7/29/2008

Tips on How to Teach Your Kids to Save Money

A lot of teens nowadays do not understand the value of earning and spending money. They were not oriented that investing is necessary even if they are still students. As parents, you play a crucial role in this area.

You should be able to teach your kids on how to save money. They should be able to understand the concept of money and investment as early as childhood. This will prepare them to learn money management, as they grow old.

Here are some tips on how you can teach your children how to save money:

1. Your children should be educated of the meaning of money. Once your children have learned how to count, that is the perfect time for you teach them the real meaning of money. You should be consistent and explain to them in simple ways and do this frequently so that they may be able to remember what you taught them.

2. Always explain to them the value of saving money. Make them understand its importance and how it will impact their life. It is important that you entertain questions from them about money and you should be able to answer them right away.

3. When giving them their allowances. You need to give them their allowances in denominations. Then you can encourage them that they should keep a certain bill for the future. You can motivate them to do this by telling them that the money can be saved and they can buy new pair of shoes or the toys they want once they are able to save.

4. You can also teach them to work for money. You can start this at your own home. You can pay them fifty cents to one dollar every time they clean their rooms, do the dishes or feed their pets. This concept of earning little money will make them think that money is something they have worked for and should be spent wisely.

5. You can teach them to save money by giving them piggy banks where they can put coins and wait until they get full. You can also open bank accounts for them and let them deposit money from their allowance. You should always show them how much they have earned to keep them motivated.

Money and saving is not something that is learned by children in one sitting. You should be patient in teaching them and relating the value of money in all of their activities. Children will learn this easily if you are patient and consistent in guiding them and encouraging them in this endeavor.

7/27/2008

Lifetime Fitness: On Your Way to a Healthier You

Many people end up abandoning perfectly good fitness programs and weight-loss regimens before they even lace up their sneakers.

Why? Because in a world filled with fast food, instant messaging, and a five-second disease-tracking device, anything without a quick payoff goes against the grain of the typical American instant gratification ethic. While it would be nice to actually drop inches in just a few days like what most miracle ads proclaim, managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.

Setting weight management goals for yourself can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.

That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.

Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.

That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.

To know more of the advantages and benefits that lifetime fitness can bring, here are some facts that you need to know:

1. Lifetime fitness programs offers you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.

These fitness programs provide you the right method in maintaining health, build up and encourage your competence, and take care of your family’s physical fitness as well.

2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.

There are fitness equipments that will give your cardiovascular system a lift. You can also opt for some sports facilities that will provide you with an alternative way of being physically fit.

3. Lifetime fitness programs and centers also provides nutritional products such as food supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.

Lifetime fitness centers and programs also provide you with up-to-date fitness magazines that do not only give substantial information about fitness and health but inspirational stories as well. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.

Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right track of a healthier you.

7/24/2008

Obtaining Health Insurance

Many people are often concerned about obtaining health insurance. They are confused about their options or about how to obtain the best health insurance for them or their family. There are several ways to obtain health insurance, though, and some of them are not always obvious, but can be quite easy in the end.

Health insurance is commonly obtained through an employer. Nearly all employers these days offer some sort of “group” health insurance plan for employees. The term “group” simply denotes that there is a large group of people on the plan, which decreases the cost of the monthly premium for all members. These plans can cover yourself, your spouse, and your family, depending on the specific policy. Covering more than just yourself obviously increases your monthly premium, but the ability to cover your family inexpensively is a huge benefit. To obtain group health insurance through your employer, you should contact your human resources department or whoever is in charge of benefits in your company. You should be able to buy into the group health insurance plan at any time during your employment.

If you leave an employer who offers group health insurance without first finding other coverage, you can also use the COBRA law with your previous employer’s health insurance coverage. COBRA is a government act that allows you to continue coverage under your previous employer, though at a more expensive rate. If you had coverage for your entire family, COBRA will allow you to continue this full coverage for a certain period of time.

There are several million people in the United States who are unable to participate in any group health insurance plans, however. Health insurance companies do offer individual plans for those who do not have coverage through their employer, are self-employed, or are ineligible for government health insurance assistance, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Individual health insurance plans are more often than not very expensive in relation to group health insurance plans. These plans can also cover family members and spouses for additional costs. Finding individual health plans is not difficult. Almost all health insurance companies offer individual plans; you can now search online for individual health insurance plans. Some Web sites even allow you to compare pricing and details of plans offered in your area – much like shopping for car insurance.

There is also federal health assistance available depending on certain criteria. If you are over the age of 65 or if you have a disability or specific condition (detailed by the government), you are eligible for Medicare. Medicaid is another government health insurance program that is based on income. Overall, it is simply important to be covered, no matter how you go about doing it. Research your options of coverage and speak with a professional to find out more about the health insurance options available to you.

7/20/2008

2 Recipes Your Kids Will Love...

Jello Aquarium Recipe

1 pk Jello Berry BLUE jelly powder
1 c Boiling water
2 c Ice cubes
Gummy fish

Dissolve jelly powder in boiling water. Add ice cubes, stirring until jelly
thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Remove any unmelted ice. Spoon jelly
into to clear sided bowls. Poke 3 or 4 gummy fish into each dish of
slightly thickened jelly. Refrigerate 30 minute to set. Serve with 1-1/2
hours.

Octopus Dogs

6 Hot dogs
6 Hot dog buns
1 cn Chili

About 1" from one end of a hot dog, start a slit in the hot dog that
goes vertically to the other end. Turn a quarter turn and make another
slit. Keep making slits until you have eight "legs" for the hot dog. Boil
and the hot dog will look like an octopus. Serve with head up and legs
spread out over an opened hot dog bun that has chili on it.

Enjoy !

7/18/2008

Playtime for Newborns

You may think that your newborn needs to have toys. It is true that a newborn is not going to actually be able to hold and manipulate a toy that is intended for their entertainment like an older child would do. However there are different things that you can buy for your newborn that are going to be toys and also going to help them in their development.

The best toys that are for newborns are simple. They are not actually able to play with the toys, but they can follow them with their eyes when you hold them in front of a baby. Rattles and brightly colored toys are good for babies because they can hear them and see them. If a toy is brightly colored and rattles and makes other noises, a baby is going to have a positive brain development when it comes to seeing objects and hearing sounds. If it is something that your newborn can hold in his or her hands, eventually as time goes by your baby’s hands and feet will get stronger and able to grasp things better. You will see positive motor development if you give your baby toys to hold and move.

There is a lot of research that shows positive brain development is happening in babies who have things to look at. If your baby has a mobile or another object to look at while they are in their crib or while they are sitting in a seat, they are going to be able to focus on objects and watch them. This is where they will get stimulation and will have better brain development.

Remember that there are many sides to this topic. There has been a lot of research done that says that stimulation is important. However a baby can easily get over stimulated. This is why it is important to keep it simple and not have too many things going on at one time. Keeping the nursery in a few prominent colors is important because colors have been shown to encourage brain growth and development in newborns. Keep your baby stimulated and do not make them look at all different kinds of things that will make them stressed out. You will know you are creating sensory overload if your baby starts to cry for no reason at all. Keep it simple and make sure that you are grabbing their attention. If they can look at it and can follow it with tier eyes, they are going to have better brain development and grow stronger and smarter all the time.