Budget planning for youngsters

What would we do without our societal stereotypes? Wherever we look we form yet another stereotype. Take the case of the relationship between students and their credit cards. One common stereotype that we all seem to believe in is that no student has the capability of taking care of his own finances. We assume that just because someone is still a teenager (s)he will lack the prudence to curb her/his spending. Now, is that an accurate picture of the millions of students populating our world? I would say not. In my experiences with younger people I have found that many of them are very well-grounded and are quite prepared to take care of their expenses quite efficiently.

Of course, not all youngsters may be ready for the world of credit cards. That certainly takes a little getting used to. There is so much jargon that has to be deciphered. There are so many rules that have to be followed. There are so many monthly bills that have to be paid. In addition to all that, there is the immense ease with which a credit card allows you to make your purchases and pay your bills. Once you have left the safety of your home and are living on campus, the freedom that you have can feel wonderful. However, this new-found freedom can also lead one to lead an entirely different lifestyle and spend like crazy.

College is an entirely different experience. It can be quite a shock if you are unprepared for it. And credit cards are one of the factors that are part of this newness. That is why more and more colleges are taking it upon themselves to teach their students about the pros and cons of credit. And colleges are not alone. Credit card providers have also decided to stop being labeled as being opportunistic. They too have come up with courses (some of them certified courses) to enlighten young people about the various aspects of using credit.

Many youngsters behave as though credit cards provide access to free money. Several financial education courses teach teenagers about the various aspects of using credit cards. A college-goer might avail of some great credit card rewards by simply using her/his card sensibly. Reckless usage of credit cards can result in credit card debts. Students should be aware of this danger before they routinely go over budget. A credit history can haunt one for years to come. The trick is in using the credit cards wisely.

Pack your bags for the 66th annual sturgis motorcycle rally

Whether you will be making your inaugural trip to the 66th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD on Aug. 7th – 13th or you are a long time veteran of the event, this article will be a useful document providing a wealth of information including a brief history of the event, lodging information, schedule of events and safety tips and travel tips.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was organized by Clarence “Pappy” Hoel and members of the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club. The first ever Sturgis Rally was held on Aug. 14, 1938 featuring the Black Hills Classic, an event which featured 9 participants and a few spectators. It was determined that the event would be held annually on the first week after the first full weekend in August to avoid conflicts with other nearby events. By 1961 it had expanded to include Hill Climb and Motocross races and in 1963 the event expanded to three days. The Sturgis rally continued to grow in leaps and bounds and by 1975 it included a seven day event and by the year 2000 the event was attracting over half a million visitors annually with the 2000 rally attracting in excess of 600,000 visitors.

The small town of Sturgis, SD has a population of less than 7,000 so it is understandable that an event attracting over half a million travelers would create logistical problems with lodging concerns. If you are planning to attend, it is wise to make reservations for accommodations well in advance of your trip to ensure you can secure a room close to the site. More information on lodging for the Rally can be found at the following web address: sturgismotorcyclerally. com/lodging. html.

Camping is a popular option for those attending the rally. Nearby campgrounds include the following:

* Big Rig RV Park: - features wireless Internet access and spacious lots of 60’ and 100’ close to the rally site.

* Bulldog Campground: – features RV camping as well as cabins which accommodate 2-8 guests. This campground is located five miles from Sturgis and features nightly entertainment and happy hour as well as an onsite restaurant.

* Creekside Campground: – located 4 miles from Sturgis, this campground features RV camping, tent camping as well as cabins. Highlights of the campground include an onsite store selling food and beverages and easy highway access.

* Glencoe Camp Resort: – has been catering to Sturgis participants for over 20 years. This campground has over 160 acres of camping with ample shade. In 2006 they will unveil a 34 acre outdoor amphitheater which will feature live music all week long. A 24 hour restaurant is also onsite for the convenience of campers.

* Hog Heaven Campground: - with over 150 acres of camping, this campground situated in the Black Hills is an ideal location for Sturgis participants. The campground is open from July 31st through Aug. 13th this year and will host live bands providing entertainment for guests.

* Katmandu Campground: - features 250 RV sites, cabins and 50 acres of camping. Located just two miles from Sturgis, this location is convenient for participants. Highlighted amenities include laundry facilities and wireless Internet access.

* Sturgis View Campground: - located only 1.5 miles from downtown Sturgis. This campground is famous for its spectacular views. Other highlights include RV camping, cabins and ample acreage for tent camping.

A complete event schedule for this year’s event can be found at the following web address: sturgismotorcyclerally. com/06Oeventschedule. pdf. This website provides the time, event name and location for each of the scheduled events. One way to fuel up for the extensive list of planned events is to partake in the daily pancake breakfast sponsored by the Marine Corps JROTC. They can be found daily serving breakfast from 6:00 am until 11:00 am in the Sturgis Brown High School. Most days also feature alternate breakfast events by other clubs, including Alcoholics Anonymous who also hosts meetings throughout the event, ensuring a variety of dining options for the most important meal of the day.

Once breakfast is out of the way, participants are ready to enjoy the rest of the festivities. Live music is one of the undeniable highlights of the event. Although there are a variety of talented musicians scheduled to perform at this year’s event, the Buffalo Chip Campground has a lineup of headline performers scheduled for 2006 including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kid Rock, Alice in Chains and David Lee Roth.

There are also plenty of motorcycle related events to keep participants occupied. Boss Hoss demo rides are featured throughout the event. Burnout competitions are also popular with spectators and are offered a few times during the tournament at the Full Throttle Saloon. Another highlight is the Discovery Channel’s Biker Build Off featuring Detroit Bros. vs. Jason Kangas. In addition, there are demos and exhibits throughout the day each day of the event and shows featuring custom bikes from around the country. There are also going to be many vendors on hand offering everything from motorcycle related merchandise to tattoos as well as food and beverages.

An unfortunate aspect of Sturgis is the frequent occurrence of the disappearance of motorcycles during the event. Estimates indicate approximately $250,000 worth of motorcycles are stolen each year during the course of the event. Motorcycles on the higher end of the price spectrum as well as custom bikes and show models are those most likely to be stolen, but all participants should take precautions to avoid becoming a victim. Care should be taken to park in well lit, high traffic locations as opposed to dark areas with few passersby. Additionally, participants should avoid leaving valuables such as cameras, leathers and souvenirs on their bike. Those who will be attending the event should also invest in a high quality lock to secure their bike. Even higher quality locks are not fool-proof to experienced thieves but they are a definite deterrent. Lower quality locks are not considered adequate protection because they can easily be broken or cut.

Participants who will be traveling long distances to the event on their motorcycle should also be aware of safety issues while traveling. Even those experienced with long distance rides should take safety precautions to ensure a smooth trip. One precaution is to create a copy of your detailed itinerary to leave in the possession of a friend or relative who will not be traveling with you. Travelers are also warned against traveling alone. Whenever possible, travelers should have at least one other rider accompany them on their trip. Taking frequent stops to rest and retiring for the night before fatigue sets in is also advisable.

What s your passion

Okay, you've decided you want to make money with Affiliate Marketing. So, you join some affiliate programs and start submitting free ads to newsletters and free advertising classifieds sites. You're going to make BIG money now -- right?

Nope! Sorry! Just sending out a few ads is not going to do it. Not if you want to be a real success.

You must first determine your passion. I mean other than making the money! What is your hobby? What do you know how to do REALLY well? What is your job? Everyone has something that is their own special talent. Find yours.

You probably have more than one thing that you are very interested in and do well. See if you can find five (ten if you're really ambitious). Write them down in a list. Remember, you are going to be spending a lot of time working with this subject. Make sure you enjoy it!

Go down each item on your list. Start writing a rough outline of everything you know about the topic. It doesn't have to be elaborate. This is just to give you an idea of how much information is available for a given subject.

Try mind mapping. Write down the main subject of your idea. Draw a circle around it. Now, start thinking of sub-categories that are related to your main category. Draw a line from your main category and end it with a circle. Put the sub-category title inside this circle. Find as many sub-categories (and sub-sub-categories) as you can.

Go through each of your interests with this procedure. Choose the one that you know the most about and that you can write about comfortably.

What if you "think" you don't know enough about your topic? Then, do some research. Read books and magazines. Do some searches on the Internet. Who knows? You might find an area, a niche, that is just waiting for you to fill it with useful information.

There's a lot more to affiliate marketing, of course. But the first step is to find your passion. Your "passion" doesn't have to be making money on the Internet. It can be cooking, sewing, billiards, or whatever. In fact, it's better if you find a niche that isn't in the online marketing arena because that's what nearly everyone else is doing.

Make your topic unique. Make it yours. And make it your passion. It will pay you well.

Growing tropical plants in non-tropical reqions

Tropical Paradise. We often see commercials of Tropical Vacations and dream of better days sitting under the sun with a drink in our hands. What is it about the tropics we so enduring? What lures us to these places? In colder climates during the winter months plants have acclimated to the climate. They can take freezing temperatures and months of snow and ice. However tropical plants are not capable of surviving these climates. But we still long for that Tropical fruit we buy in the store for outrageous prices. What if we could go over to a tropical tree, select a ripe fruit and eat it right then and there, while outside a blizzard is taking place? Our own tropical paradise, right inside out own home. Many tropical plants will grow with the right care and conditions in areas that normally would not permit them. These same plants that grow in abundance in Asia, South America, Africa, can grow right in your own living room, ready to pluck the ripe, sweet fruit grown specifically by you.

Potting

There are many different types of pots available and each has its benefits and drawbacks. There is plastic with can heat up or freeze quickly, Metal, same as plastic,

Clay and wood dry quicker, ceramic that can be heavy and many others that you can buy at local garden centers. For the most part all can be used quite successfully with tropical plants. Choose one based on your own preferences.

These pots should have holes in the bottom for adequate drainage. When you buy your pot, and before you put in soil, cover these holes with a mesh of some sort to help retain the soil, it is also good to put down an inch or two of gravel to insure good drainage. With tropical plants drainage is essential to healthy plants.

Potting soil from the local garden center will suffice; however a much better solution would be 1 part Perlite or Vermiculite, 1 part course sand, and 1 part Peat. This gives good drainage as well as sufficient nutrients. Make sure your soil is not packed down heavy to allow good drainage but not excessive drainage.

Remove your plant from its original container; look carefully at the root system. It they are heavily packed in and there is more root then dirt, we want to prune these roots before we plant. Take some of these roots and loosen them up and then carefully clip the ends to stimulate the plant to root more in its new container. If pruning is not needed, then just loosen the root ball before planting.

Place the plant in the new container making sure you have filled it halve way with the new planting material. You want to make sure that when you fill the rest of the container with soil, the soil line is the same as the original plant when you pulled it out. The soil like should be about 1-4 inches below the rim of the pot when you are all finished.

Important key: Make sure your fully grown plant will be proportional to your pot. Don’t put an 8 foot tall tree in a 10 inch pot. Allow the roots to be able to grow, the larger the pot the more fruit it will bear.

Light

Tropical plants usually require lots of sunlight, anywhere you can place them to receive full sunlight is beneficial to them. Search on the internet for your species to find out their light requirements. Some tropicals do well in partial shade however most need to receive the maximum sunlight available.

Tropical plants, when you receive them are most likely used to full sunlight, when you are going to bring them indoors, or for winter times, when bringing them indoors, you must acclimate them to your indoor area. Make sure to put them near a good light source and if possible add additional light

Water

Tropical plants are used to lots of water, however they are also used to well drained soil, so their water requirements are different for potted plants. These dependencies are based on size of the pot, size of the plant, type of plant, temperature where you keep the plant, the humidity and the type of soil you have. You are usually safe to water, when the upper surface of the soil is dry before you water your plant. Slowly fill the container watching for runoff at the bottom holes. Remember that wood or clay pots dry faster, making watering more frequent, and cooler weather slows down the growth of the plant, thus reducing the need to water as much.

Temperature

This is probably the key ingredient to successful tropical plant keeping. NO FREEZING WEATHER. Tropical plants cannot take cold temperatures, so you will need to find a way to bring these indoors. Cold temperatures will lead to root damage, and leave damage. Again it depends on the species of tropical plant you have to the extent it can take cold weather. Some plants you can just cover overnight and then remove each morning, others will need to be brought indoors. If you bring them indoors make sure you keep them away from drafts from doors or windows to freeze, and out of the heating vent areas so not to dry out too fast.

Fertilizer

Too much fertilizer is very bad for tropical plants. The best type of fertilizer to use are water soluble types, any local garden center can help you pick out a good fertilizer that will meet the plants requirements. Read the directions completely. After spending good money on a beautiful tropical plant, you would hate to kill it by over fertilizing it. Usually with a tropical plant the mature foliage will show deep green indicating that you are fertilizing on the correct scale. Make sure your fertilizer has a complete balanced diet of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Lesser amounts of Magnesium, Iron, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, again Read the label.

Pruning

With most container tropical plants little or no pruning is needed. However if the plant becomes “leggy” due to poor light conditions then cut it back greatly to force it to bush out. If the top becomes too large for the root structure, again a large pruning spree is needed. Also when you start to get leaf shed and twig die back this is an indication that the root structure is not large enough for the top foliage and pruning is needed.

Fruitfulness

Will I get fruit? This is the question we all ask. Is it worth the time and effort? Ask anyone that has a fruit tree planted in a pot, as they pick tropical fruit on a blizzard day of 10 below zero, and they will always tell you “Yes!” For the most part container tropic plants are dependant on the light source and size of the pot to how much fruit they will have. Most fruit trees will fruit in pots as long as we keep all of the requirements alive in our head. The larger the tree the larger the pot that is needed. Fruit will bear proportional to the size of the pot and plant. Please keep in mind that some fruit will need a presence of another cultivator to be able to fruit. Again check the specifics of your plant before you decide to buy it.

Love addiction approval addiction

In my experience as a counselor for 40 years, I have found that love addiction and approval addiction are far more prevalent than any other substance or process addictions. We live in a love-addicted, approval-addicted society.

What does it mean to be love/approval addicted? Below is a checklist for you to see if you are addicted to love and/or approval. Believing any of these may indicate love or approval addiction.

I believe that:

* My happiness and wellbeing are depended upon getting love from another person.

* My adequacy, lovability, and feelings of self-worth and self-esteem come from others liking me and approving of me.

* Others disapproval or rejection mean that I’m not good enough.

* I can’t make myself happy.

* I can’t make myself as happy as someone else can.

* My best feelings come from outside myself, from how other people or a particular other person sees me and treats me.

* Others are responsible for my feelings. Therefore, if someone cares about me, he or she will never do anything that hurts or upsets me.

* I can’t be alone. I feel like I’ll die if I’m alone.

* When I’m hurt or upset, it’s someone else’s fault.

* It’s up to other people to make me feel good about myself by approving of me.

* I’m not responsible for my feelings. Other people make me feel happy, sad, angry, frustrated, shut down, or depressed. When I’m angry, someone makes me feel that way and is responsible for fixing my feelings.

* I’m not responsible for my behavior. Other people make me yell, act crazy, get sick, laugh, cry, get violent, leave, or fail.

* Others are selfish if they do what they want instead of what I want or need.

* If I’m not connected to someone, I will die.

* I can’t handle my pain, especially the pain of disapproval, rejection, abandonment, the pain of being shut out - the pain of isolation and loneliness.

Living as a love or approval addict is a very hard way to live. You have to constantly make sure you say the right thing, do the right, and look right in order to get the needed love and approval. Your feelings are on a roller coaster – from feeling the wonderful feelings that come from getting your love or approval “fix” to feeling the despair that comes when your “supply” – the source of your love and approval - shuts down, gets angry or judgmental, or goes away.

THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF LOVE AND APPROVAL ADDICTION

Love and approval addiction is rooted in self-abandonment. Imagine the feeling part of you as a child – your inner child. When you are love or approval addicted, you have handed your inner child away for adoption. Instead of learning to take responsibility for your own happiness by loving and approving of yourself, you have handed your inner child away to others for love and approval – making others responsible for your feelings. This inner self-abandonment will always cause the deep pain of low self-worth, making you dependent upon others for your sense of worth.

The sad thing about all of this is that love is the most abundant thing in the universe. We live in a sea of love – it is always within us and all around us. It is our Source. When you learn to open to Spirit/God/Source, you become filled with love, with peace, with joy. The empty place within that yearns to be filled becomes so filled with love that it overflows to others. You find yourself desiring to give love rather than always trying to get it.

As long as you make others your Source, you will not find the love, peace and joy that you seek. By learning and practicing the Inner Bonding process that we teach, you can learn to fill yourself with love and heal your love and approval addictions. Are you love or approval addicted? Most people are. The following checklist will help you to determine your level of love or approval addiction.

Secured loans - cashing in on rising house prices

Look in any estate agent's window and it becomes clear very quickly how much house prices are rising across the UK. But that can be a real advantage to a homeowner looking to raise some quick cash - perhaps to consolidate credit card and other debts or to embark on some home improvements. We're talking secured loans here, of course, perhaps the easiest form of loan to obtain. That's because security for the loan is provided by bricks and morter - your home, in other words. And because there are so many lenders willing to provide such loans, because the borrower is offering bricks and morter as security, some really competitive loan rates are available. The secured loan takes advantage of the equity which may be locked up in the value of a home. For example, a home bought for Ј60,000 (via a mortgage) may, years later, be worth double the purchase price or more because of the steady, increasing rise in house prices. And it's this difference in value then and now, known as the equity, which allows the homeowner to borrow against and which is attractive to the lender.

The loan may be provided by the lender of the original mortgage. Or it may be obtained via a second mortgage, through a different lender. The homeowner could also obtain a remortgage, for a larger amount. No matter by what method the secured loan is obtained, if the homeowner defaults on repayments, the lender can repossess the property and get back the money borrowed. And of course the lender providing the original mortgage has a legal first charge. This means their claim has priority over the claim of any subsequent lender involved. As such, because of the perceived increased risk, the rates offered by the second lender will usually be higher.

So how much can you borrow? Depends on the equity. What sort of terms are available? Anything from a few years to 10, 20 or more years. What rates can you expect? Somewhere around 6% to 7% is fairly common. But it all depends on your circumstances - and everyone's situation is different. Talk the matter over with an independent financial adviser first before taking the plunge.

Grow your business automatically using autoresponders

Joe is enjoying his holiday in Hawaii. Joe, who is used to getting tens of business emails every day, doesn't worry about his absence from business. A small but handy program, called an Autoresponder, takes care of all of Joe's emails. Autoresponders are everywhere - from the casual "I am on a holiday" to the more serious "Out of Office" type responses.

What is an Autoresponder?

Autoresponders are preset emails that instantly respond to an incoming email, similar to an on-demand fax system that sends out an automatic fax message after dialing in the given number. A simple autoresponder would be the "I am on a holiday" kind that most of us would have used sometime or other. Autoresponders are small programs that are either part of an email program or run as a script on a separate server. Almost all email services and programs come with some form of autoresponder built into it, sometimes dubbed as "auto-reply" messages or "vacation emails". They represent the simplest form of autoresponder, used for very basic needs. However, there are more advanced applications of autoresponders that can tremendously bring down marketing time and save many dollars for businesses.

Why Autoresponders?

Autoresponders are a key to any professionally managed business. Imagine how much time one would require to manually respond to emails from millions of users who require some basic information about a product or a service. Autoresponders come handy in such a situation. Moreover, people feel better when their emails about an enquiry are instantly acknowledged. Here again, autoresponders are the best bet for the job. But the applications of autoresponders are not just limited to answering emails. A multitude of applications are possible through an autoresponder system, with the common being

Sending confirmation emails about a purchase or an enquiry

Sending welcome message to new customers

Providing company information such as brochures, presentation materials

Sending newsletters

Conduct online courses by sending out course materials at periodic time intervals

Types of Autoresponders

Autoresponders can be classified into any one of the following

One-time autoresponders

Sequential autoresponders

One-time are the most common among the two and have been long since the evolution of email itself. In a one-time autoresponder system, the program immediately sends out a pre-defined message, usually welcome emails or order confirmation and acknowledgements. One-time autoresponders are also easier to setup and manage. This type of autoresponder is usually integrated into the email program that handles the incoming messages.

Sequential autoresponders are developed during recent times. Here, a set of email messages are placed in the autoresponder system which sends them from time to time, or at irregular intervals of time. The time intervals and the frequency of the emails that are sent can be customized. Sequential autoresponders are great for sending messages on a periodic basis that actually makes the customer believe as though a real person is emailing them from the other end! Online courses, reminder services and regular content delivery like tip of the day, weekly newsletter, and seasonal promotions are typical usages of a sequential system.

Critical marketing tool

Autoresponders score highly with any serious internet marketer. A good quality autoresponder system saves the trouble of responding to messages that least warrant a personalized reply. It allows companies to automate portions of their marketing efforts. A good autoresponder system helps in providing a good customer service thereby create affinity to the business and retain customers. It also provides an opportunity to build a quality prospect list of customers to whom information on future services and products can be emailed. Autoresponders are also finding their presence felt in some part of the sales process - sometimes, the entire sale can be completed through a series of autoresponder messages. Think of the cost-savings that companies benefit through effective autoresponder systems!

Choosing a winning program

Okay, you have enough reasons now to get your own autoresponder. There are hundreds of programs available for free on the internet that can also do the job. RobotReply, a highly popular autoresponder program, is the best in the business when it comes to sheer power. It boosts of great features that any marketer would want to have in his kitty. What more, you also get high-quality leads along with the program supported by an excellent technical staff working round-the-clock!

The more time you invest in a good autoresponder system, the more value you give your customers. Autoresponders helps grow your prospects list faster and the sooner you shoot the responses, the more you will be able to benefit from the powerful autoresponder technology.