You can save money easily by making a few small changes in your daily life. The money you save can be used for anything you choose, such as saving for your child's college education, investing for your own future or retirement, or just to have a nest egg you use in case of emergency. Here are some ways to save money every single day.
Make your lunch and take it to work with you or to wherever you are going for several hours during the day. Not only will you save money, but you will also have the exact food that you like to eat. It will probably also be healthier than what you would purchase by going out to eat.
Turn off your sprinklers and water your grass every couple of days. This will depend on the time of year and where you live, but you will save quite a bit of money by doing your own watering.
Buy a thermos and bring your own coffee with you. Spending several dollars every day on coffee and other designer beverages does not make sense if you are attempting to save money.
Resist the urge to buy shoes and clothing. Go through your closets and see what you already have before you buy anything new.
Get together with others and trade what you have for what you need. You can do this with friends, family and neighbors. You will be surprised at what kind of trades you can make, making it easier for you to save money.
These are just a few ways to save money. Look for other ways to cut corners and think about your money before you spend it. Also, look for ways to earn extra money, such as by making money online.
[Join Connie Ragen Green for a f'ree weekly teleseminars that will teach you how to write, market, and sell your ebook to make money from home by visiting www.EbookWritingandMarketingSecrets.com]
Women are very vulnerable to violence and crimes specially at night. Even with the world advancing so much, women are still not safe on the streets even in the most developed of nations. This is evident from the huge amount of crimes against women even in countries like USA, UK and other developed nations.
Here are a few tips to help a woman if she has to travel to some place late in the evenings or night:
1. The best things to do for women is to always try and have some company when you are traveling at night. As much as possible avoid venturing out at night by yourself.
2. While traveling in the evenings, aim for well trafficked streets and roads. Try to avoid as much as possible those streets which tend to be deserted or have few travelers.
3. Avoid wearing jewelery when you are out at night. Even fake jewelery might attract chain snatchers.
4. Be extra careful while boarding or getting down a bus, train or while riding on an escalator as pickpockets might usually strike at such times.
5. While walking on sidewalks, keep your handbags and other valuables away from the street sides.
6. If you have to ask for directions, it is better to approach families or women.
7. As soon as you get into your car after you come from shopping, eating or from your office, lock the doors. Don't delay doing this.
8. The elbow seems to be the strongest part of your body. keep this in mind if you ever need to use it and have the opportunity to do so.
9. Don't put off things for evenings and night which you can do during broad daylight like going to the laundry to get your clothes etc. Many women may say that its usually quieter and more peaceful in the evenings, but safety should be the first priority in such cases.
10. It can help if women learn a few self defense tips and techniques just to be on the safer side - woman self defense
The above safety tips for women at night are definitely not sufficient and 100% foolproof. But they do offer some guidelines of night safety for women.
[The author writes a blog is titled 'Powerful Living'. Check it out - self improvement advice]
If you have spent years guiding and preparing your children toward independence you might expect a sense of freedom and accomplishment when they left home. You can acknowledge that some important work is done as your children move onto college, marriage or a life of their own. Yet many “empty nest” parents, mothers especially, are left feeling adrift, abandoned and lonely.
This doesn’t have to be the case. By knowing how to deal with the unexpected emotions of the “empty nest” syndrome, you can transform this transition into one of the most meaningful times of your life.
“Empty Nest” Emotions
Empty nesters are likely to feel torn in different directions. While 58% of empty nesters claim they are ready for the kids to fly the coop, those numbers are significantly less for women (55%), than for men (70%). On the one hand they have more time and freedom to do the things they’ve wanted before having children. Yet many women who have focused all their time and energies on raising their families may have no idea of what they want now, some 20 or so years later.
Another issue that makes it difficult to sail on a breeze into these years of freedom is that many women are burdened with other challenges. Some face other difficulties such as divorce, moving, menopause, or care of aged parents at the same time the nest is emptying. For example, 40% of empty nesters expect that their children will move back in with them and 30% anticipate having their parent move in with them.
Filling the Empty Nest
Whatever situation accompanies your “empty nest” experience there are steps you can take to make this transition easier and life enhancing. First, look at this change for its tremendous opportunities. Many women have chosen to concentrate on their work and have explored new careers. Others who have dealt with divorce and empty nest simultaneously have been stopped in their tracks—long enough to explore their own wants, needs, and desires for the first time ever.
After dealing with this transition, women at this age generally report feeling more confident than in their younger years. By embracing this opportunity to pay attention to your own financial, physical, emotional and professional needs, the empty nest stage could lead to the most fulfilling stage of your life.
The Empty Nest: A Time to Turn Inward
A great place to start on this new journey is to learn to listen to your body. If you are experiencing signs of menopause or perimenopause this is your body’s way of telling you to take care of you. What changes must you make in areas like nutrition, fitness and stress management?
Another important focus is to learning to listen to your heart. For years, you as a woman, have been taught that it is selfish to take care of or focus on you. Since women tend to be nurturers by nature it is easy to fall into the trap of focusing all your energy on those you love.
It’s time to heed this lesson: by neglecting your own physical, spiritual and emotional needs you limit your ability to be there for anyone. Do you remember the fatigue and irritability brought on by running yourself ragged for your family? Now is the time to treat your self as well as you treated them.
Your emotions may be up and down due to lack of direction, loss of routine, hormonal changes or other life events. Here are other suggestions to help you get the most out of your empty nest experience.
· Listen to your emotions so you will know what you need and want. For this you may need to commit to spending time alone and writing in a journal.
· Experiment with new experiences so you can learn more about yourself. For example, try yoga and meditation to help lower your stress, improve your sleep and enjoy peaceful moments with your self.
· Find opportunities to learn how to make the best transition possible by reading, studying materials on changes and personal development. Be more prepared for the rest of your life by learning from the wisdom of others.
· Take control of your finances. If this has always eluded you or been your husband’s job, now is the time to harness your energy and learn a new competence. Start with books or classes as needed.
· Try a new hobby or class. This is the prime time to discover hidden talents and explore interests.
· Find meaningful work. Many empty nesters find this is the best time to start a brand new career.
Midlife is an exciting and pivotal stage in your life. Accept that you may have some raw or confused emotions and that this is normal. If you experience symptoms of depression and your sadness doesn’t go away you should consult a professional. Otherwise, recognize that your empty nest may be one of the greatest gifts your children can offer you.
[Anne Uemura, Ph.D., http://www.coach4womeninmidlife.com, is a psychologist-coach-healer with an eclectic and diverse background including work with: Bach flower essences, Barbara Brennan, Brian Weiss, Psych-K, Toltec teachers, Cristhal Bennett; and students/clients she saw during her 13 years at UC-Berkeley and in her private practice of over 25 years.]
Dating Site Seeks Same Audience as Grandparents.com
Perfectmatch.com Looks to Target the Diverse 50-Plus Market
By Brian Steinberg
Published: February 08, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Think about online dating, and what likely comes to mind are 20-somethings trolling web pages in the hopes of finding a love connection. But increasingly, those trollers are more like 50-somethings, single baby boomers looking for dates.
'Another Chance for Romance' is a dating show aimed at boomers that airs on Retirement Living TV.
That's why during Valentine's Day week, online-dating service Perfectmatch.com will be woven into "Another Chance for Romance," a dating show aimed at boomers on Retirement Living TV, a niche channel that appears on DirecTV and Comcast. Perfectmatch CEO Duane Dahl said the site has seen a 60% spike in the 50-plus audience from 2005 to 2006, and estimated growth of 140% in the 50-plus audience for 2006 to 2007.
That doesn't surprise John Erickson, Retirement Living's founder, who believes older consumers are more dynamic than marketers care to admit. "If you approach these people with 'Murder, She Wrote' reruns and 'Matlock' or 'Little House on the Prairie' and think that's going to satisfy them for the next 25 years, you're missing the biggest opportunity in the market," he said.
Importance of individualization
Consumers over 50 do represent a big opportunity, but more often than not, advertisers treat them all exactly the same. Studies have found that marketers over-generalize, misrepresent and sometimes ignore the generation, lumping them together and, in the process, alienating them. "The longer that marketers keep treating [boomers] as a huge mass as opposed to individuals, the longer it's going to take them to enter the market," said Jody Quinn, exec VP-general manager of the Boomer Insights Generation Group at Edelman, which did the latest study.
Market-research firm Yankelovich has identified at least six different flavors of boomer, ranging from "due diligents," who think ahead and plan for the worst, to "re-activists," who want to support social causes and do all they can to fix them before age makes it difficult. There are other challenges to navigate as well: A "mature" consumer in his or her 70s should not be approached in the same way as a recent retiree. "There are some really big differences," said Gerald Carrafiello, president of Carrafiello Diehl & Associates, an Irvington, N.Y., agency that has studied marketing to older consumers.
Going at older consumers by mining a particular niche interest seems to be a way for some emerging media to lure advertisers. Mr. Erickson, a retirement-community magnate, launched Retirement Living TV in September of 2006. Filled with programs such as "The Prudent Advisor" and "Healthline," the network has attracted the likes of Pfizer and Prudential, who seek consumers 55 years or older that are active in retirement. The channel can appeal to a broader audience, said Gig Barton, VP-advertising sales and sponsorships, but the focus is concentrated on people looking forward to retirement or those who have recently retired and are looking to stay active.
Savvy grandparents
Grandparents.com, a website aimed at baby boomers with grandchildren, has attracted ads from Johnson & Johnson and Hasbro, said Jerry Shereshewsky, CEO, Grandparents.com. The toymaker is not your typical elder marketer, but is based on the principle that grandparents tend to buy lots of toys for the kids. The site has about 35,000 registered users and about 150,000 unique visitors per month, he said.
AARP also targets different segments of its membership with its eponymous magazine. In 2001, the group decided to publish two different magazines, "My Generation" and "MM: Modern Maturity" aimed at the 55 age group and the other for 56-65 and 66 plus, said Hugh Delehanty, editor in chief of AARP Publications. Two years later, the group found that more readers were familiar with the organization's name, AARP, and the magazines was rechristened just that, though different versions are published for different age segments -- 50-59, 60-69, and 70 plus -- with about 25% of each version's content varied according to target.
In years past, older consumers were looked upon as doddering, addled or even useless. Clearly, that view is changing, as seen in recent Ameriprise commercials that feature actor Dennis Hopper casting aside the traditional idea of retirement. But not all retirees or elders are the same, and marketers will have to focus as closely on them in the near future as they do on their younger counterparts. "Young marketers perceive someone to be 'over the hill' at 57; the 50-plus consumer perceives someone to be 'over the hill' at 75. So the people doing the marketing don't truly understand the demographic they're targeting," said Jennifer Kaltia, a marketing consultant who has studied older consumers.
