Personal Finance and Investing

If you look in most people’s kitchen you can find that wonderful smelling, citrus fruit called the lemon. Lemons are not only a great additive for baking and cooking but it has several other uses as well. Although most often not eaten alone, its entire contents can be used in several facets of life such as culinary, household cleaning, as a freshener, and health aid.

Most frequently recognized by its bright yellow color and tart and sour taste, the lemon is part of the citrus family. These fruits are known for being full of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B, calcium, and magnesium. These vitamins and minerals are essential for collagen production, wound recovery, boost immune function, and fight against diseases such as cancer and degenerative diseases. Additionally, lemons are one of the many foods that contain antioxidants which fight against free radicals in the body.

Originally discovered in India, lemons slowly made there way to America in the 15th century.

Since then lemons have become more than an ornamental plant and are used widely for their health benefits. There are many health benefits of lemons and several ways in which they can be used or consumed. Some of the health benefits include digestion, diuretics, detox, skin care, hair care, dental aid, sooth sore throat, weight loss, and reduce fevers. A lemons parts includes its pulp, juice and rind. For health benefits lemon juice and lemon pulp are mainly used where as the lemon rind is usually used in culinary settings as a garnish.

Although, highly commercialized and sweetened, lemonade was the first form of lemon added to water.

Now a days adding a slice of lemon to a glass of water adds flavor, however it does a lot more than that. Drinking water with lemon has great effects on the body. Lemon has antibacterial properties, so by adding lemon to your water you are reducing the chances of drinking toxins that are in tap water or left on a glass. Additionally it can reduce bacteria and inflammation within the body. It also is a powerful diuretic and purifier. Lemons clean the body and blood of high levels of uric acid and reduce the likelihood of urinary tract infections, arthritis and rheumatism.

Another way to add lemon to your diet is to mix it with warm water. Most people add a slice of lemon along with honey to their tea. Adding lemon to warm/hot water is a great digestive aid. It reduces the symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux as well as digestive problems such as nausea, bloating, belching, and constipation. It has also been known to rid the body of parasites and worms that live in the intestinal tract. Taking lemon regularly can regulate digestion while increasing weight loss. Because of its ability to cleanse and detox the body there are several lemon diets that include drinking lemon juice daily to lose weight.

Lemon juice is also very effective in relieving bacteria and infections of the throat and mouth. Armed with its antibacterial properties lemon juice can relieve symptoms of a sore throat, tonsillitis, the flu, and colds. The mouth has thousands of bacteria that can cause cavities, gum bleeding and gingivitis. Drinking lemon juice will greatly reduce the bacteria in the mouth. Applying lemon juice directly to sore or bleeding gums and a toothache will relieve pain and top the bleeding. Regular ingestion of lemon juice will also cut down on bad breath.

The healing properties of lemon internally and externally can also have great effects on the skin, hair and nails. Its antioxidant properties reduce the signs of aging such as wrinkles, acne, blemishes, scarring and discoloration. Consuming water with lemon will rejuvenate skin giving a glowing and beautiful complexion. Lemon juice can also be applied on top of the skin to reduce scars, discoloration and smooth out the texture of skin. Applied alone or mixed with honey, rose water, oatmeal, aloe, sandalwood, or essential oils, lemon can clean, clear and exfoliate the skin. Lemon juice and lemon oil can be applied to areas of eczema and bug bites.

Lemons health benefits exceed the physical effects. The smell of lemons and lemon oil can also have a calming and relaxing effect on one’s mood. Lemon can relieve tension, fatigue, anxiety, and nervousness. Lemon oil can be used for aromatherapy to enhance spirit and increase brain activity. Lemon balm, a powerful herb is also used to reduce fevers by increasing perspirations, reduce infections, relieving anxiety, and promoting restful sleep.
Lemon was used as a ‘cure all’ in Roman times and as we can see lemon has very powerful healing effects. No matter how you use it or what you are using it for, you will achieve the desired effect.

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Abundance is everywhere we look. The universe is massively big, almost infinite in size. Yet when it comes to our lives, we often think way too small. So how can you start manifesting abundance into your life?

1. Keep your mind positive

One of the biggest problems with using the law of attraction to start manifesting abundance is that the universe takes everything we say and think literally. Even worse, it ignores any negative parts of our thoughts – just crossing them out before delivering what it thought we were thinking about. This is a big problem because we’re so used to using negatives – phrases like “I don’t want to be poor” are commonplace. But the universe will translate those thoughts as “I want to be poor”. Which kind of messes up the whole manifesting abundance thing, so keep your mind positive as often as possible.

2. Be grateful

It’s way too easy to take things for granted. The house you live in, the food on your table, all those gadgets and gizmos that are scattered round even the lowliest households. Start by being grateful for all the things you do have – your health, your cell phone, the air that you breathe, anything! Then start to keep a gratitude journal. Ideally you should write down the things that you’re grateful for on a daily basis – one of the best times for this is just before you go to sleep at night. Over a few days and weeks you’ll start noticing a change in your attitude that is for the better. You’ll maybe start being grateful out loud rather than just in your journal. But, either way, the universe will notice and you’ll start to find it easier manifesting abundance.

3. Tidy up

It’s easy to generate clutter in our lives. Whether that’s stuff literally cluttering up our places of work or living, files littering your hard drive “just in case” or stuff cluttering up your mind. It’s fairly easy to tidy up physical things although sometimes our enthusiasm to start the process is lacking. It’s also fairly easy to tidy up your computer hard drive. But your mind takes a bit more work. Like other parts of the tidying process, it’s worth doing a bit at a time. In the case of our minds, this usually means bursting negative thoughts like you’d burst a soap bubble. And actually it’s normally just as easy to “pop” a negative thought out of your mind at least as quickly as it sneaks its way in. Following this process will help you clear the way towards manifesting abundance in your life.

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There are many kinds of shops online these days. Many of them offers clothes and fashion stuff. But now there is a shop online where people can get clothing’s and beauty tips at the same time. In fact in shopwiki.com.au is the greatest place where people can shop. Shopwiki.com.au is an online store that people can visit. They offer many kinds of products that people can purchase from clothes make up and even beauty lotions. One of the most products that people purchase in this company is health and skin products. All the products that they have are guaranteed to be the best qualities. For people who are having a hard time in choosing the products that they need, they can get help from the shop online. There are guides that have information about each product. Another service that other stores online does not have is pets care. Pets can be a very special friend that is why it is important to take care of them. With the products that this shop has, people can make sure that their pets will be taken care of. So if people are having a hard time in searching for these items, they can come and check out this shop online.

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Below is a straight-talk, no b.s. article about personal finance:

1. You must have an earnings. This is basic, of course if you don’t have an earnings, then you actually have no money thus nothing to manage. Look for something you love to do and earn from it – be it as an employee or as an entrepreneur. It doesn’t really matter. What matter is that you “enjoy” what you do and at the same time earn from it. Why I suggest that you enjoy what you do and earn from it? So that it doesn’t feel like work and you’ll not feel burnt out. If you don’t have a job, you can contact me.

2. Make sure your earnings are higher than your expenses. This is also important as you’ve got to have excess money to save up for “future needed funds”. If you’re earnings are lower than your expenses, you can either add-up another source of income (meaning, you don’t have to leave what you currently do) or look for a better paying gig (meaning, don’t waste your time and efforts in what you do, look for a greener pasteur). If you already have a job but wants to have another source of income or wants a better career, you can contact me.

3. Make sure to have a “6 months emergency fund”. In USA, their only suggested to have a 3 months emergency fund. But here in the Philippines, there is no suggestions or whatsoever from the government. So, a lot of financial planners suggest people to have at least 6 months emergency fund. So if you’re spending P10,000.00 every month, you should have an emergency fund of equivalent to P60,000.00. This fund will and only be used in case you temporarily loss income. This will be the fund you’ll use while looking for another job or looking for another source of income. Your emergency fund should be placed in a very liquid investment instrument such as the savings account, a time deposit account, etc.

4. Make sure to have a yearly budget for health and medical bills. You don’t want to use up your emergency fund should you or your family have a medical emergency. You and your family should have a health plan so that in the event that you or your family get sick or experienced an accident, you’re well prepared for it. Your emergency fund is not intended for health or medical expenses so you better have a health plan. If you still don’t have a health plan or wants to change your existing plan, you can contact me.

5. Make sure you have budget for different one-time big-time yearly expenses. One-time big-time yearly expenses are called Sinking Fund. This is used for one-time big-time yearly expenses such as Christmas, Valentines, Birthdays, etc. You should have a sinking fund for each and every one-time big-time yearly expenses you have where you save money on a monthly basis. You should never use your emergency funds for this.

6. If you have kids, make sure you have a budget for their education until they graduate. This is your responsibility as a parent thus it is NOT optional. You don’t have a choice but to have this one. This is a packaged-deal for having kids. Tuition fees and other school needs increase every year, just like anything else, because of inflation. Unless you’re a super dooper mega over rich person, you won’t be needing to save up for your child’s education. An educational plan can help you attain this one. I know that CAP, TPG, Pacific, and other preneed companies failed to deliver their promise on their educational plan holders. But a life insurance company is very much different to a preneed company. You should not be confused. A life insurance is a financial industry more like of a bank. It is strictly governed by a separate government entity called the Insurance Commission. There’s a lot to talk about life insurance and this article is not the avenue for it as this is a straight-talk, no bullshit article about personal finance. Be closed-minded on these things, and you’ll risk your child’s future. I tell you, you can not save up for your child’s education by yourself unless of course you have the “skill and knowledge” that most professional investors have. If you wish to know more about the education plans that life insurance companies offer, you can contact me.

7. In relation to number six, make sure you have a life insurance. A life insurance is a financial product used in the event of permanent income-loss due to total disability or worse, death. Your life insurance coverage (coverage is the amount that will be given to your beneficiaries (your spouse and/or children) in the event of your permanent income-loss) will depend on the lifestyle that your family have. If you don’t have a life insurance or should you wish to know if your coverage is already enough for your family or not, you can contact me.

8. Make sure you have a retirement fund. This fund will be used by you by the time you no longer “actively” work for money (whether intentionally or unintentionally) for your daily/monthly expenses. Of course all of us will retire eventually whether by force or by choice. In this event, even though you’ve already retired from working, it doesn’t mean that your expenses will also retire. It doesn’t work like that. You retire from working for money but your expenses don’t retire in asking for money. So, you’ve got to have a retirement fund for your expenses such as food, shelter, clothing, transpo, communication, medical/hospital, etc. The amount of your retirement fund will depend on your chosen lifestyle. You can never accumulate your needed funds in a savings account. You should use one or any or combination of different investment instruments such as stocks, bonds, real estate, mutual funds, UITF’s, life insurance, variable life insurance, forex, etc. If you still don’t have a retirement fund or should you wish to know if your retirement fund is enough for your retirement, you can contact me.

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Making your company grow in these times can be challenging but not impossible. After all, growth is measured by the profitability of the company at the end of the month, quarter or year. Helping you in this challenge are accountants and financial advisors. In the city of Cardiff, accountants have expanded their services to include financial advisory and consultation. This means, they are a proactive accounting firm that helps you run the company not just by tallying the financial data, but explaining it and giving you options. For such a robust city as Cardiff, if you have a business there, you should get a Cardiff accountant for their availability. It is also different when the accountant is local apart from accessibility; local knowledge is a premium, especially in a business and trading city like Cardiff.

These advisors should be able to do the following for you:

- Give you an internal audit. They will give you a snapshot of how your company is doing as well as summarized view of how your company has done. The snapshot or quick audit gives you a brief picture of your company’s health while the summarized view may take some time especially if it’s an audit for the year but the result is that you will find out how your company has been doing for the past year.

- Give you an explanation of how your cash flow is. This is important because it enables you to know when you need cash. Some companies are very liquid in the sense that it constantly generates cash sales, albeit some may be in small quantities, still the cash is coming in. Other companies may not have enough frequency in cash sales, but when it comes, it floods. There are some companies that operate this way and if you know that your company belongs to this type of cash operation, then perhaps the need for available cash during those lean months may be sourced in a variety of ways: internal generation, cash infusion from new investors or creating a revolving letter of credit with a banking institution. Either way, there is a cost to getting this cash, or the input of this cost should be recognized as an expense, for if it is not seen that way, there may be shortcomings in cash flows, or huge discrepancies in financial projections.

- Give you the options for growth. Your company can grow by expansion, or contraction. The key to this is to get the current data and see if you can become more efficient and right size your company or take an aggressive stance and do marketing and expansion activities.

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