Protecting Your Investment—Caring for Your Smartphone

With all the features and functions available on a smartphone nowadays, you're making a real investment when you purchase one. That's why it's important to care for your phone like you would any other delicate and expensive piece of equipment. Here are a few ideas to help you out:

Keep your smartphone in a safe location such as your purse or pocket. Don't toss it into the bottom of your bag, or throw it on the dashboard of your car where it can get scratched, scuffed or even cracked from abuse. If you don't like a hard case, then at least be sure you have a separate pocket free of keys and other objects that might harm the phone. This will also make it easier to find when you want to use it.

Some phones, like the HTC Android camera phones, offer such high quality photo-taking options that your phone becomes much more than a communication device. In that case, you may want to keep an extra memory card handy so you can remove photos periodically. That way you will save your pics in the event your phone is lost, damaged or stolen.
And don't think people don't steal smartphones. They do! Be sure you keep an eye on your phone whether you're in a store, restaurant or anywhere else. Keep it in your purse or pocket, or hold it if necessary to discourage theft. There's no telling what aspects of your identity a criminal can capture from mining your smartphone.

Also be sure to record your personal information and keep a record of all your telephone numbers, addresses and other data you normally store in your phone. You'll be glad you did if you ever leave it at home one day and need to make an important call or email.

Smartphones aren't cheap, but they offer so many functions that make life easier. If you can afford one, they're certainly worth the investment. Just be sure that you care for your phone and keep it safe to protect that investment. Then the only thing you have to worry about is upgrading when the next great smartphone comes along.

Savings and More Savings!!!

I love deals. Who doesn't eh? But I really meant to say, I LOVE DEALS!!! And now with the WWW, it's even easier to get your hands on great deals and discounts. At one point I actually had to stop visiting certain websites in order not to buy anymore vouchers :p I have to say that I saved a lot, tho. Oh! PLEASE be a Fan CouponChief.com on Facebook! They have thousands of retailers on their page offering the best deals, discounts and sales. Dining, apparels, groceries, travels. Just name it and they'll probably have it. At Couponchief, everyone has access to the best deals!

And there's more!! Couponchief is taking coupons to the next level of savings. Upload coupons and share the savings!! Each time someone uses the coupon you've uploaded, you will be given 2% of the sales. How awesome is that??! Hurry! Sign up to be a part of their Pays-2-Share program and start making some extra money!

I truly love the simple and easy to use interface of their website. I now no longer have to be excited over a great deal but be depressed when I see that it's expired :p With Couponchief, only the latest great deals will be found. Expired deals will be romoved from the site. No more worries about invalid coupons!

Online Dating and the Single Mum

Dating online and single mothers. These are not two concepts you would traditionally see in the same sentence. But in my eyes, there could not be a more perfect fit. Having a child on your own is a very challenging experience and can be utterly disillusioning. However hard it may be, it’s very important to find some time to be yourself as a single mother – the person you used to be, removed from motherhood. And eventually, it’s important that you reawaken your love life. Online dating provides the perfect avenue for this re-introduction into the dating world. Here are a few reasons why:

It’s popular and widely successful…

There used to be a definite stigma attached to online dating, everyone considering its users to be either desperate or weird. But as more and more of our interaction moves online, dating websites are becoming the norm. There are now a huge number of them, and each has many success stories. Dating giant eHarmony are believed to be responsible for 5% of marriages in the US, and UK dating with eHarmony has also been immensely successful. Single mother or not, this is the new and ever-growing dating trend.

It’s speedy…

Time is not an easy thing to come by as a single parent. It’s a full-time job: you’re either working or babysitting. And the only activity that seems possible during your free moments is sleep. This is where online dating is handy – it takes no time at all to sign up and start browsing matches. Also, you’re usually updated via email, so you can check the site and any developments whilst on the move.

It’s convenient…

Online dating is also incredibly convenient. With this you never have to hire a babysitter, go to a bar and stare around hopefully for a suitor. You can browse matches from the privacy and comfort of your own home. You can even initiate the first stages of the relationship online, not having to leave the house until three or four weeks down the line.

It finds the perfect matches…

Dating websites also save you another load of time by tracking down the right people for you. They have compatibility matchers which ask you lots of questions – such as the personality quiz with eHarmony – and then your matches are based on the answers. For single parents this is very useful as you can find compatible people, maybe single parents themselves, more easily.

It gives you control…

When dating online, everything is easier to control. You don’t give out personal contact details until you’re ready. You don’t meet someone in person until you’re ready. This means you can take things as slowly as you want – a big advantage if you haven’t dated for a while.

Easy, fast, fun and effective, online dating has a benefit for everyone, but especially for single mothers cautiously re-entering the world of dating.

Webhosting

Webhosting companies are truly widely available nowadays. I come across links to different webhosting companies every once in awhile.There are so many out there that we wouldn't know how to choose the right one  eh? I admit that I have that problem myself too :p But fret not! It's so much easier now with this website, all the major, trusted webhosting companies are in there for you to choose. 

Best of all, they have coupons for you to save more money! I am so gonna check out this webhosting company soon!!! Hopefully they are able to suit my budget and need. I need to blog more in the future as I am certainly in need of some extra moolah! ;) 

Charm Bracelets.

When I was a teen, I used to love charm bracelets so much that I have a huge bunch of 'em. But now that I am a mom, I no longer have the chance to put on anything but ring slings, diaper bags and milk bottles :p I can't even remember the last time I dressed decently. But then, if the girl will love charm bracelets as much as I used to, I will be more than happy to get some for her. They are so irresistably cute. I am sure she would love the silver and gold bespoke charm bracelets. As for me, I prefer platinum ones hehe. And now, they can even customise your very own charm bracelet according to your liking. How cool is that?! Maybe I should get one for my mom's birthday this coming October. She's the biggest jewellery fan! I am sure she would be thrilled to receive that as a birthday pressie! 157

I think I've read somewhere that charm bracelets are supposed to be very lucky. They are worn to keep nasties away. I wonder how true this is but I wouldn't mind getting more if it's true. A little something to remind us that everything will be alright, who wouldn't want that eh? Oh gosh, I really can't wait to order some now! They are so pretty!! While I am at it, maybe I should get once charm bracelet for each cousin sister? :p Ain't it cool when everyone wears the charm bracelets on our next family gathering? I would definitely take out my camera and get a shot of that!!

Postcards

I remember when I was a kid, I used to love collecting postcards whenever I get them from friends and classmates who went for vacations. I think the stack of postcards has been given away few years back after some spring-cleaning session. LOL! In fact it's much easier now to start collecting postcards again as I can have them printed however and whenever I want them :p You know, the thing about postcards are they are always so colourful and pretty, it makes you imagine you are at that certain place there and then. I used to be fascinated over pretty postcards with amazing, breathtaking views of places abroad.

But then, the passion to collect postcards was then put aside as I got lesser and lesser postcards over the years. People have now gone more digital when it comes to things like this and some prefer buying souvenirs (which is fine with me BTW :p) Even I myself would prefer buying souvenirs whenever I travel. And those pretty sceneries  I used to drool over can now be put into photographs instead. Maybe I should take some awesome shots and have them printed as postcards to be given to my friends and family the next round I travel. That would be a great idea huh? Personally shot by myself and have it printed as a postcard! I should go check out postcard printing. Talk about personal touch! Hehe!! Next trip's souvenir - CHECKED!

10 Years To Retirement

When you start your career or your first job, retiring probably seemed like it was years away. But the years have passed by, or flown by for many of us so much faster than you had hoped for. Now you find yourself only years away from retirement and unsure if you are ready for it. Gone are the days of spontaneous spending, cash advances for trips, and unnecessary things if you aren't ready for retirement. You have to move forward and focus intently on saving more for your retirement and your investment strategies.

You're only ten years away from retirement, it's time to take a look are your retirement savings and see if you are on target with your goals. At this point in time many people will realize that they have fallen behind or completely underestimated what they would have. For so many people retirement sat on the back burner as they spent their money other places, like buying ta house, raising a family, and buying new cars, etc.

If you are having concerns that you may not have enough saved up, you can always consider working longer. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but it's common nowadays for people to work well into their late 60's . People are much healthier, feel younger and live longer. So it makes sense to extend your  work life, so that you don't have to live off of retirement money for 30 + years. While working longer allows you to save more money, it also means you'll have more money for fewer years. But look, if that's not an option for you, there are other things you can do.

It's important to realize that it's never too late to get back on track, or even start saving for retirement. As you get older, time is what will determine how you need to play your cards. If you have money invested in the stock market, and so on, this might be the time to revise your investments. Stock markets are volatile and are riskier when done short term, so with 10 years left to retirement, this is your time to check in with your advisor and start making some changes to your portfolio. Changing your investments into income producing cash, is what most retirees want, so that they can have more money coming in on a monthly or quarterly basis. Bonds, dividends, etc. and invetments that are the equivilent to cash because they are more stable.

Before you reach your retirement date, you should consider taking a look at your plans distribution options and their impact on your taxes. This is something you will want to discuss with your financial advisor to make sure that you have a well devised plan for your retirement. Over all, you should start to take a look at how your doing savings wise and try to determine wether you're heading towards reaching your goal. If you are not, know that it's not too late the make the necessary changes to head you in the right direction.