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Bad Credit
The world and Australians included are spinning out of debt control. To some extent I think we all have too much trust in others (like Banks or whatever) to look after our interests. We need to be in control of our own destiny.
I/we probably don’t use credit wisely or repay my loans quickly enough. But I know that if I only ever pay the minimum repayment on my credit card I will probably never repay the balance. As a method of payment Credit Cards are very convenient but as a vehicle for borrowing – which is what you do if you don’t repay in full – they suck.
SO credit card buyer beware – don’t let that minimum repayment number fool you :)
Minimum-payment requirements seem like a good idea: Without them, credit-card holders would pay too little and let balances bloom. But a new study indicates that many of us would pay more if our statements didn’t require a minimum.
The problem with minimum-payment requirements, the study found, is that they can lower a cardholder’s sense of what a reasonable payment is — an effect known as anchoring, which was especially strong among cardholders who usually paid more than the minimum but less than the total balance. A test group of such cardholders who got credit-card bills with $700 balances and no minimum-payment requirement paid an average of $280 — about 40 percent of the balance. A control group who received similar bills that included minimums, meanwhile, paid only $161, or 23 percent of the balance — a rate of payment that would have eventually cost them twice as much interest.
Minimum payments, then, are the cardholder’s enemy — and the creditor’s friend.
Post found on Very Short List
They don’t make ‘em like they used to
They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To
There is a great article at this site I just found called www.Babblebaby.com.au
It’s all about old TV shows that were on when I was a kid. Shows like The Goodies & Monkey Magic. Here’s my comment on the site:
Would I let my 3 & 6 year old watch these - You betcha. This is a slice of my childhood. Monkey and the Goodies are my favourite shows of all those years and I still watch them. Throw in Dr Who and you have every afternoon at my place. Monkey was a little violent for sure and who didn't hit their brother with a stick playing Monkey - I know did. Not only would I let my kids watch Noddy or Mr Squiggle or The Muppets, I would encourage it and probably enjoy sitting next to them to watch together. And isn't that the point - making TV a shared experience and not just a pseudo child minder
Cheers :)
These are some of my favourite shows of all time.
Throw in the following shows and you have a picture of my viewing habits as a kid.
- Dr Who
- The Smurfs – lord help me but I was late many a morning watching Smurfs
- Fraggle Rock
- Press Gang – I absolutely loved this show when it came out
- Battle of the Planets – we called it G Force – my brother Chris loved this the most
Many of these shows, especially on the ABC were repeated and repeated and we watched every episode over and over. They fell like old friends to me :)
The One Skill That Will Earn You Money, No Matter What You Do
Communication
No matter what you do in life, communication will earn you money.
You’re a person working in a cubicle on hard problems. The ability to present your work to the boss during performance reviews will make or break you. The ability to present your work to coworkers will help your project go better. The ability to talk to peers at conferences will open up new connections and possibly new career paths for you.
You’re a person who’s involved with artistic work. Your ability to sell your work relies on your ability to communicate. In many cases, your work itself relies on an ability to communicate - art speaks, does it not?
You work at a minimum wage job at a burger joint. Good communication skills get you to the front counter, where the work is typically more varied and more interesting and you have the opportunity to show off customer relations skills to the manager, who will begin to value you as a key employee, leading to potential raises and better scheduling.
You’re standing at the bus stop. Other people are waiting around, mostly just fidgeting. Keeping quiet will earn you nothing. Starting a conversation with the guy in the business suit holding a copy of one of your favorite books might start a valuable friendship.
Here are ten things you can do immediately to improve that skill.
Introduce yourself to others as often as is reasonably possible. If you’re in a situation where you’re in close public quarters with others that you do not know (like a meeting room, a party, or a dinner table), introduce yourself to them, and initiate some conversation. Likely, if you’re sitting there quiet and nervous, they’re feeling the exact same way. Even in the worst case scenario - the conversation doesn’t go well - at the very least, you got some conversational practice out of the deal.
Make a concerted effort to remember names well enough that you can call them by name later. Always ask for people’s names and try very hard to remember them. At the end of the conversation, get a business card from them and, later, jot what you can remember about them down on the back of the card - the occasion in which you met, any key information that stands out, etc. If you can’t get a business card, jot their name down in a notebook with similar information. This will help you remember. Then, if you think you might be meeting that person again, review the information a bit before you go. This will help you immediately have an impact on them the next time you meet.
Take every opportunity you can get to speak in front of a crowd and give presentations. If you’ve got an opportunity to speak in public, always take it. Not only does this force you to know how to organize your thoughts and communicate them to others, it provides countless opportunities to open up interactions with people who share your interests and concerns.
Put extra care into explaining your work to others. Whenever you have a chance to explain your work to others, put in plenty of care so that they’re able to understand it without their eyes glossing over. Comment your code. Think of everyday analogies for what you’re doing and use them. Try as hard as you can to avoid technical talk unless the situation specifically calls for it. In short, the better you can explain what you’re doing to a layman, the better you’ll appear not only to upper management, but to people in future interview situations.
Share what you know about your work as widely as possible.
It’s always worthwhile to start a blog covering your professional area. Not only does it give you an opportunity to sort through your thoughts and concepts, it also allows you to share your ideas with a wide world. Plus, doing it regularly simply makes you a better communicator. Here are five great examples of strong professional blogs:
Joel on Software is written by Joel Spolsky, a software developer
Seth’s Blog is written by Seth Godin, a marketing consultant
Jeffrey Zeldman Presents is written by Jeffrey Zeldman, a web developer
DennisKennedy.blog is written by Dennis Kennedy, a lawyer
Doctor David’s Blog is written by Dr. Davide Loeb, a pediatric oncologist
Compliment others sincerely. If someone does something well, compliment them, and do it sincerely. Most people go through the drudgery of their workday and their daily life without realizing that people sincerely appreciate their efforts. Thank people for the effort they put out for you, from the company president all the way down to the janitorial staff. Thank the administrative assistant who helped you get your paperwork filed. Compliment the person at the beauty salon who just got an excellent new hair style. I even go so far as to tell people that I see on the street that they look beautiful today or that they’re wearing great clothes (”I love that jacket!”). Even if it gets you nothing more than a thank you, you’d be shocked how often such things come back around in the long run.
Participate in social groups where you have a high likelihood of meeting new people. Find a group or two that match your interests or beliefs (faith, community service, books, etc.) and get involved. Go to those meetings and make an effort to meet new people there. Take leadership roles.
Attend conferences and conventions with the goal of meeting people. Don’t attend conferences in order to listen to the talks. Attend conferences to meet people. As soon as you’ve decided to go to a conference, see if you can get involved in the organization a bit. Help run a session, or be a “substitute” speaker if one is needed. During the rest of the meeting, make an effort to meet people who share your specific interests and work on building the beginning of friendships with them. If you’re eating alone at a conference, you’re wasting that conference.
When people talk, listen and ask occasional questions. Most people prefer to talk about themselves and their own interests much more than listening. If you’re having a one-on-one conversation, most people tend to feel best about it when they’ve done about 60-65% of the talking. That means that you’ll almost always make for a better conversationalist if you shoot for 35-40% of the talking. The best way to do that is to just listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Watch them - don’t let your eyes wander. Ask an occasional question or two. This doesn’t mean you should be silent, but it does mean you should let the other person do the brunt of the talking.
Talk about your own mistakes before ever criticizing others. If you’re ever in a position to criticize others, always be up front with your own mistakes, foibles, and flaws. You will never come off well if you try to create an air of perfection around yourself while criticizing others. It’s never a bad idea to lead with an anecdote about a mistake you’ve made in the past, even in interview situations (of course, there you’ll want to continue by explaining how you fixed the mistake, if reasonable). Trying to come off as perfect makes you seem less human and thus criticism from you seems much less palatable. Show some flaws - you’ll come off better in the end.
Copied from The Simple Dollar Blog
Workout Music – Rage!
I posted this recently at Gyminee – thought I would share
I have some different playlists on the iPod for lifting workouts including Queen, The Offspring, and The Darkness.
But the one that really gets me 'zoned in' and agro to get that last rep is Rage Against the Machine. I just have the best of. Driving beats and mad as hell - shout it like you mean it lyrics.
To me RATM sound like the soundtrack to a prize fight. If you need to focus and get the distractions of the day or other people in the gym out of your mind then Rage On!
I’m going for Wolverine's work-out
This is sort of what I have been doing, that is:
- More exercise
- More protein
- Less carbs
- More regular eating and smaller portions (I have been slack on that these couple of cold weeks)
It’s working for me so far – see me at Gyminee
I like the reference to low HI diet. The less processed the better
Off to the gym this arvo I think :)
ninemsn talks to the hairy man's trainer Michael Ryan about how he got that body.
Fancy a superhero's body? The Hulk is a mean, green muscle machine, Superman's a six-pack wielding cliché and Spider-Man is too lycra-clad to envy. But Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is quite a different story. A well-conditioned torso, chest and arms are something your everyday man could aspire too.
Building up a new burly physique isn't something that only the likes of a celebrity preparing for the part of the animalistic superhero can achieve, of course. According to his personal trainer and good friend, Michael Ryan, it's within all of our reach with a little dedication.
So, is Hugh naturally muscular and therefore not a good representation of your average man?
Not at all! I've worked with him for over 20 years and when we first met he was skinny. In fact, he had chicken legs! He has built his body gradually over the years. He's 39 now and looking better than ever.
Hugh's very well-stacked for his title role in Wolverine. Did you put him through hours of gruelling training a day?
The routine was intense but it was for 1.5 hours for six days a week. It wasn't a complicated regime at all and something anyone can do. It was based on four or five lifting sessions and a cardiovascular session.
The key to our success with his body was variation. A lot of guys head for the gym day-in day-out and do the same thing every time and then wonder why their body stays the same. Make a point of working different muscles, building on the weight you can lift and getting your heart beating with a mix of running, swimming or cross-training.
No tight-clad yoga sessions then?
Not for this role! But we have used yoga in the past to condition his body. It's a fantastic way of toning and elongating muscles.
Ah, but once you've got all that muscle, a few days off and it turns to flab?
Not the case. I think if you ask anyone who has successfully improved their body with a regular workout, going back to old ways is not an option. It's not hard to maintain muscle if you are dedicated to keeping up a routine. Hugh's finished filming now but rang from New York to let me know he's keeping up the good work!
How big a part does diet play in achieving a body like Wolverine's?
It plays a huge part. If you think about the fact that only 1.5 hours is spent training, it's the 22.5 hours after that are the worry. We put Hugh on a six-meals-a-day plan that consisted of high-protein foods. Think fish, meat and pulses.
What we put a big focus on was basing the diet on as low an HI [human interference] diet as possible. Basically as untouched, unmodified by human hands as possible. It's how the body functions at its optimum level.
Does it get harder to achieve a Wolverine-esque body as you get older?
Well Hugh's almost 40 and we didn't face any issues. Men can peak in their mid-40 so age isn't as big a factor as you'd think. Getting the body you want is about balance and dedication.
6 Things Money Cannot Help you Achieve
Written on 6/06/2008 by Shilpan Patel of Success Soul
Imagine you are Mr. Bill Gates, czar of the wealth. Life is great; you're the richest man on the earth. You can buy anything in life, right? Wrong. Before you ride on the jet of euphoria and focus your entire life on earning money, know there are simply things that a roll of hundred dollar bills cannot get for you, not even if you are Mr. Gates.
If you are perplexed, let me explain my theory. It may sound like an oxymoron but money has its Achilles’ heel. All of our false perceptions about money have one common flaw - they identify money as something external to us, they identify money as the tool to accumulate abundance to please others by accumulating possessions.
What money can't buy mostly lies within us. Nonetheless, trading our life energy for money can deprive us from inner nourishment that can eventually lead our lives into a downward spiral.
1. Time: Money is a tool for trade. With that said, we spend a good chunk of our allotted time on this earth getting, spending, worrying and fantasizing about money. You can't buy the time and save it in your storeroom even if you are Mr. Gates. On the contrary, money takes away your time that could have been spent playing with your children or having a long walk with your alter ego. When the sun sets, a day goes away from our life forever. No money has power to bring that back to life.
2. Self Awareness: Ignorance is bliss, right? It's a curse. Not having self-awareness and self-consciousness lead to decisions that can cost you dearly. Well, the cost may be life itself. As a result, many people live a mediocre life without living for a true purpose. Their ignorance can't be transmuted into awareness with money. They believe that their ignorance is their awareness.
3. Self esteem: I have a plethora of examples to prove that no money can purchase self-esteem. Self-esteem is earned from within. If you are your worst enemy, gods of money can't rescue you from the self-destruction you inflict on yourself. King of rock Elvis Presley had the best life one can imagine with no dearth of cash. He took his own life with the deprivation of self-esteem.
4. Health: As I write this, I found out that Senator Kennedy has brain cancer, and it is terminal. Of course money can get him the best health care possible but no money can buy insurance for a life. We buy insurance for just about everything including our life but money can never bring life back.
5. Respect: Try this. Slap someone on his face and then hand him $100 to get his respect. Will you get it? I doubt it. We all live our life in pursuit of self-respect from peers, from family members, from our alter ego and even from strangers. No money can buy respect from others if our actions speak volumes about our negativity - insult, rudeness and lack of respect for others.
6. Happiness: This is controversial. Money can buy happiness if it is spent on to bring grater financial security for the family. However, money can't buy happiness if the purpose is to make money to make other people happy. The chase of possession of possessions can never find its destination with incessant desire to accumulate more possessions. Happiness comes from within. When we trade so much time and energy to get money, we deprive our inner self from the food of happiness.
I'm sure that you either are nodding you head in disbelief by now, or you've been enlightened by the revelation that, after all, money can't buy some of what matters most in our life. I'll be glad to get a zap or a hug from you.
Sleep deprivation is not a badge of honour
This is an interesting article on missing sleep. The guy is right – some people plan on it or don’t do enough to avoid it. Some bosses expect or encourage overtime and so on too
The photo in this link is right - just ask any new parent if sleep deprivation encourages creativity. Our 2 year old has been having some bed-wetting problems again lately. We nearly had it mastered and he will again soon I am sure. But getting up in the middle of the night to wash him and strip the bed totally sucks.
We all miss some sleep occasionally but the 2 caveats are:
- Avoid missing sleep and don't plan to miss sleep
- When you do - catch it up as soon as possible - without wrecking your sleep patterns
Easier said than done I know :)
Link to post by David at 37signals.com
Vine Ripened Tomatoes
I made Tracy & I an omelette sort of thing for breakfast this morning. I have changed my diet a little so am avoiding the toast/cereal trap so some eggs are good first thing.
Anyway - I ate a tomato with the omelette too. They are big red and juicy and quite flavoursome.
Here's the kicker - How long do they last!
Tracy bought 4 vine ripened tomatoes weeks ago - at least 3 weeks. They have just been in the fridge since and they are still great. Your typical supermarket gas ripened rubbish taste like water and don't last a week before going south.
No more crap tomatoes for me - vine ripened or nothing. They are worth the extra $$
Get happy!
Some of this is a bit 'New Age' but I thought some of this advice was interesting. I find sometimes when I am zoned out and vague I am actually breathing very shallow. A few deep breaths and I perk up a bit. I would also like to be more alert to my posture as this can save you from the slumped shoulders and aches and pains of sitting too long.
What do we need to become more alert, calm and happy? The practice of happiness is a continual one, so get smiling with these ten top steps.
#1 Get your mind in gear to go
Enjoy a relaxing stretch in bed, filling your lungs with fresh air, breathing out any heaviness from the
night. Read an excerpt from something that uplifts your spirit and reminds you of the purpose of your own existence. This will help set your intention for the day before the busyness begins. Your intention might be to practice kindness, compassion or respect for all people – including yourself.# 2 Come to your senses
Wherever you are, be there! Your body is always in the present yet your mind is forever projecting into the future or rehashing the past. Practice awareness of the present moment by coming to your senses. Be aware of your posture, the shape of your body and the touch of your clothing; notice its texture, the temperature that your clothing helps create. Feel the air moving against the skin of your hands and face. Listen to all of the sounds around you. Let your listening run right out until you hear the clouds passing. Then focus on your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Let any thoughts or feelings come to pass without holding onto any of them.
# 3 Stress detector
Practice increasing your awareness of what happens in your body when you encounter stressful situations. Does your pulse increase, do you feel tight in your chest or your throat. Do you sweat or get butterflies in your stomach? Does your jaw tighten or does your head feel like it’s going to burst? It is better not to speak or act from a state of reaction.# 4 Be present to the breath
Awareness of the breath allows you to more easily respond rather than react to life’s challenges. We can't always control what happens to us in life but we can control how we respond to the things that happen. We may not be able to avoid becoming emotionally upset, but we can control the intensity and duration of that upset and how we express it.
# 5 Don’t take your life so personally
Learn to not take yourself quite so seriously. If you can laugh at yourself you will be endlessly amused. Your body secretes endorphins when you laugh. These natural hormones give you a natural high and empower your immune system. Where possible, escalate a smile into a chuckle, a chuckle into a laugh and a laugh into a belly-shaking one. A light-hearted approach to life allows us to be spontaneous and available to people in the present moment.
# 6 Know yourself
Become aware of your attitudes, beliefs and reactions. Be willing to be a work in progress. This gives you the chance to change your judgments of yourself and others. Know what replenishes you and make sure that those things happen in your life. If music, nature, singing, dancing, reading, gardening or other activities replenish you, then make sure those things are present in your life on a regular basis.
# 7 Lace them up
Exercising for 40 minutes can reduce stress levels for up to three hours. Find regular and enjoyable
exercise which can be realistically incorporated into your life. Walking and swimming are two of the most beneficial forms of exercise and improve your circulation, breathing and the functioning of all your internal organs.# 8 Letting go of the past
The past cannot be undone. Forgiving is not the same as condoning. True forgiveness is an internal act and doesn’t need the involvement of the person or situation in which we felt wounded. The essence of forgiveness is that we liberate ourselves from reacting from feelings of being hurt or wounded.
# 9 Learn relaxation techniques
Familiarity with progressive relaxation techniques helps us to recognise when we are becoming stressed. Having the ability to physically unwind is the first step to letting go of mental tension. Regular use of a good relaxation practice will take the stress out of learning the technique!
# 10 Learn to meditate
Learning to meditate can be the next simple step in relaxing the mind so that it becomes quieter. With a quiet and focused mind our intuition, inspiration and imagination become more readily accessible. Meditation is one of the greatest tools for improving clarity, concentration and memory.
Petrea King is the author of Your Life Matters – The Power of Living Now and directs the Quest for Life Centre, Bundanoon, NSW www.questforlife.com.au
6 Simple Strategies to Stay Happy
I thought this was pretty interesting. Be satisfied and grateful for what you have will make you appreciate it more. Any other boon that comes along will be a bonus and make you even happier but you won't be sad without it. Cheers MATT
It is a fact that if you want something too badly, it is likely to evade you. And this is truer for happiness than anything else. The reason why happiness seems to evade the millions of people searching for it is because they are looking in the wrong place.Most people look for happiness "outside" themselves and not "inside". Some feel that they would be happy if they could afford a house of their own. Others feel that they just have to own all the latest gizmos to finally find happiness.
There are some who may not seek happiness in material things but they are still not looking in the right place. They feel that they would be happy if they found the right life partner or if their children loved them more. Even in such cases, these people are searching for happiness "outside" themselves.
Have you ever wondered how most infants are extremely happy almost all the time? Physical discomfort can make them cry for a while but such aspects are transient and last for only a few minutes. The reason why infants are almost always in a state of natural happiness is because they are in constant awe of nature and the world around them. Unfortunately, it is the society, parents, friends, teachers and relatives that influence them with regards to what happiness should mean.
It may be difficult to undo all the layers of perception that have formed on the mind over time. However, it is never too late to try and address the issue and train your mind to be happy. There are some tips that can help you in shedding your inhibitions and breaking away from the shackles of predefined definitions of happiness.
- Accept yourself – One of the key reasons why people are unhappy is that they do not really like or love themselves enough. It is essential that you accept yourself as what you are without any caveats and conditions to attain happiness. Don't get too critical about yourself – your looks, your brains, your capabilities or your financial condition. Just learn how to love yourself as you are. You will realize that once you are comfortable with what you are, others will accept you more willingly.
- Happiness is a state of mind – It is important that you understand and appreciate that your happiness lies within. Consider this – no one can make you unhappy if you have decided for sure that you will be happy in every situation. If you have made up your mind to be happy, you can always seek out the positive aspects of a situation and remain happy. Life may throw challenges at you but solutions will come faster and to you if you face them with a smile on your face.
- Prioritise your life – As we grow older, the demands that various people and circumstances they lay on us increase. While on the one hand your job pressures increase, you may also feel the need to spend time with your family and children. At the same time, you may also want to enjoy life personally by doing the things that you have always wanted like going to the gym or taking off on a mountaineering trek.
It is important that you learn how to balance the various responsibilities that you may have. If any one of these tasks becomes paramount, you are likely to ignore the others. For example, if you get extremely preoccupied with your work, you family life are likely to miss you. On the other hand, if you are too consumed with your plans for your various hobbies, your job and family are likely to suffer. You may achieve momentary happiness but neither of these situations can result in happiness in the long run.- Take care of your health – an unhealthy body cannot be the home of a happy mind. It is important that you understand the strong link between physical health and mental happiness. If you are fit and healthy, you are likely to exude positive energy.
- Stay in the company of happy people – Ensure that you seek out people who are happy and cheerful all the time. Being in the company of people who have a habit of cribbing and criticizing is likely to divert your mind towards negative thoughts. Avoid getting into the sulk mode by choosing the company of happy people.
- Be grateful – Saying a small "thank you" for what you have can make a lot of difference. When you make it a habit to be grateful, you seek out the things that you do have. This helps you divert your mind from negative thoughts of what you do not have. This does not mean that you give up trying. On the other hand it encourages you to think of future goals and achievements in a positive manner.
Take time off to enjoy nature, life and the small things that we take for granted on a daily basis. A beautiful sunset can bring you joy, if only you would take a few minutes out of your daily schedule and look at it.
FROM: 6 Simple Strategies to Stay Happy - Dumb Little Man
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