1. Pay off high-interest debt
The longer you carry debt, the more money you’ll end up paying. Therefore, the first step in a successful financial timeline is paying off the money you owe. But not all debt is created equal, so it pays to pick and choose. The first thing that has to go is high-interest credit card debt. If you’ve been carrying a balance for a while, you could be paying 20% or more. Since you’ll probably never find an investment that provides you with more than that amount in interest, there’s no sense saving money until you’ve completely paid off this debt.

2. Pay off additional debts
Additional debts that should be paid off, but on a different timeline, include student loans and mortgages on first homes. Typically, these loans have two things in common. First, the interest on them is tax-deductible, so it can pay to have that deduction in April. Second, the interest, especially on student loans, tends to be lower than on credit cards. That means you have a choice to make. If you’re able to safely make more interest on a given investment than the amount of interest you’re being charged for your student loan, it could be wise to invest rather than pay off the debt. This way, the interest you generate will pay off the interest on the loan and eat away at the principal. And once you’ve paid off the entire loan, you’ll still have the principal from the investment to work with.

3. Set up savings
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for how much you should save. If you’re like most Americans, you don’t save at all, and that’s not a good thing. If that’s the case, try to put aside 10% of your income. If you’re already saving 10%, try to squeeze a few more dollars in. But remember: The number isn’t as important as the circumstances. If you’re a single guy without a lot of responsibilities, you’ll probably want to save enough for three months of unemployment in case the worst should happen. On the other hand, if you’re a family man, you’ll need to put away a larger chunk because children and a spouse could mean many more unforeseen expenses.

4. Plan for retirement
This is the big one, and most guys don’t do it early enough. The fact is that you’re never too young to start thinking about your retirement. If your office doesn’t have a 401(k), go to your local bank and set one up. If your employer matches your contribution, put in the maximum and take advantage of the free money. If your employer doesn’t offer this, ask your tax adviser how much you should contribute; the money you sock away for the future won’t go into the hands of the IRS.

5. Build an investment portfolio
This is where you’ll want to put the rest of your money. In all likelihood, it’ll be your biggest sector for growth, because savings and retirement funds alone probably won’t cut it. Think of it this way: Your retirement money should give you enough to survive when you stop working, while your investment money is the extra that will allow you to really enjoy that time. And the bigger the pie, the faster you can stop working and start enjoying life.

To make the most of your portfolio, you’ll need to put money in stocks and bonds. If you’re young and you can afford it, your investment portfolio should be an aggressive mix of risky and safe bets because you can always build back your losses should things go south. If you’re older and you started late, however, concentrate on growth with as little risk as possible; that way, you won’t find yourself talking to the guys at work about getting your AARP card.

Link

Most Colleges and Universities organise job fairs round about graduation time to allow students to meet new employers - it’s a fairly common method of recruiting recent graduates.

Job seekers can use job fairs to find out a bit more information about employers, working life and general industry information. This is what most people use job fairs for.

However, the opportunity exists for job seekers to use the brief few minutes they have with employers to create a lasting impression (er, a “good” lasting impression!) and sell themselves, for job fairs are also an opportunity for the cream of the crop to rise to the top!

So who are those people hanging about the tables?

Employers and recruiters tend to send HR personnel along to job fairs to either weed out unsuitable candidates or pick out some young potentials from the crowd.

Unlike trade shows (which have basically the same format), job fairs aren’t “staffed” by marketing people - they aren’t trying to sell you anything. They are there to be sold by YOU! (the obvious exception is where you are such an attractive prospect, you get them chasing you, but let’s face it - if that was the case, then you wouldn’t be reading this!)

You are a salesman competing for business amongst hundreds of others. You could leave your CV with the recruiter. Would they remember you?

Dress for an interview!

Yes, job fairs are interviews and you should treat them as such.

Simply sauntering along in jeans and a t-shirt to see what’s going on isn’t going to get you anywhere, regardless of your skills and abilities. There are literally hundreds of other people there with the same aim as you - finding meaningful employment!

So, go along to job fairs and be prepared to make an impression!

Do your homework on the fly!

You see those glossy brochures the recruiters have strewn all over their little tables? And the posters on the walls? And the conversation the recruiter is having with the other jobseeker next to you?

This is all valuable information! And you NEED to use it to make your impression!

Find out about the company. Find out about the jobs they are offering or their graduate programme. Listen to the questions the recruiter asks other people and the information he or she gives out.

If you wander on up and ask some vague question about health plan or holidays, the recruiter is simply going to answer you and will soon be distracted by someone else. There it was. That was your chance. It’s gone now.

You need to engage the recruiter - not simply hold a one sided conversation with them! At a job fair, a conversation is your best friend, because the longer you spend talking with the recruiter, the more likely they are to remember you.

At least….

The least you should leave a job fair is with some background about your industry (an idea of the types of jobs available), and some information about employers. At best you leave having made a positive impression on several employers and have a few job prospects to look forward to!

Good Luck!

Link

take the risk

No one hears about how much money one can make investing in real estate. That’s probably because it is a little well-kept secret. If everyone knew about it, everyone would be doing it, right?
Wrong. Much like starting your own business, investing in real estate requires entrepreneurial skills and a vision. Which is why not everyone is jumping on the real estate bandwagon.

Not everyone is willing to take the additional risk that real-estate investing entails. And these are the same people or renters that will make you rich. The little secret is that there are hundreds of individuals who choose to procrastinate for every one individual who has a vision and chooses to take the risk with investing in real-estate.

what lies ahead?

When I initially started investing in real estate, I really didn’t have a clear vision. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted financial freedom. Of course, achieving these goals did not come without a price, and only afterwards did I develop a plan and vision of where I was headed.
Investing in real estate requires a lot of time; you need to deal with a vast array of tenants — good ones as well as bad. Just like a business, you also have to deal with operating and fixed expenses — such as heating and electrical bills, as well as renovation costs.

On the other hand, I don’t have to wear a suit and tie all day, and run around doing someone else’s bidding. You see, to me, that’s big. My dress code consists of shorts and a shirt 6 months out of the year, unless I’m on vacation of course — then it’s 10 months out of the year.

If I want to go out of town for a few days, I go. I don’t have to ask for vacation time. While I’m out of town, my rents keep ticking away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether I’m on the job or not. And those loans keep amortizing. The magic is happening just the same.

the benefits

Aside from being your own boss, having the freedom to travel while earning profits, increasing your net worth, and having a place of your own to call home, there are greater benefits of investing in real-estate:

1. Cash Flow
Cash is the difference between your income and your expenses on a piece of property. You can have a positive or negative cash flow. Obviously, you’ll feel a lot better if the cash flow is positive.

Some people prefer to reduce debt as quickly as possible and sacrifice a little, and keep a negative or zero cash flow. My advice on cash flow is this: Never use all of your positive cash flow with rapid debt reduction. You will be walking a thin line. By keeping a strong positive cash flow, you will have more options and space to maneuver.

2. Appreciation
Appreciation is the increase in value of a property. There are 2 kinds of appreciation. The first is from economic conditions beyond your control, such as inflation. But you wouldn’t gain much from this type of appreciation since the gain is offset by the higher cost of living.

The second kind of appreciation is market appreciation. This kind of appreciation, you can control . When you improve a property (through renovation), you are, in effect, forcing its value higher. You can purchase a piece of property in need of repairs and bring it back up to neighborhood standards or slightly higher. This will give you a property that is much higher in value.

3. Leverage
Leverage is the ability to borrow a percentage of the value of a piece of property. Real estate, in comparison to other investments, offers a very high degree of leverage. In some cases a couple buying a single-family home can obtain 95% financing. This allows individuals to purchase real estate with little, if any, of their own money. What other investments offer such a high degree of leverage?

4. Amortization
With leverage, or the use of other people’s money, comes a repayment schedule. Your outstanding balance is being reduced with every payment you make. Part of each payment goes to interest (applied first), and part of your payment goes to principal. The principal reduction is called amortization — reducing debt. Hence, amortization can make you wealthy — slowly and steadily.

5. Tax Advantages
Owning real estate with the goal of making profit allows you to deduct interest payments and other expenses come tax time. But, don’t be fooled into buying real estate for the tax advantages; buy real estate because it makes economic sense to do so.

Owning a real-estate business is a great way to achieve your financial freedom. What could be more worthwhile than taking up real estate as either a full-time business or even a hobby? The benefits are definitely there.

Link

Myths that lead to wasted time, frustration and if are taken blindly as truth, can really set back your progress in the gym. Don’t believe everything you hear when it comes to exercise and weight gain, do the research yourself.

Lets take a look at some of the most common weight gain myths:

High repetitions burn fat while low repetitions build muscle.

Progressive overload is needed to make muscles bigger. Meaning that you need to perform more reps than you did for your last workout for that particular exercise. If you perform the same amount of reps at each workout nothing will change on you, also “if the weight doesn’t changes on the bar nothing will change on you” You need to become stronger

Definition has two characteristics, muscle size and a low incidence of body fat. To reduce body fat you will have to reduce your calories; the high repetition exercise will burn some calories, but wouldn’t it be better to fast walk to burn these off? Better still; use the low reps to build muscle, which will elevate your metabolism and burn more calories (less fat).

Vegetarians can’t build muscle.

Yes they can! Strength training with supplementation of soy Protein Isolate has shown to increase solid bodyweight. Studies have shown that athletic performance is not impaired by following a meat free diet, and people strength training and consuming only soy protein isolate as a protein source were able to gain lean muscle mass.

Strength Training will make you look masculine.

If it is not you’re intention to bulk up from strength training you won’t. Putting on muscle is a long hard slow process. Your strength-training regime coupled with quality food will determine how much you will bulk up. To bulk up you also require more food. Women don’t produce enough testosterone to allow for muscular growth as large as men.

By working out you can eat what ever you want to.

Of course you can eat whatever you want, if you don’t care how you want to look. Working out does not give you an open license to consume as many calories as you want. Although you will burn more calories if you workout than someone who doesn’t, you still need to balance your energy intake with you energy expenditure.

If you take a week off you will lose most of your gains.

Taking one or two weeks off occasionally will not harm your training. By taking this time off every eight to ten weeks in between strength training cycles it has the habit of refreshing you and to heal those small niggling injuries. By having longer layoffs you do not actually lose muscle fibres, just volume through not training; any size loss will be quickly re-gained.

By eating more protein I can build bigger muscles.

Building muscle mass involves two things, progressive overload to stimulate muscles beyond their normal levels of resistance and eating more calories than you can burn off. With all the hype about high protein diets lately and because muscle is made largely of protein, it’s easy to believe that protein is the best fuel for building muscle. However muscles work on calories that should predominately be derived from carbohydrates.

If I’m not sore after a workout, I didn’t work out hard enough.

Post workout soreness is not an indication of how good the exercise or strength-training session was for you. The fitter you are at a certain activity, the less soreness you will experience after. As soon as you change an exercise, use a heavier weight or do a few more reps you place extra stress on that body part and this will cause soreness.

Resistance training doesn’t burn fat.

Nothing could not be further from the truth. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue and has a role in increasing the metabolism. The faster metabolism we have the quicker we can burn fat. Cardio exercise enables us to burn calories whilst exercising but does little else for fat loss afterwards.

Weight training enables us to burn calories whilst exercising but also helps us to burn calories whilst at rest. Weight training encourages muscle growth and the more lean muscle mass we possess, the more fat we burn though an increased and elevated metabolism.

No pain no gain.

This is one myth that hangs on and on. Pain is your body signaling that something is wrong. If you feel real pain during a workout, stop your workout and rest. To develop muscle and increase endurance you may need to have a slight level of discomfort, but that’s not actual pain.

Taking steroids will make me huge.

Not true, strength training and correct nutrition will grow muscle. Taking steroids without training will not make you muscular. Most steroids allow faster muscle growth through greater recovery, while others help increase strength which allows for greater stress to be put onto a muscle. Without food to build the muscle or training to stimulate it nothing will happen. Most of the weight gain seen with the use of some steroids is due to water retention and is not actual muscle.

Strength training won’t work your heart.

Wrong! Strength training with short rest periods will increase your heartbeat well over a hundred beats per minute. For example, performing a set of breathing squats and you can be guaranteed that your heart will be working overtime and that your entire cardiovascular system will be given a great overall body workout.

Any intensive weightlifting routine that lasts for 20 minutes or more is a great workout for your heart and the muscles involved.

I can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Wrong. Only a few gifted people with superb genetics and on steroids can increase muscle size while not putting on body fat. But for the average hard gainer, they have to increase their muscle mass to its maximum potential and then cut down their body fat percentage to achieve the desired shape.

In conclusion, simple basic principles that apply to all weight and muscle gain such as progressive overload, variable frequency of reps and high intensity workouts are the way to go.

Student and blogger Eston Bond describes in detail his methods for Getting Things Done with a Moleskine.

Intrigued by the cult of GTD, Eston tried many forms of GTD with little success. That’s when he decided to tweak GTD to his needs, the results of which he’s documented in detail. We’ve got a new year ahead of us, and if you’ve tried GTD before with no success - but you really want to get organized for ‘07 - you might want to check out Eston’s method to see if it sticks.

Nothing could be more perfect than a light dusting of snow falling on Christmas Eve to bring on the holiday spirit. Even if you’re not going to have a white Christmas, there are many things you can do to set the holiday mood.

Create a Holiday Environment
Enhance a cozy atmosphere with Christmas music and light some candles to welcome your guests. If you have a scrooge in your family, bribe him with some good food and shower him with love. He’ll be sure to lighten up. Whatever your traditions are, embrace them. They are part of your heritage!

Worship
Church services are are often attended, particularly Midnight Mass. A meaningful sermon this quiet time of the night brings the true meaning of Christmas — and why we are celebrating it. Seize this opportunity to take comfort in Jesus and the special gift he has given to all mankind.

Prepare Christmas Eve Dinner
Many Christmas Eve meals in America traditionally are ham or fowl. Because of the big meal planned for the holiday, some families like to keep the meal light and serve soup and crackers. By and large, most have the good ole sausage and cheese on hand for tasty snacks and appetizers.

Deck the Halls
With the commercialization of Christmas, this tradition is probably not near as popular these days because most families have trimmed their tree and put up decorations long before the holiday. For those running behind schedule or want to keep the tradition, this is a perfect time to add the finishing touches.

Deliver Christmas Gifts
Many people use this day to deliver gifts to friends and leave presents for service providers such as mail carriers and newspaper delivery personnel. With all of the activities planned for the holidays, some families choose Christmas Eve night to exchange their gifts. A visit from Santa will please the children and hopefully wear them out so they sleep well — with, of course, visions of sugarplums…

Donate Time to Charities
Many people find that going down to the local homeless shelter or soup kitchen and helping out brings a warm feeling like no other. There is a satisfaction to giving to the needy and it reminds us to be thankful for the life we have and not to take it for granted.

Holiday Travel
For those who plan on traveling for the holidays, this is often the day they begin their trip. Airports and highways are crowded with people trying to get to their destination so they can spend Christmas with their family or friends. If you’re one of those, check out our travel tips page to make your trip easier.

Traditions for Children
Besides a visit from Santa, stockings are hung by the fireplace to collect all of the goodies. It is customary to read children some Christmas stories to complete their evening. The classic “The Night Before Christmas” is by far, the most popular short story of all. Reading stories in front of the fireplace with some hot chocolate will get the kids settled down and ready for bed.

Make New Traditions
Old family customs are nostalgic but sometimes not practical in this day and age. Try mixing some old traditions with new ones. If you want to be out and about on Christmas Eve, going out to see a holiday movie or play will serve that purpose and add some holiday cheer. Check in with the personnel at a local nursing home to get an idea of what residents will not have family in town. Pay them a visit and give them a small, useful gift, all in the spirit of Christmas.

Apart from the obvious toxic effects, you should realise you’re suffering the effects of a mild overdose of a depressant drug and your nerves are reacting accordingly, and you have also flushed a signifnicant quantity of vitamins and nutrients from your system causing a degree of metabolic shock that your body is struggling to compensate against. This is why hangover symptoms often include disorientation and “the jitters”.

Some drinks give you worse hangovers than others due to the actions of impurities called Congeners. While it’s the ethyl alcohol (ethanol) that gets you drunk, amyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, propyl alcohol, and isopropyl alcohol is also found in most drinks to varying degrees, and the concentration of these Congeners will go a long way to determining the severity of the hangover.

Vodka and gin (clear liquors) are generally lower in congeners than whisky, rum and bourbon, due to the filtering process involved, and hence usually give a less intense hangover. Unfortunately the congeners also give flavor, smell and appearance to alcohol.

Another contributor to the hangover is the “freshness” of the alcohol since the natural oxidation product of ethanol is also acetaldehyde. Finishing off an already open bottle of red, or drinking beer that’s been in the boot of your car for a week, will provide you with a ready made supply of acetaldehyde so you don’t have to wait for your liver to make it in order to have a really good hangover.

Most hangover “remedies” simply attend to one or more of the symptoms and don’t really provide a cure as such. The hangover won’t stop until the alcohol is out of your system:

• Berocca - Puts the vitamin B back in, as well as the big glass of water it’s mixed with. It’s probably best to do this before you go out.
• Coke - Fizz for the nausea, liquid for the dehydration, and a caffeine and sugar hit to make you feel a bit more lively.
• Coffee - Same as Coke but without the bubbles to help ease the nausea. Try it with honey instead of sugar since the fructose is absorbed quicker than the sucrose in normal sugar, and it’s better for you.
• Ginseng - It’s been noted that since caffeine is a diuretic like alcohol, it can actually make the dehydration worse, so try the herbal equivalent instead.
• Vegemite On Toast - Something in your stomach is good, and salty is even better. Plus you get a Vitamin B top up. The same reasons also make peanut butter a good choice, but the oily nature might make some sensitive stomachs feel a bit yucky. If you do try try this one, skip the butter and just have dry toast.
• Cold Pizza - Who knows, but it seems to work.
  Asprin - Simply attends to the headache and does nothing for the level of alcohol in your system. Don’t take them before you go to bed.
• Bananas - Sugar in the form of fructose, and potassium, which is one of the things you lose lots of when you drink. Bananas are also a natural antacid to help with the nausea, and are high in magnesium which can help relax those pounding blood vessels causing that hangover headache. For a variety of reasons try a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich on white bread.
• Vitamin C - Another thing the alcohol takes out that you’re advised to put back in as soon as possible. Orange juice, tomato, a 600mg Vitamin C tablet - doesn’t matter, just do it.
• A Hot Bath - The heat will sweat out the toxins that are causing all the problems. You’ll feel a bit woozy at first but go with it and you’ll feel better afterwards.
• Chocolate Milk - This one was sent in by Michael and sounds like it’s worth a try - “Regarding your hangover remedies, I would like to suggest chocolate milk. The store bought kind seems to work best, due to ease of attainment (unless you blew all your money at the bar hoping to get lucky), quietness (no loud banging of the teaspoon trying to mix the homemade stuff), and ease of use (the opening is the perfect fit when you have the jitters and no messy clean up). The suggested minimum dosage is the pint ( 1/2 litre) size, though the new quart (litre) can be used for extreme episodes. Other than the rehydration factor, I find that chocolate milk offers the tummy a soothing coating for the nausea. It also repletes some of the vitamins your body is now woefully lacking. The sugars (lactose & sucrose) and salt seem to be the perfect balance of the carb/salt fix. Many women can attest to the beneficial, relatively inexpensive, and legal effects of chocolate against depression, whether physiological or psychological. Last, the flavor seems to do wonders for that ghastly “did I try to mop the floor with my tongue?” taste in your mouth. So, on your way home, stop by your convenient convenience store, head on over to the cooler, grab one more “cold one” (chocolate milk, that is), and bring it home for the morning. Your mother shall compliment you on at least one healthy drinking habit.”

Here’s a few tried and proven ideas for hangover prevention:

• Don’t drink. (doh!)
• Take a Berocca before you start drinking. This gets a reserve of Vitamin B into you.
  Alternate fruit juice or water in amongst your drinks to avoid dehydration later on. Avoid fizzy or sugary stuff. The purists reckon that about 200ml of water is needed to effectively counteract each 30ml of alcohol.
• The alcohol in carbonated drinks is absorbed more quickly than in non-carbonated drinks.
  Reduce the amount of sugar you consume with your alcohol. The forced metabolism of sugar AND alcohol by your body will accelerate the depletion of B vitamins and make the hangover worse.
• The 2am pig-out. Pizza or pasta is usually best since cheese and carbohydrates are a good source of amino acids. Actually food is a good idea all round - before, during and immediately after drinking. Food doesn’t absorb alcohol, but it does increase metabolism, activates alcohol absorption, and increases the speed with which the body processes alcohol.

And here are a few remedy cocktails. At least they won’t make you feel any worse:

Poor Man’s Bloody Mary
5oz Tomato Juice
3oz Light Beer
Salt
Pepper
Lots and lots of lime juice
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Mix and scull.

Bloody Mary
1.5 oz vodka
Dash of lemon (or lime) juice
Worcestershire sauce
2 or 3 drops Tabasco sauce
Pepper, salt and celery salt
5 oz tomato juice
Over ice in a tall glass add spices, then vodka.
Fill with tomato juice and stir.
Garnish with celery stick and lime wedge.

Fruit And Stuff
1 banana
1 small can V-8
6 large strawberries
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup orange juice
1-2 cups milk (or soy milk), to desired consistency
¼ tsp. salt
dash of nutmeg
Mix together in a blender and drink.

Bloody Mary Variations
Use gold tequila instead - Deadly Mary
Use tequila instead - Bloody Maria
Use gin instead - Red Snapper
Add chilli pepper and beef stock - Bloody Bull
Use V8 juice instead of tomato juice - Vege Mary
No Alcohol - Virgin Mary

Aunt Emma’s Hangover Cocktail
1 large can of tomato juice
3 Tablespoons vinegar
1 lemon
4 slices of onion
3 Tablespoons of sugar
4 stalks of celery
2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Mix ingredients in a container, let stand overnight.
Strain and serve.

Prairie Oyster
Olive oil
Tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper
Tabasco
Worcestershire sauce
Vinegar or lemon juice
Rinse a cocktail glass with the olive oil and discard oil.
Mix all ingredients except egg yolk.
Place the egg yolk in carefully.
Serve with a small spoon and a glass of ice water.

Banana Cow
1 crushed ripe banana
2 level tablespoons powdered sugar
3 oz milk
1 1/2 oz rum
Plenty of cracked ice
Mix together in a blender and drink.

Van Diemen
2 cups of Ovaltine
Chocolate topping
2 cups of castor sugar
3 tblsp of golden syrup
1 pkt of pineapple jelly crystals
2 cups of hot water
2-3 cups of milk (full-cream)
Combine Ovaltine, sugar, topping, 3/4 milk, hot water and golden syrup.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes, adding rest of milk and stirring after 1 minute
Add 1/2 of jelly crystals and microwave on high for 30 secs
Add rest of jelly and a bit more hot water. Microwave for 1 minute.
Pour into cups. Refigerate. Serve with custard.

How does one impress a lady without breaking the bank? How do you woo a girl on a budget?

The tips listed below should put you on the right track towards winning her heart without ending up destitute in the process.

Number 10
The coffee date

This scenario is only plausible for the initial date. Use it more frequently than this and the girl will think one (or more) of the following: 1) You’re just interested in being friends, 2) You’re cheap, or 3) You are a caffeine addict.

Cafes are great for first dates as they’re casual and you’ll likely only be footing the bill for a couple of lattes and biscotti. Unlike a bar, where one drink can easily escalate into many if things are going well, a coffee date will likely never evolve beyond a single refill. If you can, choose a caf that is part of a bookstore. The added benefit here is you can position yourself as literati.

Estimated cost: $5-$10. Price may vary depending upon the number of refills and inclusion of biscotti or savories.

Number 9
The hike or bike ride

If you’re really hard up, this may be your best bet. Granted, this is only a viable option if you live within close vicinity to a hiking trail. Hiking gives you an excellent opportunity to show off your rugged masculinity. Catch a wild rabbit with your bare hands and barbecue it for your soon-to-be betrothed while trekking through the backcountry.

In all seriousness, a walk through nature provides a wonderful opportunity to chat up your date, enjoy the outdoors and show her you’re a versatile guy. If a hiking trail is not in the cards, try a bike ride. Make sure to bring some refreshments.

Estimated cost: $5-$10. You’ll want to bring along some water, fruit and other snacks.

Number 8
The brunch date

The brunch date is a natural extension of the coffee date and is accordingly best used on the first (or second) date. Usually, there’s no alcohol involved (which keeps the tab low) and given that this date occurs in the morning or early afternoon, there’s a high likelihood that she won’t think you have ulterior (read: carnal) motives. The key here is to make sure you’re not suffering from a killer hangover from the previous night.

Estimated cost: $20-$30. Admittedly, the brunch date is one of the more expensive cheap dates, but it’s still certainly more cheaper than dinner.

Number 7
The art gallery

Most art galleries have one day of the week where entry is discounted (if not free). Take advantage of this opportunity to take your date out for some quality culture. Spend some time reading up on the current exhibits prior to your date. This way, you can at least maintain the faade that you have your finger on the pulse of the art world.

Estimated cost: $0-$10. Ideally, this one is expense-free, but if you spring for a few postcards or a poster, the cost may go up a bit.

Number 6
The picnic

If you don’t live near a large body of water, a park will do here. The key is to find a locale that has scenic (preferably awe-inspiring) vistas. If a lengthy drive is required to reach your final destination, all the better. It will provide ample opportunity for you to connect with your date along the way. Only a few simple items are required to make your picnic basket impress: a halfway decent bottle of wine, some brie, bread, and fresh fruit. It’s simple (and cheap), but it works.

Estimated cost: $15-$40. The price varies according to how extravagant and decadent you want to be here. Deli sandwiches, chips and water will likely only set you back 15 bucks. Brie, wine and fruit will increase your tab, but impress more.

Number 5
The farmer’s market or street fair

In most places in the U.S., you can find a farmer’s market or street fair at certain times of the year. These kinds of events provide a plethora of visual stimuli and entertainment. You will likely find live music, great deals, excellent people-watching, and plenty of opportunities for conversation.

Estimated cost: $10-$20. You’ll be surrounded by kiosks all day, so you’re bound to end up springing for something or other.

Number 4
The house party

Presumably, you’re a social guy. You know someone (or someone who knows someone) who’s throwing a shindig pretty much every day of the week. Just make sure the soiree doesn’t include any strippers, keg stands and beer bongs. Although drinks and food will both likely be free, you should not show up empty-handed.

Estimated cost: $0-$10. There should be close to no expense associated with this date, but if you want to project a little class, show up with a bottle of wine for the host. This has more to do with impressing your date than the host.

Number 3
The winery

If you’re a neophyte when it comes to wine tasting, you may want to watch Sideways prior so the words “piquant bouquet” roll off your tongue smoothly. For those living far from wine country, another option is a local brewery (which can be found just about anywhere). The alcohol acts as a social lubricant and is typically free (or heavily discounted). If you hit a brewery right around happy hour, you might even score free appetizers!

Estimated cost: $0-$20. This assumes that the tasting evolves into knocking a few back and perhaps a small plate for the two of you to share.

Number 2
The connected restaurant

For several years I had the good fortune of having a connection at an excellent seafood restaurant that served white wine to patrons while they waited for their table. To boot, one of the waitresses was a good friend of mine, and on more than one occasion provided me and my date with free appetizers and dessert, and was prompt in refilling our spacious wine glasses (free of charge).

If you’re fortunate enough to have such a connection, take advantage of it. You’ll provide your date with a stellar meal on the cheap. If you don’t have a connection at a fine dining establishment, get to work!

Estimated cost: $30-$50. The price depends on the venue. But, assuming your connections are good, you may get some serious bang for the buck.

Number 1
Home cooking

The beauty of this approach is that there are no logistical constraints. It doesn’t matter where you live or what day of the week it is, and you control the budget for the menu.

Do not attempt to cook for a woman on the first date. The third date is the best time to pull this one out. If you’ve never cooked before, learn fast. Watch a few episodes of Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network, take fastidious notes, and you should have enough in your arsenal to seduce the girl’s palate. Three simple courses and some good wine should be sufficient. She’ll think you’re a true Renaissance man. If she enjoys the meal, who knows where dessert will lead?

Estimated cost: $30-$50. One need not spend a fortune to craft a quality meal. But a good bottle of wine, a solid entre and an excellent dessert can scarcely be found for less than $30. If you pull this off with the desired results, $30 will seem like a pittance.

cheap date success
Variety is the key here. If you consistently choose dates that are clearly dollar-challenged, the likelihood is high that your woman will begin to perceive you as a tightwad. That’s not to say that you have to break the bank to win a womans heart. Just know that there are occasions where the truly thoughtful and imaginative date may cost a bit more. If saving a few bucks on other ones gives you a better budget for such occasions, fine. But dont make the cheap date de rigueur .

by Carmen Isom

There are children that don’t have blankets to cover them in homeless shelters. There are people who are too ashamed to ask for food on Christmas Eve. There are even people who live in their cars and dig in trash can s on Christmas day just so their wives can have the Christmas present of an cold turkey leg. Believe me, I’ve seen them. I live in LA.

Now I’m not trying to be a downer by any means. I love Christmas, I love eating and shopping and mostly waking up n Christmas morning and spending time opening presents and being thankful for what I have. I think most people, sadly, are more into the shopping than they should be when they don’t realize that it is actually a privilege to shop. I find myself thinking of that now that I am broke this Christmas probably like a lot of you.

The more and more people get out of control with Christmas shopping, the more America looks like a money-hungry, pig-wallowing, possession-driven, attention-grabbing nation that we shouldn’t want it to be. But I have a solution for this attitude. Instead of trying to buy Playstation 3 or the best diamond from Zales you can find, go simple. Show those people you love that it’s not the expense of the gift but the fact that you made an effort, especially if you’re broke.

People expect gifts whether you’re broke or not especially your kids, but I bet you if you give them some simple gifts this year one of two things will happen. 1) They’ll be just as happy as they were last year and won’t even remember it next year or 2) They’ll be really jealous of other people, be mad at you and be thankful for the last Christmas they had.

But that’s not really the point of going simple is it? The main point is that if you’re broke there are really great ways to give to people and save that cash you need to pay your bills or your car payment or you could even think of giving it to the homeless shelter. Here are some ways to really save money on Christmas. Some of them are old and some of them may seem lame but if you just take one day, one simple day to go out and do this - make a pact with yourself and do this- you’ll be happier than a clam come Christmas day when you have 300 extra bucks in your picket . . .or in the mail to that creditor.

1. Go to the 99 cent store. Seriously, I went there yesterday which prompted this article. I got a little Christmas tree for a dollar which is now sitting on our counter with some tinsel on it. They make great cute little gifts for kids, even for adult if you wanna be cutesy and get someone in the Christmas spirit. Plus they have those microfiber things and they light up. And 4 double A batteries are only a dollar! There are also old movies and old cartoon there that will be great for movie buffs who can’t find that stuff in stores or for little kids if you don’t want to spend too much. There’s Christmas decorations and trees and everything! And only for 99 cents. Not to mention and array of food like Hot Chocolate, Christmas cookies, etc for a dollar when in regular stores it cold be 3-5 dollars. It’s worth it believe me. And speaking of Christmas decorations . . . .
2. Make something. It sounds corny but it’s true. Do it. Do it now before it’s too late! I am by no means skilled at arts and crafts. But at the 99 cent store, I saw a wreath and some bulbs and there you go. I was done. There was some tinsel and picture frame. And there you go. Make a slide show of pictures on your Mac or something. Free. Buy a bowl, put some wax in it and make a candle. Good one right? No? Okay, well cut some stuff out. Just do it. Don’t think about. Spend one day making stuff and not buying stuff and you’ll be really surprised.
3. Don’t be lazy. Do number 2.
4. Don’t underestimate the use of tinsel.
5. Send Christmas cards. Believe me, they’re more thoughtful than real gifts. I’m sorry but when someone gives me a beauty set including lotion and perfume and all that crap, I just think, gosh they don’t know me at all. Not that I don’t use it and don’t like it, it’s just not a thoughtful gift. You can get it for anyone when you don’t know what to get them. But if you send me a card that’s funny and maybe a little doll with it, I’ll remember that. And that you wrote on it . . .wow. people don’t write anymore. Suggestion - Buy a box of cards. Spend half a day writing in them and sending them out. By Christmas people will remember you as taking time out to send cards instead of another person who happened to remember them while Christmas shopping.
6. Last but not least, give a phone call. Those people you haven’t seen in years, or those you only e-mail or family members who couldn’t make it this year. Call them. It’s better than sending a card to or a Christmas gift. Maybe you’ll spend your minutes if you have a cell phone but so what. It’s only one or two days. Suck it up.

In conclusion, don’t go wasting your paycheck if you don’t have the money. Some people are just happy to get a cold turkey leg covered in tinsel. If you spend less money you can really see whether or not you have to start setting your children’s priorities straight and whether or not your spouse and friends love you for who you are and not your wallet. Besides, the manager of your building probably wants his Christmas gift too.

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Liane Bate

I have been writing original articles for my online business for the past ten months or so, and for various reasons a few of them have been rejected by some article directories. I know it can be a bit of a downer when you get an email saying that your article has been declined, but whenever this happens you should not feel like you’ve written a terrible article. Sometimes it’s only a minor change you need to make, and other times, it requires re-wording parts of your article. This article discusses some of the reasons that articles get rejected and how to format your articles correctly so that the directories will accept them.

Your article naturally starts with a title. This title has to be captivating enough for someone to want to read more. I like my titles to suggest a problem that people are having which my article will attempt to solve. When people have a problem they seek answers, so if your title grabs their attention, they may be more inclined to read the article. Remember that it takes time and energy to read an article, so make sure you create a killer title.

I have only had one article rejected because of my title being too short. Some directories will request more than three or four words to make sure your title has meaning. Other directories will reject your article if the title is too long. You should also get your articles accepted if you capitalize only the first letter of each word rather than capitalizing all the letters. Colons, exclamation marks, and question marks appear to be okay, but other forms of punctuation in the title will probably cause an article to be declined.

The body of your article should contain original content written by you, or by a ghostwriter. Your article will be rejected if there are too many articles circulating on the net that contain similar or identical strings of text, that are plagiarized, or clearly not your own works. I have had articles rejected for this reason, even though I have written my own original articles every time. I have had to write the editor and tell them it is my own work, after which they have accepted it.

As far as the actual content goes, you could have your article rejected if it sounds more like you’re trying to sell your readers your own products or services rather than providing useful information that can help them. I have written articles - without the intention of them coming across as sales pitches - that have been rejected, and I have had to re-word them. Some article directories will accept them, and some won’t. My latest article before this one was rejected by one directory because it sounded self-promotional, which again was not my intention, but this is something you have to watch out for. Since your article is not a sales pitch and is not self-promotional, you do not want to include any affiliate links within the body of the article.

Articles may be rejected for being too short. I have had a few rejected for this reason, and the solution of course is to add another paragraph or two. In general, I would suggest keeping your articles no shorter than 600 words to avoid being rejected. I have written some that were 550 words and that just wasn’t enough! In addition to this, I have had an article rejected for the paragraphs being too long, making it hard to read, so I had to go back and make more paragraph breaks. If you keep your paragraphs to three or four sentences each and then make a new paragraph, you should be okay. I think 600-800 words for an article is ideal, but I have gone over that without any problems before.

When you submit your articles to an article submission service or directory, be careful with punctuation when you copy and paste your articles from a word processor such as Word. Many of my articles have been rejected because the apostrophes, ellipses, and hyphens will show up funny in the article submission service, and I have to go back and delete that punctuation and re-type it in so that it shows up correctly in their system. In addition to punctuation, make sure your spelling and grammar are correct. Do a spell-check and have the article proofread before submitting.

Another reason your article may be rejected is because you have not selected an appropriate category for your article, or have submitted it to a directory that does not relate to your topic. You may do this by accident when selecting a category for your article, or you may use an article submission service that submits your article to an irrelevant directory. I have had emails saying my article has been rejected because of “0″, which I think means it is not relevant! I don’t think it means my article stinks, but sometimes that’s what a big zero feels like!

Finally, at the end of your articles you have the opportunity to add information about yourself in the author bio-box, or resource box at the end. This can include a link to your website or sales page, but some directories do not allow affiliate links or sales pages in their author bio-box. In these cases, I have opted to add my website URL and my blog URL only. Where affiliate links are acceptable, I would add them, because this is your opportunity to promote yourself where you can!

Hopefully these article-writing tips will help guide you to successful article submissions where your articles are easily accepted without any extra hassles. As you can see, I still struggle with formatting and wording my articles correctly, so maybe it’s just a part of the whole learning process! It does get easier with practice though!

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