Ways to cut down your electric bills

1. switch to fluorescent lights. You can cut down more than half of your lighting consumption just by doing away with incandescent bulbs. Don’t let the more expensive price of CFLs fool you. They last more than ten times longer than normal incandescent bulbs and run on one-third or one-fourth the power for the same brightness. Get the branded CFLs though, not the cheap ones you find in bazaars. They may be cheap but they don’t last long.
2. adjust the thermostat on your air-con. Some people like the feeling of being Eskimos when they turn on their air-conditioners. But studies show that the most comfortable temperature for people in a public place is around 26 degrees. Every degree you go above 26 degrees decreases the power consumption of your unit by 8%. Also, clean your air-cons regularly. Clean filters save energy too.
3. turn off your electric air pots and the hot water in your water dispensers. Other households keep the hot water on all day for one or two cups of coffee. This uses up a lot of energy. If you need hot water, use kettles or a covered pan to boil it. Or if you need just a cup for your coffee, use the microwave.

What’s the color of money?

Do you know that colors have an impact in attracting customers? Blue is the energy color. It is proven to increase man’s energy. Production people produce more output and muscle builders build more muscles in a blue room.
Red is the color of food. It increases the body’s metabolism, thus, in restaurants, it invites people to crave more and eat more.
Hunter green is the money color. It is bound to influence. Dove grey is the business color. It is the color most executives use. (graphicdesign.about.com/od/psychology)

Money 101: Setting Priorities

Setting priorities is a most important component in managing your finances. Here are some things to help you prioritize:
narrow your objectives. Identify your goals clearly and decide which are the most important and why.
focus on the goals that matter. To accomplish primary goals, you’ll have to set aside equally desirable but less important financial goals.
be prepared for conflicts. When this happens, ask yourself the question, will one of the conflicting goals benefit more people than the other
put time on your side. Money stashed in savings account or invested in stocks and bonds will grow. The more time you have the more chance you have of success.
choose carefully. Your list of goals should help you feel financially secure, happy and fulfilled. This may include getting out of debt, or paying for the kid’s tuition. After the list is done, rank the items in order of importance.
include family members. Include your wife or husband, and kids too, in the goal-setting process.
start now. Don’t procrastinate or you’ll have more difficulty reaching your goals.
sweat the big stuff. Keep your spending on course once you’ve done prioritizing your goals. If a big expense is not getting you closer to your goals, try to defer or reduce it.
don’t sweat the small stuffs. Most of what you will continue to spend will be for daily expenses. That’s okay as long as the long-range needs are also provided fro.
be prepared for change. Your needs and desires invariably change. You should also reexamine your priorities at least every five years.
(christianadvice.net)

Parkinson's Drug Can Trigger Compulsive Gambling

Is a loved one suddenly having problems with compulsive gambling? If the person is being treated for Parkinson's disease, the cause may lie in his medication.

Researchers are looking into the connection between compulsive behavior and a specific dopamine agonist, pramipexole, which is used to treat Parkinson's.

Dopamine is a chemical naturally produced by the human body. It plays an important role in the brain's control of movement. It is linked with addictive behaviors and pleasurable experiences such as drugs, sex and food. A shortage of it, however, causes Parkinson's disease. This means that treating the disease with dopamine can possibly cause the patient to seek addictive behaviors such as gambling, hyper sexuality and overeating.

Despite the strong link between the two, there's still no firm evidence to support the theory. In the study they conducted among 529 people taking pramipexole, only 1.5% developed gambling behaviors. (cnn.com)

The Benefits of Fasting

Fasting is not just for the spiritual. Some nutrition experts advocate fasting for purely health reasons.
For societies like America where people eat rich diets, fasting for 24 hours allows the digestive system to rest from all that processed foods.
Below are some of the known benefits of fasting:
Detoxification – he body has a built-in process of eliminating toxins through the colon, liver, lungs, lymph glands and skin. Fasting hastens detoxification because when the body doesn’t take in food, it draws from its fat reserves for energy. When these fats are converted to energy, they release the chemicals from the fatty acids into the body’s system and are exerted.
Healing – fasting diverts energy from the digestive system to the metabolism and immune system. Tumors and other abnormal growths are deprived of the body’s usual supply and become more prone to self-destruct. Also, the body is able to produce protein to replace damage cells more efficiently resulting in healthier tissues and organs. This is the reason why people lose their appetite when sick with tonsillitis or colds: so the body can divert its energy from the digestive to the immune system.
Longer life – fasting also lowers the core body temperature. And because hormone production is more efficient, the body releases growth and anti-aging hormones. The results are rejuvenation and a longer life. (serendip.brynmawr.edu)

Four Ways to Save Money

Living in the next capital of the world means that cell phone bills are a part of everyone’s monthly budget. But did you consider how much you would save if you could cut down on your cell phone usage?
Just think, if you save off P300 on your bill every month, you’d save P3600 a year. Invest that at 10% per annum and, in 20 years, your cell phone savings would have grown at P251,028.00!
Knowing that, you might want to consider these tips on how to cut down on your cell phone use.
Hold off calling on your cell phone when it’s not urgent. Chances are you’ll have access to a landline soon enough and can call the other party then.
If you have online access, reply to your text message via the Internet. There are a number of programs you can use o send free texts from your computer, among them are Chikka and Yahoo Messenger.
Consider applying for another cell phone line that offers unlimited calls within the network. If the bulk of your calls are to family members, officemates or to a significant other, it might save you all a big chunk of your regular bill to each get an unlimited line.
Avoid subscribing to a cell phone services that deplete your load. Your phone will work fine even without the latest ring tones, logos or downloaded games.

The Greatest Shopping Site

Many people now are into shopping not only in malls but also through computers. Yes! You heard it right. You can now shop anything through the net. So shopwiki is now here for all the shoppers.
Father’s day is now fast approaching and of course every family is looking for the best gift for dad , but searching long is no more because as I have mentioned, they all got it for you. Daddy likes stuffs on vehicles? automotive is here not only that books, drinks, clothes, collectibles, technology, accessories and anything for dad. Name it and I assure you, you could all find it here. Just especially for you shoppers.
And since father’s day is not only the occasion for the whole year, I know there are more special occasions out there so more special and just the gorgeous gifts for all.
Much stuff can be found everywhere for anyone so I guess somebody needs the perfect suggestions for gifts. That is a no worry situation because they too can help you in there gift service… jewelries, beauty, for a home sweet home, kids, office, pets, sports, toys - these are just the few of what they can do for you so why not try checking their site out. And for an easy access to their full service, you can also register/login and even trying to pass up their shop directory…
Aren’t those too much for a great shopping site? But wait, remember, it was only the few. So shoppers and the not, what are you waiting for? check them out now!

Integrating Exercise within Your Day

It's easier than you think. So before you make an excuse that you have neither the time nor the energy for exercise, try these tips:

1. Ten minutes of walking everyday increases your fitness level. So even if you don't sweat at the gym for hours, you can be fit as well. At least that's what new studies show.
2. Exercise your abs in bed. Een before getting up, lie flat on your bed and do ten crunches. Increase the number of sit-ups each day until you reach 100.
3. Play active games with your peers. It's a great aerobic activity and the fun thing is, it doesn't feel like exercise!

Childhood is the Most Important Stage in Life

According to Pope Benedict the XVI, childhood is the most important stage in a person’s life.
“In this first stage, inclinations to vice and virtue begin to show,” the Holy Father said. “That is why God’s law must be impressed on the soul from the beginning’ as on a table of wax,” he added.
Pope Benedict was giving his reflection on St. John Chrysostom when he gave his insight a few months back. He highlighted Chrysostom’s teaching on the stages of life, explaining that the saint “tried to assist, through his writings, the integral development of the person, in the physical, intellectual, and spiritual dimension.”
The Pope added: “We must be aware how important it is that in this first phase of life the major orientation that gives the right perspective to existence is truly enter into man. That’s why Chrysostom recommends: “From a very young age, arm children with spiritual weapons.” (zenith.org)

Saints at a Glance

Who: Catherine of Sienna
Born and died: Siena, 25 March 1347 – Rome, 29 April 1380
Notable facts: youngest of 25 children. She began having mystical experience at age of six. Became Dominican Tertiary at 16. Catherine is author of “Dialogue”, where her mystical experiences are recorded. She is one of only three women doctor of the church.