Your Secret Weapon Against Credit Card Debt

The television advertisements and dozens of junk mail advertisements you get all make big promises. They are real good at selling the idea that they can get you out of credit card debt with some phenomenal program or secret weapon that you can find only by coming to them. When you think about it, these people are pretty despicable. They are seeking to make money by preying on people who already are deep in debt. The want to victimize the victims and in many societies, they put people in jail for that.

Anyway, you and I both know that most of those slick marketing productions that pitch getting you out of credit card debt through some sophisticated and costly program are a bunch of hot air. But there is a secret weapon right under your nose that if you can set off its amazing power, it can get you out of credit card debt and keep you there.

This secret weapon is pretty amazing and you know we aren’t trying to market anything to you because this secret weapon doesn’t cost anything, doesn’t require you send off for anything and you can find it right in your own home and put it to work immediately at no cost to you. But it is also a secret weapon that is not “sexy” and it will not make you go “OOO” and “AHH” by impressing you with its slick design.

The secret weapon is a budget. See, we told you it wasn’t a sexy solution. But when you analyze why you have the credit card debt in the first place, putting a rock solid budget in place is the foundation of a long term solution to your problem. The marketers can give you all kinds of fancy analysis and discussion on the cause of credit card debt in your life that will put the blame on everything from the foreign exchange rate to immigration to global warming. But it doesn’t do you a bit of good to point fingers about the problem. The only thing that will do you good is to give you the tools and weapons to fix it.

There is just no getting around it, you are in trouble with your credit because you are living above your means. In other words, you are spending more than you make. This isn’t to throw a lot of blame and guilt around. There are a lot of situations that can cause you to live above your means. You could lose your job or have an emergency in the family that can cause you financial worries. But when the money going out is the more money than is coming in, you have a problem that will drive up your credit card debt.

To write a budget, you simply sit down and take inventory of those two factors. You inventory how much money you have coming in. Then you inventory how much money you have to pay out. This step alone is a huge step forward toward getting your debt problem under control. A computer spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel is excellent for this kind of family budget planning and analysis because you can move things around and let the computer do the math for you.

Don’t make excuses about this. If you don’t know how much a certain kind of spending costs you, dig out your receipts for the last few months and get a feel for it. But once you know your income and your bills, you can tell if there is a gap. Then you can make plans to close that gap either by getting more income or by cutting out some bills or both.

It won’t be easy and it won’t be fun. But if you get on a budget and stay there, you have the basic foundation for a solid family financial plan and you can move forward from there. You may go on to use some other tools to bring your credit card debt under control such as credit card consolidation or balance transfers. But don’t do a thing before you find that secret weapon and make it start working for you. And that secret weapon is a realizing and reliable family budget.

Hedging your bets against the future: the forex option

All speculation-based markets are full of uncertainty, and none more so than the forex market. A currency might be strong and vibrant today, weak and sickly a month from now. One way to guard against major fluctuations like that is through forex option trading.

A forex option is when you buy the right -- but not the obligation -- to buy or sell a particular currency at a particular rate any time between now and the expiration date of the option.

Let’s say you’re worried that the Japanese yen is going to drop in value sometime in the next six months. You might buy an option that basically locks in the current exchange rate for whatever period of time the option seller allows, usually anywhere from 30 days to six months. You set a number of yen, too. Say you choose 10,000 yen at a rate of 116 yen per U.S. dollar for three months. The option basically says, “I may want to sell 10,000 yen sometime in the next three months, but I’m worried the yen is going to devalue in that time. So I’ve locked in this rate of USD/JPY 116.”

Then three months pass. If your prediction was correct and the yen has weakened in that time -- say it’s now USD/JPY 122 -- then you exercise your right to sell 10,000 yen at the rate you bought three months earlier. Everyone else selling yen today (everyone who didn’t have a forex option, that is) is selling it at 122 per U.S. dollar, and you get to sell it at 116.

If, on the other hand, the yen has stayed the same or gotten stronger, you are under no obligation to actually sell that 10,000 yen your option talked about. You can simply do nothing, and all you’ve lost is the premium you originally paid for the option.

Ah yes, there is a premium. Brokers who sell forex options charge a fee for the privilege. Think of it as insurance; calling it a “premium” certainly fits. The price of a forex option for 10,000 yen for three months might be $200, which you must pay up front. If the yen drops enough in value, you’ll hopefully turn enough of a profit to make up for the $200 you had to pay. If it increases in value, and you wind up not exercising the option, all you’ve lost is the $200 premium.

Forex option trading used to be done only by major banks and corporations, but now many brokers who cater to individual traders offer the service, too. If you’re a heavy-duty trader, a forex option is definitely something to consider to guard against future setbacks in the currency you hold.

The Case Against Declawing Your Cat

Declawing a cat is a major surgical procedure, performed under general anesthesia. It is actually amputation of the last joint on each toe, not a simple removal of the claw itself as many are led to believe.

Cats walk on their toes, unlike most mammals who walk on the soles of their feet. Their musculature, joints, tendons and ligaments are all designed to distribute their body weight to their toes. The claw is not a nail like human fingernails or toenails. It is actually a part of the last bone in a cat's toe. If you were to "declaw" a human in the same way a cat is declawed, you would be amputating all 10 fingers at the last joint!

There is a real possibility of complications after any major surgery, and declawing is no exception. There is the possibility of hemorrhage, infection, extreme pain and bone chips.

There is also the possibility of nerve damage.

The cat can become withdrawn, distant, fearful and/or aggressive, and often start biting, as this is the only means of defense left to them. Occasionally the cat will stop using the litter box because immediately after surgery it was painful to scratch in the litter box, and now they associate that pain with the litter box

Some countries have made declawing cats illegal. They have considered it an abusive practice. Getting a good scratching post for your cat and teaching him to use it will help save furniture. Your cat needs his claws for defense and hunting if he ever gets lost. Look for alternative methods to save things from your cat’s claws—just save your cat’s claws. He will be happier and healthier from the choice and you will be happier knowing your feline friend has what he needs to survive.

Pet cats against AIDS and others

With no specific cure for your ailment, no idea if when is the end, not many people who are willing to get close to you, no more time to be guilty then and now…

These are just some of the many uncertainties and pain a person with AIDS, HIV or any other STDs (Sexually Transmitted Disease). As a kind of sickness which the society feels less acceptable, any person who has it, no matter how callous he or she may be will really feel lonesome. According to a study published in the April 1999 journal AIDS Care, those who own pets such as cats are also less likely to suffer from depression, even as symptoms from this frightening disease become more severe

This feeling of solitude and helplessness will just worsen things. At this point of their lives, they need to be stress-free, guilt-free and so forth. Moreover, they must feel happy, accepted and loved. Being in their situation is difficult. If they do not find means of recreation, they would feel so much depression and anxiety. Thus, health hazards would be so strong to overcome.

Companionship and consistency are among the wonderful things pets could give AIDS or HIV patients and victims. These animals provide them pleasure, love, attention emotions which they cannot freely have from others due to the negative social stigma we have around. "The benefits of pet ownership especially these affectionate cats, are real -- physically, mentally and psychosocially," confirms Dr. Daniel Joffe, a Calgary veterinarian who specializes in companion animals. People need companion. If in the absence of a good friend or a loved-one, pets are the purest source of joy.

We do not have to insert coins just to be entertained. For animal-assisted therapy patients, they do not have to stay in bed, shedding all those tears at all times. As a medium of social interaction, pets help one patient feel better by easily linking him with other patients. Interacting with one another is not merely a way of meeting somebody who has the same situations like yours. Indeed, it helps you feel that you are not alone and that someone else could understand where you are coming from. A friendship may bloom and few know that friendships provide a lot of remedies to even deep pains beyond the treatment of chemicals.

Long time ago, pets such as cats graced our homes and we felt happy. Today, they grace hospitals and asylums: we feel safe and sane. We must consider them as blessings. Thus, encourage the rest of the world to take care of animals. The world needs them. We need them.