budget well in order to save

every month is a perfect time to take up a topic that many of us would probably rather not think about - budgeting. but as a map guides us, so does the budget.

income is the first consideration to make in budgeting. we need to find out how much we earn in order to budget well. it is in budgeting well that we will also be able to save. here are some steps to take:

• make a four-column list. the first column would have income on top with expenses below it. the other columns would include Expected, Actual and Difference.


• list down your expected income and your expected expenses.


• daily list down your expenses in a small notebook then transfer the numbers in your four-column list at the end of the month.


• now you can tally the difference between your Expected income from your Actual income as well as from your Expected Expenses from your Actual Expenses.


• Analyze your expenses.you might need to tone down or remove other expenses altogether.of course, if you have a debt, then you need to make a plan to slowly pay off the debt.

saving should be included at the top of your Expected Expenses list so you are encouraged to pay yourself first through saving. then budgeting will not only become an exercise in futility but a creative pursuit towards achieving positive plans and goals. (finance.yahoo.com)

learning to breathe well

though we breather day in and day out, many of us probably that there's a healthy way of breathing.

our lungs and heart prefer for us to breathe slower, longer and deeper - around six or eight deep breaths per minute. this is not only more healthy, this also helps us to manage stress. deep breathing sends a signal to our brain to slow down, which results in hormonal and physiological changes that slow down our heart rate and lower blood pressure. keep these in mind on breathing well.

• inhale slowly and deeply through the nose. this should take about five seconds.
• exhale slowly trough the mouth, emptying your lungs completely.
• use your diaphragm for good breathing. That's the sheet of muscle along the top of your abdomen. it pulls down your lungs up when you expel air. when you inhale well, your lungs should puff up as your diaphragm drops. when you exhale well, your diaphragm rises.(rd.com)

Teenaged Girls’ Weight Affected By Perceived Social Standing

Teenagers, having problem with your weight? You might want to check this out.
Researchers led by Adina Lemeshow of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that teenaged girls who considered themselves on the lower rung of the social ladder were more likely to put on extra pounds.
The researchers analyzed questionnaires completed by 4,446 girls, aged 12 to 18, in 1999. the questionnaire included information on their height, weight, television viewing habits, diet and other factors, including their perceived social standing in school. Girls who rated themselves four or below on a 10-point scale of social standing were more likely to put on extra weight over the next two years than those who said they had a standing of five or higher, the researchers said.
“Our findings suggest that low school subjective social status may be an important contributor to increase in BMI on girls over time,” the researchers commented. (nlm.nih.gov)

Lack of Hope considered “dark evil” by Pope

What is the “dark” evil of modern society according to Pope Benedict XVI?
According to the pontiff, it is the “deficit of hope and trust in life which constitutes the ‘dark’ evil of modern Western society.” During the first Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God in Rome, the Pope asked the Lord “in His mercy” to help individuals and families whose lives “are weighed down by serious shortages and poverty which prevent them from looking trustingly to the future.” He dwelt on “the many challenges…associated with consumerism and materialism,” adding how, “even in Rome we notice that deficit of hope and trust in life which constitutes the ‘dark’ evil of modern Western society.”
The Pope added however “there is no shortage of lights and of reasons for hope” for which we must “implore special divine blessing.” (ewtn.com)

Saving on Your Grocery Budget

Many of us today would bemoan that we hardly have enough for our food budget. But there are ways to save on grocery expense. Check out these suggestions:

• Limit your visit to the grocery. It saves not only time but also money. If you just take that trip every two weeks or so. Buy your supplies at the grocery, which is cheaper, instead of at the convenience store.
• Check out the items on sale. Include the discounted items on your meal plan. It’s easy enough to replace what you have on your list to what is available.
• Choose the lower-priced brands. It may not seem much to you but it will add up over time so choose the lower-priced brands.
• Grow your own food. This is a cheap way to eating healthy, but if you don’t have the space or the time, buy your products at the local farmer’s market.
• Know the menu. In case you want to get away from your own cooking, there are cheaper menus even in upscale restaurants. Check out the menu online, if they’re available, or make sure to order only what you can afford.(healthy.yahoo.com)

Whole-Grain Cereal Prevents Heart Attack

Change your usual rice or pandesal breakfast for a whole-grain cereal. A new US study has found that those who eat this kind of cereal were 28 percent less likely to develop heart failure than those who never ate a whole-grain meal.
The Physician’s Health Study was conducted on nearly 10,500 doctors from 1982 to 2006. Doctors who ate whole-grain cereal two to six times a week had a 22 percent reduced risk of heart failure, while those who ate whole-grain cereal up to once a week had a 14 percent reduced risk. In the study, breakfast cereals were considered whole-grain if they contained at least 25 percent oat or bran content.
“the significant health benefits of whole-grain cereal are not just for kids but also for adults. A whole-grain, high-fiber breakfast may lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol and prevent heart attacks,” said Dr. Luc Diousse, the study’s lead author and assistant professor of Medicine in the division of aging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. (nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus)

Becoming more and more like Jesus

Did you know that going to mass grants you the grace for continual conversion? The Eucharist is not just nourishment for our souls but is also “a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sins,” says the Council of Trent. Other devotions, like reading the Bible, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Our Father, and every sincere act of worship or prayer helps revive the spirit of repentance in us, and contributes to the forgiveness of our sins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1435-1437)

Tips for Your Crowning Glory

They say that the crowning glory of a woman is her hair. Follow these suggestions to make sure your glory shines bright:

• What you eat is important. Fill your diet with vegetables and foods high on Vitamin A, C, B complex, iron, iodine and copper.
  


• Use only a dab shampoo. Your hair doesn’t really need that mush shampoo. If you have the lather you want, add a little more water. Too much shampoo will strip your mane of oils and will contribute to flyaway hair.


• massage the lather into your hair. Don’t rub or you may cause damage to your hair.


• blot your hair with a towel. Again, rubbing your hair might cause damage at a time when it’s vulnerable.


• treat your hair to an egg shampoo once a month. Whisk one or two raw eggs and then work it into your hair. Allow it to dry and then shampoo out, followed by a vinegar and water rinse. This will add protein to your damaged, tinted or fragile hair. It cleanses our hair without removing its natural oil. (beauty.about.com)
  

Prayer Combat Stress

Have you ever worried about getting into an accident, losing money or being attacked? Stressful thoughts such as these can be combated through relaxation techniques such as praying the Our Father, Hail Mary or the Rosary.
Dr. Herbert Benson, director of the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and a Harvard University associate professor of medicine, suggested daily relaxation techniques for about 10 to 20 minutes to combat stress. Stress occurs when people are in a situation that requires them to change behavior patterns. “Stress evokes a flight response. It prepares you for running or fighting,” explained Dr. Benson.
A repetition technique “allows us to tap into the inborn capacity we have to combat stress,” said Dr. Benson. “For a religious person, this is contact with God.” These techniques decrease metabolism, lower the heartbeat and “quiet down the brain,” he added.
According to Dr. Benson, stress releases a hormone, norepinephrine that can cause or worsen existing diseases, while relaxation techniques release nitric oxide, which counteracts the stress hormone.
“I can’t overemphasize the importance of the early training of Catholics in prayer,” said Dr. Benson, a Jew. “In the West, for Catholics nothing beats the Rosary,” he added.

(catholics.org)

True Satisfaction

Becoming rich and famous does not guarantee contentment. if it did, multimillionaire athletes would not jeopardize their careers by using illicit drugs. if it did, a wealthy lawyer would not have tearfully said that he would gladly trade everything he had for a change in the behavior of his sons. if it did, the occurrence of multiple marriages among celebrities would not be commonplace. obviously contentment must come from a source other than wealth and fame.
In Ecclesiastes 5, Solomon said that because of sinful people rule the world, we shouldn’t be surprised when the poor are oppressed and when justice and righteousness are denied. the life of those who love money is not as rosy as it seems. they are never satisfied with what they have, and they face the emptiness of watching other people consume their riches. the humble laborer, content with little, can sleep soundly, while rich man lies at night worrying about his money.
how about other people? us? are we frustrated or satisfied? Paul wrote that we are "not to be naughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy". only when we trust in the Lord will we find true and lasting satisfaction.
"discontentment makes rich man poor;
contentment makes poor man rich!"

Strange but True: Leaving Trails Behind

It is one thing to track down sent information through the Internet Protocol(IP) address where you last logged in, but tracking through printers used is something that looks like next to impossible.But tracking through printers can be done. the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a consumer privacy group based in San Francisco in the United States, was able to crack the code behind tiny tracking dots that common laser printers hide in every document.The tracking dots-which are yellow-are invisible to the naked eye, according to Seth Schoen, an EFF researcher. but when viewed under blue light and through a magnifying glass, the dots can be used to identify the date and time a document was printed and the serial number of the printer, said Schoen.
Secret service officials in the US revealed that more than 50% of fake money comes from color laser printers. so, they are using only the code to track down counterfeiters and not to pry on people's computer activity.
Privacy advocates, however, expressed that law enforcement agencies even common citizens may abuse the technology and that there's no law to stop them. EFF lawyer Lee Tien said that the "problem is that tracking counterfeiters also means putting in technology that allows you to track every document."
EFF is publishing light printers that produce codes, including at least 80% of models on the market. "we think people ought to know what their printers are saying about them," said Schoen.
(Feds Can Connect Dots to Your Computer Printer )

Respect

leaders agree it's all about the people. you're only as good as those who work for you. a great CEO listens to others, feels their concerns, delegates authority, and nurtures the company's talent, writes Barry. respect is a two-way street- give respect and will earn it. "always treat people with dignity and respect, particularly those who work for you," Merck and Company's Raymond Gilmartin advises. "not only is this appropriate behavior - if you follow this principle, you will attract and retain talented people, which you will find is essential to your success."

(kate lorenz)