July 11, 2007
Wellness is the buzz word for health these days and I like it.
It implies a much wider scope of fitness than a balanced diet,
regular exercise or a well-toned body. It speaks of an wholistic
approach and attitude to living, taking in emotional and
psychological factors as well as physical.
So, what does wellness entail?
1/Positive living.
Thought is where it all begins but there must also be practical
action in order for a truly positive life to be lived. People
often think that `positive thinking’ is fantasy-land, especially
in the current world climate. It would be if this philosophy
only encourages generic, bland attitudes but, in actual fact,
positive thinking is about awareness and aliveness, not burying
one’s head in the sand. It is a choice, a way of life that truly
believes, in all circumstances, the glass is always `half-full.’
Positive life means searching for the gift in every and any
tragedy; not to smile inanely through adversity but to choose
hope over despair.
With this attitude in place, life becomes more prosperous in
general, brighter and less fearful. Demons can be vanquished or
at least, disabled. A positive life is one in which `bad’ things
can and will still happen but can be overcome more easily with
the courage and joy that this form of wellness brings.
2/Health.
Health in all its forms is requisite to an overall sense of
wellbeing. It’s impossible to feel good if we’re tired, ill,
cranky or in pain. Balance is the key to this as to many other
life-skills. The things that damage health are excesses of all
kinds, addictive behaviour, discordant relationships, poor diet,
inadequate sleep and lack of physical fitness. As boring as it
sounds, moderation is necessary for all forms of wellbeing. We
need, each day, to honour our emotional, spiritual and physical
needs. We need to feed the soul, nourish the body and work the
mind - every day, not just occasionally.
Most of us are taught early in life to do the basics like
cleaning our teeth, washing our bodies, using the toilet,
sleeping and eating but of course, there is more to physical
fitness than that. My feeling is `no pain, plenty of gain.’
Exercise should be fun, easy and never excessive. If it takes
over and becomes punitive then surely we‘ve added stress to our
daily routines rather than reduced it. So find something that
you enjoy doing, whether it’s just walking round the block or
playing social tennis, and do it regularly.
Emotional needs are catered for better by some than others.
We’re all emotional creatures whether we show our feelings
outwardly or not. Letting them flow naturally is the secret;
it’s important not to let them choke on themselves, especially
the ones we find most uncomfortable. Make friends with your
darker side, keep working at self-knowledge and be honest with
yourself and about yourself. Banish worry as it’s a totally
useless waste of energy. Be as relaxed as possible every day,
develop acceptance and be gentle with yourself.
Spiritual nourishment can come in many forms other than
religious practice or meditation. You can feed your soul with
poetry, music, nature, love of children and animals, being near
water, walking and swimming, being in silence, looking at
beauty.
Self-love is a big part of these means to wellness as when you
value yourself, you automatically look after your body, feed
your mind with stimulating conversation, knowledge, reading and
ideas, nourish your soul by a variety of pleasurable pursuits,
and you will no longer feel the need to sabotage your happiness
and success by obsolete beliefs and self-defeating behaviours.
Negativity of thought, action, attitude and feeling counteracts
this. With a positive mind and a healthy body, there’s not much
we can’t achieve.
A key factor in health is prevention. Taking responsibility for
your own health, living pro-actively and not waiting till
illness has already struck to improve your health habits. The
number of times that people have said to me their cancer or
heart disease turned out to be a great gift because it forced
them to change their diet, get more sleep, exercise more etc -
my answer is why wait till you’re sick to look at these issues?
Often the alteration to lifestyle is quite minor yet the
benefits are enormous. For instance, just walking daily, taking
Garlic and Vitamin C for prevention of colds and flu and
reducing stress can make all the difference.
3/Stress management.
We live in stressful times - no-one would dispute this. Recent
world events have further heightened our sense of powerlessness
and the inevitability of change that already has proven to be
the hallmark of the 21st century. Thus, it’s more essential than
ever to develop our spiritual muscles and muster our physical
stamina as this exercise called life is getting tougher and
tougher to manoeuvre. With added external stress comes the need
for more internal calm; amidst the global turmoil, we need more
personal peace.
Where is it to be found? Where it always resides - inside each
of us. Right now, we need some extra awareness of its existence
and a reminder that we carry the seeds of peace always and ever
with us. This is a time of greater need for meditation in
whatever form appeals, more communing with nature, more time
spent with loved ones as we are daily reminded of the fragility
of life, more reflection upon the things that really matter in
the end.
In practical terms, we can ward off stress overload by effective
time management, keeping things in perspective, not giving in to
negative thinkiing and fear, moderating our schedules and living
habits, staying in touch with joy.
4/Joy.
A very under-rated emotion. It’s not deep and intense like anger
or jealousy and it sounds a bit fluffy like delight or
curiosity. Yet, for me, joy is the centre of existence because
it is the essence of our life-force and offers such gifts as
creativity, sexuality and spirituality. All the best things come
from joy. So, if you’re in touch with your own wellspring of
joy, how can you fail to also have wellbeing?
Joy is present in the midst of tragedy, death, sorrow,
disappointment, conflict, anger, violence. It is an integral
part of the human condition so it can never be absent from our
endeavours, our daily lives and even our pain. We are after all,
creatures of contradiction, of polarity, are we not? Our lives
are always walked on the tightrope of contrasting desires and
energies; hence the desire for addiction, excesses, oblivion.
It’s a constant balancing act and some people falter more
readily and reach out for negative remedies that poison rather
than cure.
Psychological health is walking the fine line between the
darkness and the light, between our shining selves and our
negative egos. It’s there between the contrasts that we find
true wellness. It is a place of healing and serenity, not of
struggle and exertion. In a nutshell, we all basically try too
hard at life - too hard to be happy, to be successful, to be
beautiful, to be loved, to be secure, to be safe - all myths.
But joy is not. It is our constant gift in an ever-changing
world, totally effortless and free. When we cannot feel joy, we
are separated from the best part of ourselves.
5/Love
We are never without love whether we have family and friends,
whether we’re in a relationship or whether we’re considered
lovable or not. Like joy, love is a birthright and therefore,
resides deep within us at all times. All you have to do is
access it and you need never again feel alone or lonely,
isolated or rejected
Once you feel that love within yourself, you’ll easily love
others, attract love to yourself from outside and find more
things around you to love. The world will look like the amazing
place it is despite the horrors of war, poverty, crime, violence
and natural disasters. You will indeed see through rose-coloured
glasses but not ones by which you disguise the ugliness; rather
that the love you feel will shine out for others to see and in
turn, your own vision will be brighter. Life takes on a
different glow and the bridge between you and the rest of the
world will seem less large. If you’ve never experienced this, I
urge you to try working from the inside out and start sensing
the peace and harmony you have at your disposal every day of
your life. Love is the ultimate high!
Overall wellness is not just possible, it is readily attainable
if we just let it be, if we own our joy and love ourselves
enough to let life be easy.
Some readers may be struggling with disability, disease, loss,
financial hardship and so on. Where is the wellness in these
conditions, you might ask. Well, no-one owns the territory of
your mind except you. Even in the darkest prison, you always
have the illumination of your inner beauty. Be there and you
will feel your own presence, your inner comfort and that, is the
meaning of true wellbeing.
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The Christmas Gift by C. Bailey-Lloyd
In a small, Southern town off the banks of the Edisto River
lived a bright-eyed, skinny, brown-haired girl. Renee was a
jovial child, filled with love and compassion. In everything,
she managed to find some light.
Renee would take daily strolls to the riverbank where she’d
gather unique rocks and stray seashells. On her way to her
hidden refuge, `neath towering oaks and mossy vines, she’d pass
the house where Sady lived.
Though Renee never saw much of Sady’s owners, she would always
stop by to pet the bulky but gentle giant. Sady wasn’t any
ordinary dog - she was special. Whenever Renee would come by,
the tall black and tan rotty would scoop up her fringed tennis
ball and toss it into the air for Renee to throw.
The oversized dog was pinned in a very small kennel, but she
would always perk up when Renee was there. Renee would squeeze
her tiny wrists and hands through the rusty, wire mesh and
lovingly stroke Sady. In return, Sady would adore Renee with her
eyes and rub her side against Renee’s small fingers.
Sneaking leftovers to Sady was Renee’s favorite thing to do. She
knew Sady didn’t get much to eat, `cause she could tell from the
looks of her that mealtime must’ve been meager helpings of
Ol’Roy dog food. Never the matter, Renee would bring strips of
broken beef jerky, Vienna sausages and anything she could swipe
from her fridge. Before leaving Sady, Renee would gather fresh
water from the River and fill Sady’s empty water bowl.
As Autumn leaves began to fall, Renee had noticed that Sady was
becoming thinner and lankier, but she couldn’t come as often
because School took precedence over her walks to the river
refuge.
One day, Renee asked her Pa if he’d talk to the owners of Sady
and see whether they’d like to give her the big dog. “What’r ya
gonna do with such a big dawg?” asked Pa.
“Oh, I don’t know, Pa. But I’d feed her and love her,” she
added, “that’s all Sady really wants,” she continued, “her
owners aren’t ever there, and it just seems wrong to keep her
pinned in that little fence.”
Pa shook his head, and he cupped his hands around Renee’s chin,
“Pun’kin, we ain’t got the kinda money to take care of such a
big dawg. He’d eat us out of house and home.”
Renee pushed Pa’s hands away from her face and said
matter-of-factly, “first of all, he ain’t a he - she’s a she,
and Sady would never do that.”
With that, she trumped off to her room. Downhearted, she slipped
on her shoes and coat, and made her way out the door.
“Where ya goin?” Pa asked.
“I’m going to see Sady,” Renee replied, “somebody’s got to love
her.”
Pa didn’t try to stop her. He figured so long as Renee could
visit Sady, that would be enough.
Renee went to Sady’s pen, but Sady didn’t run to the fence edge
as she normally did. She was laying in the corner, head low to
the ground and she barely lifted her eyes when Renee called to
her. “What’s the matter, girl?” asked Renee.
It had been about a week since she’d last seen Sady. Now, the
dog had a swollen tummy and she appeared very weak and tired.
Sady staggered to her feet and slowly walked to greet Renee. Her
tail wasn’t wagging as much, and Renee could clearly see
hipbones sticking out on the large dog. “Come here, Sady,” she
called to her, “it’s okay girl,” she pulled a half-eaten pecan
log from her pocket, “here, girl. Gotta treat for you.”
Sady peered through the mesh at Renee. Sadly, Renee stroked the
sweet dog through the fence while Sady hungrily ate the pecan
log. “Pa says I can’t have you, Sady. But one day, when I’m big,
I’ll come and get you girl,” she whispered.
Before too long, it had gotten dark and Renee knew she had to
get home. When she arrived back at the house, Pa told her,
“Renee, ya really need to try to stay home more often and work
on your homework,” he paused, “you’re always off with that dawg
in the woods and I don’t ever see ya workin’ on school papers.”
Renee nodded her head, “I know, Pa…it’s just that…” she
started.
“I know ya love that dawg, Renee, but schoolin’ comes first,” he
ended.
Knowing that she wasn’t going to get her way much longer with
going to see Sady, Renee stayed more at home but still made
weekend trips to the riverside nearby Sady’s kennel. Each time
she’d see her, Sady seemed weaker and sicker. What kind of
people could do this to such a lovable, huggable girl? Renee
thought to herself.
On Christmas Day, the first snow was blanketing the grounds
around Renee’s house. Though money was tight and there wasn’t
enough for any presents, she got Pa to come outside with her to
build a snowman. After about an hour of playing and laughing in
the snowdrifts, Renee had a terrible, horrible thought, `what
had become of poor Sady?” she thought aloud to herself. Here she
was having a wonderful time playing outside in the snow, but
Sady would be all by herself with little shelter from the bitter
cold.
Suddenly, Renee turned to Pa, and she said, “Can I go and see
Sady just for a few minutes, Pa?”
Pa winked his eye at Renee, “yep…,” he smiled, “but take that
old pack of bologna from the fridge with ya when ya go. Gotta
get rid of that old stuff, ya know.”
Renee forced a grin and ran to grab the newly opened pack of
bologna from the fridge and trotted down to Sady’s pen. As she
neared the bend where Sady lived, she noticed that there were
some grown men standing around the mesh wire. Hiding behind the
bushed, she could faintly hear them speaking.
“I told ya to get rid of that stupid dawg,” said one.
“Yep,” said the other placing his hands on his hips, “now what
ya gonna do?” he added.
There was a bustle in the back of the pen, but Renee couldn’t
see what was happening. Her heart sunk. She knew for sure that
something terrible had happened, but what?
At about that time, Pa walked up behind Renee and startled her,
“what’r ya doin?” asked Pa.
“Oh-my-gosh!” she gulped, “what’r you doing here, Pa?”
“I came to see the fabulous Sady you always talk about. Why’r ya
hidin’ `hind the bushes?” he asked.
“There are people there Pa. I ain’t never seen them before.”
Pa stroked the whiskers on his chin, “…hmmm…” he pondered,
“well, let’s go on home then.”
Renee reluctantly began to walk away, but she stopped, “Pa, let
me stay just a few more minutes. Maybe they’ll leave and I can
go and see her again?” she pleaded.
Pa answered, “okay - but just a few more minute, ya hear?” Pa
walked back home. Renee waited about ½ hour when the men got
into their trucks and drove away. Quietly, she walked over to
Sady’s pen. It seemed that the pen had been ripped apart and
there was no sight of Sady. “Oh no,” she thought, “Sady - where
are ya girl?” she called.
In the corner of the pen, Renee spotted a large, wooden crate.
Carefully, she pulled the mesh aside and slowly crawled through
to get inside the kennel. Looking from side to side, she made
her way to the crate. She could hear faint, muffled sounds but
wasn’t sure what to make of it. Oh so cautiously, she proceeded
to peer inside the crate. What she would see would change her
life forever. Pulling open the broken, but ajar top, she
discovered a mound of tiny, four-legged fur balls. All of them
looked like beautiful Sady. “Ah,” she whispered, “that was your
secret.” But where was Sady?
Just then, the man owner ran out the back door and hollered at
Renee, “Wudya doin’ here?!” Startled, Renee ran, tripping
through the wire fence to escape the harsh man. She ran so fast
that she never looked back. Suddenly, Renee slipped on a slick,
icy rock and plunged into the freezing ravine. One thing Renee
never learned how to do was to swim.
As she struggled to keep her head above the icy currents, she
tried to scream, but the water was so cold that only muffled
whispers came from her little voice. No one could hear the
little girl’s pleas as her head bobbed up and down beneath the
torrent waters. But just as she was about to give up, someone
did hear Renee’s calls for help.
There, hiding between the blanketed holly berry bushes was Sady.
She could see the little girl in the icy waters. Sady heard
Renee’s unheard cries for help. Without a minute to waste, Sady
struggled to maneuver her way to the frozen depths below. As
soon as Sady got to the riverbank, little Renee went under the
water for the last time. Sady panicked and jumped in after the
small child. Disappearing into the murky, cold waters, Sady
astonishingly re-emerged with Renee’s lifeless body in tow.
Carefully, she swam to the riverside, pulling Renee from the
water.
Once atop the wet, snowy earth, Sady dug a large trench and
pushed the little girl inside. Laying atop of her, Sady tried to
warm the little girl’s frozen body. About that time, Pa came
running over to the dog, “Get away, dawg!” he yelled at Sady,
not knowing what had just happened.
But Sady just stayed there, coveting the little girl’s limp
body. Licking her face, Renee suddenly coughed up a mouthful of
river water. Pa raced to Renee’s side, pushing the big dog out
of the way, “Renee, pun’kin!” he hollered, “you okay?!” he
added.
With that, Sady looked on with her big brown eyes. Renee opened
her eyes and grabbed her Pa’s neck, “Pa,” she cried, “what
happened?”
Pa looked at Sady and then back at Renee, “is this the dawg you
were talkin’ about?”
Just then, Sady gently pawed Pa’s arm and nudged her way over to
Renee. Lying down beside Renee, Sady softly licked Renee’s blued
fingers and lovingly kissed her face too.
Right after Renee was able to regain her balance, the man from
Sady’s kennel came up behind her and Pa with a shotgun in tow.
“Get outta da way!” the man hollered at Pa, “that dawg is
worthless!”
Pa stood affront of Renee and Sady, and sternly peered back at
the man, “Lemme’ tell you something, Mr. I don’t know who’s dawg
this is, but this dawg is NOT worthless and if it weren’t for
this dawg, my daughter would’ve surely drowned in that there
river - so YOU get from here.”
Shocked, the man retorted, “but, but…” he stuttered, “she’s
left a mess of pups up at the house and I ain’t gonna put up
with all that whimperin’ and whinin’.”
Renee looked up at Pa, and her eyes pleaded with him. Pa looked
down at Sady, who was shivering from the wet and cold, “I’ll
tell ya what,” Pa said to the man, “I’d say I owe this dawg a
lot for saving my little Renee,” he paused and contemplated a
thought, “I’ll take this dawg and her pups.”
“But she’s my dawg,” said the man.
“You mean, she was your dawg,” he took Sady firmly by the collar
and pulled Renee next to his side, “now, we’re gonna go up to
yer house and we’re gonna get those pups. And then we’re gonna
go to my house where Renee can raise `em up `till they’re old
enough to go to good, and loving homes.”
“You can’t do that!” said Sady’s owner.
“Yes I can, and we will.”
Pushing his way past the man, Pa, Renee and Sady slowly walked
to the man’s house, and just as easily as she had crawled in
before, Renee went to the crate and handed the pups, one by one
to Pa through the wire mesh. Placing the tiny dogs inside his
inner coat poach, he, Renee and Sady all went home together.
When they got home, Pa had Renee to go and change out of her
sopping-wet clothing and put on a warm, soothing fire in the
wood stove. Lying beside the warmth, Renee put her arms around
Sady as she nursed her pups.
Though Pa didn’t have a gift to give Renee this Christmas, Sady
was able to give both of them the best Christmas Gift ever. And
to this day, Renee still seeks to help those animals in need
thanks to the love of a gentle giant.
_______________________________________
The moral of this story is, that Christmas is not about
packages, ribbons or any material things - Christmas is about
the gift of loving, caring, compassion, understanding and most
of all being able to give of ones self despite what life may
bring. Christmas is, after all, the season of brotherly love.
Why not set the example today. Merry Christmas.
_______________________________________
Read this and other shorts like this one at Holistic Junction
today!
© 2004 The Christmas Gift by C. Bailey-Lloyd aka. LadyCamelot
and special input from my daughter, Just Marie
[All work by author is copyright protected. If you would like to
use this article, please contact the author for permission.]
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Women, regardless of nationality or socioeconomic status, have a higher chance to have depression than men. The reasons for such higher chance appear to be a combination of biological and cultural factors.
Women’s Hormonal Variation and Life Phase
Extreme hormonal changes can trigger the reaction of emotional swings for all women. There are studies that show how the hormones can contribute in depression but the reason is not yet totally clear.
Female hormones undoubtedly play a big role in “premenstrual dysphoria”, postpartum depression, and the SAD moment. These forms of depression draw back or stop after the menopausal stage.
In early puberty a girl who reaches the age of 11 years old or younger are more prone to experience depression during adolescence than those girls that are more matured.
By the time of pre-menopausal, women between the ages of 20 and 45 are most at risk to get depression. Based on the record of the study, 34% of this age group are complaining of having symptoms of major depression.
Depression usually occurs around menopausal stage, it is the stage when the women’s hormonal secretion changes. Usually symptoms like lack of sleep, mood swing, hypertension, and loss of appetite are experienced.
Once the women pass into the postmenopausal stage, some of the studies show that the average depression scores are nearly as low as those women that are under premenopausal stage. As a matter of fact, there are women cases that shows that after they had experienced menopause, they had also suffered from depression. One of the particular causes in that case is the seasonal changes.
There are other studies in United States that have reported that even grandmothers who shows care for their grandchildren and family, not considering the situation in which they work outside or at home, have a high risk for depression, other factors may be involved.
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Actually automated submissions are a complete no no if you want
your website to have a good positioning in search engines.
Automated submissions create more harm than advantages. Major
Search engines and directories like Google and domz does not
allow automated submissions at any cost. And all other search
engines also prefer manual submissions. The automated
submissions software can only fill out the submission form
automatically but this is not enough for search engine and
directory submissions. The most important step involved in
submissions is to select the most relevant category. This can
not be done by automated softwares. Automated submissions can
also lead to server overload and vulnerability to denial of
service attacks hence manual submission is considered better
much better than automated submissions even though it is time
consuming. The time spent in manual submissions is worth it
because your website is sure to start receiving good quality
visitors once it is indexed by the search engines and
directories.
Article written by
Nivedita
Expert
Search Engine Marketing Company
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Mixing everything The most common noises you’ll get rid of are things like
some one breathing, a note book page of rhymes being turned or better yet
the under lying tone of the room that starts build up as your track count
increases. Using the automation of your DAW is essential to this step.
Alternately you could edit out noise manually or try using a noise gate but right
now the MUTE button is the star so show it some love. Using the automated
mutes also makes it look cool when your mixes play back every one will thing
you a pro engineer.
The other secret and mysterious power of the mute button is using it to sculpt
the arrangement of your track. Use the mute button to turn of sounds during
sections of a track. Every instrument in a beat or song doesn’t need to play the
entire way through the track. Use the mute button to create breaks in the drum
patterns or open up sections of the song. Doing this will help add interest to
your mix and bring out the form of the song. Maybe if you just came out of a
heavy section of a song like the chorus you could mute out a few instruments
at the beginning of the verse so they dynamics of the track change and
contrast a bit. Then as the verse continues slowly add instruments back in
building back up to the chorus. The possibilities of what you can do with your
beats and songs in endless and so are the amount of interest it will add to your
mix.
Producer and Engineer Peter Weis is owner of GNX Music. GNX Music provides
music engineering, beats, sounds and recording services to Major and
Independent Labels, Television Shows and Advertising and Unsigned Artists.
Music produced and composed Jazdout has been used by MTV, MTV2, FOX,
NBC, the NFL Network and more. HIP HOP BEATS, DRUM SOUNDS, PRODUCTION
AND ENGINEERING
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Are you looking to make more profit from investment property? Use an on-line buy to let quote system to compare mortgage products, rates and options. Learn how you can make the most of your property investments by using some of the best buy to let mortgage products. Using an on-line buy to let mortgage quote system will help you work out your monthly repayments on a buy to let property or the remortgaging of an existing buy to let property. This can help you establish if now if the right time to start investing in the property market.
It would be easy to start saying just how easy it is to become a landlord and earn income from investment property and how you can simply sit back and watch the profit tumble in like a cascading waterfall. The reality is that there are a number of key issues that you will have to be involved in to ensure your investment property portfolio works to its optimum. Firstly you will need to find a suitable investment property for sale. Then you will need to find a good buy to let mortgage. To give you an idea of what your monthly repayments might be, it is worth trying an instant on-line buy to let mortgage quote system. An then there will be tenants to source and vet, an investment property to maintain, letting agents to manage and accounts to monitor, it does take a certain level of commitment. So if you are still keen to have a slice of the much talked about property game then you will want to read on to find out how to get started? It’s also worth picking up a Free Buy to Let Guide.
Firstly, you need to establish if this is the right time for you to become a landlord and how much it is going to cost you. Can you afford to tie up money in a property? If the worst comes to the worst, can you afford to lose that money?
The simplest way to work out the repayments on a buy to let mortgage is to use an on-line buy to let mortgage calculator to get a Free Buy to Let Mortgage quotation. These can help you work out the best buy to let mortgage product for the type of investment property you are considering and your individual circumstances. Some products may carry a fixed rate whereas other might be a variable rate. You need to decide if you need the stability of knowing exactly what your buy to let mortgage monthly repayments will be every month or whether you are prepared to opt for a variable rate buy to let mortgage. A fixed rate means the rate is fixed for a certain period of time. A variable rate will generally change as and when the Bank of England Base Rate or LIBOR rate is amended. If the rate reduces then your monthly repayments should reduce and vice versa. Although, the lender may not always forward on the full percentage of rate cut/increase so you should check your product before you commit. Either way with an on-line buy to let mortgage quote system, you should be able to compare different products, rates and lenders to give you some of the choices available. You will need to know the likely rent that can be achieved for the property as this will determine the maximum loan amount available against the purchase price or refinancing value of the buy to let property. It is worth bearing in mind when you are getting your buy to let mortgage quotation, that lenders normally suggest that the rental income each month represents at least 130 per cent of the monthly mortgage payment. Although there are some buy to let products calculated on ratios of as little as 115%. Use the buy to let quote system to see how the buy to let mortgage payments work out on a monthly basis. By working on these calculations, gives the investor a margin to cover the letting agent’s fees and other associated costs.
This is a long-term investment and you need to take the same approach to investing money into a house or flat as you would to buying into the stock market. Historically the value of properties have doubled every 10-15 years but that doesn’t mean to say that there won’t be peaks and troughs in between. These are times that you have to be prepared and most importantly can afford to ride through.
Increasing your returns by using buy to let finance to your advantage
For example, lets say you have £100,000 cash to invest into Investment Property. Is it best to buy a property outright or use this money as deposits on multiple buy to let properties?
Mr Jones – decides to use his £100,000 to purchase a brand new property outright for cash. He lets the property for £600 per month giving a return of £7,200 per annum. Due to inflation, the rent will increase accordingly and eventually, after fluctuations in the property market, the house doubles in value.
Mr Smith – decides to use £100,000 as deposits (15% for each investment property) to buy £500,000 worth of properties similar to the one Mr Jones bought. This results in Mr Smith receiving five times as much rental income, i.e. £3,000 per month or £36,000 per annum. The other £400,000 is borrowed on buy to let mortgages and Mr Smith pays interest on this at a rate of approximately 5%. These monthly interest only repayments would work out to be £20,000 per annum. Therefore, net of interest they receive £16,000 per annum. Mr Smith is already better off than Mr Jones….. but what happens in years to come? Well it is probably safe to say that Mr Jones’s rental income will rise with inflation as per Mr Smith. However, Mr Smith’s buy to let mortgage costs remain the same. Therefore, the gap between Mr Jones and Mr Smith’s rental income will continue to widen as time goes on. And finally after 10-15 years when property could have doubled again. Mr Jones would have made a capital gain of £100,000 and have £200,000 worth of investment property. Whereas, Mr Smith would have made £500,000, which is five times as much capital gain!!
The most successful landlords will use some of the best buy to let mortgages to fund their buy to lets and with buy to let mortgage products becoming more sophisticated and competitive the right buy to let financing can ensure you maintain your investment property portfolios in such a way that you are always working to the most optimum cashflow situation. Whether they are looking to make a new purchase of an investment property or re-mortgage a buy to let, they will often use an on-line buy to let mortgage quote system to work out which products are likely to suit their circumstances.
Best Buy to Let Mortgages
Finding the best buy to let mortgage is crucial to your success as a property investor. Unlike other forms of investment, a lot of the money you put into a buy to let property is likely to be borrowed. Over the last few years, the buy to let mortgage market has boomed, and borrowing money to invest in this way has become easier than ever. There are a number of different buy to let mortgage products available from fixed rates, discounted variable rates, discounted rates and so on. A good buy to let mortgage quote system should help you identify what would suit you best. Different products may be suitable for different investment properties. And don’t be tempted to just go for the cheapest buy to let mortgage as there may be penalties that make it less attractive in the long term.
Always find out the best buy to let mortgage deals available at the time. Some investors may decide to retain their entire portfolio with one lender, but it’s important to realize that different buy to let products between different lenders can provide you with maximum flexibility and cashlow depending on how you structure your funding.
However it is very important that you get the correct guidance with your buy to let finance. You will often find that buy to let mortgage brokers have access to numerous different products and lenders and some can even offer exclusive products that wouldn’t necessarily be available to you if you approached the buy to let lender directly.
Questions that are worth considering when finding the best buy to let mortgage:
1. Do they have access to lots of different products in the market place?
2. Do they have the ability to create a long term property development strategy for you?
3. Are they able to secure Exclusive Products?
4. Are they able to arrange mortgages within 10 working days?
Most buy to let lenders will offer a maximum loan of 85% requiring you to fund at least a 15% deposit towards your investment property. The buy to let mortgage industry is very competitive with new products being launched on a very regular basis.
Some buy to let mortgage brokers may charge a brokerage fee up to 2% to arrange the buy to let finance for you but don’t let this put you off because if they do have the ability to secure exclusive products for you, it could be very beneficial to your cashflow as a landlord. Plus, if they are able to reach formal mortgage offer stage in a very short space of time, this could result in you being able to secure the investment property at very competitive prices if you have the ability to tell the vendor that you can have the deal completed within a matter of a few weeks.
How much you can borrow for the buy to let property will usually be worked out differently to how much you can borrow to buy your main home. Different lenders and different products carry different criteria for working out the maximum loans available. Some will lend on how much you earn, others on the rental income you achieve from the investment property. And sometimes a combination of the two.
Jennifer Tweed is the founder of http://www.buytolet4sale.com. One of the UK’s first property portals solely dedicated to all types of investment property for sale.
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Military high schools today are claiming they are not the “punishment” places they used to be. Remember hearing the phrase, {or maybe you actually were told this by your parents}, “If you don’t straighten up, your going to military school.” Today, military schools in general want to change their image, and they don’t take teen’s who don’t want to be there anymore either. Many young people have graduated from military high school every year, and they want to dispel the myths that have surrounded military high schools for years. Some of these myths may sound familiar to you.
Military High Schools Are For Students With Discipline Problems. {MYTH}
Military high schools may offer a more structured and disciplinary environment for young people, but they do not accept students with server disciplinary problems. Especially if it involves drug abuse and the law.
Military High Schools Are A Harsh and Cold Environment. {MYTH}
These schools are one of the safest schools of any possible educational choices you can make for your child. The structure and personal accountability taught in the military high school environments develops confidence, plus the positive adult interaction tends to be greater than in other high schools and even within their own homes.
Military High Schools Condone Hazing and Physical Abuse. {MYTH}
Military high schools stress safety and concern for the well-being of each other above all other considerations. Military high schools must abide by the local, state, and federal laws concerning physical treatment of students.
Military High Schools Train Students for the Armed Forces. {MYTH}
Military high schools teach students how to live using the structure of the military system when it comes to responsibility, leadership, honor, discipline, and pride within the atmosphere that encourages spiritual, mental and physical growth. Military high schools are educational institutions that encourage their students to go to college-not the military service.
Military Schools do not offer a strong college prep curriculum. {MYTH}
Military high schools are prep schools, preparing young adults for college life. Military high schools tech very effective study skills in preparation for college environment. Military high schools actually boast a high level of college enrollment for their students.
Military high schools are really making a comeback, so much so that for the first time since 1965, two new military high schools are being planned. Parents are starting to realize that military high schools have the ability to provide a disciplined environment because they have complete control over who is admitted, who stays, and the type of behavior that is expected from the teens. However, this does not mean that military high school is only for the rich, they are a great low-cost alternative to other prep schools and any child may apply. Military high schools provide teens with a safe, structured, and caring environment that provides them with the leadership training, personal growth and a better foundation for higher education and life. Military high school may be a great choice for your child’s future.
Leeanna is an expert author writing for Military High Schools
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Speed dating is defined as “… a formalized…dating system…originated in Jewish circles in the United States as a way to ensure more Jewish singles met each other in large cities…”
So that’s how and where and why speed dating started. How does it work, and how does speed dating online work are the questions we will attempt to answer here.
In speed dating, each participant has the ability to meet another single-up to 10 in one session-where they have gathered at a local café. Each person is given a name tag and a score card and each “date” lasts seven minutes. You are not allowed to talk about what you do for a living or where you live. The object is to make friends, and if anything happens after that, bonus, the organizers collect the score cards after the dates are completed and if there are enough matches on two cards, the organizers give the participants the other person’s phone number.
Speed dating online takes place in chat rooms, wherein the participants follow the same rules as speed dating in person. When your seven minutes are up, you go into a different chat room. Online dating services which provide speed dating are especially popular in the UK and Australia.
While adult dating services online and free online dating services have their share of successful matches, speed dating- both in person and online- report a 50% success rate. However, some of the statistics may be askew, as online speed dating is losing popularity because people don’t want to pay membership fees to talk for seven minutes in a chat room when they can talk to as many people for as long as they like online. The statistics are more reliable when you take into consideration that most speed dating websites are in fact, a place to sign up for the newsletters that tell you when a speed dating event is coming to your area.
Erick Shipmon has been an online marketer since 1997. He currently is the President and CEO of http://www.eDatingPlanet.com which is quickly becoming the hottest and most desirable online dating community on the planet.
eDatingPlanet.com online dating services include: E-mail, Live Chat, Live Video Cam, FREE VoIP Broadband Long Distance, and more!
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It is a well-known fact that in the Internet-connected world
network perimeter vulnerabilities do exist that allow
unauthorized individuals access to networks and provide the
ability to disrupt business continuance. Well-prepared companies
do know about many of these vulnerabilities and they correct
them whenever appropriate. However, there are a large number of
new, as well as older vulnerabilities that the average company
is just not aware of. If these vulnerabilities are known,
companies usually, and I emphasize usually, allocate resources
to them. Unfortunately, too many companies either do not have
the resources to track such security-related matters or do not
have the trained internal personnel to allocate towards
identifying and remediating the vulnerabilities. Obviously
knowing about or being able to detect the vulnerabilities is
half the battle, but not acting on the known issues for any
reason is almost a guarantee to lose the battle.
An alarming fact is that many companies do not prioritize
information security because it does not generate revenue for
the company. However, as we have seen in the headlines and trade
journals, the lack of a proper security program can and does
affect the bottom line. Some organizations are now investing
larger budget dollars and resources into information security,
and they’re starting by assessing their present level of risk
with an audit. If your company relies on the Internet and was
one of vast number that missed the vulnerability used by the
Code Red virus, you know how the lack of an active security
program can affect the bottom line. In addition to unknown
vulnerabilities, there are many stories of technicians
performing routine network maintenance and unintentionally
leaving credit card database or other proprietary information
open for would be hackers. Finding the vulnerabilities in your
environment is vital to the success of your security program,
but knowing how to prioritize and perform proper remediation is
often impossible without properly trained personnel. Lets
concentrate on the value of the audit process and deliverables
for a moment.
Whenever we think of audits, the first thing that comes to mind
is the financially related IRS visit. They are looking for holes
in the integrity of income and expense reporting for individuals
and companies. These audits are required because if the system,
in this case the tax system, has enough vulnerabilities, then
the whole system fails. The audit acts as the police to either
deter the vulnerabilities or find them so they can be eventually
removed. Removing vulnerabilities in your information network is
just as key, but can you find them, which are important, and how
do you remove them efficiently. Much like the IRS audits,
finding information network security vulnerabilities requires a
trained professional. Most commonly, the security professionals
trained in auditing are full time in-house employees of only the
largest companies. For the majority of companies who want
thorough periodic audits, this requires the use of outside
security experts as the most cost-effective choice. Outsourcing
to security professionals offers many advantages over in-house
testing, such as having a team of experts dedicated to current
security matters, armed with proven best practices or entire
methodologies, and equipped with a suite of security auditing
products instead of a single commercial tool.
Companies must also consider the value of the audits
deliverables/results. Deliverables must not only detail all of
the current vulnerabilities, but also prioritize what issues are
important, document proven methodologies for remediating the
vulnerabilities, and provide cost-effective methods to mitigate
the risk. The majority of companies cannot afford to maintain
the staff and application software necessary to conduct an audit
at this level. Even those companies that do have such a
significant security budget often use an outsourced firm to
validate their own efforts.
Some additional benefits of a professional outsourced audit are:
recording an objective baseline and changes on a periodic basis,
having a trusted security partner to turn to as issues arise,
and the ability to meet industry requirements for objective
third-party auditing. For those companies outsourcing audits as
a secondary check, it also assists in justifying security
budgets, by validating the current security-related expenditures.
Although it was mentioned that companies are sometimes
challenged with prioritizing security matters, based on our own
experience there is a trend with technology executives, to place
a higher priority on network security. The newfound emphasis
applies to both internal and external audits and really comes
into play with those companies that have a great reliance on the
Internet and business continuance.
Finding all of your vulnerabilities is increasingly difficult
without a full suite of auditing tools, but remember, finding
the vulnerabilities is only half the battle. In order for audit
deliverables to be truly effective they have to include
professional feedback on what issues are important, remediation
efforts detailed and prioritized, as well as describe how all of
the effort and expense will affect the level of risk.
If you feel your systems environment could pass a security
audit, but haven ’t had one, our experience shows you might be
surprised by a failing grade. If you have had an audit and the
vulnerabilities were exposed, hopefully you have an action plan
you are utilizing to eliminate the vulnerabilities. Once the
action plans are complete, you might consider outsourcing your
next audit to validate your efforts.
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