A Very Good Exercise

I really had a very very good exercise this morning. It's really good for it left my thighs sore afterwards. It isn't just any ordinary exercises that most people do, instead it is something that my spouse and I both love doing and enjoyed it together. It is something that draws us closer to each other and brings us to the highest peak of our love. Intimacy is what we call it. During weekends, we make up for each other. During weekdays we are kind of busy that we just look forward for weekends to come and have fun...

6 Signs That You've Made It To Middle Class

I can't help but share this interesting article I have read on Yahoo today. Are you curious to know if you belong or you've made it to Middle Class? Read on to know your standing.

Have You Made it to the Middle?

A wide variety of numbers have been thrown around in an effort to define the middle. People earning 20% of the average income and people earning 80% all claim to be part of the middle class. More than a few millionaires make the claim too. While there is no official financial standard, the middle class as defined by the government task force is characterized in terms of six financial aspirations, which we can view as benchmarks.

Home Ownership

Home ownership remains the American dream. The step up from renting to owning signifies prosperity and achievement. With median home prices ranges differing by so much in different cities across the United States, the ability to achieve this goal varies significantly by geographical location. Someone earning an income in the 50% range in Detroit may not be able to afford even a small house in Los Angeles.

Automobile Ownership

Owning an automobile provides freedom of movement and the luxury of avoiding the limited schedules and cramped quarters offered by mass transportation options such as buses and subways. Here again, the cost of cars varying widely, as does the kind of automobile required. For one driver, a used Hyundai will do the trick. For another, a new BMW signifies the achievement of this goal.

A College Education for the Kids

Helping children get ahead in life is a primary goal for middle class families. Paying for a college education for children can cost anywhere from the low tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands. Decisions about which university of college to attend can have a significant impact on the price tag.

Retirement Security

Retirement is a goal nearly everyone wants to achieve. It demonstrates success and provides a reward for decades of hard work. Once again, definitions make a difference. The amount of gold required to support your golden years will vary significantly depending on whether you want a staff of 10 at your villa in the South of France or a townhouse in Peoria, Illinois.

Health Care Coverage

The ability to obtain healthcare is an important goal for middle class wager earners and their families. The high and rising cost of medical care and prescription drugs make healthcare coverage an ever-increasing need, as going without it can have serious negative financial implications in the event of a severe illness or injury.

Family Vacation

The family vacation is a middle class staple. Vacations demonstrate that a family has disposable income and has been successful enough to take time away from work to focus on leisure.

LIFTED FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

False Alarm

All along I thought I was pregnant but I am not. Red tide came since last night. It's fine though, I am in no rush. God will bless us our second baby when the timing is right. For now I must be glad that it is September soon, then October the month we gonna celebrate our 6th year wedding anniversary then November...the most anticipated month for I am going to visit my home country, the Philippines!!!!!!!!!!

I Might Be Pregnant

I might be pregnant with our second baby. It is a planned pregnancy since my husband and I both agreed to have our second baby before I fly to the Philippines this year. He was okay when I asked him if I can stop taking my birth control pills so here I am feeling signs of pregnancy. A week before my last date of period, I knew and I felt it somehow that I could get pregnant right away due to these symptoms follows below;

- darkening of nipples and around them there are dark spots like that of tagip-tip in our native tongue

- dizziness that occurs anytime of the day

- missing a period, supposedly I have it on the 16th of this month, but none came so far

- cravings for specific foods like empanada

- weird habits lately... I don't eat popcorn much but there were two instances ni midday I ate a whole bag of popcorn. I don't usually eat popcorn and when I do, I can only eat half of the bag.

- laziness

- frequent hunger that is so hard to resist so I end up eating a lot

- mother's instinct I believe to just touch my belly as if it is bulging already but it's not

However, I haven't done any home pregnancy test yet so I don't raise my hope that high...not until I go to the doctor and confirm if it's really TRUE.

Money Problems That Ruin Your Marriage

Hey folks time for a helpful and useful article I found online. I share this here because I know most of my reader/s on this blog are mostly married people. While you're on the verge of ending your marriage, try to sort things out before you decide to call it quits and see if it can help save your precious marriage.

1. Relationship Neglect

Pssst...sometimes arguments about money are actually about not paying enough attention to your marriage (do this to stop having the same fight), rather than your financial situation. When spouses feel neglected, they may resort to spending cash on items they can't afford or bring up their partner's buying habits as a way to retaliate for deeper issues. Examine the root of your fights and determine whether your fiscal concerns are actually a by-product of hurt feelings. Then, if necessary, get started on a marriage makeover.

2. Love Is Blind

At the beginning of a relationship, money often isn't an issue. Love can be intoxicating, and some spouses express their emotions by lavishing their partner with exorbitant spending sprees, jetting off to exotic vacations, and other costly pursuits (don't make these money mistakes). Then reality sets in, and couples have to worry about their rent or mortgage, kids and living expenses. A financial planner can help you get your finances back on track and develop a budget that you can stick to. Plus, set out some financial rules to follow as a couple.

3. When Women Are the Breadwinners

Women are the breadwinners in one out of three dual-income families today. Although earning more money can be beneficial, it also challenges traditional gender roles, so that wives may feel guilty about putting less time into mom duties while husbands may feel like they've failed somehow. Set up equal spending rights with your spouse so that you're both on the same page.

4. Keeping Up with the Joneses

It can be easy for couples to become envious of other couples' spending habits and feel like they need to live beyond their means just to keep up. However, this can lead to debt and put a significant amount of stress on a marriage. Do some digging with your spouse and work together to diminish these insecurities.

5. A Lack of Open Communication

Not knowing exactly where your money is going each month can spark resentment. Have an honest conversation with your partner where you both break down the spending in your household. Discuss your priorities and decide together if you need to cut back or add to a specific category.

All I Want Is My Husband

Again I had this strange dream last night. I dreamed of being in the Philippines staying at my parents' house with my baby. In my dream, I had an argument with my mother, she was nagging at me so bad that I got tired of it. She couldn't stop nagging at the man who slept in my bedroom who has a long blond hair, skinny, white skin and blue eyes..for sure it wasn't my first American boyfriend for he was too handsome- the Ryan Gosling type of guy that I've seen in a movie, The Notebook.

I was so upset with my mother because of that. Somehow deep in my thoughts, I had three boyfriends at that time, one named Luke Kerr who was my first boyfriend in real life, my husband whom I call Lalabs- he was left here in America, I was in the Philippines for a vacation and the third guy who was sleeping in my bedroom. Of these three guys I mention, the only one that I so missed and I was looking for is my husband.

In my dream I uttered, Lalabs! calling him because I missed him so much. So the lesson is, either in reality or in my dreams, all I ever wanted is my husband and no one else...I guess I just love him so much that he stand out among any other guys I've had relationships with in my past...

Home Furnishings

Every woman's dream is to own a house and decorate it according to her taste. When we were able to get our house back I couldn't be more happier for we got a bigger space in our yard and inside the house. Our kids will have ample space to play around without needing to go outside. Thank goodness.

It's been 6 months since we moved in here and so far so good. Only I do need to arrange things in proper order and see if I need to buy more furniture like this reclining sofa set I have seen online. I actually have two choices that I really love, the other one is Lane Alpine Reclining Sofa Set that would look so pretty in our entertainment room.

Aside from that, I need to seriously look for other items at home and garden section of this awesome website and see what I can buy there in order to make this house a cozy and welcoming one. I know there are still a lot of things needed in this house but we are taking it slowly for I know one day we will get there.

Paid posts

This blog starting today shall now be ready to posting entries that are being paid by advertisers. All opinions here are written by me and is not influenced by other bloggers.

10 Expenses You Need To Avoid

The economy hasn't recovered yet and a lot of people still struggling in their day to day lives just to make ends meet. In order to to do this, here are a couple of things you should avoid paying if you must to save you some bucks. Read on and I hope it is helping you in some way.

Banking Fees of All Sorts

Banking fees are generally small -- a couple dollars here, a couple dollars there -- but they can add up to hundreds throughout the year if you're not careful. Don't pay money just to manage your money. You can take easy steps to avoid these fees:

• Overdraft fees. Sign up for low-balance alerts via e-mail, and link your checking account to your savings account to move money as necessary to avoid $35 fees for insufficient funds.

• Checks and postage. Pay your bills electronically instead. You'll also avoid any late fees and black marks on your record if the postal service loses your payment.

• ATM fees. Know where your own bank's ATMs are located, even in other states, so you can save $3 every time you get cash out of the wall. Or consider switching to a bank that offers free ATM usage regardless of which bank's ATM you tap.

• Coin-counting commissions. Save the 5% it can cost you to cash in your nickels and quarters at the supermarket. Coin counting is gratis at hundreds of TD Bank branches in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Florida, whether or not you have an account. (Just pray the machine, called Penny Arcade, isn't down for service. That seems to happen a lot.)

Basic Investing Advice

There are plenty of wise reasons to engage a financial planner or adviser -- but there are also pointless ones. If all you want is help choosing mutual funds, especially if your choices are basic index funds inside a retirement plan, it's silly to fork over as much as 1.5% of your savings each year for someone to run a common software program to do this for you. You can arrange your money among different investments yourself or build a simple portfolio with little effort. Then rebalance every quarter or six months to restore your weightings.

By all means, get an excellent estate planner or an accountant when it's time to think about taxes and bequests. But you don't need help for everything.

Help Applying for Financial Aid

Commercial sites like FAFSA.com will help you complete and submit the important application for student aid for $79.99. But at the U.S. Department of Education's site, www.fafsa.ed.gov, you can fill out the application for free -- with all sorts of guidance on how to assemble the proper personal information.

Pet Care

Pet-sitting is big business these days, with brand names, franchises, uniforms, logos, and even lobbyists and consultants. But if your little guys are healthy, you can save the $50-a-day boarding fee while you're on vacation by asking a responsible neighbor, friend or family member to feed, walk (if needed) and hang out for a bit with your cats and dogs -- provided you volunteer to do the same when they're away. Make sure your helper knows who your vet is, and, obviously, don't be so informal if your animals have health problems that mean you should board them with the doctor.

Insurance on Rental Cars

The rental-car clerk will offer you a collision-damage waiver (sometimes called a loss-damage waiver), which can cost $10 to $20 per day. The CDW shields you if the rental car is damaged or stolen. But as long as the rental is for personal use and you have collision coverage in your own auto-insurance policy, you're covered without the CDW (with the same deductibles that apply to your own car).

Your credit-card benefits supplement your auto coverage. Most cards will pick up your deductible, and premium cards offer beefier coverage. Keep in mind that credit-card protection doesn't include liability. And if you've dropped comprehensive or collision coverage on your policy, the rental car will not be covered if it is stolen or damaged in an accident.

Credit Reports

Don't fall for sites that offer "free" credit reports, which often end up enrolling you in expensive credit-monitoring programs that you usually don't need. You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) once every 12 months at www.annualcreditreport.com. It's a good idea to stagger your reports -- getting a free one from each bureau every four months -- to keep an eye on the status of your credit and spot potential ID theft throughout the year.

Warranties

The other day I bought the snazziest new Samsung smart phone from T-Mobile at the fair price of $249. The sales rep couldn't let me go, however, without asking me to pay $125 more for insurance against me dropping the unit or otherwise ruining it. The cheaper electronics get, the less these warranties make sense. Same's true with appliances. Now, if I could insure the suits I take to the dry cleaners -- or the luggage the airlines throw around -- we might have something to talk about.

Shipping for Online Shopping

At www.FreeShipping.org, you can find coupons and codes to secure free (or deeply discounted) mailing or delivery from hundreds of retailers. Some of these are constant offers as long as you make a minimum order. Others are occasional deals with a limited life. And if there's no cost for mailing, you can't get hit with that mysterious charge for "handling," right?

Water

There are times you'll pay anything for a cold bottle of premium H2O. If you're driving through the desert, riding your bicycle on a hot day or dealing with grimy yellow stuff in your pipes, price is no object. Once while on vacation in Florida, a construction crew accidentally cut the water lines to our residence. Off to Wal-Mart it was -- or we would've been unable to cook, wash or even make coffee for 12 hours. But why pay for bottled water all the time? Is it actually safer? Bottled-water makers aren't required to test their water or make their test results public. And few brands reveal important details about the source of their water and what it contains. Heck, about 25% of bottled water actually comes from the same municipal sources that deliver water to your home.

Information lifted from its ORIGINAL SOURCE