You Are
you in debt? Does it worry you? Debt
has reached staggering levels in this country. Yet owing
money can lead you to depression, marriage breakdown and
even suicide. So this month Keith Tondeur of Credit
Action begins a series to look at the problem – and
suggest some ways out for you! Many
of you will have read in recent months that in 2004 we
managed to owe personally more than one trillion pounds
in the Firstly,
the amount we now owe individually in Secondly,
it represents an average debt [including mortgages] of £17,000
for every man, woman and child in Lastly,
the impact this is having on relationships and families
is alarming. Money problems are named as the major cause
of disagreements and sadly even breakdowns by the leading
guidance charity Relate. Many
who live in an affluent part of Are
you in debt yourself? Or do you know some-one in
your family who is? However distressing this is for
you, it is vital that you seek free and confidential help
straight away. You are not alone - many Christians
struggle with this issue. One guide on debt that we
at Credit Action produced for Christians had a normal
book run - and sold out in five weeks! So
what is Credit Action? We are a Christian charity
that encourages people to handle their money more
effectively. We teach on all aspects of money issues to
Christians ranging from giving, debt and saving to
stewardship and lifestyle issues. But, despite being a
Christian charity we are much better known in the country
as a whole. We produce a range of guides for families,
single parents; school leavers etc and our guides are
used by the Armed Forces, Civil Service, Housing
Associations and Local Education Authorities. Our
guides are recommended by the National Consumer Council
and our web site www.creditaction.org.uk is widely used.
In addition we work with major lenders and the largest
company in the world, GE, has just funded our new money
education site at www.moneybasics.co.uk I have also
recently been appointed one of seven Parliamentary Debt
Commissioners. Our
sister charity, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service[CCCS],
this year is expected to help over 200,000 people with
debt problems - completely without charge on their free-phone
helpline 0800 1381111 Over
the next few articles we will be exploring the biblical
teaching behind some of these issues and giving some
practical guidance on the way ahead. Keith
Tondeur is National Director of Credit Action and may be
contacted on 01522 699777. Are
you getting enough sleep? Millions
of us need more sleep than we are getting. In sleep, our
heart slows down and our temperature drops, giving our
body time to maintain itself, repair damage and to
recover from the effects of the day. Although
sleep is demanded by the body, our modern lifestyles of
work, followed by an evening of entertainment, encourages
us to stay awake. Yet scientists urge that seven or
eight hours’ sleep should be treated as the norm.
Generally,
if you want a good night’s sleep, try to go to bed
at the same time and get up at the same time every day.
Avoid stimulants like coffee and chocolate in the evening.
Don’t put a TV in your bedroom, and don’t take
a laptop computer to bed! Don’t talk on the
phone in bed, and avoid exercise for at least three hours
before bedtime. SLEEP
– why it is so important? Sleep
boosts our immune systems and helps prevent disease. Deep
and uninterrupted sleep is essential for growth. Good
sleep is good for our mental health Chemicals
produced by our bodies when we are tired can make us
depressed. Go
get stressed – now and then Becoming
stressed every so often can be good for your health.
Short
bursts of stress, such as that caused by public speaking,
strengthen the body’s immune system, according to
recent research by psychologists. Stressful
situations that last only short periods appear to tap
into the primeval ‘fight or flight’ response,
which helps a person by boosting their body’s
natural frontline defence against infections. It is
long-term stress that can render a person less able to
fight infection. Good
news for chocolate lovers If
you love chocolate, here’s an excellent excuse to
eat some: recent research has found an ingredient
in chocolate that can help stop persistent coughs, and
lead to more effective medicines. The
study at Imperial College London found that theobromine,
found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in
stopping persistent coughs than codeine, currently
considered the best cough medicine. The
researchers said the discovery could lead to more
effective cough treatments. They also found that unlike
standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no adverse
effects on the cardiovascular or central nervous systems,
such as drowsiness. So
just think – next time you have a chocolate bar, you
are keeping a cough at bay! How
clean is your daughter-in-law’s house? A
survey of more than 1,000 women has discovered that
around 83 per cent of future mothers-in-law judge their
potential daughters-in-law on the cleanliness of their
home. And with nearly half of them saying that a
mother-in-law should be able to drop by their son’s
house whenever they want, potential daughters-in-law need
to be prepared at all times. Teenagers
wanted – to become builders Are
you a young person wondering about your future? The
building industry has launched a major campaign to
encourage more teenagers to consider a career in
construction. The move comes as figures warn that
thousands of employees are required by 2010 to keep pace
with spiralling building demands. It is feared that
the industry could reach breaking point if the 2012
Olympic bid is successful. Now
two year olds can send emails Now
there is computer software which helps children as young
as two to surf the internet and send emails safely
without any help. Easybits Magic Mail software is aimed
at children from two to 12, and has been described as a
‘protective shell’ placed over Microsoft
Windows. Only authorised content can get past the
shell, so parents can draw up lists of email and website
addresses their children can use. When
sending or receiving emails, children use Magic Mail’s
clickable pictures and icons rather than text. What
colour cars have the most insurance claims? When
it comes to cars, some colours are ‘safer’ than
others, it seems. Or at least the drivers who choose
certain colours are safer than drivers who choose other
colours for their cars. In a recent survey of 70,000 car
insurance claims, it emerged that the ‘safest’
coloured car is sky blue, with just one in ten drivers
having lodged a claim. Also on the low claims list
are beige, white and bronze. Black
cars, on the other hand, are at the top of the list, with
22 per cent of their drivers making a claim. Yellow,
mauve and silver cars are also up there in the high
claims frequency. |