Four Month Long Journey of Knowledge and Awareness

Borrowed by: economistjourneytolife.blogspot.com

            

        When I first started English 112 in August, it was terrifying for me to think of what topic would be interesting enough for me to research and then write about. In my life, the biggest challenge for me was to control myself when spending money and more importantly, spending money wisely. Taking advantage of picking a topic of my own choice, I selected the topic “Managing Finances” hoping that I would learn along the way and be more aware and avoid spending money aimlessly and focus on better investments and spending decisions. Another chill feeling took me over by thinking, how I would use blogger.com and what a blog was? After figuring out how to post a blog and then, looking at my first blog makes me smile because I remember, I was very nervous thinking that anyone is my class can read it. My confidence started developing after writing three to four blogs.

            The second feeling of blogging and researching made me happy that I am aware of how the blogging works. I am amazed to find out that many professional authors and news reporters have their own blog pages and readers follow every post of their favorite authors and writers. With the help of a librarian, I got a few finance related books and start reading to find good pieces of information related to my topic and started the blog posting but later on I started feeling more comfortable researching information on my topic on the internet. Searching for online helped me gather a lot of useful information related to my topic. “Mr. Money Mustache” and “Personal Finance 4 U” were two blogs that I started following during my research. On these blogs I read easy description of money managing ideas in households. This helped me to understand that I am not the only one who is struggles to save and spend money wisely. The main ideas behind both bloggers mentioned above is to keep readers motivated to make careful financial decision even if they have to buy house or just a light bulb.

            Third I am blessed that now I know how to blog and respond to other bloggers since everything is mostly done online. I have planned to keep posting blogs after this semester as well because it helps me to stay aware of the all the information required to stay focused on making proper financial decisions for my family’s future and keeping me motivated to spend more sensibly.  

Gym workout or Jogging & Walking ?

Borrowed by www.jwhomes.com

Some people need disciple in life to organize their routines and health. Therefore, going to gym is a good practice for them. Gyms are playing an important role in people’s life which are struggling hard to overcome the medical related health complications especially regarding over weight problems. Some people go to gyms for cardiovascular exercises and toning up their bodies. Beside all the benefits of gyms, when all the calculations are added, gyms cost a lot by the end of the year and advantages of walking or jogging in neighborhood are disregarded.

First, gyms are expensive in cost such as, annual agreements, monthly payments, day care services, and fuel spend on cars or money on transportation  Upon searching, some of the famous gyms in Virginia are as follows, Anytime Fitness, Planet Fitness, Powerhouse gym, LA/Fitness, 24 Hour fitness, and Chinn Aquatics & fitness Centers. A detail look at every website of these gyms shows that an average annual cost for gyms are $66, monthly cost varies in between $10 to $30. Also, if childcare is required that is another average of $5 per visit (24 Hour Fitness). Some gyms provide no child care at all and some provide it for free. According to U.S.Department of Energy’s website fuel calculator, if anyone who travels 5 miles to commute to any gym with a car of MPG of 22, and $3.90 cost of fuel per gallon, it costs $324 annually for one car. After looking at these calculations one can understand how much it costs to afford any regular gym.

Second, trying to adapt walking and jogging in the neighborhood, provides health benefits and neighbors’ interaction which promotes community development. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, there are several advantages of walking and jogging for example, it strengths bones, tones muscles, and helps cardiovascular system. Jogging intensely for shorter period provides almost same fat burning results, as if anyone walks for longer period of time with light weight lifting is hands or on knees. Jogging add more but walking also add bone mass to the body. Walking is preferably better as anyone falls while jogging, can hit harder on ground causing damage to heels, skin, knees, and hips. Walking or jogging in the neighborhood also increases the interactions with neighbors. Talking or accompanying any of the neighbors also promotes the community development, rather then going to gym.

Until or unless anyone has serious medical problems or are unsure of level of fitness, they need to check with their doctors before walking, jogging or working out. On average, the cost spent on gyms for workouts, if it is added as a total of annual fee, monthly fee, childcare, and fuel money spend on car gas, it comes out to almost $2010 a year. Anyone with conscious managing of finances would like to adjust with walking and jogging in neighborhood which does not cost anything.

 

Work Cited

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. 13 November 2013. online. 13 November 2013. <www.fueleconomy.gov>.

Health Encyclopedia. 12 November 2013. online. 13 November 2013. <http://www.urmc.rochester.edu>.

WORK OUT WHILE YOURS KIDS AHVE FUN. 2013. Online. 12 November 2013. <www.24hourfitness.com>.

Potential Sources for Analysis Paper

Borrowed by aboutfinancialconsultants.com

            It is a good feeling that this semester will be over in a month. This English 112 course has helped become more knowledgeable in regards to managing finances. Reading more about other people and how they are making their financial decisions has made me more conscious in my financial decisions.

            The blog writer “Mr. Money Mustache” is my biggest source in the research. For readers, his easily readable vocabulary and detailed information about every topic makes it easier to understand. He has a large number of followers. The writer also responds back to the other bloggers as well as to the opposing viewer. The topics of his blogs, covers how to save money from daily life expenditures to big investments. This source has provided me with many topics for my own blogs research, for example; retirement plan has helped me understand what the benefits are and how they work. This topic explains the importance of retirement plans and 401 k plan as it should be started no later than thirties. The use of cycling in travel for small distances instead of using cars and wasting gas, using LED lights instead regular high voltage bulbs, and using solar power appliances instead of regular powered appliances. All of these little choices help to cut down big payment bills at the end of the month. This blog site also provides advice about big investments, like what to consider before purchasing a house or a car. This source is the back bone of my blogs and has provided guidance with organizing and writing my blogs.

            Using online sources through google and blogs,  has helped to cut down my time going to libraries and looking for and requesting help from librarians to track down the right sources. After receiving lectures in class, I’ve learned how I can identify authentic online sources. The online search for topics has opened a new gate of information for me. I have used “Finance4U” blog web site, CNN website, Forbes magazine website and many other professional financer’s blogs to help me understand my research topics. It is amazing that after writing about a topic, I found out that many other writers have written the very much same material about it. Also, I find out that the advertisements use Appeal to Authority and Bandwagon Fallacy to encourage innocent minded people, to buy their products. The online search has helped me to understand how the writers of the newspapers and the financers has created a relationship with the readers, as everything is shifting from paper printing to online Apps and websites.

            The potential sources of my final research paper is mostly through the other blog writers and through authentic websites. My financial decisions will definitely improve in life and I am trying my best not to spend money on useless products. 

 

Do magazines only apply appeal to popularity to encourage people to spend money ?

After spending almost thirty minutes in a grocery store and then waiting in line to pay at a register, customers often get distracted by flashy pictures, interesting headlines, and other important information found on a cover pages of magazines. To encourage the customers to buy the magazines, they are usually placed at a visible height and close to the registers. The magazines vary in information such as politics, trends, fashion, celebrity activities and their views, adult content or pictures of them, tech and design, home improvements, stock and exchange, fitness and health, and food recipes. The most attracting magazines are the ones, which have a little of everything which is mentioned above. I chose to do my research on the magazine named “DETAILS”, November’s issue which talks about men’s trends and entertainment.

The total pages of the magazine are a hundred and sixty two, out of which a hundred and seventeen are advertisements. The first thirty one pages are only advertisement, on page thirty two a reader can see the table of the contents. The entire magazine has advertisements of perfumes, including Burberry, Tom Ford Nior, Ralph Lauren, Guess Night, Chrome United, Ermenegildo Zegna by Uomo, Bvlgari Extreme, Perry Ellis, and Gaulter “Le Male” by Jean Paul. After checking the available websites for the purchase for these colognes, the cost is between $65 and $140. Not even one perfume advertisement informs if it is animal tested or recommended by a skin specialist as if it is safe to use, instead only paid and good looking models are shown to advertise the products.  The advertised wrist watches including Omega, Movado, Tudor, Salvatore Ferragamo, Rado, Mont Blanc, and Bell & Ross which costs $150 to $1400. Expect for Tudor watch, no company has provided the information about the special features stating that how long the battery will run, if the watch is eco-friendly or not, what is different in their watch than the others, and what the attractive warranty is or return policy is available for each watch. All the watch’s advertisements are shown either compared to a beautiful graphic scene or bright colors in the back ground. Unfortunately, even without proper information about products, customers still become a slave to the trend because they want to stay in fashion and want to keep their dressers updated with new products. Anyone who is taking a shower every day and cleaning the body properly, can survive with a reasonable priced fragrance bottle. A watch that cost $25 can show same time and can have a battery which may run longer than two or three years. The appeal to authority is applied if a top model not an expert, is recommending the product then, it must be good.

The magazine also shows the high line branded cars of latest models like Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Modena. The starting price of these cars are $65,000. The clothing line shown in the magazine states that it belongs to a classy taste. Does wearing super expensive cloths and driving luxurious cars can make a person a better human being in behavior? Definitely not! However, people try to find branded accessories to fill in the weaknesses they have in their lives. Moreover, to fulfill the guilty of wasting money, they calm themselves by saying they deserved it. Humans tells themselves that they worth of much more than what the cost of the product is, but do not realize how every little spending can add up to big amount.

The magazine also introduces the models interview such as Corey Feldman and Chris Hemsworth, celebrities and sportsmen routines and their views on fashion. Chris Hemsworth is also shown on the cover page, upon asking eight random girls at campus inform me that the “he is a hot actor/model.” If offered to buy this magazine less than two dollars, those girls would be interested in buying the magazine.

All the advertisements are encouraging people to buy more products even if they do not need it but they may want to buy it, because attractive models and lavish lifestyles make people feel superior to others. Customers should do more research before spending money on anything, for example how safe the product is, what can be the resale value and what the consumer reports states about it? After going through the DETAILS magazine, I could not find anything which can help me to increase my wisdom, information to improve health, wealth and to make the world a peaceful place. Like many other magazines, it is only an advertisement book for less aware people to spend money, feel good and feel more satisfied with lives. 

Work Cited

Levine, R. (2013, November). DETAILS. November, 1-165. CONDE' NAST. Retrieved October 20, 2013, from www.deatils.com

Ways to Cut Down the Expenses on Laundry

Borrowed by Handy Grace Design

 Helpful Ways to Save Money on Laundry

Saving money goals can be achieved by simple habits in our lives, such as saving on laundry. Laundry is done in almost every household of the world. Different methods are used at various parts of the world. In an average house of America, an electric washer and a dryer are placed in the houses before the house buyers move in, for their convenience. Every year hundreds of dollars are spend on laundry. However, just buy following some simple steps and ways can help to reduce the cost of laundry in every household.

Choosing cold water option in washers helps to cut down bills. Cold water cleans cloths effectively just like hot water can. According to the US Department of Energy, 90 percent of the total price of doing laundry comes from heating of the water, in a washing machines and by using dryers.

Drying cloths on a line is a little more work than putting them in a dryer, but saves money and benefits the cloths as well. Any home which line dries the cloths saves more on electric cost. Moreover, the dryers beaten out the lint fibers of the cloths and reduces life of the fabric. Line drying helps to preserve the long lasting of fabrics.

Buying energy efficient machines helps to reduce the electricity bills and water bills. Energy efficient machines uses half of the water and energy of a typical top loading machine. Also, the larger machines allows more cloths to be washed in one load which save more money.

Diluting the detergent saves money and helps the effective efficiency of the washing machines. Some washing machines system get clogged because of the thick liquid detergent and affects the efficiency of the machine. Filling 25 percent of the detergent bottle with water washes the cloths as good as with the thick detergent bottle. The detergent lasts long and saves the cost of detergent as well.

Cleaning the lint trap helps dryers to dry cloths in lesser time and prevents the chances of the dryer fires. Cleaning the lint before every load’s cycle of dryers increase the efficiency of the dryers. The US Department of Energy states that not only the lint trap but cleaning the filters and vents of the dryers helps to overcome the dryer fires.

Cutting the fabric softening sheets and separating the heavy cloths with the lighter ones, helps to cut down the laundry cost. Cutting the fabric sheets in half will obtain the same fabric softening benefits while saving money. Also, separating the heavy cloths like towels with the light cloths helps the dryers to dry out cloths in a lesser time than drying them together.  

Laundry cost sum up very fast and the usual American household is able to save money more than $300 a year by following the steps mentioned above. Saving money on laundry without compromising the cleanliness or harming the cloths, is not difficult to achieve by everyone.  

Work Cited

Lutterman, J. (2012, November 8). Drying Cloths and Saving Money this Fall Season. Retrieved October 14, 2013, from ENERGY.GOV: www.energy.gov

Thau, B. (2011, August 15). 5 Ways to Cut Your Laundry Costs. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from Daily Finance: www.dailyfinanace.com

Managing Health Care Cost in Youth

Borrowed by economistsview.typedpad.com

In the young age, the youth does not think about a lot of valuable money saving tips, such as managing health care costs, for instance. “Youth does not guarantee good health and low health costs (Maranjian 1)”.  The best time to study and make decisions about the health care prerequisites is in twenties. It is important to understand about the health care cost and terminologies because many employer promise about the retirement health care coverage, which is later on reduced or outright cancel. Thus, understanding about the health care cost in the young age make it easier to manage it, in the old age.

According to the University of Southern California study states that mental disorders, cancer and heart disease are “among the top five causes of mortality in young adults.” Drug and alcohol use, along with accidents, can lead to health care use. Some important steps which can help majority of the readers to cut down the health care cost are as follows:

First, selecting a high deductible is beneficial in minimizing the cost. If a person is in good health, signing up for health insurance with the option of high deductible helps to cut down the cost of health care bills.

Second, the generic version of medicine is more affordable in cost. It is a good practice to ask the doctor to prescribed an alternate medicine than the expensive one, but the generic medicine should be equally effective. Always check with different pharmacies to compare the prices of the medicines and to avail a better deal.

Third, check the bills which comes from health insurance, is a good practice. Medical Billing Advocates of America states that almost 80 percent of the medical bills, usually have errors in them. A wrong code on bill can initiate a wrong charge. The more a person learns and read about his or her medical coverage, the better chances are there to save money. Moreover, a patient can also look online to look for estimated cost for different services available at various hospitals.

Last, it is essential for everyone to make healthy decisions in regard to health. A person cannot control his or her health but can definitely opt healthy habits. Regular checkups, avoid drugs and smoking, regular exercise and preventive care can benefit in health and can also reduce the cost of health insurance.

According to Thomas M. Harte, the president of NationalAssociation of Health Underwriters, everyone does not need the most expensive health care plan as less than 10 percent of population is admitted to the hospitals every year.

As an American, it is our foremost duty to be aware about the health care coverage’s and the costs related to it. Just by spending time productively can help everyone buy going through medical bills, keeping healthy habits, getting generic medicines and choosing a high deductible health care plan. Health should not be taken for granted, even if someone is young, getting a health care plan is the right way to pick, to avoid bigger medical bills for emergencies.  

Work Cited                                         

Christensen, J. (2013, October 3). 5 things to think about when picking your health insurance plan. Retrieved from CNN Health: www.cnn.com

Maranjian, S. (2013, August 22). 5 Tips to Help 20-Somethings Manage Health Care Costs. Retrieved from Daily Finance: www.dailyfinance.com

What Causes the Shopping Addiction and Damages the Finanaces?

The digital media is working effectively to keep users updated with the latest sales and offers available, either at the retail stores or on the websites. According to the Fox Business News Channel, among the U.S. consumers the use of digital media per week is 15 hours. Within minutes, majority of the American’s digital consumers checks most of their emails on the cell phones and find out about the best deals or offers available for any product. According to the National Small Business Association, almost 30 percent of the small businesses are using digital media to advertise their products for business. This digital media is working as a constant reminder for consumers to get motivated and rush to malls or on websites to get the best deals. Moreover, some companies, for instance, Tesco in U.K. are pursuing more strategies to make their stores more inviting by building restaurants, coffee shops and fashion stores inside the four walled stores (Tandon). Although, shopping and spending more money can bring and disturb the weekly or monthly finances, still some shoppers cannot control the shopping addiction. There can be many reasons which cause the shopping addiction and by understanding them, can help to take control of the shopping addiction and to manage finances better in everyone’s life.



 

Among many causes of shopping addiction, the first cause is “to fill the empty space” in our routines and lives (Hall 1). Everyone crave for love so people buy all kinds of accessories and the amusement and enjoyment that comes from the shopping experience, simply becomes an addiction. After a while, this addiction or compulsion does not bring true pleasure. Instead, the shopping obsession invites damages of anyone’s well-being, their relationships, and their finances.

The second cause of shopping obsession comes in the lives of bargain hunters and they become obsessive, in the quest of finding everything an awesome reduced value. Consequently, this kind of shoppers want to inform and impress their friends by theirs skill of bargaining. Thus, bargain hunters end up buying products which they will not need or will use, in any near future. The only reason bargain hunters buy products because they find it at a very low price.

The third reason for the shopping addiction is the “cultural lie” which is the satisfaction and cheerfulness someone gets from the possession and collecting of goods (Hall). It is commonly observed that the more someone owns, the gladder he or she will be.

The fourth reason of shopping fascination can be related to the childhood. On one hand, some children may have got presents instead of attention and time and grow up wanting more material assets. On the other hand, some grew up in stressful emotional and poor financial situations. When they get the power to afford the shopping costs, they overbuy to forget the way things were in their past.  

With holiday season coming up, online and in-store discounts, it is easy to fall in the viscous cycle of reckless spending and disturbing the finances. According to a 2006 study from Stanford University in the American Journal of Psychiatry, shopping addiction is a serious form of mental disorder which has not been studied extensively yet. To fulfill, the pleasure of love, quest of bargaining, satisfaction of owning goods or to overcome the depression of childhood; no matter whatever causes the shopping addiction. It is our duty to educate ourselves to overcome the overspending and manage finances wisely.

Work Cited         

Hall, K. (n.d.). What causes shopping addiction? Retrieved October 09, 2013, from www.sharecare.com.

Landau, E. (2012, January 03). Compulsive shopping: When spending is like substance abuse. Retrieved October 09, 2013, from www.cnn.com.

Tandon, S. (2013, September 18). Social media is affecting shopping: Simmon Hay. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from www.livemint.com.

Willis, G. (2013, October 8). How small business can boost success through social media. Retrieved October 09, 2013, from video.foxbusiness.com.