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Living Without Credit – Financial Health
Living Without Credit Can Change Your Life These days, most people’s lives revolve around credit and keeping the credit score high enough to buy things such as houses, cars, insurance, cell phones, and rent. Even utilities can use credit reports to determine the interest rate you’ll pay and in some cases whether you can even get the item you want. Living without credit is possible, but be aware that some things might be a bit more difficult. If you have no credit, you will still be able to function in today’s society, but it might cost you an added one or two percentage points in interest or require a larger…
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Saving Money for Financial Health
Saving Money – Make It a Part of Your Family’s Budget Does saving money seem impossible to you? Do you find yourself envious of those who have a savings account? Have you ever found yourself having to charge unexpected expenses on a credit card because you don’t have any money saved? If you lost your job, would you have any savings to cover your living expenses? You may really want a savings account, but aren’t sure how those who have one actually do it. Maybe you’ve tried, and just don’t seem to have anything left over each month for savings. Financial experts across the board recommend having a savings account,…
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Financial Health – Reduce Financial Stress
Identify the Problem – What Exactly Are You Stressed About? If you want to reduce financial stress in your life, the first thing you need to do is to identify exactly what you are stressing about. There are many different aspects of finances that you may be stressed about. The only way to truly reduce or eliminate stress is to identify the cause. You need to be as specific as possible and define the source of your troubles. It may sound or feel simplistic, but you need sit down and think about what you’re really stressed about. For example… Are you stressed about saving for retirement? Paying off student loans?…
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The Dangers of Belly Fat
It might seem strange to follow a post about our society’s unhealthy emphasis on thinness with a post about the dangers of belly fat, but the truth is, we need to find a balance that will allow for both a healthy body and a healthy self image. No matter what we might call it, spare tire, pot belly or beer keg, having excess fat in your abdominal area is never a good thing. As a matter of fact, it presents a very serious danger. Health Risks of Belly Fat Belly fat is not like the fat on other parts of your body. It is far more serious. When you have…
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Cultivating Creativity – Find Time to be Creative
I have written before about the importance of cultivating creativity in our children. This is so vital to developing their self-esteem, teaching them to be problem solvers, and teaching them to be givers and not takers. See my post at HomeFreeMedia – Consumer or Creator? for more on this. Creativity, in children or adults, is all about opportunity. You might have wonderful ideas, but do you have the time to execute them? You might have great plans, but do you have the tools you need to build on them? Encouraging creativity in children is relatively easy. Give them lots of blank paper, some markers or crayons, a pair of scissors…
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Twiggy is the new normal
I am old enough to remember the 1960’s. Yes, I was just a kid, but I remember the Vietnam war, Walter Cronkite on the evening news, and the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. I also remember the semi-scandalous splash that was made back then by a young fashion model named Twiggy. Women’s clothing in the 1960’s was colourful. Skirts were appallingly short, or long, depending upon your tastes. The motto was pretty much “anything goes,” as long as it was daring and bright. Into the midst of all this, came a young model from the U.K. who called herself Twiggy. The name, Twiggy, was well chosen. She was shockingly…
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Healthy Cooking – Salt and Seasonings
Salt and seasonings can turn an ordinary meal into a work of culinary art, but many people are concerned about getting too much salt in their diets and timid about experimenting with herbs and spices. Salt can cause problems with high blood pressure and water retention or bloating. While you do need some salt in your diet for good health, those of us who enjoy fast food and prepackaged snacks typically get way too much. When shopping for ingredients, look for items labeled as “low sodium” or “sodium free.” By choosing lower sodium foods, you can control how much salt you add to your meals. When you must use salt,…
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Healthy Cooking – The Pleasures and Perils of Sugar
Sugar is definitely an area where most of us tend to have too much of a good thing. Your brain needs to have sugars in order to function. But this doesn’t mean you need to have that doughnut! Eating processed sugar provides a great jolt that makes you feel fantastic while it lasts, but then leads to a crash as blood sugar levels drop right back down again. Some people are more sensitive to this than others. I personally have felt a natural sugar crash from eating a whole apple by itself. Having some protein tends to moderate this for me. Maybe have some cheese with that apple? Children seem…
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Healthy Cooking – Using a Slow Cooker
Using a slow cooker to prepare healthy meals can make life easier for any busy cook. This is a healthy way to cook and can really be a time saver in your life. With slow cookers you can add ingredients to the pot, set the temperature, and then walk away for hours. This can be especially helpful if you have a job outside of your home or just a very busy schedule. You can put healthy foods in to cook but then you can continue with your activities knowing that you’ll have a great meal for dinner, ready to eat at the end of the work day. The biggest complaint…
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Techniques for Healthy Cooking – Steaming
Steaming is very healthy and flavourful way to cook. It is especially good for cooking fresh vegetables. You can purchase a special steamer that plugs into the wall or you can convert an ordinary pan into a steamer by inserting a special steaming basket made of metal or bamboo. With steaming, you just add add some water to the pan, then add the steaming basket. Your veggies go on top of the basket so that the water doesn’t actually cover the vegetables or even touch them. You’ll then need to put a lid on your pot to keep the steam in. As you heat the water at the bottom of…
