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Be a wise saver… Where is daddy? Love porridge Daughters before sons when it comes to house-buying Junk food ads Get some energy! Little treasure’s trove Beauty gives satisfaction
Be a wise saver…
Keith Tondeur of Credit Action considers the value of saving for tomorrow
Although first and foremost we are called to be generous givers, we also need to be wise savers. Saving is a responsibility to act wisely out of the blessings that God has provided. Failing to save and spending carelessly in the presumption that if we get into a mess “God will provide” therefore demonstrates selfishness and foolishness, not faith.
The Bible encourages us to save. Proverbs 21:20 says, “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but the foolish man devours all he has.”
Saving requires self-denial. For example Joseph saved in the seven years of feast so he had enough for the seven years of famine and in Proverbs we read of the ant storing up food so it can survive the winter.
This is what saving really is – denying a want now so we have enough to meet a future need. Whereas debt puts pressure on the future, savings make provision for tomorrow. There is a huge difference between saving and hoarding. Just having a pile of money in the bank can lead to our putting trust in this rather than God.
However we all have specific future events that it is wise to save for. These include retirement and helping your children through college or paying for their wedding. 2 Corinthians 12:14 tells us “children are not responsible to save up for their parents but parents for their children.”
It is also certainly right to leave some money for your children - but ensure it is never enough to spoil them. Proverbs13: 22 says “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children”.
We do need to be honest about our savings and ask when is enough.
When saving it is both wise to take advantage of any government approved tax-free schemes and to avoid any ‘get rich quick’ schemes. Saving is about having enough to meet specific goals so plan carefully. Be patient, diversify and evaluate risk and return.
Finally, and most importantly, remember there is only one guaranteed investment. It is an unswerving faith in God that he sent his only Son to earth to take our sin and die on our behalf so that we can live forever in heaven. Although this investment is free to us who believe, it is also priceless and the best investment we can ever make. After all it will stay with us forever!
Where is daddy?
A recent study suggests that British dads spend more time playing with their children than others in Europe. The Father’s Direct website says that British fathers work the longest hours in Europe - an average 46.9 hours per week. Despite this, modern dads spend more time with their children than their own fathers spent with them. See www.fathersdirect.com.
Love porridge
What will you be eating for breakfast this autumn? Chances are that it will be porridge – for sales of oatmeal and porridge are have soared by 81 per cent in the past five years.
If you are Scottish, don’t read the next bit: the growth of oatmeal’s popularity has been fuelled partly by ‘instant’ microwave brands. The rise has also been linked to the popularity of GI diets. In any case, sales now stand at £85 million a year.
Daughters before sons when it comes to house-buying
Daughters get more parental cash than sons do when they attempt to buy their first home.
Recent research by the Cooperative Bank has found that up to four times more daughters than sons have been given as much as £20,000 from mum and dad to help them into their first home.
Certainly the help seems to be needed by both daughters and sons: in 1995 90 per cent of young people could fund a deposit by their own efforts; by 2005 only 50 per cent could do so.
So nowadays, 62 per cent of daughters are helped by their parents; but only 44 per cent of sons.
However, there seem to be strings attached: nearly a third of helpful parents insist on approving the area their daughter chooses, and two fifths of parents want to OK the property itself. The figures are negligible for sons.
HOWEVER, when it comes to decorating, the figures change around. Twice as many parents are worried about what their sons will do with the property, as are worried about their daughters.
Junk food ads
Nearly four out of five parents think that TV ads for unhealthy foods should not be shown when their children are most likely to be watching TV, according to recent research from Which? However, the study also found that proposals by TV watchdog Ofcom will leave food companies free to advertise junk food at exactly these times.
Get some energy!
It’s only September, but do you feel tired already at the thought of the autumn ahead of you? Here are some simple tips for pepping up your energy levels!
1. If you are feeling REALLY tired, get a medical check-up – you may have an underlying medical condition such as anaemia (low iron levels in the blood), under-active thyroid conditions, diabetes, depression, or insomnia.
2. Revamp your diet. Make sure it is balanced! B vitamins give you energy: so eat plenty of cereal, whole grains, brewer’s yeast, liver, eggs, and green leafy vegetables. You also need iron for red blood cell production – so eat red meat, dried apricots, spinach and baked beans. And don’t forget those five portions of fruits or vegetables a day.
3. Try a supplement. For example, Boots Feel the Difference Everyday Energy contains B vitamins, antioxidants and co-enzyme Q10, which release energy from the food you eat.
4. Tackle your mood. If your tiredness starts in the autumn, reaches a peak at Christmas, and improves in spring - and comes back year after year, you may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Light deprivation can lead to a deficiency in brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine, chemicals the brain needs to control mood, appetite, sleep and sexuality. Other symptoms include depression, and cravings for sweet food.
5 Get moving. Exercise gets more oxygen circulating round the body and can actually increase your energy levels. Brisk walking, some line dancing or an exercise class can work wonders – aim for 30 minutes every day.
6. Keep your blood sugar balanced: go careful on sugary refined foods which give you a short-lived sugar high, but which ends in a ‘low’ which leaves you tired, hungry and fatigued. Aim instead for protein, non-starchy veg and whole grains.
7. Drink more. Low energy is also caused by simple dehydration, so aim for two litres of water a day. Tea, coffee and alcohol are all slightly dehydrating, so cut down on these.
Little treasure’s trove
Your child’s room may contain more valuable items than any other in the house. A survey by Lloyds TSB insurance has found that seven in ten children have their own TV, and six in ten a games console. More than half of our children have their own DVD players, about 50 per cent has a hi-fi system, and about one in three has a digital personal music player or a computer. Do YOU have all that in your bedroom?!
Questions you could ask might include:
1. Name of the local shop, amount of staff who work there, name of the lady who runs it. 2. Why the beauticians chose their career. 3. How long it took to train. 4. What they love about their jobs. 5. What they don’t much like. 6. On a rating of 1 to 10, how would they rate their job?
Beauty gives satisfaction
Beauticians are happier with their careers than most of us. They award their jobs 9.2 out of 10 on the happiness scale.
According to the City and Guilds Happiness Index, which annually tracks the satisfaction of the country’s workforce, beautician is the happiest of all of us. They put this down to the chance of meeting lots of people, and feeling appreciated by them.
Other happy workers include clergy, florists and hairdressers.
Meanwhile, many white-collar counterparts are less than ecstatic: IT specialists, civil servants, lawyers and pharmacists rate their happiness as less than 7.55 out of 10.
Top of the list of reason for being unhappy are stress (55 per cent) and feeling underpaid (35 per cent).
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