Stockpiling Wealth and Health

You will often read discussions on this website about stockpiling wealth and stockpiling health. Let's talk about what that means and why we want to do that. The number one reason I publish my website and live by the principles I discuss is quality of life. Not just safeguarding my quality of life but regularly improving it is very important to me. If you are interested in why just visit my website.

In my opinion your overall health and your overall economic situation determine the lion's share of your quality of life. Quality of life means enjoying life. You and your family are happy, your material needs are met, you don't suffer from constant health distress, and you are in a position to regularly improve your lifestyle. If you aren't sure you're moving in the right direction think about yourself and the family members you are responsible for and ask "Do we currently have fewer health problems, less stress, more options in dealing with challenges, and a more affluent lifestyle than we did 5 years ago?"

Ensuring that you are living a better overall lifestyle 5 years from now actually starts right now with positive healthy behaviors and effective economic decision making. When you make these behaviors part of your current lifestyle you will see small positive changes fairly quickly. Over time you will see dramatic, life-enriching changes for you and your family. Certainly you will agree that the problems and challenges you could face due to poor health or a poor economic situation will result in a less than optimal quality of life for you and your family. So let's review 10 ways to measurably improve your lifestyle just a few years from now. In each category I have listed one of my favorite examples.

Water

There are so many reasons why water should be the cornerstone of your healthy lifestyle. An important reason for me is that a lack of water is the number one reason for daytime fatigue. The reason is that you are dehydrated. So many people don't recognize dehydration. They gauge it by thirst. You don't have to be thirsty to be dehydrated. If you are tired or sluggish there is a good chance you are not getting enough water and you are not working toward your goals at 100%.

Expense prevention and management

So many times I have seen people get in financial trouble because they didn't prepare for problems. Think about it - things such as home repair, health care, and car repair can end up being huge bills if little problems are left unattended. I have a story on my website about a time I was too lazy to blow the leaves out of my gutters. For years all the tree debris built up until eventually the damage from backed up rain water cost me several thousand dollars. Ben Franklin said it best = an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Spend a little bit of money and effort now to avoid potential financial disaster in the future.

Healthy food choices

Whole grains provide stable energy and act like little scrub brushes cleaning your arteries. The cleaner those arteries are the more fresh blood is flowing through your body providing energy creating nutrients and flushing away energy robbing waste materials. Energy equals effective work. Work equals positive results.

Start with a clean slate - don't owe anyone anything

Think about a day at work or around the house when you were on your feet all day long. At the end of the day you get to sit down and the sensation of "taking a load off your feet" feels great. You will experience the same feeling when you pay off your debt and start over with a clean slate. Not owing anyone any money is a terrific feeling and jump starts your efforts in living a financially sound lifestyle.

Exercise

Exercise doesn't necessarily have to be strenuous to be beneficial. Moving your body makes your blood pump harder and pushes fresh oxygen through your body to your cells. That feeds your cells and will produce more energy for you throughout the day.

Be ready to take advantage of opportunities

Just like problems opportunities are sure to come your way. The thing with both problems and opportunities is that just like your mother in law neither give you much of an advanced notice of when they are going to arrive at your doorstep! Your best plan of action is to budget for opportunities. I will give you an example. I know that I will eventually need to put new tires on my car. I don't have to buy them today but I put money aside every 2 weeks in my "tire fund". I have a general idea of when I will need to buy new tires but because I have been putting money aside in advance I am ready to take advantage of any great deals on tires that come my way. The last time I bought tires I was in a position to wait for the best deal and ended up paying $90 less then the best estimate I had received only 2 weeks earlier.

Environment

Your environment can have either positive or negative affects in either the short term or long term on your physical or mental health. Your environment can affect your mood. As much as you can you should make your environment conform to your desires. That gives you a motivating mental boost that give you more energy throughout the day. Energy equals effective work. Work equals positive results.

Buy assets not liabilities

How can you tell the difference between an asset and a liability? Assets are generally boring. Liabilities are generally fun. Assets are things you buy that 1) fill a need and then 2) produce additional money in your budget through income or expense savings. The purchase of high efficiency light bulbs is an asset because they solve your need for light and produce cost savings over traditional lighting. Those savings are the "found money" that allow us to buy liabilities. Liabilities produce no income and are usually just a cost. An extra night at the beach produces no income and will cost more money therefore it is a liability.

Vitamins

Often times we do not get the optimum amount of nutrients either because there is not enough healthy variety in our diet or the foods we eat are too processed. Supplements make up for deficiencies in your diet. Whether you get your nutrition from supplements or completely through diet remember that vitamins allow your body to heal and work more effectively.

Interest

There is a fairly easy rule to remember when it comes to interest - earn it don't pay it. Arrange your budget and your financial plan so that you are buying things that pay interest and budgeting enough cash to pay for things outright and not on credit. One thing to remember is to keep your credit rating high and squeaky clean so that if you do need to pay interest you are in a position to demand a better rate.

For more ways to enjoy a better quality of life visit BowmansMoneyCollege.com

Mike Bowman
BowmansMoneyCollege.com

Things You Should Know When Traveling With Your Pet

If you are a pet owner, chances are at one point or another you will find yourself traveling with your pet. Whether you are simply going on vacation or moving to a new place, you need to make sure that you make your travel arrangements carefully so your pet experiences as little stress as possible.

Of course, your pet becoming stressed is not the only thing you need to worry about when traveling. Depending upon your mode of travel, there are various other things that you will need to take care of as well to ensure that your pet is able to travel with you with no complications.

Traveling with Your Pet by Air

Whether you plan to travel with your dog or travel with your cat, most of the pet air travel guidelines are the same and need to be met accordingly or you may not be able to get your pet on the plane. Each airline will generally have their own pet air travel guidelines that must be met, but there are some guidelines that are universal.

When flying with your pet, it must not only be up to date on all of it's vaccinations, but you will also need to obtain a Certificate of Health from your veterinarian. Without this certificate, flying with your pet is impossible and you will not be able to get on the plane with the pet. The Certificate of Health can usually be obtained from your veterinarian within 10 days from your travel date.

You will also need to have a pet carrier that is approved by the airline. If you plan to travel with your dog and your dog is large, your pet will more than likely have to go in the cargo area in a special crate that has airline approval. If you are going to travel with your cat, or with a small dog, a special crate or carrier is still necessary but many times you can board the plane with your pet. If in doubt, contact the airline to ask for complete details about their pet air travel guidelines so that you can make sure that flying with your pet goes off without a hitch.

Traveling with Your Pet by Vehicle

If you are taking a road trip, traveling with your pet by vehicle is of course much easier than flying with your pet. There are still however, some special considerations that you should make. There are more risks of pet travel when you travel by car because it is much easier for your pet to get away from you and the trip is often much longer which is more stressful on your furry friend.

If you have room in your vehicle, you should of course keep your animal contained within a carrier or crate for their own safety. If you are going to travel with your dog and the appropriate size crate you need does not fit in the vehicle, purchase a quality doggy seat belt that will keep the dog in place and prevent it from roaming about the car.

Whether your are traveling with your pet by air, car or other means of transportation, always make sure to have their vaccination papers on hand in case something happens and you need to prove that your pet's vaccinations are current. It is also wise to carry an extra collar, leash and identification tag with you in case the ones they are wearing and using become lost. And finally, if you are concerned about traveling with your pet due to the stress they may experience, contact your veterinarian to discuss a prescription sedative that can help to keep them calm and stress-free.

Traveling with your pet may be challenging, but if you research and follow all of the pet traveling guidelines, you can make the trip less stressful for you and your loving buddy. Happy trails from Globalpetvillage.

Global Pet Village is a worldwide family friendly community for pets and those who care about pets. Our goal is to provide an environment where pet owners can come together and exchange information, pictures, videos, diaries, common interests and useful ideas about their pets.

Naturally Get Taller Using These Height Increasing Techniques

By following these techniques, along with selecting a solid height program, you will be on your way to seeing results.

One of the best ways to promote growth is through exercising. This is especially critical when you are still going through puberty. Regardless of your age, if you are not consistently exercising you risk becoming overweight along with a list of other health related issues. Being overweight puts unnecessary stress on your bones affecting your bone health for the future.

Exercising is another excellent way to naturally get taller. It releases height growth hormones which help to stimulate much of the growth spurts you experience during puberty. Even though much of your growth takes place when you are younger, exercising as an adult is still effective.

Exercising consistently will slim your body down producing lean muscle mass. Here's a word of caution: You can naturally get taller if you know which exercises to do and how to do them. Be aware of the various supplements and pills, claiming you can not grow taller through exercise. This is simply not true. It's about doing a variety of effective techniques including exercising that will help you see results.

Your diet also plays an important role in gaining height. Calcium is an essential nutrient that promotes bone health. If you are not taking in enough calcium, you are at risk for weakening your bones especially as you grow older. When you are not getting enough calcium, your body automatically makes up for it, by storing it on its own.

This weakens your bones and is very harmful. Try adding protein, amino acids and other vitamins and minerals to help promote good bone health. Taking care of your bones now can prevent you from growing shorter as you age. As we grow older, our bones tend to weaken and even shrink. This can put you at risk for osteoporosis and other bone diseases.

Learn how to naturally get taller? Increase your height by 2-3 inches in 6 weeks by going to naturally get taller for more information.

There is No Nursing Shortage

An interesting conversation took place recently between a 45 year nursing veteran and her family. The topic of the day was the nursing shortage and the veteran nurse surprised all by announcing, “There is no nursing shortage, there is a hospital nursing shortage.”

She went on to explain that in the home health and non-institutional nursing fields, there is an adequate supply of nurses willing to work for employers who respect and value their services. According to this nurse who had worked in hospitals for much of her career, the problem today is that hospitals and other institutions see nurses and other professionals as replaceable rather than precious.

“No nurse my age is going to work for some young supervisor who believes that you manage people by threatening them or their license. There are too many jobs out there to deal with that nonsense.”

This veteran nurse struck on the key factor in any employee shortage, the relationship between employer and employee. Two contrasting examples of the value of the employer/employee relationship demonstrate the promise and peril facing healthcare in the future.

Steeley Corporation:

One of the two largest employers in a north Florida community, Steeley Corporation had once been one of the two most reliable employers in the region. Steeley Corporation was the unrivaled market leader in their niche and pay at Steeley Corporation was second only to pay at the paper mill. Steeley Corporation management was exclusively hand picked individuals who had proven their willingness to follow any order given by the company president. Steeley Corporation management believed in an authoritarian management model and the lack of other good paying jobs ensured that employees remained despite the poor employer/employee relationships.

As the economy of the area shifted from manufacturing to tourism, Steeley Corporation began to suffer financial difficulties. Convinced that the company could be profitable again if the employees would stand with the organization, mandatory overtime and shortened breaks were instituted to “save jobs.” Employees unwilling or unable to work past the end of shift were terminated and management further retaliated by giving poor references. As the company spiraled downward, payroll checks began to bounce and managers began threatening licensed employees with “reports to the state.” Employee resignations skyrocketed and families began leaving the community. Finally, the company collapsed and disappeared overnight. In the aftermath, hundreds of employees were owed millions of dollars.

Intuit

The early days of the “dot-com” craze were characterized by a many great ideas that would flounder for years until rediscovered by a bigger company. Small software houses would create a fantastic product, but without the funds to run a start-up business, these products would either disappear or be purchased by larger companies. Microsoft was the biggest buyer of such innovative technology. It was into this environment that a small company with an electronic checkbook was born. Intuit began in a garage and grew quickly on money borrowed by the founders.

The brightest days for Intuit were quickly followed by sudden financial darkness. As larger software developers entered the “personal finance” market, Intuit found itself in financial trouble. The company founders made the employees an extraordinary offer based on the value they placed on the employees and the relationship with each as a person. The employees were offered an opportunity to work for partial ownership of the company. Those who chose this option would become shareholders with the potential of making millions if the company survived to be a publicly traded company. Employees who could not afford to forego being paid received a guarantee that their job would be available if they chose to return when the company was again solvent.

Intuit management had cultivated caring relationships based on mutual respect with each employee. There was no “management by intimidation” at Intuit and the company was rewarded when financial disaster loomed large on their horizon. Most key company employees opted to stay, unpaid, in exchange for ownership. A small group of employees were unable to forego an income. Intuit management guaranteed their jobs and honored these guarantees when these employees returned. Over time, Intuit became the dominate personal and business finance software manufactured, even staving off a take over attempt by Microsoft.

Healthcare has become a split marketplace with institutional care (hospitals and nursing homes) separated from non-institutional care. Nurses are gravitating to non-institutional care despite lower pay because of the factors that Intuit and others have come to appreciate. Employees care more about the relationships than the money. Veteran nurses remember being respected and appreciated for long hours and selfless dedication. It was not expected or required, it was given freely and accepted graciously. Even in a “materialistic society” people want to be loved and cared for, respected and valued.

There is no nursing shortage, there is a relationship shortage.

Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez is co-founder of Disaster Life Support of North America, Inc., a national provider of Disaster Preparation, Planning, Response and Recovery education. Through his consulting firm High Alert, LLC., he serves on expert panels for pandemic preparedness and healthcare surge planning with Congressional and Cabinet Members. Board certified in multiple medical specialties, Dr. Ramirez is Founding Chairperson of the American Board of Disaster Medicine and a Senior Physician-Federal Medical Officer for the Department of Homeland Security. Cited in 24 textbooks with numerous published articles, he is co-creator of C5RITICAL and author of Mastery Against Adversity. Dr. Ramirez invites comments at: http://www.disaster-blog.com

Swine Flu Tip - Don't Be Your Own Petri Dish

There are a number of things you can do to reduce your chances of getting the flu. At the top of this list is maintaining a healthy digestive tract. While the flu is a respiratory infection, it always incubates in your digestive tract before moving to your lungs. A healthy GI tract can reduce the likelihood of viral replication as well as getting your immune system into gear to deal with the problem.

The whole flu process gets going by breathing it in and then swallowing, or coming into contact and then touching your face and eventually swallowing the virus. From there it goes to your digestive tract - where your first line of defense is death by hydrochloric acid. This is not a good time to be on any acid-suppressing medication - which is clearly known to double your chances of getting whatever flu comes around.

A great deal of immune system activity is constantly going on in and around your digestive tract. Half of your lymph system is located around your digestive tract to deal with "foreigner issues." You actually have more foreign cells in your digestive tract than cells that make up your body. Your relationship with these non-self entities plays a large role in your immune competence.

For example, if you have too much Candida albicans and too much of a hostile bacteria, these issues have already strained immune function within your gut. In many cases these foreign gangs of thugs are communicating to your front line troops and telling them not to work properly. This makes it more likely that some other type of problem, such as the new Swine flu, can get a toehold in your digestive tract and begin multiplying.

During a potential pandemic you should avoid all junk food, snacking on sugar, excess alcohol, or anything else that interferes with your digestive processes. It is a top priority to maintain your digestive tract in excellent working condition.

Byron J. Richards, Founder/Director of Wellness Resources, Inc, is a Board-Certified Clinical Nutritionist and a world renowned natural health expert. Richards is the first to explain the relevance of leptin and its link to solving obesity.

For a fully referenced article: Click Here.

Getting in Shape After 50 - Easier Than You May Think

You're over 50. No sense talking to you about what happens when you get older. You're there. You've been around the block; been there, done that.

Now you're thinking you'll get in shape but when you come home after a long day you're too tired. Excuses have become your specialty. Sure, once you were in shape but that was when you had no troubles, or fewer troubles. Maybe you were never in shape. You'd like to be but you don't know where to start.

There is some good news but you have to turn off the TV. That insidious box is stealing your life away. Before you know it, you'll be dead and all you'll be sorry. Turn the life sucking, brain vaporizing thing off. You may need a week or two to decide. That's OK but make the decision. Does it mean you'll never turn the silly thing on again? No, of course not. But it does mean it gets last priority. LAST priority. We'll pretend you made the decision to pull the plug and move onto the next decision. It's about your attitude. It sucks. I know, you're 50 years old or maybe even worse, 60. Could it be you're 70? Egads.

Who cares? Nobody but you. If you were looking and feeling like Jack Lalanne you'd be proud of your old age. It all starts with a great attitude; not a good attitude, a great attitude. Some of you take solace in being like Garfield and his dark depressed humor. I think he's funny too. But, when it comes to getting into shape, I'll kick his little cat ass every time.

So we'll make believe again. You turned off the TV and you made the decision to get fit. Your attitude is not great yet but you're willing to work on it. It will get better. Who feels great when their body is falling apart?

What are your goals? Is your goal to lose 50 lbs.? Maybe your goal is too get off insulin or blood pressure medicine. Whatever your goal is, write it down. Write it down. When do you want to reach your goal? Remember you didn't put the weight on in a week, so don't expect to take it off in a week. Figure losing about a pound a week if you're doing it right. Doing it right means losing the fat but keeping the muscle. Kabish? Since muscle weighs three times more than fat, it ain't going to be that easy to lose 50 lbs, right? That's all right. If your blood sugar is down and your pressure along with it, and you're fitting into those 36 to 38s, then you're doing all right. Nonetheless, we all like the scale to lighten up a little, y'know.

Ok, so if we're going to lose 50 lbs. and it takes a week a pound your goal statement should look something like this: "I am losing 50 pounds by April 30, 2010."

Now you can rest. Yeah, right. Now you can get to work to make this happen. Forget about every "try this, try that" solution out there. Here's your plan. Exercise more and eat less. Exercise more and eat less.

The details should flush out something like this. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper. Drink 8 glasses of water throughout the day. Eat your fruits in the morning and veggies in the afternoon. Walk 1 hour at least 4 times a week. Now, here's the tough part. Get a partner. I walk with my daughter. With 16 year old girls being what they are today, I don't expect you'll have much success. I started years ago so she's brainwashed by now. How about your spouse? You can talk....or not. After a few months you'll need a partner. Get one.

There's lots more but those are the basics.

Here's the wrap up: I live in health care whether I like it or not. I have been in the healthcare industry for 20 years first as a personal trainer who owned a fitness center and then as an owner of ten multi-disciplinary clinics. Now I market for home health companies, run an elder care foundation, own a PT company and run a training association for health care trainers. My head hurts. Let me tell you that your health care coverage is going to get worse, a lot worse. Your health care plan is going to start encouraging you a lot more aggressively to get into shape because health care costs are going through the roof. You better get in shape. Yeah, I know, it's funny how youre allergic to exercise and all that but it ain't too funny when your doctor tells you that you have diabetes or you better not get too upset because your blood pressure is so high that you'll risk a heart attack.

Get into shape. You'll love it and once you're half way there your family will love it to. Get off the couch, turn off the TV and start moving. One more thing, eat less , will you? Can't you control yourself?

You may have noticed that I repeated myself a lot during this article. I also give talks on Alzheimer's and if you're over 50 you're getting it. Get into shape and you'll grow more brain cells. You can thank me later.

God bless!
Bill Ranieri
321-626-9031

Bill Ranieri is the renaissance man of health and fitness. He has done just about everything from own multidisciplinary clinics to start personal training certification courses. He is a man of attitude, pure positive attitude. He believes that anything can be achieved with an unrelenting positive attitude. He currently owns a PT company, talks on Alzheimer's and other senior issues, runs a training association for health care trainers, writes articles and is an expert in health care marketing. Above all he loves fitness and thanks God everyday for his talents. If you want him to help you personally or professionally you may contact him at 321-626-9031 or e-mail him at waranieri@aol.com. First he will determine with you if he can help you. Then you'll talk price. If you're motivated, it's affordable!

Steroids - Help Or Harmful?

Steroids are fast catching up with antibiotics as the most abused class of drugs in your doctor's black bag. There is no doubt that the discovery of steroids over 50 years ago was a major advance in medicine, but a lifesaver?

The problem is, like antibiotics steroids appear to be a miracle 'cure'. Patients with crippling arthritis or asthma seem to be instantly better on steroids. The wheezing, the swelling, the pain goes away. Understandably the doctors turn to them fast, often first line of attack.

Antibiotics were once reserved for extreme emergency are now being used on the most trivial of conditions. Steroids are now handed out as readily as antibiotics even to babies, at the first sign of inflammation of any sort.

Steroids make up many over-the-counter skin drugs, and are considered the drug of choice for asthma, arthritis, and back problems, bowel problems and for all inflammations or allergic reactions.

Far from being a wonder drug 'cure all', steroids cannot cure one single condition. All they do is suppress your body's ability to express a normal response. In a few instances, this type of suppression will give the body a chance to heal itself. But more often, the effect is immediate, devastating and permanently damaging. Doctors are more commonly realizing how quickly damaging side effects can occur even after a short period of taking the drug.

Unlike antibiotics, steroids are all broad-spectrum, they don't simply affect the area of the body you wish to treat, but scatter their effects through every cell. This is turn may cause numerous side effects. For 30 years we have known that steroids can routinely cause over activity of adrenal hormones, which produces Cushing's disease, characterized by a fat abdomen and face. They can also cause muscle wasting, hyperglycaemia, water retention, insomnia, mood changes, osteoporosis, diabetes to list a few. Do you still want to use them?

Steroids in Children

For 30 years we've known that prolonged use of steroids for asthma and eczema retards growth in children and delays puberty. Studies have shown children even suffering from chronic arthritis, stunted growth and adrenal suppression.

Steroids may also affect a child's cognitive performance. Cataracts and glaucoma has been associated with oral steroids.

Bone density has been found to be lower with children the longer they stay on steroids. Even inhaled drugs for such as asthma are found to have adverse effects on bone metabolism and adrenal function. Steroids can cause the break down of bone joints, resulting with joint replacements.

Despite these dramatic effects on such crippling conditions, new research shows that some of these anti-inflammatory effects appear to wear off in time, leaving suffers worse off than before.

Highlighting a few effects steroids can cause, can possibly give readers an opportunity to think before they make the quick decision to pop to the doctors for a quick fix cure, as it can sometimes be more harmful than a cure?

Lucy Bridges Level 2 Coach at Dax Moy Personal Training Studios