Managing My Finances the Right Way
One of the most challenging affairs for any family is supervising the budget and making sure that your spending is in line with what you’re bringing in. Most people are not used to managing finances under this much scrutiny, and they can let things get out of hand. Especially in these challenging economic times, it is always a challenge balancing a full time job and taking care of a family. It is a good idea to get help to aid you in handling your budget more efficiently. How do I get my budget back in control? It’s all about spending sagely.
The importance of managing my budget
Preparing a budget and following a plan is easy, numerous people struggle to do this until it’s too late. Many folks find themselves asking why my budget doesn’t work over the long haul. In short, if you don’t know where you are spending all your money, then you will have to deal with all the nightmare at month’s end. What each family unit need to do is to pay a visit to mybudget in order to come up with some conclusive solutions on their financial position. With any budget planning, always try to be as organized as possible. As the head of the family, you owe it to yourself and to your family to be a responsible steward.
The challenges affiliated with planning my budget
As you have learned, devising a budget is not easy. How much should we allot for food? What about emergency money for unseen expenses? These are questions that you have to answer and you need to to factor in all the monthly costs. This is where building my budget can get so tough, and I’m sure it’s the same with you. With all of the strain associated with working a job, it can often be easy to let these things slip by the wayside. After all, how important is just one bill? It is obviously very important, and if you want your family’s finances to be in order, then you should most definitely use a great program like the one found at mybudget.
In summary, budgeting is a serious challenge and it can sometimes cause uneccessary stress. With the resources at your disposal today, you can put your family’s finances into an coordinated plan and you can follow through with that plan wholly. It has unquestionably helped with my budget, and it should do the same for yours.
My Hair Loss Journey
My hair loss treatment journey began the day I started to notice my receding hair line and my bald spot becoming bigger. I would always find ways to comb my hair in a certain way to hide my hair loss. I discovered myself wearing more caps on the weekends as I went out with my wife, friends or family. Of course at work I could not wear caps so it was a difficult experience each morning for me just to walk in the office. Your thinking changes when you are suffering from hair loss. It is so true that you never know what you have until you lose it. That can be accurate about your hair loss.
As I looked in the mirror I started to treasure every one of the hair strands I had left. It was as if with each string of hair I lost, so was a small percent of my self-confidence gone as well. I was not alone, a mate of mine had been having from the same problem as me. I noticed lately that he seemed so much more relaxed and it looks as though his hair was growing back. I never wanted to bring it up but after a while I decided to ask. That is when I was recommended to Advanced Hair Studio. With just a few treatments my friend Josh had not only regrown his hair, but his confidence as well. After speaking to Josh and understanding what Advanced Hair has done for him, I took the courage to make an appointment for a free hair check.
I have to admit that I was a little cynical at first. But within a few weeks the effects were obvious. Not only on my scalp, but in my behavior. I started feeling better about myself and started to lose the caps on the weekends. My wife who has been complaining about my lack of interest in our relationship began to notice the change in that department as well. It is amazing how just a few trips to the Advanced Hair Studio had begun to change my life as a whole. I always felt as if the first thing people observed about me was my bald spot. Now, I am not terrified to look people in the eyes again as I have my full set of hair back.
Advance Hair Studio has not only given me back my hair, but a big piece of my confidence as well. If you are experiencing hair loss I highly recommend them as it has done so much for me in just a few months of treatments. Don’t let baldness take your confidence away.
Companionship Made to Edify Spirit
For one, I cannot say I’m terribly comfortable being picky and remain an honest woman. Even then, I’m not unhappy in that way, either. I only suggest it on the blogosphere as an appetizing detail foreshadowing what I am about to explain in grand style.
A week ago today yours truly was walking the dog, Trisha, thinking of signing up for a Dallas Singles dating service. As of this minute, I sit to each of you as a happy member of the singles network. For real, it’s true. It’s great! If you know me at all, perhaps you’re thinkin’, “Stop blabbering and tell me about it already.”
Here’s how it went down, I looked at these Great Expectations Reviews and liked what I saw. They’re for the honest singles who care enough to know dating isn’t a game.
Because in all honesty I’d never been a fan of whatever it is that serial daters (ie: everyone I know) have christened “The Dating Experience.” I got it more than anyone should. Every night they ask, “You’re still single? ” and “Just get out there and date him!”
“Nonsense,” I say to them, without missing a beat. “Take a look around, I’m not missing much.”
“Don’t be silly,” they level with me. “That’s just an excuse for your cynicism.”
That’s just my friend (on a good day) (hehe) Trisha McCarthy. She pours common sense to my mind to put me back on course. Loved ones I depend on to offer perspective. No countering that, and I thank her for it.
Coming home to the message of this blog entry. As I browsed from hundreds of combinations of outfits for my first Great Expectations date, I acknowledged something honest. For years, I hadn’t allowed myself any actual great expectations for dating and myself in the serendipitous winding course of being alive. Single life has its perks, especially when you get out there and have fun. Holding great expectations makes a difference in dating.
~Denise Palmer
Opening up to Joy
To begin to live in joy you must love and accept yourself. And although I am not excluding our higher existence, I am deliberately focusing on the smaller selfthe regular, human, everyday you that needs to be loved and accepted exactly as it is, for how it has been, and for however it will be.
Acceptance is a function of self-love. Succumbing is its opposite and is a function of apathy. Apathy keeps us from experiencing the joy within us. Apathy is a preoccupation with the unaccepted and judged past. Succumbing to the onslaught of critical thinking overwhelms us and we ruminate on negative assessments of the circumstances, others, and ourselves.
“I can’t control the wind, but I can control the sails.”
Notice I said succumbing overwhelms us, not the thoughts. When we become apathetic we begin to spiral downward and we convince ourselves that our situation is hopeless and that the future will be the same if not worse than the past. We feel fragmented and powerless. Succumbing to this negativity is the antithesis of self-love and joyful living. The adventure of enlightenment becomes a nightmare and something to get out of, instead of a dream to be lived in.
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” Lucille Ball
Acceptance is distinct from apathy. Where succumbing renders us powerless and keeps us stuck in the past, acceptance liberates us from the past and allows us to take positive action in the present moment. Succumbing breeds fear. Acceptance is an opening to joy.
Our thoughts and belief systems affect us physiologically. The thoughts we think release chemicals into our system. Negative thoughts deplete us, and positive life affirming thoughts align us with our joy.
You cannot change the past. You can change your attitude towards it. Acceptance allows that change to take place. By challenging ourselves to love and accept the parts of ourselves that we may eventually want to change, we override the critic that drains us, and we disallow the thought and belief systems that deplete our energy. Love and acceptance move us to take positive action.
What you have already done and thought is complete. Accept what you have already done or not done, and move yourself from the past to the present. How you are with the present moment is what matters. It is an act of wisdom to love and accept your ego, your body, your thoughts, your feelings and your past. Begin by loving and accepting whatever the condition you may find yourself in at any given moment.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Self-love is the most influential healing energy. Self-love is the highest teaching and the one most regularly overlooked. The absence of it keeps us stupid. We become stuck in a downward spiral of figuring it all out. Attempting to appear intelligent in our findings we become puppets of the altered ego and slaves to dissatisfaction.
I suggest that each morning, throughout the day, and again before going to sleep, that you repeat to yourself, “Regardless of (what is or is not happening, or has or has not happened, or will or will not happen) I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
And if you really want to disentangle yourself from the chains of the past, then you can extend the statement to include “others.” “Regardless of (what so and so said about me) or (my anger, or fear, or suspicion about________ ), I deeply and completely love and accept myself and others.”
If you are not ready to include “others” yet then say, “Even though I am not ready to include others, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” Try itit works.
Self-love is the most effective remedy for internal chaos. Wishing and hoping that things were different along with complaining about what went wrong is energy depleting to the point of shame, self-sabotage and physical sickness.
Positive feelings cannot co-exist with negative thoughts. Change your mind; change your mood.
Our bodies and our minds respond in an open and positive manner to life-enhancing input . Admiration, gratitude, cheerfulness, and amusement enhance our reception of more expanded vibrations of our LifeForce. The LifeForce is exactly that, a force of life. It is life giving, and aligns us with the joy of ongoing eternal life. Each of us is responsible for fostering the LifeForce within us and aligning our minds to receive the highest levels of input. This is cooperation and therefore co-creating with Life.
(If you are not in those experiences right now then say, “Even though I am not feeling admiration, gratitude, cheerfulness or amusement, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”)
On the other hand, our bodies and our minds respond negatively to input that has the intention of making us wrong. Usually we do this to keep ourselves from moving forward. Self-sabotage is about hating ourselves to the point of not wanting to be seen. Hiding does not allow us to continue to be alive and prosperous. We hide because there are parts of our experience that we assess as unworthy of acceptance and love.
(If you play here a lot then say, “Even though I am hiding and feel unworthy of acceptance and love, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”)
It is important to remember that we are here to grow and learn. We easily forget this when we become uncomfortable with people and conditions in our lives. We forget that the Universe in its infinite wisdom has engineered these impeccable circumstances for our schooling. This includes the people with whom we interact. This also includes the responses that we experience in ourselves and the responses we give and receive from others.
It is important to acknowledge these responses and the conditions that seemingly caused them.
“Even though I am upset with ____________, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Even though I (did or did not do such and such), I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Even though I screwed this up, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Even with these feelings of self hatred, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Even though I am confused and lost regarding ___________, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Even though I thought I had this managed, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Even though I have a hard time accepting ___________ about myself (or another), I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Regardless of everything that has occurred, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
“Even when I don’t understand what is happening or why, I deeply and completely love and accept myself and others.”
Since we are all learning, every one of us is important and needed. We touch each other’s lives in ways that may seem unnecessary and unwanted at times and therefore we judge these interactions as bad or wrong. But in a greater understanding, everything is exactly as it should be for the lesson and opportunity to expand and grow. This is why it is necessary to remind ourselves of the essential principles of acceptance and self-love.
Happiness is a function of accepting what is. Self-love and happiness go hand in hand. Before change can be accomplished, acceptance of “what is” must occur. You cannot change what you pretend does not exist.
It is difficult to accept the parts of ourselves that we want to dismiss and disown. It is also embarrassing and sometimes humiliating to see what needs to change within us if we want to grow. Nevertheless, we will grow. And with the growth comes change.
Lasting change always follows an inner change.
“To attempt to change circumstances before you change your imaginal (inner) activity is to struggle against the very nature of things. There is no outer change until there is an inner imagined change.”
Neville
A positive inner change coincides with the development of inner strength. Inner strength is a function of self-love. This inner strength (self-love) allows us to become aware of what is actually happening inside of us, and outside in the external world of circumstances. By acknowledging and accepting what is happening inside and out we align ourselves with the action of the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent flow of love. This is joy. Unity with this force is life giving. Perceived separation from it, through non-acceptance and intolerance, is deadening.
Begin to accept yourself exactly as you are right now. It is a powerful tool that opens us up to self-love.
Love transforms. Love embraces. Love gives of itself. And most importantly, Love never fails.
This is your life. Don’t miss it.
Matt Garrigan is a motivational speaker, the founder of LifeForce Educational Corporation and the creator of The Liberty Experience Training, The Mastery Course and the Awakened Potential Course. Matt has been a pioneer in the human potential movement since 1980. His exceptional goal oriented coaching techniques, expanded consciousness training, awareness counseling, integrity coaching and spiritual guidance have assisted thousands of individuals in transforming the quality of their lives. As a motivational speaker Matt’s ability to uniquely integrate many different philosophies and practices, combined with his steadfast commitment to empower people, makes his work a potent, life enhancing experience that sheds light on new possibilities in communication, relationship, prosperity and enlightenment.
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© Matt Garrigan - http://www.mattgarrigan.com
How to Beat the Mid-Winter Blues When You’re Self-Employed
I usually try to walk my talk as a business owner and live a fairly balanced life. However, despite my best attempts, life happens and blows my plans all out of whack. For me, this is especially pervasive during the winter months when I’m living my life between crazy holidays and days that have gotten colder with the daylight in short supply. I’m craving a vacation break right now but just simply don’t have the ability to schedule the week away at a beach resort at the moment. So, here’s my remedy for beating the mid-winter blues when chaos overtakes my life:
1. Take a mental health day (or half a day) and do something fun. Forcing yourself to leave your office and pampering yourself in some way will give you a brief reprieve. Need some pampering ideas? How about a massage or long soak in a tub or taking in a new movie or visiting a museum or a leisurely lunch in a nice restaurant? The key here is to engage in a relaxing, enjoyable activity that lets you escape from your daily task list.
2. Go to bed early one night or take an afternoon nap. Americans are the most sleep-deprived people of any nation on earth, and increased technological advances that are supposed to streamline our lives in reality only serve to keep us connected 24/7. I love the concept of an afternoon siesta, as happens in parts of Mexico, and think we all ought to incorporate more naps into our lives. Naps are a good thing..:)
3. Do it, delegate it, or dump it. Many times we hang onto tasks because of a feeling that no one can do it as well as we can. Get over that notion, and hire someone to do the things on your to-do list that you can’t get to or really don’t want to do. So, hire a cleaning service to get rid of the dust bunnies or a bookkeeper to update your financial records or a professional organizer to make sense of the nightmare junk bedroom. The feeling of completion that you’ll get after hiring out a yukky task feels euphoric.
4. Stay connected. I’m the world’s worst for going into hibernation during the winter months, just like the bears and the squirrels. Since I run my business from home, it’s only too easy to disconnect from others. I make it a point to get more than my money’s worth out of my unlimited long distance plan and stay in touch with friends in other parts of the country. It’s the next best thing to a visit to their homes…:)
5. Read inspirational books or listen to upbeat music or to motivational CD’s. If you’re in a consulting-type service business, the month of December can be your slowest of the year. Instead of letting the lack of business drag you down, find and some autobiographies of inspirational business owners who overcame adversity to create their dream company. Pull out the CD’s of music that you love and play them and dance in your living room. Or, let Jack Canfield or Tony Robbins (or your motivational speaker of choice) pump you up with an inspirational message.
6. Get some exercise — preferably outdoors. Going outside to run or take a walk in the brisk 20 degree air isn’t something that I place on my list of favorite activities. However, I know that my body craves sunshine and even 20 minutes spent outside can brighten my day immeasurably. If the weather outside is frightful, join the mallwalkers early one morning at your local indoor mall, or take a walk or do a quick exercise routine with your favorite instructor-on-CD program. One of my favorites is Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds, www.walkawaythepounds.com.
7. Ask for a pep talk. Sometimes us self-employed people can be our own worst enemies as we listen to our IBSC’s in our head (Itty Bitty Sh**ty Committee) that berate us for our shortcomings. Kick the ISBC’s to the curb, and ask a friend, spouse, colleague, or family member to “pump you up” when the going gets rough and to remind you how wonderful you really are!
The days between November - March can seem endless and dreary. Don’t let the winter doldrums overwhelm you! Try at least one of these activities on a weekly basis to pick up your spirits. Spring is just around the corner!
Copyright 2005 Donna Gunter
Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed professionals make more profit in less time online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity: 50 + Tools To Help You Automate Your Business and Make More Profit in Less Time Online!, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com .