It's that dreaded time of year again. No, not tax time. Nope, not time for New Year's resolutions, either. It's Halloween costume time. As in, the time of year where you wonder if you should just turn down the invitation to your friend's party because you have no idea what to wear or how much you'll have to spend for something you'll never use again. But never fear. You can accept the invitation with pleasure, because there are many easy, inexpensive, fun costumes out there.

1. Go as a bunch of grapes. Find some bright purple balloons, attach them to a cheap black or purple T-shirt, find some black or purple shorts, and you're ready to go.

- Find a little green beanie and you've got a stem.

- Use dark baloons and make yourself a blackberry, red ones to make yourself a raspberry.

2. Go as a person from another country where they wear robes. Pick your country. Many places in Africa, India, and the Middle East could be included here. Use old (or even current, if you're careful) bedsheets and wrap them around you until it looks right. Pin any areas you don't want to fly open. Voila...your'e a farmer/peasant/refugee from somewhere else.

- If helping out refugees is your kind of thing, this can give you a chance to connect for your cause at the party.

- Add some beaded jewelry or some extravagant earrings to make yourself even more exotic.

3. Make up a superhero. All you really need is a cape to be convincing, and that's easy to make from an old bedsheet or just about any piece of material you have lying around. After that, you can go as low maintence ("Hi there, littile girl, I'm Regular Guy!") or as high maintenance as you want.

- Do something funky with your hair. That will stand out at the party, as most of the people will know you with it in a particular way, and will go far to create a persona for your character.

- Wear bright colors and/or tights. This will distract people from the fact that they've never heard of your hero before.

4. Be a serial killer or a psycho stalker. Wear your normal clothes (after all, these people are virtually indistinguishable from everyone else on the outside). Act slightly strange all night: stare at people, refuse to answer when they ask you what you are, laugh at things that aren't funny.

- Carry a box of breakfast cereal and tell people it's a clue to what you are. Offer a prize to whoever guesses correctly. Give the winner the box of cereal.

- Pick a person and follow them around for the duration of the party. Hide behind corners, furniture, potted plants when they look your way. Be obvious...be very obvious.

5. Go as a failed gymnast. Wear clothes that are identifiably sporty--sweats, track pants, yoga pants, etc.--and spend the night trying to touch your toes or other stretches. Turn somersaults and look like you expect applause. Limp. Lament loudly the loss of your career, the win that got away, how "if only" that 15-year old from China had eaten the day before, you would have your medal.

- If you have a swim cap and goggles, add them to the outfit and be a failed swimmer.

- Get someone to come as your coach. Dress them coachishly (sweats are great!) and give them a whistle. Have them come up to you repeatedly yelling coachish things. Ignore them unless they have food.

Clearly, a Halloween costume can be more about personality and less about what you wear. So think up a character, dress appropriately, then act your way through the night. More than anything, though, have a blast! And if any of these costumes win a prize, I want to know!

Expecting a new baby can be the most exciting and wondrous time of life. Babies are the most delightful and magical little creatures and to have one on the way can be the most wonderful part of being a human being. When you are expecting a baby, there are some things that you want to have set up before the baby's arrival just to make sure that all is in order before the baby's birth. You want to make sure, first of all, that the baby has a place to sleep and has a proper crib and basinet.

A basinet is an important feature if you live in a rather large house or if you have two floors. Though a basinet is not essential, it is highly useful because a crib is not portable and if you do not have this then you will have to move the baby around in a carrier. So, if you keep a basinet, you can take the baby where you want to whether you are up or down and that way they will have a nice place to sleep in two different parts of the house. Now, if you think a crib is enough, you will want to choose between a round crib or a rectangle crib. Though more fashionable certainly, round cribs are actually rather impractical because the baby will grow and soon not be able to fit in the crib.

Also there is a lot of wasted space in the crib, that you will be able to use in the rectangle crib. This decision might also depend upon how large your room or the nursery for your baby is and that will also help you decide how big to make the crib. Next you want to make sure you have few basic outfits for the baby. Now if you don't know the sex of the child, that is fine, but you want to have a few generic type outfits, like a onesie piece and some shorts and a lot of blankets because your child will need it for every nap and every moment really for the first few months. You want to make sure you have a good store of blankets as you will constantly be laundering them for new ones after spit ups and other things. You want to make sure you have diapers in the right size and also plenty of formula, wipes, and pacifiers. The hospital will be sure to give you most of these things at the beginning, but you want to still have your own supply, as well, and choose brands you trust.

It's important to have your house stocked and ready because when the baby comes there won't be any time for these preparations and you will find that all your time is going into making sure that you are taking care of your child. That is why you want to make sure that the blankets are bought, the diapers and pacifiers and all number of other items necessary for your baby. You want to make sure that you have a car seat installed in the car and make sure it is done properly.

The majority of people in the world want to and try to make a descent effort to stay in shape. There are very few of them who purposely choose to become overweight and out of breath. Most of them have the desire to stay healthy, but the main problem for them is finding the time and ways to stay fit.

Chances are, you may be one of those individuals who do not have a physically demanding job and therefore the majority of your day is either spent sitting behind a desk working on a computer or sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Most of us find ourselves caught up in the same routine which consists of getting up at 6am, getting the kids ready for school, taking care of the pets, getting ourselves ready for work and then commuting a half hour or more to get to work. Then we work all day and come home to make dinner, do housework, pay bills and take care of every other thing in between that needs to be done and by this time, we are ready for sleep. We are assuming that all of this is done in an average 8 hour work day, but this is not always true as some people work more than this in a day. So the big question is how can you possibly make time to exercise and stay fit when you are so busy?

The first thing that you have to do is to be creative and find ways to stay fit even when you are behind a desk. You might want to consider replacing your office chair with an exercise ball. This will help you to assume proper posture for your back and it will also help you to strengthen your core muscles which will in turn improve your balance. Do some research and look for different exercises that you can do while sitting at your desk or driving that will tone your transverse abdominal muscles. These are the deep muscles that hold your organs in place and they have more of an impact on the flatness of your stomach than any other abdominal group of muscles. The best thing about these muscles is that you can work them without having to put yourself on the floor. You can engage them by simply sucking in your breath . This can be done while you are behind your desk or a steering wheel and all you have to do is to push your stomach out and suck it partway in and then pull it in towards your spine and hold it for a few seconds before letting out partway.

You should also make sure that you make enough time to get up and walk around while you are at work. Instead of running directly to the coffee pot on your break, consider taking a short power walk around your office building for 10 minutes or so. If you are one of those individuals who work in a tall office building, try riding the elevator to the bottom floor and then head up the stairs as fast as possible . If you are one of those who do not have a long break, try doing a few push-ups or sit-ups to get some exercise and this will not take a lot of your time. For those who have the luxury of an hour lunch break, try taking a walk in your local park or work out for a few minutes at your local health club or gym.

Last of all, you should not rely totally on your vehicle to get you around . If you live within 10 miles or less of your workplace, consider riding your bike to work and if you are fairly close to your job, walk or jog to work . For those of us who absolutely have to use our vehicles to get to work, try parking as far away as possible from your office and walk the rest of the way to get some needed exercise. There are always creative ways that we can look for and implement in our busy lives to make room for some sort of physical exercise that will help us to live and lead a more healthy life .

Mesmerizing colors and perfumes of fresh flowers give a sense of satisfaction to the mind and heart because for a few minutes, the person simply forgets the world and surrenders to the flowers sweet perfumes. There is nothing more special to give on a birthday than a greeting with beautiful birthday flowers. It gives a unique feeling of appreciation to the person who has been greeted with such stunning floral arrangement.

Sending your loved ones flowers of their taste is the best thing they can ever get. However, gifting flowers to the birthday person requires a little bit of effort which can be minimized if you choose to order online. Keep in mind these points while ordering birthday flowers online for someone special:

Taste

Ensure that the persons taste in flowers is met.

To whom are you presenting the flowers

Do inform the Flowers delivery company about your relation with person to whom you wish to send flowers on his /her birthday? For example, your relative, friend, lover, spouse, etc.

Presentation

Make sure to inform the florist company about the way you want these flowers to be reached at his/her place. For example, bucket, bouquet, etc.

Not having good skin is a pain. A lot of us (unfairly) associate having bad skin with having bad hygiene habits even though bad skin is not a sign of whether someone keeps clean. Anybody can experience a breakout.

There is no single cause for acne, which is the reason that everybody gets it. Adult acne is not always as severe as teenage acne but it is more embarrassing so learning how to properly care for your skin is just one of things you have to do as a grown up. Here are some tips to help keep your skin clear and acne free.

Take it easy on your face when you wash it. Scrubbing is bad for you! Scrubbing your face too hard can cause damage and make it more susceptible to breakouts. The skin on your face is incredibly sensitive and easily injured so scrubbing is far more harmful than helpful. Giving yourself scrubbing scars can be very embarrassing! This is why it is important that you take are to wash firmly but gently. This sounds harder than it actually is. Here is a hint: if you have a bright red face after you finish your skin care routine, your routine is too harsh. The goal is to have a flush, but that flush should not be beet red. Go for the glow, not the stoplight effect.

Try not to let your hands touch your face. How often are you aware of the time your hands spend touching your face? Letting your face rest in your hands is just one way to clog your pores. Give yourself a minute to contemplate this. Touching your face after you touch an object is sort of like resting your face on the object that you touched. It is really easy to clog your pores with the oil on your hands when your hands serve as a resting spot for your face. Your face is a prime entry location for germs which is why touching your face is one of the ways that the flu is transmitted from others to you: you touch something that has been touched by a sick person and then touch your face: viola! you have the flu! This is just one reason why touching your face with your hands is a bad idea.

If you find that you can’t help but touch your face, make sure that your hands are always clean! Washing your hands often can help combat acne.

Stay out of the sun as much as you can! Spreading on sunscreen probably seems really stupid if your main goal is to keep your pores free of outside substances. Today there are plenty of oil free sunscreens available.

Protecting your skin no longer means spreading heavy layers of cream all over it. Sunscreens are now lighter and many of them can be sprayed on instead of smoothed on. Even better, many facial moisturizers and cosmetic products already contain sunscreen so you don’t have to worry about purchasing more products. It is important to remember that the old wives take about tanning preventing acne is false!

Keeping your pores clear and your skin clean does not have to be difficult. A twice a day face washing might be all you need. Someone else might need a more invasive facial cleanser. There are also people who choose to fight acne with diet and exercise. Your acne cure will be specific to you and your skin so don’t be afraid to try new things. You need to go slowly–try each acne fighter for a while.

Nothing will work overnight so give all of your trials at least a week or two to start working before moving on to something new.

A solar bottle light bulb, an innovation introduced in the Philippines by Illac Diaz of MyShelter Foundation, as a cheap alternative to other light sources. It was an ingenious invention by an engineer in Brazil. It is called “bottle bulb” because it is made of an empty 1.5 liter soda bottle and in it is a liquid bleach and purified water that can be used as an alternative electric powered light bulb. However, it is only useful during daytime but its luminance was tested and shown to produce as much light as a 50W incandescent bulb.

How to make your own Solar Bottle Light Bulb?

The materials are the following: 1.5 liter soda bottle, 1’x1’ roof sheet material, purified water, camera film dispenser, chlorine and a rubber sealant.

Procedures

Step 1. Fill the 1.5 liter clear soda bottle with purified water then add 3 tablespoons of liquid bleach and tightly seal the cap. Do not use tap water because this will allow the growth of moss.

Step 2. Make a hole in the 1’x1’ roof sheet material, just the same size of the bottle’s circumference and insert the bottom part of the bottle leaving it exposed under the sunlight.

Step 3. Next, make another hole on the roof of the house (same as the bottle’s circumference) where you want to put the solar bulb and firmly fix the device.

Step 4. Seal the roof with a sealant to prevent raindrops from getting inside the house. It will produce a light when the water inside the bottle bulb refracts and scatters the light inside the house.

The solar bulb is expected to last up to two years before it needs changing.

Watch the video on YouTube

1. Replace old light bulbs with energy saving fluorescent bulbs. They may cost more, but will save you much more in the long run.

2. Turn off all electronic devices that are not in use. Not only turn them off but try to remember to unplug them. You will be surprised how much you will save with this simple step!

3. Air dry your dishes. When washing in a dish washer, the heat generated during the wash cycle is more than enough to dry your dishes.

4. Clean or replace air filters regularly. This can vary depending on the filter you are using. It's important to follow the instruction found on the packaging. If you no longer have it, here are some basic guidelines:

Deep Pleated = Once or twice a year

Ordinary Flat or Pleated = 2-3 Months

Traditional Fiberglass/Polyester = Monthly


It is also important that your air filter fits properly and air is moving through it and not around it.

5. Close vents and doors in unused rooms. No need to cool or warm areas that people are not in.

6. Weather strip doors and windows! Weather stripping is an inexpensive alternative to replacing windows and will save you hundreds of dollars!

7. Wash clothes in cold water. Believe it or not cold water does clean, and many laundry soap manufacturers now offer soaps specifically made for washing clothes in cold water.

8. Repair or replace leaky faucets. A leaky faucet waste upwards of 30,000 gallons of water a year. Thats right, imagine what you would be saving with a quick fix!

9. Wash clothes in the morning or evening when its cooler. Sounds silly but the heat generated by the dryer will warm the house and in the summer months your air conditioner will use more energy to cool your home.

10. When shopping for new appliances invest in Energy Star. Energy Star appliances are not by any means cheap, but the upfront cost will pay for it self ten fold in the amount of energy you will be saving over time.

Whenever you save energy, you not only save money, you also reduce the demand for such fossil fuels as coal, oil, and natural gas. Less burning of fossil fuels also means lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary contributor to global warming, and other pollutants.

You do not have to do without to achieve these savings. There is now an energy efficient alternative for almost every kind of appliance or light fixture. That means that consumers have a real choice and the power to change their energy use on a revolutionary scale.

The average American produces about 40,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year. Together, we use nearly a million dollars worth of energy every minute, night and day, every day of the year. By exercising even a few of the following steps, you can cut your annual emissions by thousands of pounds and your energy bills by a significant amount!

Home appliances

Turn your refrigerator down. Refrigerators account for about 20% of Household electricity use. Use a thermometer to set your refrigerator temperature as close to 37 degrees and your freezer as close to 3 degrees as possible. Make sure that its energy saver switch is turned on. Also, check the gaskets around your refrigerator/freezer doors to make sure they are clean and sealed tightly.

Set your clothes washer to the warm or cold water setting, not hot. Switching from hot to warm for two loads per week can save nearly 500 pounds of CO2 per year if you have an electric water heater, or 150 pounds for a gas heater.

Make sure your dishwasher is full when you run it and use the energy saving setting, if available, to allow the dishes to air dry. You can also turn off the drying cycle manually. Not using heat in the drying cycle can save 20 percent of your dishwasher's total electricity use.

Turn down your water heater thermostat. Thermostats are often set to 140 degrees F when 120 is usually fine. Each 10 degree reduction saves 600 pounds of CO2 per year for an electric water heater, or 440 pounds for a gas heater. If every household turned its water heater thermostat down 20 degrees, we could prevent more than 45 million tons of annual CO2 emissions - the same amount emitted by the entire nations of Kuwait or Libya.

Select the most energy-efficient models when you replace your old appliances. Look for the Energy Star Label - your assurance that the product saves energy and prevents pollution. Buy the product that is sized to your typical needs - not the biggest one available. Front loading washing machines will usually cut hot water use by 60 to 70% compared to typical machines. Replacing a typical 1973 refrigerator with a new energy-efficient model, saves 1.4 tons of CO2 per year. Investing in a solar water heater can save 4.9 tons of CO2 annually.

Home Heating and Cooling

Be careful not to overheat or overcool rooms. In the winter, set your thermostat at 68 degrees in daytime, and 55 degrees at night. In the summer, keep it at 78. Lowering your thermostat just two degrees during winter saves 6 percent of heating-related CO2 emissions. That's a reduction of 420 pounds of CO2 per year for a typical home.

Clean or replace air filters as recommended. Energy is lost when air conditioners and hot-air furnaces have to work harder to draw air through dirty filters. Cleaning a dirty air conditioner filter can save 5 percent of the energy used. That could save 175 pounds of CO2 per year.

Small investments that pay off

Buy energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs for your most-used lights. Although they cost more initially, they save money in the long run by using only 1/4 the energy of an ordinary incandescent bulb and lasting 8-12 times longer. They provide an equivalent amount of bright, attractive light. Only 10% of the energy consumed by a normal light bulb generates light. The rest just makes the bulb hot. If every American household replaced one of its standard light bulbs with an energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb, we would save the same amount of energy as a large nuclear power plant produces in one year. In a typical home, one compact fluorescent bulb can save 260 pounds of CO2 per year.

Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket, which costs just $10 to $20. It can save 1100 lbs. of CO2 per year for an electric water heater, or 220 pounds for a gas heater.

Use less hot water by installing low-flow shower heads. They cost just $10 to $20 each, deliver an invigorating shower, and save 300 pounds of CO2 per year for electrically heated water, or 80 pounds for gas-heated water.

Weatherize your home or apartment, using caulk and weather stripping to plug air leaks around doors and windows. Caulking costs less than $1 per window, and weather stripping is under $10 per door. These steps can save up to 1100 pounds of CO2 per year for a typical home. Ask your utility company for a home energy audit to find out where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. This service may be provided free or at low cost. Make sure it includes a check of your furnace and air conditioning.

Getting around

Whenever possible, walk, bike, car pool, or use mass transit. Every gallon of gasoline you save avoids 22 pounds of CO2 emissions. If your car gets 25 miles per gallon, for example, and you reduce your annual driving from 12,000 to 10,000 miles, you'll save 1800 pounds of CO2.

When you next buy a car, choose one that gets good mileage. If your new car gets 40 miles per gallon instead of 25, and you drive 10,000 miles per year, you'll reduce your annual CO2 emissions by 3,300 pounds.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce the amount of waste you produce by buying minimally packaged goods, choosing reusable products over disposable ones, and recycling. For every pound of waste you eliminate or recycle, you save energy and reduce emissions of CO2 by at least 1 pound. Cutting down your garbage by half of one large trash bag per week saves at least 1100 pounds of CO2 per year. Making products with recycled materials, instead of from scratch with raw materials, uses 30 to 55% less for paper products, 33% less for glass, and a whopping 90% less for aluminum.

If your car has an air conditioner, make sure its coolant is recovered and recycled whenever you have it serviced. In the United States, leakage from auto air conditioners is the largest single source of emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which damage the ozone layer as well as add to global warming. The CFCs from one auto air conditioner can add the equivalent of 4800 pounds of CO2 emissions per year.

Home Improvements

When you plan major home improvements, consider some of these energy saving investments. They save money in the long run, and their CO2 savings can often be measured in tons per year.
Insulate your walls and ceilings. This can save 20 to 30 percent of home heating bills and reduce CO2 emissions by 140 to 2100 pounds per year. If you live in a colder climate, consider superinsulating. That can save 5.5 tons of CO2 per year for gas-heated homes, 8.8 tons per year for oil heat, or 23 tons per year for electric heat. (If you have electric heat, you might also consider switching to more efficient gas or oil.)

Modernize your windows. Replacing all your ordinary windows with argon filled, double-glazed windows saves 2.4 tons of CO2 per year for homes with gas heat, 3.9 tons of oil heat, and 9.8 tons for electric heat.

Plant shade trees and paint your house a light color if you live in a warm climate, or a dark color if you live in a cold climate. Reductions in energy use resulting from shade trees and appropriate painting can save up to 2.4 tons of CO2 emissions per year. (Each tree also directly absorbs about 25 pounds of CO2 from the air annually.)

Business and Community

Work with your employer to implement these and other energy-efficiency and waste-reduction measures in your office or workplace. Form or join local citizens' groups and work with local government officials to see that these measures are taken in schools and public buildings.

Keep track of the environmental voting records of candidates for office. Stay abreast of environmental issues on both local and national levels, and write or call your elected officials to express your concerns about energy efficiency and global warming.

Tuning up a car requires some special skills, but anyone with reasonable mechanical knowhow can perform half the job – and save half the cost of a service station tune up.

Here are the basic steps to a do-it-yourself car engine tune up.

You will need a service manual for your car, spark plugs, distributor points and condenser, a spark plug wrench, screwdriver, feeler gauge and a small crescent wrench. To purchase the parts you will need to know your car’s engine size, number of cylinders, and carburetor size. Changing spark plugs is a complicated chore, and the car owner is advised not to try it unassisted for the first few times. However, if you know how, or wish to attempt it with the help of a friend, there are a few precautions to take.

When removing spark plug cables, don’t pull them straight off with a sharp tug, instead work them carefully. Be sure you label them ahead of time so you can connect them again in the proper sequence. Using pieces of masking tape and numbering them is a good way. Don’t overtighten the new plugs; they should be snug, but not impossible to remove.

Installing new points and condenser in the distributor is tricky so the first time you attempt it you should have someone help you who knows how to do it. When you have installed the new plugs, points and condenser and adjusted the points gap, take the car to your dealer or a garage and have them adjust the timing. This will take about 10 minutes.

But how do you know when your car needs a tune up?

These are the most common symptoms: it’s hard to start, it’s sluggish when you step on the accelerator and lacks peps, it idles and burns more gas than it used to.

How often should a car be tuned up?

There is no set interval because cars and people’s driving habits differ. Every 10,000 miles is the rule-of-thumb, but some cars need tune ups them more often, others can go longer. If you take your car to a garage to be tuned up, you should know what is included in minor and major car tune-ups.

A minor tune-up includes replacement of points, condenser and plugs, setting spark timing and adjusting the carburetor idle. A major car tune up includes a check of the engine compression, replacement, or cleaning and adjustment of spark plugs, rebuilding the distributor, adjusting the timing, carburetor, and fan belts.

Cleaning the battery terminals, servicing air cleaner, coil, manifold heat control valve and the fuel line filter.

However, the best way to help improve engine performance is to keep the engine and ignition system clean. No special skills are needed, only some clean rags and a can of solvent to remove oil and grease stains from the engine itself and from some of the components of the electrical system.

Not many realize the harmful effects of dirt on the outside of an engine. A film of dirt and grease on the engine block acts like an insulator and can make the engine run hotter. Most of this dirt accumulates on top of the engine. Remove the air cleaner to get at the engine easier and cover the carburetor with a piece of plastic. For safety remove the negative cable from the battery to eliminate the possibility of sparks.

Wipe off the surfaces with a rag, and if the film is heavy, spray on an engine degreaser. Wipe off the tops of the spark plugs (the white porcelain part of the plug) and the cables, leading to the plugs. Dirt that collects on the spark plugs and cables reduces the electrical current that flows to the spark plugs and can be a cause of hard starting, especially in damp weather.

During the winter, cars parked outside are sometimes hard to start during periods of snow or rain. For this, purchase a can of ignition protector spray. This spray actually drives out moisture and insulates the wires and connections, all which make starting much easier. You spray it on spark plugs, cables, the distributor cap and coil. Complete directions are included on the can.

While tuning up your car and cleaning the engine, look for any wires that appear loose or have worn or cracked insulation. If you spot any, point them out to your mechanic, or replace them yourself.

Many things affect the price you pay for your car insurance. Here are a few tips that might help you reduce your car insurance and lower the amount you are currently paying.

• Shop around. Prices for car insurance can vary greatly from company to company. However, don’t let price be the only thing you consider. It’s better to pay a little more and deal with a reliable company. The best recommendation a company can get is from its customers. Ask your friends which car insurance company they use and if they are happy with the service.

• Inquire about low-mileage discounts. This is for drivers who use their car less than a set number of miles per year.

• If you are thinking about buying a new car, remember that the type of car you drive affects the amount you pay for car insurance. If your car is expensive to repair or a favorite of thieves, the insurance is probably higher.

• If possible, raise the deductibles on collision and comprehensive coverage. This means that the amount you pay before filing a claim is higher, but the yearly cost of car insurance is lower.

• Some companies have a discount for cars that have automatic seat belts or air bags, or you might be eligible for a good-driver or defensive-driving discount, making this another way to reduce your car insurance.

Most conversations on how to invest focus on methods of investing. An experienced investor will tell you that there’s no magic formula. This lesson has usually been learned the hard way. There are some time proven concepts that won’t, by themselves, assure success, but can help reduce some of the risk associated with investing.

• Have a plan – Most people spend more time planning their weekends than planning for their financial future. There’s more to investing than just picking stocks. You need a plan with clear goals and well defined objectives.

• Timing the market – Waiting for the right time to buy or sell can be a long wait. Timing the market is virtually impossible. Expert after expert has concluded that this is not an exact science. There’s really no way to tell exactly where the bottom is or where the top is. Staying investing and riding out the ups and downs is one time proven way to benefit. Trying to time the market can be one of the costliest errors.

• Avoid taxes legally – Most people don’t take advantage of all the legitimate instruments available to defer and avoid taxes. Deferring taxes can add, in many cases, 31 percent to your principal, and can significantly accelerate portfolio growth. Have you considered Tax-Free Bonds, a SEP-IRA, a Salary Deferral Plan, an IRA or a 401(K)? Take the time to review all your options.

• Unnecessary risk – Some people try to obtain such a high return that they dramatically increase the chance of losing much of their initial investment. Others are over conservative and their buying power is eroded over time by inflation and taxes and because they wanted a guarantee of principal rather than working towards preserving their purchasing power. CD’s and money markets are fine when they are used in the proper percentage and at the proper time. However, leaving all or most of your portfolio in similar cash investments can be like dying a slow financial death. You just can’t counter the effects of inflation when your money is earning five and six percent.

• Inflation always costs you money – the purchasing power of the dollar has dropped during the last decades. If your investment strategy doesn’t consider the cost of inflation you’re losing money and usually don’t realize it until it’s done its damage to the purchasing power of your dollar.

• Diversification – One of the most common errors is to become excited about one particular investment and put all or most of your available assets in it. The generally accepted rule is not to have more than 10 percent of your portfolio in one investment, or more than 20 percent in any one industry. Your portfolio should be diversified in such a way as to address all of your needs and goals and at the same time help reduce your risk. There are no hard and fast rules that apply to every portfolio.

• Allow enough time for success – Investing is not a magic money machine. You can’t put $10,000 in on Monday, and take out $50,000 on Friday. It doesn’t work that way. If you’re investing your money in a well thought out, well researched plan, you must give your plan time to work (18 to 36 months). This time frame may have to be altered to allow for unusual circumstances. If you need your money in less time, consider some form of short term money market instrument.

• Keep emotions out of your decisions – Is the potential worth the risk? This requires a rational decision, where you weigh all of the available evidence. Unfortunately, most people ignore reason and get caught up in the emotional high of buying and selling. If you buy on a hunch or feeling about a stock, you usually sell because of fear. The perfect formula for not sleeping very well. Objectivity is essential to successful investing. Treating your investments as a business will help you to maintain a more discipline approach.

In addition to the areas mentioned, a complete financial plan should also take into consideration the number of children, current income, present resources, investment experience, success and failures and planned retirement age. This is far from a complete list of all the factors that should be considered when putting together your financial plan.

Risking your financial future to tips, hunches and favorite stocks can be costly. Consult a reputable financial planner and tax advisor who can teach you how to invest wisely and help guide you through some of the most important decisions you’ll ever make.

Debt is one of the most common problems and stressful situations in today’s society, but you can learn how to eliminate debt fast. Almost everyone has it, and if you don’t, consider yourself lucky. It’s a hard thing to get rid of when it builds up. It can be overwhelming dealing with all those creditors that are demanding “their” money.

• The most important thing you need to do is to stop creating more debt for yourself. Do whatever it takes. Cut up those credit cards and use only money you already have. It’s hard to wait for payday, but it’s worth it when it adds up to less debt.

• Attitude is big element in eliminating debt. We often get overwhelmed and into a negative “I’ll never fix this” state. What you need to do is change that and be positive about eliminating that debt instead of ruminating on how dire the situation is. You can do it and it is possible for you to be debt free. Adopt that ‘Can Do’ attitude.

• Plan out your spending and determine what you really need, and what you really want. Make out a budget or a list for yourself that contains all the things that you would like to acquire. Eliminate all the things that you can live without. If you are used to lavish lifestyle this may be hard, but it is essential if you wish to reduce your spending habits and eliminate debt.

• Boredom is going to make you want to spend money. If we get bored we may visit shops just to see what they have in store. Next thing you know, you’ve walked out with more than you bargained for. Same with TV. It’ll entice you into buying things that you really don’t need.

• Cut down on that extravagant spending on high end products. Where in your life can you live with bargain products? At the grocery store can you spend a little less by buying the cheaper items for a while? It’s not forever, it’s just until you can get your debt under control. Remind yourself that this is a long-term positive goal.

• Are you capable of improving your income? I’ll bet you have the skills that it takes to earn some extra income on the side to help out your finances. Some people do simple surveys online and get paid for them. There are tons of avenues you can research. Turn a passion into a marketing strategy. Just be wary of online scams and research thoroughly before investing your time.

• Pay all of your bills on time. As you get behind on bills, they will charge you extra for what the lateness. By avoiding late bills, you are saving money that could go towards the debt you’ve accumulated.

• Reuse everything you can. Plastic bags work perfect as garbage bags. Keep your eyes open for things that can be reused in your home so that you can save money in the long run and eliminate debt.

Debt is a monster that will haunt you for life and ruin all of your chances of buying the things you really want in life. By applying these simple rules, you can improve your chances of reducing and eliminating your debt and the stress in your life. I promise, once you attack it head on, you’ll start to feel better about your money and about yourself.