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How To Reduce Post Holiday Debt

Many people find themselves in debt after the holiday season. Often, it was unintentional, or for many in tough economic times, it is the only way they can get through the season. In any event, it is done and over worth, and now it must be dealt with. Debt can spiral out of control the longer one avoids it. These steps will help you deal with your holiday debt, and help you become debt-free.

STEP ONE: Gather all your bills and cards.

If you don’t have your more recent statements yet, get online and retrieve one. Take all your cards and store them in a safe place. You must commit to not incur any more debt while you are paying off your holiday debt.

STEP TWO: Make a list of your debts.

List all your cards, their balances, interest rates, minimum payments and payment due dates. This will give you a clear picture of your debts. Add up your total debt and you total minimum payments due each month.

STEP THREE: Go over your budget.

Go over your entire budget and see how much you can allocate to credit cards. Can you cut out some extra’s while you are paying off your holiday debt? Perhaps you may want to consider picking up some extra hours at work or even taking on a second job. Selling unwanted items on craigslist or ebay can also bring in some extra cash. Use this extra money to pay off your holiday debt.

STEP FOUR: Pay off your smallest balance credit card first.

Order your credit cards from lowest balance to highest balance. Take that minimum payment and double it if you can, or pay as much on this card as possible. Any extra money should go to this card until it is paid off. Once this debt is paid off, move on to the next card with the lowest balance.

STEP FIVE: Pay the minimum on the rest of the cards.

Pay only the minimum on your other cards as all your extra cash should go toward your smallest balance.

STEP SIX: Start a Holiday Savings Account.

Calculate what you need or want to spend for the next holiday season and start saving. This will help you avoid falling into debt again as the next holiday season approaches. Find a high interest savings account, or open a CD (Certificate of Deposit) if you are able.

STEP SEVEN: Realize that holidays are not about spending money, but being with family and friends.

Many people get swept up in the holiday shopping season, but it is important to remember that the holidays are not about material items, but being with family and friends.

Congratulations on taking the first step to paying off your holiday debt! You can do it if you put your mind to it and work at it.

How To Self Love

Tapping into and expressing the wisdom within the soul is the ultimate of love stories.

The ways in which folks often think of and practice self love are normally very limiting. One person may purchase material items to fill a void and another may have collection of boyfriends to meet her ever growing search and need for happiness. These examples of methods that people often utilize only bring short term satisfaction and never fulfill one’s true need and desire; to quench the spiritual thirst for balance, wholeness, peace, joy and endless love.

What is the Way to Lasting Self Love?

Some believe that the way to lasting self love is to honor the divine within. The divine within is that aspect of self which exists in the realm of the infinite, the home of the all encompassing creator. This aspect of self is often called the ” higher self.” One can connect with higher self through the soul.

What is the Soul?

The soul is considered to be the whole aspect of a person in their expression in this life, and is that part of us that lives through all our earth lives, incarnating in different bodies. It is aware of the expanded version of self which lives outside of space and time constraints. The soul acts as a bridge to higher self.

When accessed, the higher self or spirit ushers in to help in the growth process from human evolution to divine realization. The goal is to bring in light and allow for higher achievements in growing spiritually in consciousness. This not only helps the person doing the exercise, but also helps the all.

How to Honor the Divine Within

There are several ways to honor the divine aspect of self, the soul. Spending time each day to connect on this level deepens the love of self, which in turn many feel is the act of also awakening the God within. Loving self in this way has been known to open the doors to one’s fullest potential.

1. Appreciate the unique soul within self; recognize, contemplate and express in a journal this love.
2. Call upon the soul for guidance and intuition concerning what is best for growth and spiritual evolution.
3. Trust this inner wisdom to reveal how much sleep is necessary, how much outdoor sun time is beneficial, what to eat and which activities are most regenerative for body, mind and spirit.
4. Only allow thoughts and feelings of higher frequency; love, joy, appreciation, gratitude, sharing, caring etc.
5. When a negative though arises, turn the other cheek. Reach for a better feeling thought, ask your soul to show you a better feeling thought.
6. Loving and accepting self right in the here and now. In the present moment, supporting and loving and forgiving self.
7. When a situation arises, know that the soul, connected to higher self, is pouring love upon the issue if given the green light to do so. Know that the soul holds tremendous love that is accessed by opening up to it. Methods for opening up to soul love: meditation, intention, asking or imagining the soul pouring light into any issue or creation to bring it to its highest.

To honor the divine within is to connect on a soul level. To connect on a soul level is to carry out this love thyself. Loving self is to appreciate to the soul, trust in inner wisdom, to entertain only joyful and blissful thoughts as best as possible, to know that endless love is always available, and to remember to stay present in the moment.

How To Make Exercise More Fun

There are many great ways to make exercising more fun. One of the best methods that I use that always makes my exercise workouts more fun is very simple. It is just listening to music while I workout.

Listening to music while I workout always makes exercising quite a lot more fun for me and always makes the time fly by very fast. Also, listening to music while I workout helps me to keep myself from focusing too much on any pain or discomfort that I might encounter during my workout, such as cramps, strains, etc. And in order to be able to listen to music while still retaining the ability to efficiently perform and and every kind of exercise workout, I usually choose to wear a relatively small in size MP3 player with earbud speakers.

This setup has always worked exceptionally well for me and I continue to use it each and every day. Another great way to make exercising more fun is just to perform your workouts in an environment that you enjoy.

For instance, if you are a person that enjoys being in the outdoors more than he likes being inside, I would recommend that you perform your exercise workouts in the outdoors, This will enable you to be able to enjoy your environment while you exercise. This will really help you to stay focused and to overlook any small amounts of discomfort that you might encounter.

Yet another way to make exercising more fun is to choose whether or not you are a person who enjoys working out alone or with a friend / friends. If you like working out with your friends, you should try to invite your friends along every time you workout. Or if you like to exercise alone, you should try to find some time in your schedule when you can just be alone. This will really make exercising more fun.

And of course, the individual types of exercises that you perform in your workouts can have a profound effect upon how much you enjoy excercising. For example, if you are a person who enjoys a great deal of rapid physical movement and you do not like to sit still, I would highly recommend that you partake in a great deal of running / jogging workouts. Or if you like to do a lot of weight – lifting, I recommend that you try to incorporate more of this in your exercise workouts.

Either way, if you try to incorporate into your workouts the individual types of exercises that you like the most, you will find that you will find your excersing to be quite a lot more fun and entertaining.

Benefits Of Drinking Water With Meals

Did you know that drinking water with your meals can help improve digestion and absorption of food? Find out more benefits of drinking water with meals here!

Everyone knows that drinking water with your meals is a good habit to get into. However a wide majority of these people do not know the facts that make this information true.

It is better to be informed with the reasoning as to why you are doing something before you blindly go do it. The benefits of drinking water with every meal range all the way from dietary benefits all the way to general health benefits.

The first benefit of drinking water with every meal is perhaps the simplest of them as well, and that is the fact that water keeps you hydrated. While there are other things you could drink with your meals that would keep you adequately hydrated, none of them are as effective as water.

This is because water is the basis of everything else that hydrates you, and it saves your body from having to break down all the other ingredients in juices and soda before it can begin doing its job. While this is not only a benefit of drinking water with meals, but rather a benefit of drinking water with meals, it is still a great reason to drink water with meals.

If you are trying to lose weight chances are you are looking to cut down on calories. This makes water an excellent choice to drink with your meals because it contains no calories. If you were to drink a soda or other drink with every meal you ate every day, you are in taking a much greater number of calories than if you were to just drink water with each meal. Combine this reduced number of calories with a steady diet and exercise plan and you will be on your way to losing weight in no time at all.

Drinking water with your meals will also help prevent overeating. When the body receives water the digestive system starts its process to digest food. Once these processes start, the body sends signals telling your body that it doesn’t need too much more food to complete what it needs to get done and as a result your body doesn’t give you the desire to eat as much as had your digestive system not been activated before eating.

While drinking a different type of liquid with your meals will not kill you, drinking water definitely has a few clear advantages over other types of drinks. These benefits range from diet help to simple quality hydration. If you don’t like water, try buying flavor packets that can be added to water from the store. They are usually low in calories and relatively healthy for you.

Best Meals For 5 Or Less

Want to save money on your food budget? Check out these cheap and easy recipes for meals that will cost you less than $5.

Money is a concern for most people now, and as a result food is often one of the first things that people sacrifice. But eating on a budget does not mean you have to give up good taste. Below are recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each of which can be made for five dollars or less.

Breakfast Burrittos

Step 1: Scramble eggs. 
Step 2: Decide on other fillings. At this point you can add sliced ham, onions, tomatoes, peppers. Choose whatever is in season and what is on sale. 
Step 3: Add cheese
Step 4: Cook tortilla shell. This can be done quickly by the desired number of tortillas between two napkins and microwaving for approximately 30 seconds
Step 5: Fill tortilla shell with eggs, fillings and cheese.

Polish Sausage and Rice

Step 1: Simply slice polish sausage or kielbasa into rounds  a quarter of an inch to half a inch thick. 
Step 2: Place the sliced meat in a pot over medium heat.
Step 3: Add two tablespoons of butter and your favorite rice (Knorr brand is good).
Step 4: Add water according to rice package plus two tablespoons. 
Step 5: Cook until rice is soft. Meat should be cook through at this point.

Hamburgers with Homemade Fries

Step 1: Season hamburger meat. Salt and pepper will do fine, but if you have Worcestershire sauce in your pantry this is a nice flavor addition. Also when fresh pepper and onions are in season these are very affordable and good to dice finely and add to ground beef. 
Step 2: Pat out hamburger. One pound of ground beef should make about four hamburgers. 
Step 3: Grill hamburgers outside if weather permits or inside using a griddle skillet. Cook over medium heat. Remember to cook the meat slow enough that it retains the flavor. 
Step 4: Wash potatoes.
Step 5: Peel potatoes and cut lengthwise into the desired shape. Wedges or slices slightly larger than fast food French fries work well. 
Step 6: Heat oil in skillet over medium/high heat. Oil should cover the entire bottom of the skillet. 
Step 7: Add potatoes to hot oil. Cook until light brown in color. 
Step 8: Remove hamburger from grill. Check to make sure that they are fully cooked (there should be no pink coloring). Place hamburger patty on buns and top with whatever is available - ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, cheese, onions, pickles.
Step 9: Remove potatoes from oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle salt over potatoes while still hot.

Other great meal ideas include:

Spaghetti
Meatloaf
Homemade Pizza
Omelets

One other thing to consider is going meatless one night a week. Add beans to your meal to get the needed protein.

Advantages Of Eating Small Meals Through The Day

Do you like to eat little and often, or do you prefer to ‘pig out’ once or twice a day? If you tend to eat big meals, you may find several health benefits by switching to 5 or 6 small meals, spread evenly through the day.

Many weight loss experts counsel that you should eat small meals throughout the day, rather than a couple of large meals. Small and often boosts the metabolism, and keeps blood sugar levels balanced, so you shouldn’t get an attack of the ‘munchies,’ as you never go very long between meals. This method of eating is often termed ‘grazing.’

Eating little and often helps the digestive system to work at its best, as it can be more efficient if it hasn’t got a mountain of food to process. The body is an efficient and prudent machine, and always keeps in mind that starvation could be just around the corner.

Therefore, if you eat more calories than your body needs at that time, it will store the extra energy in fat cells for later. By grazing, you’re not adding to the fat bank, so instead of adding to the balance, your body will be forced to make a withdrawal and burn off existing fat stores, which will boost your weight loss.

Grazing means that your body is getting regular intakes of protein, which is needed to maintain muscles and vital organs. Muscles burn off more calories than fat, so by building up muscles, you’re using more of the calories you eat. And if you have smaller meals, you won’t be ‘full to bursting’ and therefore unable to get up and start burning off the energy you’ve just taken in.

According to a study published in the ‘British Medical Journal,’ it appears that eating small and often is also good for your heart. People who ate six small meals had average cholesterol readings of 5 per cent lower than those who ate two large meals. The grazers also had lower levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. Researchers attributed this result to increased metabolism, although they are not absolutely sure why this should be.

The main advantage of eating small meals, whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, is that you’ll have more energy, because your body is getting a constant supply of fuel, albeit in small doses. Hunger pangs will be a thing of the past. You’ll feel better and look better, and that’s a bonus we can all appreciate!

Dieting Facts Dieting Meals Healthy Fat Loss

Discover the facts on dieting. Learn what types of foods are good or bad for you, how to lose weight fast, how your body reacts when it’s hungry and much more!

Dieting, is it really that hard? Perhaps not, but to effectively lose weight must be because more than half of America are on a diet and not losing! Here are five tips that will help you to a slimmer body in no time.

Pay Attention to Your Metabolism!

Biologically speaking, your metabolism is defined as biological process that uses the heat (calories) that you store for energy. Most people focus on eating less, which isn’t particularly bad if you have a habit of binge eating.

However, focusing on increasing or speeding up your metabolism will result in long term success because you’ve trained your body to use up more calories. For example, let’s say you are trying to lose weight, and you consume a sleazy 1000 calories per day.

This little calories may not be enough for your body and you will feel tired and less active as a result; since you’re eating less and not focusing on your metabolism, you may lose a small weight just to gain it back because your body thinks that you are starving in the desert and start actively accumulating fat in your body to save for later.

Now, let’s say if you consume 2,500-3000 calories per day but you feel great and full of energy. This energy will get you moving, and your metabolism speeding up, which in effect burns your calories at a faster rate!

Change How You Relate to Food.

This may sound funny but studies shows that by eating more, your metabolism may actually get a boost and help you lose weight at a faster rate. Most of us undergo a vicious cycle when we diet; we tend to fall back into the old routine of motivation, diet, failure and depression.

We must change this habit before we are able realistically lose weight, keep it off, and not miss what we’ve lost. Stable weight loss can only be achieved by allowing ourselves to look at food in a different light. Food is there for us, it’s good for us. We need food to survive, food is not evil, too much may not be healthy, but it’s something that we need and is a part of our life processes.

You can starve yourself, or hate food for the rest of your life, just to find that you have to come running back to it, binge on it, and then be with filled with regret as floods of failure pours through you. We all know about the forbidden apple, the more our mind label it evil, the more tempting it appears and thus, the more we become obsessed with it.

Eat breakfast

This is very, very important! Eating breakfast not only starts your metabolism on the right track; it actually helps rid of bad breath as well. Eating breakfast can do tons of wonder in giving you a brain and productivity boost, starting your day off right, and controlling your appetite as well.

I normally don’t notice it, but when friends take notice that my appetite seems to wane after a humongous breakfast, or that during lunch, I don’t go seem to have weird ice cream and cake cravings, it usually correlates with the days I eat breakfast. Although this is just a personal experience, this is also biologically proven and you can ask the doctor the next time you visit him or her!

Eat in Smaller Portions but Multiple Times per day.

When you eat in smaller portions, your metabolism has to work harder because the initial energy is used many times and it’s the initial energy that burns the most calories.

Keep Track of Your Body’s Reaction to Drugs

Many times, we get so busy trying to lose weight that many of us fail to look at patterns in our weight fluctuations. Pay more attention to the food that tends to add a pound or two to your weight as well as medications like birth control pills, anti-depressant, herbal remedies, etc. These medications may also play a role in weight gain if not properly analyzed.

Consume more fruits and vegetables with high levels of antioxidant to help with your energy levels. Green tea, pomegranate Juice, and green leafy vegetables are health foods that will fight radicals and protect your body. This will keep it active and help you to deal with stress levels and lose weight at the same time.

How To Plan Meals For A Large Family On A Budget

Are you struggling to figure out how to plan meals for your large family without breaking the bank? Check out these tips!

Ideas to Plan Meals For A Large Family On A Budget

For families everywhere, and in every size, planning meals on a budget is a challenge. For large families, this is compounded exponentially.

-Decide that you are absolutely not a short order cook. This will mean that you will face the fact that you will probably, at least eight times out of ten times, not please everybody. You will wind up driving yourself crazy, using up half a meal here, half there, and ruining the budget.

-Tell everybody that it is a new day and that what is for supper is what is for supper and if anyone doesn't like it, there is plenty of peanut butter and jelly. If your family is like ours, you may have one or two picky eaters, one who will eat virtually anything, and the others who will whine and eat eventually. But, for the sake of sanity and money, stick to your guns.

-Make a menu for the week. Or two weeks if you can do it. We always try to get input from everybody and incorporate suggestions into the bi-weekly menu. Making a menu, then listing the ingredients needed as we go to the store for what we call "the big haul" helps keep the number of runs to the supermarket to a minimum.

-As you make your menu, check the specials. Go online, see what's on sale and work it into your list of ideal, almost-everybody-will-eat-them meals. It will take a bit of research, but you'll get better at it as you go along. Print out the coupons that the store offers.

-Armed with your menu, list, and coupons, go to the store with as little distraction as possible.  If you can leave the kids at home, do it. If you have to take a child or two, let them pick one item each-say, cereal-and then stick to the master list. Don't shop hungry. Don't shop if the kids are hungry. Don't let them hornswaggle you into all the swanky, sweet-tooth foods. Don't try to second guess yourself in the store. You made this list for a reason.

-When all the ingredients are bought, post the menu on the fridge. If you don't, you'll forget why you bought those three cans of diced tomatoes and go off budget trying to piece something together off the cuff. The kids will appreciate knowing what's for supper when they are heading out the house for school in the morning. Try to stick to the menu. Remember, you put a lot of thought into this.

-Make two good, solid meals with meat, veggie, and potatoes or pasta, then incorporate the leftovers elsewhere. If you make mushroom chicken, rice and broccoli on Monday, spaghetti on Tuesday, you can have chicken soup on Wednesday, and spaghetti casserole with cheese topping for Thursday. 

-Avoid prepackage quick meals. This should be obvious, but boxed meals are usually for four small helpings at most. They're just not economical. Get the ground beef, the macaroni noodles, the cheese and whip up a big casserole. Once you get the hang of it, you can do it almost as fast.

-Make a big stew or chili for at least two suppers a week. This will get rid of a lot of leftovers, and will get the veggies into the family at the same time. Homemade soup never gets old, because it never tastes quite the same each time. With biscuits or cornbread, it goes a long way and will stretch for those friends that the kids bring over at the last minute.

-Lastly, get the kids involved. When you are making good, plain meals, there is not much that they can do to mess them up and it's good practice.

And, if you’re lucky, one day you might just be able to put your feet up and let them do the cooking!

Money Saving Tips To Reduce Meals Eaten Out

Meals eaten outside of the home often cost several times the price of a home cooked meal. It is easy to stop at a restaurant when the kitchen at home is in disarray.

A clean kitchen can be a tool used to lower the amount of money spent eating out. Kitchen cleaning may not be extremely high on the household to do list. However, having a clean kitchen can pay off in hundreds of saved dollars each month.

Maintaining a clean kitchen creates an inviting environment that is easy to spend time in, and entertain friends. Having an unclean kitchen is one of the top for reasons that people decide to eat out. No one wants to clean extensively before preparing a meal. Here are three tips to help maintain a clean kitchen.

Keeping surfaces clean is the easiest way to make an area appear to be clean. Make it a habit to immediately place old food in the trash or garbage disposal after each meal. Fill one side of the sink with hot soap water. Use a hand held scrub brush made for dishes to quickly remove all grease, grime, and particles off of the dishes. Use a grout cleaning brush for counter tops that have older tile patterns for stuck on food and grime.

Kitchen Cleaning

Load your dishwasher, or place clean dishes on the dish drying rack. Use a wet micro fiber dish towel to cleanse all surfaces. Then go over each surface with a dry micro fiber dish towel. Eliminate germs with Clorox disinfecting wipes.

The kitchen or dining room table should be is inviting as possible. Think of your kitchen area, as being better than dining at a restaurant. Use cloth tablecloths, vinyl tablecloths, or simply keep the wood, tile, or glass tabletop clean. Have some type of visual interest item on your kitchen table. This item could be fresh flowers, small plants, artificial flowers, or scented candles. Choose colors that match the existing décor of the kitchen or current holiday season.

Cleaning Kitchen Floors

Use a cleanser that will pick up grease and dirt quickly. A great example is an ammonia based product or Pine Sol. A kitchen floor that is sticky or full of dirt is not inviting. Use your broom to quickly pick up in the trash that is on the floor. Use a Swiffer or a steam mop to go over the entire kitchen floor quickly. When using a traditional mop, quickly mop the floor and dry with an old bath towel.

Cleaning kitchen floors promptly after each meal ensures that if will be clean for the next meal that will be served. Crumbs left behind under the table can easily be picked up with a vacuum on the floor setting. Try to use the vacuum or sweep after each meal when serving small children.

Eating out two to three times a week could easily total $100.00 or more for a family of four. $5200 over the course of one year is money that could have been spent on savings, investments, or a vacation. Spend a few extra minutes in the kitchen after each meal to help maintain a clean kitchen. Kitchen cleaning is a task that can be quickly accomplished if everyone in the household does a small part. Use these tips to help keep the kitchen clean.

How Long Is A Dog In Heat

A dog’s heat cycle lasts for three weeks or 21 days to be exact. During that period there are actually only three to four days when she can actually breed with success and get pregnant.

The problem is if you do not want your dog to become pregnant that it is very hard to tell exactly which days those are. If you are interested in breeding your dog your veterinarian will be able to pinpoint the ovulation days or you can do it yourself by buying a test called the “Premate Test” which reputable breeders claim to be very accurate.

Female dogs go into heat approximately every six months but like everything else there are exceptions to the rules, some may be “in season” only once a year some more often than twice a year. This is especially true with females that spend time around other females that may be in heat such as in a breeder type situation.

One of the first signs that your female dog is going into heat is that she is paying a lot of extra attention to her tail and genital area, licking and sniffing. You may also notice some swelling and dark red blood when the heat cycle begins in earnest. Some female dogs never exhibit bleeding as a symptom of heat so do not assume your dog is not in heat if you do not see this.

This is referred to as a “dry” heat. Your female can still get pregnant at this time. The second week of the heat is when she will be most interested in mating, urinating frequently to attract every dog within a twenty mile radius it seems. Never leave he outside unattended even with a fence as the males will either find a way in or she will find a way out, the call of nature is extremely strong.

For cleanliness purposes consider using a pair of the dog panties sold for this purpose or simply insert a Maxi-thin pad into a small pair of child’s underwear. Change the pad as necessary and don’t forget to remove the pants when she goes out to relieve herself. Using the store brand sanitary pads is a much cheaper alternative than buying the pad’s they sell in the large pet-care stores.

If you do not want your dog to have puppies or continue going through messy heat cycles then taking her to your veterinarian to be spayed which is an everyday operation in which her uterus and ovaries are removed. With the overpopulation of unwanted pets today, breeding more should be well thought out in advance anyway. That said I am still a firm believer in breeding a beautiful dog that is free from genetic health problems and aggressiveness.