. Practically you are given credit or incur debt without paying interest for one month. Buy now and pay later is the name of the game  

3. Safer than cash: You don’t have to carry a large sum of money, which is risky, to go for shopping. Just carry your credit cards with you. If you are robbed, just report the loss of your cards promptly to avoid personal liability.

4. Discount and redemption points: The wonderful benefits of paying by cards instead of cash are that you can either pay less (cashback card) or you can accumulate points for every dollar that you charge to your cards to redeem for goods of your choice (rewards card). 

5. Establish your creditworthiness: Using your credit cards and pay your monthly bills promptly is an effective way to establish your creditworthiness. When you use and keep a card long enough, say one year, you can easily apply and obtain more cards from other financial institutions.

6. Zero-interest installment plan: You can’t purchase a big-ticket item with cash and arrange to pay by installment without paying interest. You can only do it with your credit cards and spread the installment payments up to 36 months.

7. Online purchases: It is only possible by using your credit cards to do purchases as well as hotel bookings and car rental.

8. Emergency fund: When you run short of cash and you need the money urgently, use one of your credit cards to get a cash advance quickly and easily.

9. Travel coverage: When you charge the full fare of your airline tickets to your credit card, you get free travel insurance, lost baggage, and baggage delay insurance, and also reimbursement to cover immediate necessities for flight delay and missed connection. 

10. Extended Warranty: When you make a purchase with a credit card that offers a free extended warranty, you are covered with one additional year of warranty when the manufacturer’s warranty expires.

Credit cards are your good companion provided that you use them wisely. Pay the amount due promptly, fully, and spend within your means.

Brain fitness – 15 Healthy Habits

Your brain is like the CPU of your PC, the more powerful your CPU, the better is the functionality of your PC. Here are the beneficial habits to adopt so that your brain can perform at its peak:


1. Chew your food slowly: According to an expert in Japan when you chew your food, you increase the blood circulation in your brain and excite the brain’s activities.

2. Go under the sun: A Taiwanese doctor suggests that when you are under the sun you stimulate the growth of brain cells like the growth of your hair. The latest study, conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that people were almost three times as likely to have impaired cognition after gloomy weather compared to those in sunny climes.

3. Eat your breakfast: After sleeping for a night your blood sugar is at its lowest level. Take breakfast to restore the blood sugar level to allow your brain to function effectively.

4. Safety belt and crash helmet: To avoid damage to your brain, wear your seatbelt when you are driving and when you are riding a motorcycle wear your crash helmet.

5. Drink more water: 85% of your brain weight consists of water. Insufficient intake of water disrupts the thinking process.

6. Try new things: Do something new every day to excite your short-term memory.

7. Brisk walking: When you are active physically every day your brain will be more alert and function better.

8. Deep breathing: Deep breathing calms your mind so that you can think clearly.

9. Watch less TV: You don’t use your brain when you watch TV. Researchers in Australian have found out that those with better memory watch less than one hour of TV every day.

10. Avoid processed food: Eating too much-processed food upsets brain chemistry. Your brain needs real food – fruits, vegetable nuts, fish, and eggs.

11. Give up smoking: Scientists report that smoking damages and shrinks the brain

12. Avoid polluted environment: A study carried out in Germany on women who had lived at the same address for at least 20 years found those near busy roads were more likely to show signs of mild cognitive impairment, early memory problems that may lead to dementia.


13. Sleep and rest: Our brain is like a piece of machine. It cannot function continuously. Lack of sleep will accelerate the permanent death of brain cells. Taking breaks from time to time is necessary to rest your brain and clear its clutter.

14. Think: This is what your brain is meant for. The more you use it the better it is. Don’t allow your brain to shrink without stimulating thoughts

15. Conversation: Strike an interesting and intellectual conversation with someone often to make your brain function efficiently.


Your brain is like your car, it is meant to be driven and not to be kept at home, use it regularly to maintain your mental sharpness and. nourish your brain for peak performance.

Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs

Charles M. Schwab was paid one million dollars a year to run the Carnegie Steel company. He said,” I would say being able to maintain a high level of satisfaction in the workforce was perhaps the main reason for my having that job.”

Job satisfaction derives mainly from the work that you do. It has nothing to do with the money that you earn, the recognition, and the promotion you receive. They are only by-products. You are happy with your work because of:


• Interesting and stimulating work
• Being recognized for doing a job well
• An opportunity to learn
• A feeling of personal achievement


The other thing is that satisfaction is the key to motivation and a satisfied worker is a motivated worker. In this respect, a carrot is a better motivator than a stick. What are the things that an employer can do to motivate a worker?

• Interesting work
• Pay a fair wage
• Good promotion opportunities
• Supportive supervisor
• Friendly coworkers
• Conducive and safe working environment
• Opportunities to use one’s talents and to be creative

How can you create job satisfaction? Here are some suggestions:


• Look for ways to demonstrate your skills and talents. This will lead to more challenging work and greater responsibilities
• Develop communication and people skills
• Continuous learning to know more about your job so that you can work effectively and efficiently
• Being creative and proactive
• Appreciate your work and your contributions
• Avoid burnout and learn to relax.

A satisfied worker is more likely to be creative, flexible, innovative, loyal, and more productive. He or she is also an enthusiastic and happy worker.

7 Ways to Love

Love

The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard but must be felt with the heart.

Helen Keller

Love makes the world go round. Besides telling someone “I love you”, you can express your care and concern in many ways.


• Compliment and congratulate: Complimenting her attractive dress and telling her that the dishes are yummy are some of the ways to delight her. When your friend gets promoted, send him a congratulatory message. Look for opportunities to say something nice to someone every day.

• Help: Help your children in their homework. Talk to them about living skills not taught at school. Help them to develop a daily habit of physical exercise. When you are a writer help others develop their writing skills. Offering help is a way to show your feeling of love

• Forgive: To forgive is a way to express your love. It is good for your soul because you fill your heart with love instead of anger and hatred.

• Respect: When you respect someone it means you don’t’ look down on him or her. You are interested to get connected and find out more about the other person.

• Kind: Kindness is giving and it means you are interested in the other person. He or she may not be related to you, but deep inside your heart you just want to do something. You find happiness and fulfillment in kindness

• Faithful: Being truthful and loyal to your partner is the sincerest form of love. There is no transgression. There is no need to ask for forgiveness and you go to bed every night with a peaceful mind.

• Listen: Listen with your heart. Look for the other person’s body language. Know the feelings and mood of the person who is talking to you. Find out what you can do for him or her and act promptly.


Love can be expressed in more than just words. You can display your love in many ways to show your affections. Life is more meaningful when you fill the world with love.

Effective Communication

Communication

“WISE MEN TALK BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY; FOOLS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING” ~ PLATO

Communication is not just about talking. It is two-way traffic involving expressing yourself and listening to others. It is a dialogue and not a monologue. However, communication is more than just a verbal exchange of words but in written form as well. Even if you are silent your facial expression and body language are able to reveal your feelings vividly. The point is to express yourself clearly and precisely and listen carefully to understand others fully


Verbal communication

Speaking

• Speak slowly
• Say loud enough to be heard
• Express Clearly
• Be precise
• Use short and simple sentences
• Go straight to the point without beating around the bush
• Repeat complicated or highly technical ideas
• Get feedback on the spot to confirm listeners understand your message


Listening

• Be attentive, there is a difference between hearing and listening
• Maintain eye contact
• Repeat the speaker’s words to make sure you understand the message fully
• Listen patiently
• Active listening by nodding your head or gesture your speaker to continue
• Display an appropriate posture and an approachable stance such as arms relaxed at your sides. Arms crossed and shoulders hunched suggest disinterest in conversation or unwillingness to communicate.


Written communication

Outgoing

• Know the purpose of writing and write what you want to say
• Use the right format such as an email, a memo, a formal letter or a report.
• Write the way you talk
• Using simple words in short paragraphs
• Write just enough to put the message across
• Use bullet points
• Edit, proofread and check to spell
• Follow up

Incoming

• Read carefully to understand fully before taking action
• Seek clarification whenever necessary
• Respond promptly as requested

Success in communication means to peak or write to be understood and listen or read to understand.

8 Easy Writing Tips

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”— Louis L’Amour

Writing and posting an article a day is a challenge for me. Ideas on certain days can come like a flowing stream. On other days my mind is like a drying lake in the desert. Here are my ways that I come up with inspiration for my daily task:

• Write at the same time at the same place: Morning is the best time for me to write. I am an early riser. My mind is fresh and I am full of energy. The habit will somehow tune my mind to come out with writing ideas.

• Preparation: In the evening I will do research for the next article. The title of a book or an article on the Internet will generate writing ideas. Looking at a subject with a different perspective and adding a new twist to a story are some of the ways to deliver a new article. Sometimes a title in itself will strike my mind to produce a completely different post.

• Daily reading: This is important. There is no way that you can write in isolation. You have to learn from better writers and feed your mind with new ideas from extensive reading. Reading newspapers, magazines, and articles on the Net in Chinese and English are essential routines for me.

• Refer to my old articles: Looking at my old articles and pick one article to add, revise, or expand upon.

• Check my most popular posts: How can I come with a new article with the same topic? I will develop new ideas along this line.

• Identify newspaper headlines: What is the latest hot story of the day? I refer to the headline and come up with an article relating to my niche. Such a subject will definitely drive traffic to your blog. Strike while the iron is hot.

• Ideas from nowhere: You get ideas when you are doing something else. I get ideas when I am doing my Tai Chi in the morning. I get ideas while I am walking to my office. You may get your best ideas when you wake up in the morning.

• Just write: This is the last resort. I have no idea at all and it is also time to write. I just write what is coming out of my mind and scribble. As you go along you can discover an idea for a new post


This article was written in the morning and the idea occurred while I was on my way to my office. What are the other ideas that you have got that you can share with us?

Credit Cards to Monitor Your Spending in 7 Steps

Credit Cards

Your credit cards are wonderful tools to track, monitor, and control your spending.
Here is how you can do it:

1. You only need to use two credit cards, say, Visa and MasterCard

2. Use one of them, say Visa, for standing orders with the card issuer to charge telephone bills, electricity and insurance premiums

3. Use another card, MasterCard, for charging the following expenses when you go shopping:

• groceries
• clothing
• other household items
• children’s expenses such as books and stationery
• entertainment
• other expenses incurred irregularly such as medical or dental expenses
• holiday
• petrol

4. Review the charges for the first card (Visa) by looking closely at the monthly statements to see major changes especially your utility bills. Look for power wastage and reduce consumption. Cut down unnecessary telephone calls and then allocate a budget for this card. You should also use this card for the purchase of big-ticket items by taking advantage of the zero-interest installment plan. The amount to spend on this card is quite fixed.

5. Look at the monthly statements of MasterCard to study the spending pattern in the total amount from month to month. It gives you an overview of your monthly expenditures in these areas. After that you check the amount you spent for each item, namely, groceries, clothing, other household items, children’s expenses, and others, Identify areas where you can trim expenses and allocate an amount for this card and spend as budgeted.

6. By checking the statements of the two cards you can monitor and control your monthly spending. You will be able to spot excesses in your spending against your budget and be alerted to act accordingly.

7. The last thing is to look into your cash expenses. You should also allocate an amount as your pocket money to cover other expenses that you cannot pay by credit cards. Such expenses should include tuition fees for the children and their monthly allowances.


Using your credit cards to track, monitor, and control your expenses is a breeze.

12 C’s in Human Relationships

“We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics.”
— Joyce Meyer


Do you know the 12 C’s of people skills? Apply all of them so that you can be popular and get what you want in life easily through others.


• Courtesy: Courtesy is a way of life. You do not just treat strangers with respect but you are also courteous to your wife and children. Your boss may be a friendly person but you still need to be respectful. Courtesy is a kind of human lubricants

• Compliment and congratulations: Identify a person’s achievements and praise him. Telling him or her how much you admire their accomplishment. There is a difference between compliment and flattery. A compliment is a genuine appreciation of another person while flattery is insincere. Be ready to send a congratulatory message upon someone‘s promotion or launching of a new business.

• Caution and control: You may be kind but you have to be on the alert. There are unscrupulous people who will take advantage of your soft spot to cheat you. Know when to say no without offending people. You need to control and balance your limited time to avoid undue stress.

• Cooperation and collaboration: You can be successful by working alone. However, you can achieve more by synergizing. Be willing to cooperate and collaborate with others and utilize their strengths to complement your effort

• Communication: Effective communication means you are able to express yourself clearly and fully and you are also able to understand others fully and precisely.

• Compromise: Are you willing to give and take so that in the end you can reach an agreement and both parties are happy?

• Conciliation: Are you able to calm down the other person so that discussion can be continued and ended successfully?

• Captivation: Do you dress smartly? Is your approach friendly? Does your body language tell others that you are sincere? Wear a smile and be interested in others.

• Consultation: Discuss with other people and seek their views before making a decision.

• Connection: Be connected with the right people and get in touch with them from time to time. Don’t go to them only when you need help.

• Constructive criticism: Are you able to tell the truth to address a problem and not to attack an individual? Your impartial output will earn the respect of others.

• Care and concern: Are you empathetic? Can you think from their point of view? Listen mindfully and show your interest in what they are telling you and be ready to serve.
.

Appreciate the power of the 12 C’s and apply them to your advantage.

Factors that Affect Your Decision Making

“It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.” —Jim Rohn

Every day you make decisions from a small one like which dress to wear for the day to a big one like buying a house. Decisions affect your life tremendously. When you wear an appropriate dress you impress others and when you chose the right location for your house you make a good investment. Your decision making is influenced by the following factors:


1. Your mood: What is your mood? Your mood decides your emotion and your emotion affects your decision. When you are not in a good mood you will turn down your daughter’s request to take part in her school’s extra activities.

2. Physical condition: Are you under stress? Do you have a clear mind? Don’t make any important decisions until you have cleared your clutter in your mind and you are fully rested.

3. Available information: You may not decide wisely when pertinent information is not available or limited. It is necessary to investigate fully before a big decision like choosing a car or buying a house.

4. Consultation: Do you seek the view of an expert or getting a second opinion when a life-or-death decision has to be taken? To operate or not to operate? Consult and decide sensibly.

5. Support of family members: Are your family supportive of your decision? When your car is 15 years old and it is constantly giving you problems, I am sure all family members will agree to get a new one wholeheartedly.

6. Consideration: Take into account your present and your likely position in the future before arriving at a decision. Some of the things to consider are:

• Need or want: You decide to purchase a big-ticket item. Is it a need or a want? Your car is five years old and in tip-top condition and you want to change to a newer model. Is it a wise decision?

• Financial constraint: How does the decision impact you financially? Can you afford it? Our means are limited and we cannot satisfy all our desires.


What is your mood now? Are you in a position to make a critical decision?

Positive Emotions to Bring You Success in the Workplace

Positive Emotions

Positive emotion can be about the past, the present, or the future. The positive emotions about the future include optimism, hope, faith, and trust. Those about the present include joy, ecstasy, calm, zest, ebullience, pleasure, and (most importantly) flow; these emotions are what most people usually mean when they casually-but much too narrowly-talk about "happiness." The positive emotions about the past include satisfaction, contentment, fulfillment, pride, and serenity.

Martin Seligman

According to Salovey and Mayer emotional intelligence is the “ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.”

What can you do to harness the power of positive emotions? Just remember that successful people attribute their success to emotional and social abilities more than IQ.

The other point to remember is that you decide your own emotions and you can replace your negative emotions with positive ones. Here are the things that you can do at the workplace to propel you to greater height:

·        Appreciation: Do you appreciate your talents and your capabilities? Are you being appreciated for what you have done for the company? Appreciation is a powerful motivating force at work. Appreciate yourself and be appreciated. By the same token show appreciation and gratitude to others for what they have done for you.

·        Enthusiasm: When you wake up in the morning, what is your thought? Is it another working day and I have to go to work or I look forward to another new day to achieve more at work?  When you are enthusiastic and full of energy you attract the attention of others.

·        Confidence: Feel and act confidently. Sit upright with your chest out, walk fast and look ahead. Be sure of yourself and you are ready to face everyday challenges.

·        Respect: It is just plain human relationships. Respect others and people will respect and like you. However, there are people who feel that they are more superior and they look down on others. They will have a hard time getting things done through others.   

·        Happiness: This is the greatest asset that you can have at work. Happiness will generate many other positive emotions. A feeling of well-being, peace, and calm will prevail at work.

·        Honesty: This is a golden rule at work. When you are dishonest, you betray the trust of others in you but you betray yourself as well. Can you be happy without a clear conscience?

·        Inquisitiveness or the curiosity to know more: Nothing excites you? Be thirsty for new ideas and new knowledge. Adopt a learning attitude. Enrich your life to learn and know more. The more you know the more efficient and effective you are at work.

·        Likeable: When you are friendly and you always wear a smile, you are approachable. Communication cannot take place if people refuse to talk to you because they always find you in a foul mood.   

·        Perseverance: This, again, has to do with your thinking. Do you see light at the end of the tunnel or do you want to give up because you think there is no future at all? 

·        Creative problem-solving attitude: This has nothing to do with your intelligence. It is your attitude in the face of problems. Are you willing to face them squarely and think of ways to overcome them or just pass the buck to someone else?

·        Know the right time to act: As a good example, study the mood of your boss and pick the right time to speak to him or her and ask for a raise. When his or her mood is positive the chances of getting a good pay increment are enhanced.

Positive emotions will bring out the best in you and negative emotions will short charge your capabilities. Emotions determine your mood and your mood decides your choice and your choice decides your action and your action decides your success.  

Reductil , Toxins and Weight Management

As reported in the New Straits Times, anti-obesity drug Reductil has recently been recommended for suspension in Europe. It is mentioned that 11.4% of those who took it had heart attack or stroke. In Malaysia, there have been a total of 35 adverse drug reports for Sibutramine, the active ingredient in Reductil, to date.

Sibutramine is approved for the treatment of patients who are obese, have no previous history of cardiovascular disease and have been unable to lose weight through diet and exercise.

The fact is that most overweight people with excess fat are also suffering from heart disease and diabetes. How do these diseases come about?

Toxins

According to Rudy Silvia a natural nutritionist, when you body is toxic, toxins hide and embed themselves in your body fat. This causes your cells and organs to become sluggish and lose efficiently. The fatter you are the more toxins you can store. When the elimination channels (the colon, the kidney, the skin, the lungs and the lymphatic system) can no longer push toxins out of your body; they themselves start to get clogged. Toxins together with other body debris combine to form layer upon layer of material that causes narrowing of elimination tracts. In the end fatal diseases develop. Toxins come from the food you eat and the air you breathe.

When you start to lose weight, this causes fat to be used up in your cells as energy and causes toxins to be released into your blood stream. If you lose weight too fast, you will have excess toxins released into your blood and this creates a variety of unhealthy symptoms and conditions. For this reason you need to lose weight slowly.

Weight Management

Stevie Tan, a weight loss coach, who is running   the LeanFator programme, says that the key thing is to make sure you eat and drink only fresh unprocessed natural food like fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, chicken and beef and not canned and process meant products. According to him eating too much fried food will cause the body to produce extra fat to store the toxin. The other thing is that eating less and skipping meals are a sure way of putting on extra weight. When you restrict your diet your body will start to burn your “stored glucose” called glycogen and fatty acids in your liver and kidney. Once depleted, your body will start to burn your muscle for fuel called ketones, which makes your body acidic and cause you to feel foggy and lethargic. If you keep on skipping meals and eating less you will condition your body to use less fuel and once you start eating normally, you will add on more weight simply because the excess calories will be stored as body fat.  

Lose your body fat the healthy way through sport and diet. Cardiovascular exercises like walking and jogging or other fun physical activities help your metabolism become faster and the faster it is, the easier it is for your body to burn fat.

14 Tips to Simplify Your Life

Simplify your life

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” — Steve Jobs


A simple life is a stress-free life. To simplify your life means to do only a few things that are important to you and offer you the greatest rewards and satisfaction. Here are some suggestions to do less and achieve more in life


1. Do just one thing that is important to you: Having too many goals will stretch your energy and make your life stressful. Just concentrate on one thing so that you are able to focus and do well.

2. A balanced life is a simple life without problems: Do remember to take care of the following things in life:

• Health- Having a balanced diet and doing daily exercise will avoid health problems and complications later.

• Work: Take breaks and be mindful at work You will do more in less time

• Family: Spend time with children and spouse regularly to avoid stress and marital problems at home.

• Relationships: Be in constant touch with people that matter to you. Don’t just go to them only when you need to. Like a bank account, you need to deposit before you can withdraw.

• Personal money: Follow a budget and don’t overspend.

3. Avoid clutter at home and in the office: A clutter-free home or office means getting rid of all unwanted items. Fewer things mean a clean and tidy environment to live with.

4. Make time to do what you like: When you have simplified your life you can do what you like with the available time. I make Sunday free so that I can enjoy a siesta in the afternoon

5. Automate: Use your credit cards to handle all your recurring payments like utility bills and insurance premiums every month. Life is easier without having to issue so many cheques and go to many places to make payments

6. Live within your means: Don’t keep up with the Joneses; you will avoid financial stress to buy unnecessary items and charge to your credit cards. Sooner or later you will accumulate debts beyond your means to pay and be bankrupt. Life will get complicated then

7. Delegate routine tasks in the office: It is the best way to simplify your life at work. You get more time for yourself and you motivate another staff by giving him or her additional assignments.

8. Ignore minor issues and do less: Find out the things that you have been doing every now and then and find out how you can do away with some of the tasks without affecting your life. Don’t sweat the small stuff. It is not worth your effort and time.

9. Read less and watch less TV: Avoid reading too many newspapers and taking too much time to watch TV. Most of the time you are bombarded with bad news which affects you negatively and zaps your energy.

10. Good habits: Adopting good habits mean doing things smoothly and avoid emergency at the last minute to do what you need to do. It also means that there is a place for everything so that you can look for it at the same place. Keys are such a good example. It is my habit to check my car every Sunday morning. I do a few simple checks like tire pressures, water levels, engine oil, and fan belts. When you know the pressure of one tire is exceptional low, you will know that there is something wrong with it. Early detection will avoid a fatal accident later,

11. Do less online but more productive and meaningful: Blogging is a part-time activity for me. I have now done away with posting on social networking sites and social bookmarking sites and I just write and post an article a day and pass comments on other blogs when time permits. Traffic to my site is not affected adversely. Life for me is less stressful.

12. Live near where you work: It will cut down traveling time and avoid traffic jam. You gain more time at work and get home earlier to be with your family.

13. A daily to-do list: It helps simplify your life and without cluttering your mind. Carry the list in your pocket and look at it from time to time. When things get done you get daily satisfaction out of it.

14. Be an early riser: You can do wonders when you are an early riser. You have time to do exercise and enjoy a leisurely breakfast- the most important meal in a day. There is no need to rush about and there is no building up of stress in the morning


A simple life is a delightful and happy life. Do only what you need to do on a consistent basis to avoid stress and problems in life.

Related post:

Simplify Your Life with Credit Cards - 5 Delightful Tips

Getting out of Credit Card debt

Credit Card Debt

It is imperative that we make consumers more aware of the long-term effects of their financial decisions, particularly in managing their credit card debt, so that they can avoid financial pitfalls that may lead to bankruptcy.

Daniel Kahikina Akaka

It is easy to get into credit card debt. All you need to do is to charge and purchase what you want in life and then pay for the minimum amount at the end of the month when you receive the statement. Very soon, the outstanding amount plus interest will be accumulated to such an extent that it is beyond your means to pay. Getting out of debt is different. ball game. You need a two-prong approach. You have to break your habit of spending indiscriminately and pay off your debt faithfully by using a consolidated loan or a balance transfer.

Break your habit: You have to stop your impulsive buying habit or you have to keep the credit cards at home. You need will-power and determination to spend only on what you need and within your budget. You can’t pay off your credit card debt and at some time continue with your usual spending pattern. ”Here is a simple but profound truth. You cannot get out of debt by borrowing more money,” says Jerrold Mundis.

A consolidated loan: This is a loan that you get from a financial institution at an interest rate which is very much lower than your credit card. With this loan, you pay off all your outstanding credit card debt and start repaying the bank regularly until the full amount is settled. You will be able to pay off the debt much sooner as it is the only liability and the interest is very much lower. You can also transfer all of your credit card debt to a new credit card with a six-month 0% interest to pay off the outstanding amount in monthly installments. So you just need to focus on one credit card debt.

Control your spending and settle the outstanding amount faithfully and before long you will be out of debt. The most important thing is to stay out of debt.

Related post:
4 Tips to Stay Out of Debt"

Tai Chi, Glucosamine, Calcium and Knee Pain

Tai Chi

Tai Chi

A recent study suggests that practicing Tai Chi may not only reduce osteoarthritis pain but improve joint functions as well.

Researchers from the Tufts University School of Medicine carried out a study on 40 people with knee osteoarthritis who had an average age of 65. Half were randomly placed in hour-long twice-weekly Tai Chi classes for three months. Participants were also asked to practice Tai Chi for at least 20 minutes a day at home.

The other 20 participants acted as the control group took part in full-body stretching exercise and were encouraged to stretch for 20 minutes a day at home

According to a Los Angeles Times report, those in the Tai Chi group saw a substantial drop in knee pain compared to the control group after three months. The Tai Chi group also saw more improvements in function, depression, and health status.

There are more benefits of practicing Tai Chi on a regular basis. You can

• Improve blood circulation
• Reduce stress
• Enhance muscle coordination and flexibility
• Promote calmness and serenity
• Achieve fitness and relaxation because it is a form of meditation in motion
• Improve your mood and well-being
• Reduce heart rate and blood pressure and increase lung capacity

The best time to do it is in the early morning. Everything is quiet. The graceful and continuous movement will develop peace and calmness in you. When you do it mindfully you are in tune with nature. It is such a beneficial thing to do to start a new day calmly and peacefully.


Glucosamine and calcium

The other suggestion to promote healthy bones and joints is to include the following supplements in your diet:

• Glucosamine
• Calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, calcium citrate or calcium lactate
• Vitamin D to help the absorption of calcium.

According to a report in the newspaper the latest calcium products derived from wild yam which is also suitable for vegetarians. There is no side effect and you do not need to consume vitamin D to assist absorption.

10 Things to avoid on the First Day of Chinese New Year

 For the Chinese, New Year means a new and auspicious beginning. To make it smooth sailing throughout the year there are certain things to avoid like getting married in the first month of the New Year. The marriage will not last. Here are the things to avoid on the first day of Chinese New Year:


1. Avoid sweeping the floor and disposing of garbage: There is an old saying that there is money luck at home and that you should sweep from the outside to the inside of the house to avoid the outflow of your wealth. You should also avoid throwing off garbage at night. If it is so important on other days in a year, it is even more so not to sweep with a broom on the first day of Chinese New Year. If you do you will sweep away your prosperity.

2. Avoid slaughtering: In the morning avoid killing animals such as chickens and ducks. The knife is used to slaughter and it is associated with a bad omen. It brings bad luck to the people at home. This is not a problem because you can buy from the supermarket chickens and ducks pre-slaughtered and ready to be cooked.

3. Avoid eating porridge: In the old days in China rich people eat “dry” rice while poor people eat porridge. However, for the first day of Chinese New Year, it does not matter how poor you are you must eat “dry” rice, hoping that you will be able to eat ‘dry’ rice throughout the year. There is another folklore saying that if you eat porridge you will be caught in the falling rain and be soaking wet.

4. Avoid taking medicine: It is not an auspicious thing that you have to take medication on the first day of the Chinese New Year. When you must, wrap your medicine in a red packet.

5. Don’t take nap in the afternoon: According to tradition, you get rich by working hard. For the start of a new year, you should be prepared to work hard and not taking a nap in the afternoon.

6. Don’t reprimand the children: When you reprimand your children it means that they are not behaving well. It signifies that there is no peace at home and your children are mischievous throughout the year.

7. Avoid breaking of china and glassware: When you break something especially cups, plates, and spoons on the first day of Chinese New Year, it means it will “break” the people, the family, or your money luck. If it does happen, wrap the pieces in red paper and throw it away after the fifth day of Chinese New Year.

8. Avoid quarrelling and fighting: On the first day of Chinese New Year we wish for an auspicious omen, so you do not quarrel or start a fight. If there is an argument it means it will not be a smooth year for the family and business. It is even worse when you start a fight with someone. It means there will be bloodshed and jail term in the year.

9. Avoid giving money: Apart from the giving of Ang Pow, the first day of Chinese New Year is not a time to pay a debt, give out loans or give as a gift ( give red packet instead). It signifies the outflow of wealth and poverty

10. Avoid crying and sobbing: Your house is usually filled with happiness and laughter and if there is crying and sobbing going on in the house, it is not going to be a good sign. It signifies that it is a difficult year for the family members or disaster will befall.


The truth is that when you have all along taken care of the family and getting along well with others, there is nothing to worry about. Doing household chores with care will avoid the breakage of items.