Credit Cards, Use Wisely

credit-cards

A credit card is a great convenience. With just one thin square of plastic, you can make big purchases without having to bring cash, even pay for it over easy on the pocket monthly installments at no interest. We can use it to pay for items we bought online. We can bring it with us when we travel, no need for travelers check or cold cash to travel the whole trip’s expenses. We can also borrow money from it for short term needs. Best of all, we have a safety net if ever there is an emergency situations that require large payments.

Yet some people view credit cards with suspicion, thinking it may lead their finances astray.

The truth is our credit cards can work for us depending on our spending habits. I have here some steps on how to use credit cards wisely.

• Charge only what you can afford to pay. Experts say our total payments for debts; credit card bills should not more than 15 to 20 percent of your take home pay. Set monthly limit of charges and don’t go beyond this amount.
• Pay your credit card bill on time, and as much as possible, in full. In order to avoid finance charges. But if we can’t pay the minimum amount due.
• When we receive our bill, compare this against your copies of sale slips for your purchases. To check if there are discrepancy.
• Safeguard your credit cards. Treat it like cash and make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
• If you find yourself in debt trouble, call your creditor right away and own up to your situation.

A simple note; just avoid over spending to menimize our monthly bills.

Nourish the Brain, Pursue Excellence

Nourish the Brain

It is every mother’s great reward to know that our child excels first glimpse of the competitive world. As a mom I do everything and anything to give them nothing less of an outstanding future they deserve. We communicate, discover and play with our child, all for our vision of their excellent achievements. Here are some tips to start off our child’s journey towards their rapid mental development.

Pursue excellence by answering questions.

Be extra patient with our child whenever they asked questions. Try to answer all questions and even encourage our child to find the answers for themselves by looking up at reference such as books, newspapers or even on internet. This will help our child become sharp and investigative.

Pursue excellence by playing educational games.

With the emergence of continuously innovating technology, kids are now enthralled in void games. As a mother, make sure to balance these role-playing games with educational ones that can stimulate our child’s rapid mental rapid activity like chess, rubik’s cube or soduko.

Pursue excellence buy listening.

Take time to listen to our child what they say. There will be times when our little ones will have different views, but make sure to maintain a healthy discussion and be open-minded.

Good Health for the Family

good-health

Every family dreams to have a healthy family living. Of course we want to be around for as long as possible. It’s every parents wish to be healthy enough to care for their family. That is why my husband quit smoking for a long period of time because he don’t like that his kids can smell the smoke of the cigarettes and can see him smoking all day long for according to my hubby it is not a good influence towards his kids, seeing him holding a cigarettes and blowing a different stroke of smokes that comes from his mouth, he told me that he should be the model of his kids because they are all boys and he don’t like to be like him smoking and hard to quit again. Good for him now that he totally quit smoking just for the good of his kids and also for his health, and of course I am happy knowing his intension towards his family.

I am started brisk walking in the morning, and after exercising cooked a favorite food for the family and of course choosing the cholesterol free to maintain the body physically fit and mentally alert all the time. These days more and more moms are becoming conscious about the quality of food that they served for their families, for plenty of foods now have cholesterol free and it is good also for every one health especially in the family.

Even watching TV is limited to my kids to encourage more physical activity among family members. Health is becoming now a top priority among families today for another reasons, hospitalization is much expensive, so better to have a motto in life that prevention is better than cure.

A Healthy Marriage

family

When was the last time you and your husband went out on a romantic date? Well maybe for busy days you might forget that you did not go out with your husband. Just like me when my husband is on vacation meaning he is with us for he is working away from home often times, Even for we are busy with our kids in the house playing, go on shopping and other recreational activities still we had a time just the two of us having a candle light dinner in the house, sharing a cup of coffee after dinner or sometimes watching DVD night at home (with kids sent off to bed early). We don’t need to go out in expensive hotels, and bars but we prefer to celebrate at home, for me I am a practical person why go out and spend more if we can do it at home. The most important is we can share our feelings and emotions and fell the love with each other even though we are years together in marriage.

We need constantly reconnect with my husband, so that our relationship doesn’t get buried, sharing ideas on what is good for the future and for the good of the kids. Sharing also money talks which are important to every couple so that everything well run smoothly with no worries and hesitations, for financial is often the problem of the family, so we need to share opinions of what is good or where to spend the money.

Spending time together helps also reminds both of us the reasons why we remain together.

Go To Bed Angry

never-go-to-bed-angry

Like with any other couple, arguments here and there cannot be avoided, and I and my husband have our fair share. My solution: Allow ourselves to cool down before tackling the problem.

Instead of going on a face-off every time our tempers get the better. We give one another some space to cool off. ‘We try just to back away. A felling that says to forgive and give each other chance.’ I give way to my self by watching television, writing my blog. For me, that’s sacred. I have to have my own space, when I need to get out, go away, or get away from him,’ When I think about it, with our siblings that we fight, and we grow up in the same home for years. What more to someone that is not your relative. We’re bound to have some more differences.

In resolving fights, both need ample space and time. We have to learn how to create healthy space and time. Not too much, but we have to know what is right. I’m not a firm believer of ‘don’t let the sun go down until you’ve patch up’ or ‘don’t go to bed angry.’ It’s not true. For me, there are some things that take time. But in essence, I think what it means is, don’t let it take too long until you talk and resolve, for there is a point that it might be too late. Then it becomes a bigger problem. So just allow ourselves to cool off.”

Life together, Life apart

enjoy-life-together

Another secret, I think to marriage, is having our own lives apart from each other as a couple, but it so important for us to pursue what we want. We continue to grow – not for him, or for anyone else, but because we want to. Part of the secret of marriage is to love our self, because we can’t love other person unless we start with ourselves.

When my husband and I went to Baguio, I experience a happy life that I ever felt since we were together, While in Baguio I learned how to cook, as well find other activities I enjoyed doing, like picking strawberries, and enjoying the company of our friends in this summer capital of the Philippines.

My husband has a full support in everything I do, and I do believe that a husband and wife should always support each other. Just my husband did and me also support him on whatever likes he wanted in his life.

We’ve discovered for ourselves that this is another area that we both enjoy. I learned that these are the opportunities to help, if you really want to. Part of the deal was, we’re serious about this. I told him, ‘If you’re serious about it, I, as your wife, would have to be serious about it too.’ And it cannot be if we say, OK, that’s your career, and this is mine. We should both support each others decision.

Parental Pressure

studying

Setting realistic expectations would be more rewarding for both parent and child. Parents push their kids to achieve. It’s part of the job. But overdoing it may cause too much pressure, and this may do more than good.

What are our expectations when it comes to our kids ‘academic performance? As parents, we naturally want our kids to succeed academically, but how much pressure is too much? Overdoing it may result in highly stressed kids who are constantly in fear of disappointing their parents, or facing punishment of failing.

Today’s world is starting to be competitive , and parents who have high ecpectations always want their kids to take up top position in what ever they do- be it in studies or in sports. Then, when a child fails to do so he tends to break down, and his emotional well being is damaged. So how do you strike a balance?

1. Communicate your child. It’s such a challenge for parents to get their kids to listen to them. Even preschoolers may seem to resist even the simple instructions. Parents need how to talk; to their kids will listen well before they turn into nag and make the situation worse.
2. Self realistic expectations. Although some kids do better under pressure, need a little pressure to motivate them. But parents should know that not all kids are academically inclined or fast learners. So setting realistic expectations based on each child’s personality and interest would be more rewarding in the long run for both parents and child.
3. Know your child’s learning style. Each child learns differently, some by listening or seeing, and others by doing. Your child’s learning styles maybe a combination of many factors. Knowing your child’s learning style helps you and your child develop good study habits, complete his homework, get the most from his education, and enjoy quality time together wile studying.
4. Encourage; don’t pressure. The line between encouragement and pressure is not really so fine at all. It is divided at the point where the pressure passes from being beneficial to the child to becoming the obsession of the parent. Everyone needs a little pressure to do his best. But being compelled to achieve continuously above your capabilities is simply too much.

Spacing Births

lactating-mom

The benefits of breastfeeding may go beyond good health and proper nutrition. Among the benefits of breastfeeding is the delayed return of the menstrual period, hence ovulation resumes at a later time. This effect of breastfeeding on a woman who has just given birth is known as “Lactational: pertains to breastfeeding and amenorrhea” means not having a monthly menstrual period. It is counted among the natural methods of birth spacing, and is recommended to allow women to recover fully from the stress of childbirth before the next baby comes.

A study says that, it found infants conceived 18 to 23 months after their mother’s last birth were at lower risk of premature arrival and low birth weight than infants conceived less than six months or more than five years after the birth of a sibling.

Babies born after the ideal interval, those whose mothers became pregnant again within six months had a 30 percent to 40 percent greater chance of producing premature or undersize babies. Those who waited 10 years for another child were twice as likely to have an unusually small baby and 50 percent more likely to deliver prematurely.

Here are some criteria also for a lactational amenorrhea method or (LAM) to achieve a 98 to 99 percent of effectiveness:

1. You should fully or nearly fully breastfeed. This means that we should nurse our baby at least every four hours during daytime an every six hours at night time.
2. Your menstrual period has not yet returned. Resumption of menstrual period is defined as having bleeding or spotting for two consecutive days, occurring beyond the first two months after giving birth. This means that you may have resume ovulating and are already fertile.
3. Your baby should not be more than six months old. Infants beyond six months old already need supplemental feeding, hence the decrease in frequency of breastfeeding.

If you fail to meet even just one of these criteria, you should approach your health care provider for a more reliable method of birth spacing.

Plastic Baby Bottles, Bad for babies?

plastic-baby-bottles

A lot of moms thought that plastic baby bottles are heaven –sent, and have become favorite gifts during baby shower, but in some of the countries, most are being banned and taken off shelves.

New studies, including heath ministry are showing that a chemical ingredient in polycarbonate infant bottle is toxic. Bisphenol-a or BPA, found in popular plastic baby bottles, is said to mimic the human hormone estrogen and had caused long-term changes in test animals exposed to it. Children up to the age of 18 months where the most at risk from BPA, according to Canadian Health Minister, The side effects? Behavioral and neutral symptoms later in life, including early puberty in girls, reproductive issues and maybe certain cancers. Adults have less to worry about, as exposure levels needs t be extremely high before it proves to be unsafe.

“What is so important about this finding is we are talking about something that causes spontaneous abortions of babies, “And then there is the horrifying fact that babies are born with these chromosomal abnormities. … This is a higher level of concern, a major new finding of a really profound adverse effect of this chemical in mice that were just drinking out of old baby bottles.”

“We found bad effects of fetal exposure to BPA, but that is something a pregnant woman can avoid. When I was pregnant, we did try to avoid it “But study shows exposure may be unavoidable. It is shocking.”

Your Mind Can Keep You Young

The fear of growing old can strike at almost any age, Men and women who refuse to grow up emotionally are usually the first one to grow old; and the reason why, in later years, some people relapsed into second childhood is that they never really emerged from their first. Masquerading as much younger than you are is a sure sign that you’ve not grown up emotionally.

My formula of staying young is simple; Concentrate on the part of you that still young and growing –your brain. Keep your mind awake and you’ll stay younger all over. These are exciting times. Take an interest in the world around you. And make a point of learning at least one new thing everyday.

Above all, “don’t settle down’. Psychologists are accustomed to seeing two contrasting personality types develop in the near 30’s. Some men and women, although keen about their families and jobs, are constantly broadening their other interests. They keep up with the newspapers and magazines; they busy themselves with creative hobbies, preferably ones that use their hands as well as brains.

Another man begins at 35 to slump into a dull but comfortable routine. Day after day he does his job, comes home, has dinner, glances at the comic strips or sporting page and, fiddles in the radio and goes to bed. His wife does the housework, looks after the children, listens to soap operas, read an occasional love story and attends a bridge club.

People of the first type grow younger with increasing years. Men and women of the second group have already hit the skid; if they don’t change they’ll be old at 45.

Regardless of your age it’s not too late to make your life interesting.I

know a housewife who, at 50, with no previous experience made herself into an outstanding industrial designer. A woman of 70 whose children thought she should retire to the shelf- conducts a successful cooking school for brides.

keep fit

Irrespective of years, staying young is easy for those who live in the future. You can do it if you care enough to try. Keep your mind awake and active; that’s the only youth elixir guaranteed to work.