No End To Rising Health Care Costs

Posted on March 26, 2012 by admin

Everyone knows the cost of health care is rising every year with no end in site. Many families are burdened with premiums that are eating up a large portion of their budget. Those with health insurance plans through work are seeing their out of pocket costs grow. Some employees are even paying more for benefits at work then they would on their own.

A RAND Corp study, released in September of 2011, examined the health care an the average American family’s budget from 1999 to 2009. While the average family saw a 30% increase in their income, much of that was wiped out by greater gains in the cost of medical care. Inflation and higher taxes further decimated the gains.

They found that monthly premiums for health insurance grew by 128% over the decade studied. This is well beyond the rate of inflation. Prices on all goods tend to go up over time due to the devaluation of currency called inflation. But when a price for a good goes up faster then inflation, it becomes relatively more expensive then other goods in the economy. This is precisely what is happening with health care. When people are forced to spend relatively more on a good, they feel they are taking a step backward in terms of the living standard.

Making matters worse, many people who receive their health benefits through their employer are seeing lower wage gains. An employer has to take the total cost of an employee into account, and that includes what the employer spends on health benefits. When health care costs increase for the employer, they have actually increased the amount they spend per employee, only it doesn’t feel that way to the worker. The worker is indeed getting a raise, it is just going directly to their health care costs. As health care costs for employers continue to rise, it will put downward pressure on wages.

Health care costs are going up for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, patients now have access to cutting edge – and expensive – medical procedures that were not available before. While these procedures extend people’s lives and well being, they are very expensive and have to be paid for. Additionally, with few patients paying the direct cost of medical care, rather paying their insurance company, the market for medical care becomes distorted.

Another reason for the recent surge in health care costs is the recent Affordable Care Act. One of the new requirements is that employer plans now cover children up to the age of 26. While that may help provide insurance to young adults, it comes at a cost. A survey by the Kaiser Family foundation found that the cost for premiums on employer heath insurance plans increased by 9% in 2010. The increase in premiums has put even more downward pressure on wages during the weak economy.

Many employers are now putting some, if not all, of the cost of health care on to their employees. Many workers are now paying part of the monthly premium and often a large deductible as part of their plan. Often times, if they are young and have no pre-existing conditions, they can purchase private health insurance at a lower price then they are paying for their work plan.

There is no end in sight to rising health care costs. Medical advances will continue, the American population is aging, and reforms in Washington do not seem likely to help reduce the cost of health care.

Small Business And Health Insurance

Posted on March 26, 2012 by admin

As if it weren’t obvious by now, the smaller the business is, the greater challenges employers face in providing quality health insurance to their employees. Even though that isn’t exactly breaking news, the downtrodden economic environment and rising health insurance premiums have amplified the issue of small business and health insurance.

A recent Small Business Administration (SBA) report showed that merely a third of firms nationwide with fewer than ten employees had health insurance benefits offered to employees in 2009. For companies with 1,000 or more workers, that figure skyrocketed to 99 percent.

Some states’ businesses with fewer than ten workers were lower yet, with only 24 percent offering health insurance benefits. That figure jumped to 93 percent for companies that employed 100 to 499 individuals.

An advertising agency owner that employs 35 people maintains the recession has taken its toll, commenting on the marketing cutbacks the firm’s clients had to make to in order to survive. The owner has taken steps to deal with tighter budgets and large increases in their small business health insurance premiums to go in a different direction with the company’s insurance provider. Part of their unique solution was to increase the company’s deductible and open Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) for their employees, which are funded by the company.

Health Savings Accounts, which are available to people enrolled in high-deductible health plans, can be shifted from job to job and are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. At the end of each year, unspent funds roll over to the next, which makes small business health insurance coverage more feasible.

A recent insurance industry report showed a nine percent increase in 2011 for family coverage premiums, with single-coverage costs also increasing eight percent – a significant upward trend from 2010, when increases for families were three percent and five percent for individuals.

The report’s data also showed that average annual premiums for families had more than doubled from 2001 to 2011 – from $7,601 to $15,073. Just what everyone needs in a down economy!

Small business health insurance coverage, while important, can be elusive for some. In my particular line of business, which is a convenience store with gas and car washes, the trend for independent owners has rarely been to extend insurance coverage to employees, mainly because it has always been too expensive. Most employees who work in c-stores, outside of owners, are generally students and part-time employees to begin with, so most are not concerned about the issues of health insurance.

Most business owners, however, should be covered by quality health care coverage, as their businesses depend on their guidance and leadership on an almost 24-hour per day basis, although most owners can’t let go of the business long enough to even take a sick day! Small business health insurance group coverage is an option, provided your state’s insurance laws permit a group of “one”, which some do.

Small business and health insurance is a hot topic that will continue to be an issue for some years to come, particularly until the U.S. economy starts to moderate and recover! As a business owner myself, I know from first-hand experiences that small business insurance in general is an extremely important facet of your business you must pay attention to, or you can suffer business-crushing losses in the blink of an eye!

Real Estate Investing – A Good Choice for Parents

Posted on March 25, 2012 by admin

Here’s good new to all parents out there who are supporting their kids to finish college. According to statistics, a great percentage of individuals are not able to finish college because of financial constraints. Some students are able to support themselves in college but parents should still back them up. You can help your kids in finishing a college degree and you don’t need to depend on your salary alone. You now have an option and that is real estate investing.

Parents like you should develop a solid plan so that you can support your kids all the way through college. Your decision is very important because you can only benefit from real estate investing over the long term. You can’t expect immediate success in the real estate business. You need to be dedicated, knowledgeable, patient, and hardworking. You need to devise a solid investment plan to ensure that your money will not go to waste. Students often rely on scholarships, student loans, part time jobs, and savings to pursue their studies. Now, there is another option and that is real estate investing. Even the students can take part in the decisions related to real estate investments.

It would take several years before you can see the fruits of your labor. While you’re child is young, you should already consider real estate investing. Learn from the experts and try to contact a mortgage broker. Also, don’t forget to choose a real estate attorney to help you with all the legal matters. Savings is very important and you should already have one named after your child. Your child will surely be able to pursue any college degree if you prepared for his or her future at an early date.

Parents should consider building an investment portfolio for their kids to support the college years. If you already have a savings account, you can earn interest on the real estate investments. Most parents are hesitant to be in the real estate business especially if their children are still young. But this should not be the case; set long term goals and start real estate investing now. When you’re child is already older, you will still need to establish short term goals. By starting early, you can already learn so much from the market conditions.

Even if you encounter downturns, you have enough time to recover and earn more money. In the early years, you may experience a lot of difficulties because you have a lot of expenses and cash flow is limited. After several years, you can now enjoy high income because you have very few expenses; just in time for the college years of your child.

When you’re child is already in college, you need to be less aggressive with your investments because of the risks involved. The present value of your investments should be protected so that when your child needs money in college, it will be easily accessible.

So what are you waiting for? Parents who have small children should start investing in real estate. Real estate investing may sound very difficult but if you’re equipped with the right knowledge and tools, you can be successful too. Study about real estate investing now and prepare the needed capital.

When your child is still young, you have fewer expenses and you can use the extra money for your investments. Invest now and enjoy the benefits when your child enters college.

Eight Tips For Launching Your Real Estate Investing Career

Posted on March 20, 2012 by admin

Eight Tips for Getting Started in Real Estate Investing

Introduction

This article is just the basics for getting started in real estate investing. This is not a how to article but an article that gives you some information about things to do to get started. Everything in this article is tools that can be applied to helping anyone get started in real estate investing. I am going to give you my eight keys to getting started. Nothing is right or wrong but reflects the point of view of the author. Laws and legal practices vary from state to state, and laws can change over time. The author does not vouch for the legality of his opinions, nor is there any intent to supply legal advice. The author strongly encourages the reader to consult with professionals and an attorney prior to entering in any real estate transaction or contract. The author is not a writer but he is a real estate investor. There will be grammar mistakes and errors, so don’t be too critical of the grammar but focus your energy on what is being said. With that said prepare yourself to think a little differently and expand your mind. Let’s get started on an amazing adventure.

The Eight Tips are as follows

1. Desire
2. Goal Setting
3. Learning What To Do
4. Attending a Real Estate Investing Seminar
5. The Billings Montana Market
6. Finding a Mentor
7. Your Real Estate Team
8. Just Do IT

1. Desire

Before we get in to the bolts and nails of real estate investing in I want to talk to you about desire. If you are going to be successful at anything in life including real estate investing you have to have the desire to do it. Desire is defined as longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment. Desire stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim. In real estate investing if you don’t have a desire to learn and grow as a human being and really get satisfaction out of it, then real estate investing is going to be hard to do. When I go out and look at a property it brings me a lot of enjoyment. Every aspect brings me joy from talking to home owners, figuring out how I can make a deal work, to buying the house and to finding a good homeowner or tenant for the house. Real estate investing may not be for everyone but real estate investing can offer anyone the financial freedom we all crave for. If you do not have the desire for real estate investing that is ok, it can still help you to live your dreams and help you to get where you want to go in the future.

Why is real estate investing an amazing avenue for anyone to live out all of their dreams? Let me ask you a few questions. Do you have enough money to do anything you want? Do you have everything you want? No debt? A nice house? Great Marriage? The freedom to do anything regardless of how much it costs and the time it takes? If you have all of these things then you are one of the few people in America who does. Most people may be working fifty hours a week and making just enough to pay their bills. In today’s day and age most people are living pay check to pay check never really knowing if they will make enough to pay the bills that just keep piling up. If you cannot keep up with your monthly bills how are you going to plan for retirement or send your kids to college or have time to enjoy life. The answer to all of these questions is becoming financially free. Now it’s not going to be easy everyone will have to get off the couch and out of their comfort zone. Real estate is proven to be one of the fastest ways to get your out of the rat race of the nine to five and begin living the life you deserve to live. Everyone wants something different out of their life. Some dream of traveling the world, spending more time with family, volunteering, golfing, laying on a beach, giving back to the community, or anything that will make them happy. There are thousands of things that make people happy.

Making it in real estate takes a person who has a strong desire to change their lives for the better and think big. Anyone can become a great real estate investor. It is going to take a lot of work and can be a struggle at times but in the end it will be the most amazing feeling ever. The people that make it in real estate investing all have a few things in common. First they run their real estate investing business like any other business out there. Second they get out there and network with anyone and everyone. Some people might be like me and have a hard time talking to other people. If you are that is ok, anyone can learn how to become a people person, it just takes hard daily work. You have to push yourself past your comfort zone. The third thing is that you cannot be afraid to fail. Everyone has failed at something but the most successful people out their learn from their failures. The fourth thing is that you have to put a good team together. I will go into putting a team together in a later chapter. The concept of putting a team together is so that when you don’t know something you have team members that know what to do and can help you with questions. The can also make sure that you are not working yourself to death. You do not want to be the person doing everything in your business. Doing everything is a receipt for failure. You have to put together good people who you can trust and rely on. The fifth thing is that you need a mentor. Sixth and final is the desire to do it. No one can become successful at something if they don’t want to do it and don’t get satisfaction out of what they are doing.

2. Setting Goals

Having goals is one of the most important aspects of achieving what you want in life. You don’t want to just have your goals up in your head you want to write them down and past what you have wrote on the wall somewhere or in the bathroom mirror. You want to review your goals daily and read them out loud to yourself. This way you remind yourself everyday why you are building your business.

How should you start to write down you goals? First off you should think big, and by big I mean HUGE. If your goals are too small you will easily achieve them and have nothing else to look forward too. You should start off by asking yourself the question if I had all the money and time in the world what would I do, what would I buy, how would I spend my time, and how would I spend my energy. Are you starting to write these down? Well you should be. Think about what you want, spending time with family, traveling the world, the best cars, a castle, owning a small country, running for president, having the biggest real estate investing business in your area or in the country. Whatever your dreams and what you want out of your life, write it down. Some of my goals are becoming free, traveling the world, having a Ferrari, having 10 vacation homes all over the world. Right now I am just trying to get you out of your comfort zone of thinking and let your imagination run.

There are several ways to set goals. I have learned a lot of ways you can set you goals and there is no right or wrong way. The best ways that I have found to set your goals is to break them up into two categories. First your short term goals. This should be goals from a month out to around a year. The second is your long term goals these goals are you think big goals and what you see for your future.

For year one I like to first make a list of what I want to achieve this year and I will give you an example of how to do that. For year one you want to be very specific first you want to list what you want your income to be at the end of the year, next how much cash in the bank you want (this is money in your checking account, not assets). Next you want to list how much you are going to give. Giving is a very important, this can be giving to charity, giving of gifts to friends and family, giving to your school or anything you can dream of. As long as what you give brings joy to others who need it more than you. Next list what bad habits you have that you want to eliminate. Weather is be quitting smoking, spending too much on junk, drinking too much, working too much, not spending enough time with family, too much TV, not exercising and many more. We all have bad habits that need to be changed in order for use to grow as human beings. Under each of these bad habits list out some steps that you can take in order to quit them. If you bad habit is being lazy and not exercising enough what can you do to change that. Well you can get a gym membership or a home work out program. Commit yourself you following through with a plan to work out 3-5 days a week. For you to change these bad habits you have to be totally committed and follow through with a detailed plan you set for yourself. After you have your plans in place you should start listing several things you want to achieve or do in the next year. This can be start a successful business, spend time with family, travel to 2-5 places and so on. Now under each of these you should also write a detailed plan on what you need and what you need to do in order to achieve these goals. Finally you should take all of this information you have a write on page on what you see your life being over the next year. Doing this is a great exercise to really see what you want out of life.

Goals Year One

This is what I am going To Do This Year
Income: $500,000
Cash: $100,000
Give: $20,000

Bad Habits that will be changes:

Over Sleeping 1. Go to bed at 11 p.m. 2. Use a timer and set it for 8 hours 3. Set the timer on the other side of the room

Buying things that you don’t need: 1. Going out shopping less 2. If you have the urge to buy something think to yourself is thing item going to help me to achieve my goals of becoming financially free? 3. Tell friends what you are doing, so they can help to stop you.

What I want to Achieve:

Start a successful Real Estate Investing Business: (you should write a detailed step by step plan of everything you need in order to achieve your goal)

Travel: Where do I want to visit? 1. Gators football game (what I need to do it, money, etc)

And last your own page about what you want to achieve using words like I will and only positive words.

For long term goals you don’t need to be as specific right now, but you should list them and under them list a few steps or smaller goals that need to be achieved before you are able to achieve them. With the long term goals always think big. Another good exercise for long term goals is to make a collage of you goals. Put pictures of the house you want on it, places you want to travel, a picture of your family, a number of what income you want in or anything you can think of.

3. Learn

Knowledge builds confidence and destroys fear. If you are starting any kind of business you need to learn the ins and outs of that business. The best way I have found to learn about real estate investing is to read all about it. But once you know it you have to apply what you have learned. Learning and reading is just one step to take. There are thousands of books on the market about real estate investing and everyone has something you can learn from. You don’t just want to read real estate investing books though. You also want to fill yourself with motivational and leadership books. Every successful person that I know if a reader and they all spend at least thirty minutes a day reading something that will teach them about improving their business or helping themselves to become a better person. Some of the best books that I would recommend reading are listed below.

1. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (read this first and also ready everything in the rick dad poor dad series, great books to start with and will expand you mind)
2. Be a Real Estate Millionaire by Dean Graziosi
3. Flip your way to financial freedom by Preston Ely (this is an E-Book)
4. Four hour work week by Timothy Ferriss
5. The Attractor Factor
6. Short Sale Pre-foreclosure Investing by Dwan Bent-twyford and Sharon Sestrepo
7. Keys to success, by Napoleon Hill
8. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
9. How to win friends and influence people
10. Any Book by John C. Maxwell (he has tons of amazing leadership books)
11. Getting Started in Real Estate Day Trading by Larry Goins
12. The E Myth by Michael Gerber
13. How to be a quick turn real estate millionaire by Ron Legrand
14. The Power of Full Engagement
15. The It Factor
16. Anything by Anthony Robins

There are tons more you can read but these will give you a great start. You should also read books on negotiating, sales, motivation, and biographies on American business people.

I hope this list gives you the knowledge it has given me. If you learn and apply what you have learned from these books there is no reason that you should not become very successful.

4. Attend a Real Estate Investing Seminar

Attending a Real Estate Investing Seminar can be one of the best places to learn about real estate investing from some very well known experts. There are several seminars going on all over the country every weekend. If you live in a big city it will be very easy to find one. If you live in a town like Billings Montana you might need to travel a little ways to find one. Now most of the best meeting cost money to attend them. Some range from five hundred dollars for three days and some can be up to $20,000. There are a few that I would recommend. Than Merrill is a great speaker to go hear. I have learned a ton from him. You can find his company online by Google searching him. Also rich dad poor dad has seminars all over the country. I attended one of their seminars in Billings Montana for only $500 dollars and learned a ton from it. There is also Preston Ely, Larry Goins, and hundreds of speakers out there. If you find a great book that you really enjoyed, then just simple search for that person online and see if they are speaking somewhere or offer a seminar close to you.

Another reason I recommend going to a seminar is because they get you pumped up and motivated. I have not yet found anything else that just gets you feeling like you can do anything. When you get back from one of these seminars you will have tons of energy and knowledge. Every time I get back from one all I want to do is going out and do a deal or ten.

These seminars will also provide you with several opportunities to purchase amazing real estate investing tools, software or learning material at a fraction of the cost. Believe me when I tell you all of the low priced seminars try to sell you something. But a lot of times what they are trying to sell is some really good stuff.

Another reason to attend a seminar is to network with other investors and build relationships with them. You can meet other investors who you can partner with on a deal, sell a deal too, people who will provide you with deals and so on. You should have hundreds of business cards made up and try to give them all out. You never know how much one business card you hand out can make you.

5. Learn About the real estate market in your area

Most real estate investors start their career off my investing around where they live. This is why I do my real estate investing in Billings Montana. You can venture out when you have more experience. The reason behind this is because we feel more comfortable with the areas and know the areas better. It is also easier to get local real estate information that we need. Investing in your local market is also cheaper to start out, there is less travel costs, you can see what you are buying and it may give you a feeling a comfort.

First you have to decide which part of town is the best place to invest in. This can be determined by what kind of real estate investing you choose to do. I have not gone over the types of real estate investing but some include rehabbing (fixing up and selling), wholesaling (finding deals and selling them to other investors), buying to rent, and there are a few others. These are the real estate strategies that I use for the most part. When looking at the market you need to see where other investors are buying their houses. Most of the best deals will be found in low to middle class neighbors hoods. By low I don’t mean drug infested war zones, what I mean is blue collar safe neighbor hoods that might have somewhat older houses and houses that are not on the higher end price side. Now you can find deals in the higher priced neighbor hoods but most will be in the low to middle income neighborhoods. When looking where others are buying ask local realtors, other investors or appraisers.

When talking with investors ask them several questions such as what neighborhoods they prefer, what type of houses they buy (3 bed 2 bath), and what they do (rehab, rent, wholesale). You should not look at other investors as competition but try and work with them.

There are different types of markets such as appreciating markets, flat markets, and deprecating markets. Appreciating markets are markets that there is no enough houses or a very high demand for houses which causes the price of houses to go up. The reason there is a high demand for housing can be because of job growth, a very appealing area, or several reason. Flat markets are markets that have no or very little growth. This means that there is not a lot of demand; buy just enough to fill every ones needs. Depreciating markets are where there is a lot more houses than people to fill those house. This causes house prices to start going down. This can be because of a large employer leaving the area, a natural disaster or just over building. There is an old saying buy in a bust and sell in a boom. In depreciating markets you can pick up several deals, while in appreciating the house prices are going to be much higher and harder to find great deals. The deal will still be out there you just have to know where to find them.

Learning your market is another key to becoming successful. Real estate Brokers and experts in your area can be the best source of information for you. Learn to use them to find out what kind of market you are in. If you are in Billings Montana we are in a pretty stable market. Billings Montana has not seen the ups and downs that other markets have experienced. I will have to say that I have been noticing a little bit of a downward trend but not much. Once the first time home buyer credit is over with we might see a little more decline. Every market can vary by neighborhood, so make sure you know you market well. I have seen the same houses just one mile apart selling for totally different prices.

6. Find a Mentor

Having a mentor to help you can be your biggest learning experience. Mentors can help you with any questions you may have, walk you step by step through the investing process, give you moral support, you learn from their proven system, and also network you with others in the business. Every successful real estate investor that I know says they owe a lot of their success to the mentors they have and had in their lives. I have had one of the best mentors around, my father. He is teaching me something new every day and pushing me to become successful.

When trying to find a mentor I would suggest network with the investors at your local real estate investors club meeting. There is a real estate investing club in Billings Montana that meets once a month. You can find information about real estate investing clubs in your area by searching for REA or real estate investors club then your area in Google. When you go to the meetings ask around who the biggest investors are. Then ask if you could get together with them sometime and discuss real estate investing. Ask them if they would consider working with you to get their career going. Offer your services as a bird dog. Bird dogs are people who go out find deals or leads about deals and give them to other investors. A bird dog gets from $500 to $3000 dollars depending on the deal. Make sure that you have a bird dog contract signed with the investors saying that if you find them and deal and they buy it that you get paid a certain amount of money. Being a bird dog helps you to build credibility with the investor and they are more likely to mentor you if you have something to offer them. If you would like to contact me with a question go to my web site Big Sky Property Solutions LLC.

7. Your Real Estate Team

Building an effective team can make your life as a real estate investor a lot easier. You are only one person and cannot do everything or be an expert in every aspect of real estate investing. Going at a project alone can become one of the most frustrating experiences you will ever encounter. Many people have become frustrated and quite real estate investing because they try and juggle too many things. Make sure that when putting a team together you provide everyone with win-win opportunities. When someone knows that working with you is going to make them money they will put you as a higher priority on their list. But you have to prove it to them that you are the real deal.
People to have on your real estate investing team include

o Real Estate Agents ( find the top agent for volume of sales in your area and other agents who work with real estate investors)
o Real Estate appraisers (find an appraiser that has done a few hundred jobs or more and make sure they carry errors and omissions insurance)
o Real estate contractors (good rehab crews that can get the job done in a timely manner, have 3-5 crews and on every deal get 3 estimates done. Ask for referrals from them and make sure they are licensed)
o Real estate attorneys (every investor needs an attorney, they can help to protect your assets, make sure you find one that works with investors)
o A property management company (can manage your properties and will give you leads on property they are managing that might come up for sale)
o Title companies (take care of the legal process and make sure there are no liens against the property you are buying, choose one that does hundreds of closings a year)
o Home inspectors(charge about $400 but will give you a great inspection and could save you thousands in the long run)
o And your Mentor

All of these people can help you in various aspects of real estate investing. You might find that there are a couple others that are keys to your business but this is just a list of a few.

8. Just Do it

There is no better phrase out there then JUST DO IT! Once you have learned all you can networked with investors in Billings and learned real estate investing strategies there is nothing left to do but get your feet wet. There is no better learning tool out there then doing a deal. Once you have completed that first deal you will know what to expect and find out that it is not as hard as you thought it would be. You will have learned what you did right and what was frustrating. Take that experience and ask yourself what would have made it run smoother. Apply that to your next deal. Then the next deal will be easier and it keeps getting easier as you go. I will say that every deal is different from the last but that what makes this business fun. You have to be creative and always keep on learning and growing with your business.

The average person never uses what they learn. Don’t be average apply your knowledge. When going out and doing your first deal act like you have done 1000′s of deals. The fastest way to change a habit is to act like it is true.

Five keys for success
1. Specialized Knowledge
2. Tools of a professional
3. Have the mindset of a winner
4. Mentors
5. Money and the knowledge of leveraging it (you don’t have to have millions to invest in real estate, there are many strategies out there to use other people’s money, or no money at all)

This is going to conclude this article about getting started in real estate investing. I hope this gave you some ideas about how you can get started. I didn’t give you any strategies at this point but look for some in upcoming articles. These are simple steps you can use to get started. If you read this article thank you for listening.

 

6 Tips For A Weight Loss Plan

Posted on March 19, 2012 by admin

The first step for healthy weight loss is to create some sort of weight loss plan.

I know that sounded a little vague, but your weight loss plan does NOT have to be something that only NASA could understand or approve.

YOUR weight loss plan should include such simple things as what activities (exercise) you are going to indulge in, when, where, and so on. You will want to outline your goals, both long term and short term goals You will definitely need to outline what your strategy will be for nutrition…notice I DID NOT say “diet”!

Why have a formal, or at least semi-formal, weight loss plan?

It has long been known to those who are successful in business, sports, entertainment, motivation, and other areas, that one way to improve your chances of success is to sit down and write out where you are, where you want to be, and how you are going to get there.

It is easier to plan for losing weight, or any other goal related activity, if there exists a clear picture of starting points, ending points, and how you intend to move from one point to the other. It is very easy to start a weight loss program or any other activity with intense motivation and a flurry of lofty plans only to lose site of the objective or to be led down unproductive paths by daily activities and the blurring effect of time.

Here are a few tips to consider when putting together YOUR personal weight loss plan:

1. Make your goals realistic:

Wanting to weigh what you weighed in high school is, for most of us at least, unrealistic. Using some movie star’s weight or a relative’s weight as your goal is also possibly detrimental to actually accomplishing effective weight loss. Each of those people arrived at THEIR weight by a combination of genetics, diet, and exercise which may not apply to you at all!

Most people do not realize that a healthy weight loss program should, for most people, result in a weight loss of only a pound or so a week. To many who have been striving for years to lose weight, this may seem a depressing statement. However, let me put it in perspective.

I have a close friend who was so desperate to lose weight that she opted for gastric bypass surgery. She weighed 340 lbs at the time of the surgery. When the doctor was briefing her on what to expect, she learned that even with surgical intervention, she would probably only lose about 70 lbs in her first year. That works out to 1.35 lbs a week, which would be a healthy weight loss that most people could achieve through a combination of physical activity and proper nutrition. The doctor also informed my friend that she would continue to lose weight over the following years until she reached some new level which would be determined by genetics, nutrition, and activity. This is the same expectation that anyone bypassing the bypass and opting for a healthy weight loss program could expect.

Finally, unrealistic weight loss goals insure failure, while an average of a pound a week over a period of a year is relatively easy to attain with motivation and effort.

2. Do not focus on weight loss:

I know that sounds strange since your goal IS weight loss, but it is easy to see failure if you are only looking for weight loss. For example, people’s weight fluctuates from day to day and even within the day itself. A temporary setback where weight is regained becomes inflated if viewed against the background of only weight loss. However, if your goal is to do the things which are going to make you healthy, for example, then those few days of overeating at Thanksgiving may be more excusable in your own heart if you know that you have been taking your walks, or have cut your use of sugar, or are still taking action in some other form.

This is something that should be considered in your weight loss plan. How are you going to make your life better overall? How many ways can you approach “weight loss”? Do not make it your goal to lose so many pounds this week. Rather, set a goal to walk so many minutes, lift so many pounds, garden for so many minutes. That way, even if your weight does not change that much in that period or even goes in the wrong direction, you still know that your body is benefiting from the parts of your weight loss plan that you are still in touch with.

NOTE: People who begin exercising as part of their weight loss program often experience a weight GAIN somewhere in the first few weeks of their new exercise experience. THIS IS PERFECTLY NATURAL! If you have just begun exercising to lose weight and experience a weight gain, this should be only temporary, and is most commonly caused by your body adding muscle mass faster than it loses fat.

3. Plan to go slow:

I don’t know if there is a statistic somewhere that demonstrates how many people drop out of their weight loss program due to stress, strain, pain, or just plain burnout. However, I have experienced it myself, I have read about it, and I know people it has happened to. Sometimes the simplest statements are most true. One that you will often hear is, “It took years for your body to get this way, and you cannot change it overnight.” This is so true. Also, take into consideration that, even though you might not be SEEING significant changes, if you are taking the steps that you have outlined in your weight loss plan, your body is adapting inside, in places you cannot see, but it is repairing and preparing to move to higher levels of fitness and health.

4. Plan to measure your progress:

I know I said not to stress so much about the weight loss, but you do need to see what is going on. You don’t have to concentrate exclusively on pounds lost, however. If you can walk farther this week than you could two or three weeks ago, you are progressing. Hopefully, in another two weeks, you will be walking farther, or faster. If, at the start of your weight loss program you could only exercise for five minutes at a time, and now you can exercise for 15 minutes, that is progress, isn’t it? That’s an accomplishment and is something you should be proud of.

NOTE: One measurement of progress in a weight loss program is quite simply “size”. Two weeks into a weight loss program, you might actually have gained weight, for example, as I pointed out a few paragraphs ago. However, if your clothes are looser, or you need to buy smaller clothes, or friends are coming up and asking, “Have you lost weight?” these are good signs that your program is working even if your scales haven’t gotten the news yet.

5. Plan to stay motivated:

One of the most common obstacles that knock people off their weight loss program is loss of motivation. The drive and excitement that gets you started is very seldom still around when you lace up your walking shoes for what seems like the millionth time and have only lost two lbs.

Including your reasons for losing weight, the emotional and perhaps physical triggers that got you started in the first place, as part of your written weight loss plan gives you a means of reinvigorating your desire to achieve your goals. We often forget how we felt and what we believed at the start of such a journey, and being able to pull out the paper and review the dreams and expectations can bring us back up to that original level, or at least remind us of what we are enduring this for.

How Do You Renovate Your Life?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by admin

The key to self-improvement lies within the ability of the person to see his or her weaknesses and acknowledging the fact that the self-improvement process cannot be done alone. The moment the person sees that he can only improve himself with the help of others, and then the real work begins.

Steps to Improve One’s Self

Here are some important steps you can take to walk the road to continuous improvement.

  • First, you must acknowledge the fact that you cannot change everything about yourself.
  • It is easier to accept who you are than to try to change an integral part of yourself.
  • If you are able to do this, quality improvement shall be yours for the taking.
  • Secondly, always remember that the process of improvement takes time.
  • Change does not happen overnight.
  • You have to work hard to be able to achieve what you want to achieve in life, both professionally and physically.
  • If you want change to happen in your life, you have to do something to make it happen.
  • A concrete example would be, asking for a raise.
  • If you want to have a significant salary increase and you think you deserve it, you can go to your boss and show him the pros and cons of giving you a pay raise.
  • This will let you advance in your life improvement plan.
  • As for personal improvement, this requires motivation and the willingness to do what has to be done in order to achieve what you want to improve in your personal life. One example pertains to your personal relationships with other people.
  • If you want to have a better social life, you should make an effort to go out with your friends and attend parties occasionally.
  • If you do this, you will gain more friends and enjoy yourself even more in the process.
  • If you follow, the steps listed above, business process improvement and professional improvement shall follow.
  • If your social life is improved, you will be able to being more contacts that can help you in your business pursuits.

Improving yourself is definitely one easy task if you set your mind to it. It may be a hard at first but if you really focus, you will be able to gain the right tools you need for self-improvement.

Different Types of Anxiety Disorders

Posted on March 19, 2012 by admin

Everyone feels anxious once in a while. We may feel anxious about taking a test, going to the doctor or any other situation in which we feel uncomfortable. For some people, however, they are unable to control their anxiety, and they wind up having a full blown anxiety attack. This can often land someone in the ER of the hospital because they feel as though they are having a heart attack.

When you are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, you have to have several anxiety attacks over at least 6 months. This is chronic anxiety and most doctors will then evaluate you for these conditions. While anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax and Klonopin can help take the edge off of an anxiety attack, they are not the cure. Most doctors will refer you to a counselor or a psychiatrist who will then diagnose you with one of the types of anxiety disorders that are common and treatable.

General Anxiety Disorder

This is an anxiety disorder in which no known cause for the anxiety exists. A person who suffers from this type of anxiety disorder will often have anxiety attacks, triggered by an unknown source. It can be something in their head that sets them off. Doctors will give anti-depressant medication coupled with anti-anxiety medication so that it balances the chemicals in the brain and allows the person to function regularly.

Panic Disorder

Someone who suffers from panic disorder gets frequent anxiety attacks and often winds up in the ER of the hospital thinking that they are having a heart attack. This can be a very disabling anxiety disorder and is the one that is the most pronounced. Like general anxiety disorder, this has no known cause. Again, it is treated with anti-anxiety medication as well as anti-depressants.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Those who suffer from this anxiety disorder have undergone some sort of life threatening stress in their lives that keeps them from functioning at full capacity. While is it often associated with veterans who come home from war, anyone can suffer from this disorder who has been through a great deal of stress or life threatening situation. In this case, the source of anxiety is well known and therapy is often used to alleviate this type of anxiety disorder.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder is one where you may have an anxiety attack when you are around crowds of people. The person who experiences this type of social anxiety disorder will feel cold and clammy, may feel heart palpitations and even fainting when they are around crowds of people. Anti-Anxiety medications can help someone overcome social anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are best diagnosed by a professional. If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms regarding anxiety, you should seek out a medical opinion and not suffer in silence. There are many types of anxiety disorders and only a medical professional can give you the proper diagnosis.

Alternate Treatments For Anxiety

Posted on March 19, 2012 by admin

Because a lot of people today do not like taking medications for their disorders, they often opt for alternate medication for their anxiety. This includes aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbal supplements and meditation. These will work well if the anxiety is not severe and there is no severe underlying depression that is causing the anxiety.

We all get anxious once in a while – we wouldn’t be human if we did not have some anxiety in our lives. But some people have extreme anxiety while others have mild anxiety. The difference would be someone who suffered frequent anxiety attacks caused by an underlying condition such as obsessive compulsive disorder or panic disorder. These conditions cannot be mixed with those who suffer from anxiety over taking a math test.

In cases where the anxiety is not as severe to the point where it is stopping someone from doing their every day business, they may try alternate means of treatment before they resort to medications. Some of the alternate means of treatment include:

Herbal supplements

Kava , St. John’s Wort, Valerian and Sam-e are all herbal remedies that have been known to quell minor anxiety and depression. Kava has a very calming effect and can be taken a few days a week to help with minor anxiety. St. John’s Wort is better in treating depression, that often accompanies anxiety. Valerian and Sam-e of the newest herbal supplements that have shown promise in helping with anxiety attacks. However, you should not take these supplements along with prescription remedies and if you find that they are not helping you, you should talk to your doctor about another option. These herbal supplements are made for those with mild to moderate anxiety and depression and not for those with severe disorders.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the anxiety healing art of inhaling infused oils that will get into your bloodstream and cure whatever ails you. Aromatherapy can also be used when mixed with other oils as a massage oil. Many people swear by this type of treatment in that it does them wonders. Again, this type of alternative therapy is made for those who have mild to moderate forms of anxiety or depression.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a way that some people use to rid themselves of all sorts of problems, including anxiety and depression. Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and can help heal aches, pains and even headaches. Some people who suffer from depression or anxiety swear by this healing method which has its roots in ancient China.

Meditation

Meditation is yet another way that you can help yourself overcome your anxiety attacks. Meditation is something that has been around for thousands of years and is often associated with Hinduism or Buddhism. But it is also very good for finding peace of mind when you are trying to relax. You can take a class in meditation or you can watch a DVD to learn how to master this ancient eastern practice.