38 Ways to Save at the Market

First understand that grocery stores are professionally organized. Their job is to get you to buy more… Usually more than you need and more than you can actually afford. Always, Always, Always stay focused and stay within your budget…. Don’t be tricked…. YOU are in control of your money and what goes in your cart.

1. Don’t Forget your List! Making a list takes less time than running back to the market for items you forgot, So remember to take it with you!
2. During Hot Weather months be sure to carry a cooler. Foods can go bad quickly in a hot car.
3. Shop Alone if at all possible. Your husband, friends and children can cause a budget melt down. Make arrangements with another mom to trade off kids on shopping day. Husbands are perhaps even worse than the kids… They don’t mean to sabotage your efforts, but somehow they always seem to find a “special” that’s just not so special… Shopping with a friend causes you to lose your focus. If you’re too busy talking, you’re less likely to compare prices and perhaps more likely to toss a few items into your cart.
4. Take a Calculator / Pencil & Paper. You’ll want to keep a running tab on your purchases and be able to jot down prices for later comparisons.
5. Scrutinize Fruits and Veggies Carefully. If you’re paying top dollar for them, you should get top-dollar produce. Ask the produce manager or even the store’s manager for a discount on “bruised fruit”… You’ll be surprised at how many times you’ll be given a deal… I was!
6. Pre-Cut Fruits and Veggies cost 300% more than produce you prepare yourself. Though it takes a few minutes, you’ll not only save money, but you’ll be in control of the size of the dice. As always, a little time can save you a lot of money!
7. Check All the Shelves Grocery Stores have a very specific reason for the location of items on their shelves.

   -Specialty Items are typically placed on the top shelf. Though generally speaking, the store manager is required to follow his/her corporate headquarter’s layout designs, the top shelf is often left to the manager’s discretion. (If there is an item you’d like to see on this shelf, speak with the store manager.)

   -The second shelf down is the “bull’s eye” shelf. It is front and center, and at eye level. Manufacturers and distributors pay to have their products housed here. Most often, you’ll find the higher-priced items and those with the highest markup.

   -The third shelf is often the “kid’s shelf”. Those items which will most likely draw your children’s attention rest here. We all know how difficult it can be to say “no” to a five year old… (Another reason to shop alone, if at all possible). Items that draw your children’s attention are also likely to be costly.

   -On the fourth shelf you’ll find store-brands and other generics. This is where a good shopper should be looking. The same manufacturer that produces name-brand products, also often produce the store’s house brands. It could actually be the exact same product wearing a different label! Do yourself and your family a favor and check these items out.! The fourth shelf also routinely houses bulk-items as well. These may or may not be a bargain, so do some comparison shopping and the math before buying!

8. Buying in Bulk can certainly save you a ton of dough! But is it always cheaper? Absolutely Not! Buying in bulk is not an excuse for being lazy. You have to do the math! Compare the cost per unit of bulk items and regularly packaged items. Remember though, if your bulk item is the same or even slightly higher, it may still be cheaper to buy in bulk. The cost of gas is unpredictable, and every trip to the market exposes you to more opportunities of “impulse buying”. Besides, your time is valuable….
9. Watch out for “Sale Items” found at the front of the store or at the end of aisles. Manufacturers and distributors pay a display fee to have their products prominently placed. These might actually be on sale… but not always. While shopping, make a note of the price of these items and then be sure to check inside the aisles (often on the forth shelf) for other products which may be cheaper.
10. Don’t Shop on an Empty Stomach…Of course, your mother was right (again)!… We all tend to buy more when we’re hungry. It’s best to have a meal or heavy snack before entering the “war-zone”. Grocery stores keep the bakery busy for several reasons… churning out temptations, and the aroma of fresh cinnamon rolls are hard to resist… Even if you don’t buy the cinnamon rolls, it teases you to buy something else you don’t really need. If necessary, use the store’s strategies to your benefit… Head first to the free samples at the deli, bakery or at food demonstrations… Use them to ward of hunger.. but don’t buy the products!!
11. Buy the Deals… (but leave the rest) … Focus on your shopping list. Often a store will advertise a great sale in hopes you’ll also be tempted to buy other items “while you’re there”. Remember, as much as you may like the employees at your local market… Their job is to make a profit… Your job is to keep the family’s budget! (Yep, it’s them against us…)
12. Avoid Buying Foods in Single-Serve Packaging,… like snack crackers, pudding cups, fruit juice and ice cream.
13. Know the Usual Price of Items, so you can readily spot a real deal. Use a cheat sheet if necessary of items you most frequently purchase. Also, keep all receipts… These come in handy not only for spotting future sales but also in projecting future budget goals.
14. Take Advantage of any Manufacturer’s Rebates by mailing in the required forms. Of course don’t bother if the rebate/refund is less than the postage stamp.
15. “Stick to the Edges”… The interior sections of most markets are where you’ll find convenience foods, highly processed foods, less healthy and usually much more expensive foods.
16. Try Generics or off-brands whenever possible. For staples such as flour, sugar, salt, etc… There’s virtually NO difference in quality. I’ve tried many other generic items and my family has been just as pleased. Give generics a try. Yes, there are some items that just don’t cut it, but in the long run… Off-brands are the way to go.
17. Check the Clearance Section of your store, buy items you know are a good deal… but do NOT buy dented cans (going to the doctor with food poisoning is much more expensive than paying full price on a can of green beans).
18. Use Leftover meats for sandwiches rather than buying cold cuts.
19. Avoid Convenience Items ….like veggies in sauce or those “dinner in a box” products (like Hamburger Helper). The cost of convenience can be high… very high. The quality of your meal will most likely be lower.
20. Buy Day-Old Bread, it is excellent toasted. Also you can toast it in the oven while baking something else, then crush to make your own bread crumbs and keep them in the freezer.
21. Plan for Seasonal Items. Buy oranges in winter and peaches in the summer… Turkey goes on sale in November.. etc
22. “Dollar” Stores often have better buys on canned fruit and snack crackers. They are usually less expensive than ordinary “convenience stores” for milk, eggs and bread, but they’re just as quick, if not quicker.
23. Know the Market’s Routine…Like “Senior Tuesday” or “Double Coupon Wednesday” and use these days to your best advantage. (Still only buying those items your family needs).
24. Be Flexible: If you know your market has bananas on sale, and had planned to make a banana nut bread, only to find the banana’s look horrible… Select those good looking apples for an apple pie instead.
25. Don’t Go Down Aisles Unnecessarily… If you don’t need something in the soft-drink aisle, why bother…? The store hopes you’ll see “something wonderful” …..
26. Shop Mid-morning (9am-11am) when stores are less crowded, service personnel like the butcher and produce manager are less overwhelmed and their products are ususally the freshest of the day.
27. Bring only your Budgeted CASH with you… Do not bring backup, like debit cards, credit cards or checks. It’s way to easy to justify going over by… $5 here or $10 there…
28. Rotisserie chicken can be a very good buy. Most yield 2+ pounds of excellent meat ….and the bones, skin, etc can be slowly simmered with root vegetables to make a wonderful and cheap stock.
29. Find the Freshest …..produce, eggs, meat, and dairy items towards the back of the display. Check the “sell by date”. The fresher the better… both for quality and longevity. You don’t want to pour half a jug of milk down the sink because it’s gone bad!
30. Family Packs of meat are usually less per pound. Go in with a friend if you can’t afford such a large package or can not work it into your menu plan. Or better yet, repackage and keep in your deep freeze!
31. Make Your Own convenience mixes and save a bundle.
32. Make Ice Tea at home from tea bags. Jugs of prepared tea are expensive and tea in individual bottles are even more expensive. (You can fill a cleaned out soda or water bottle to carry your own blend.)
33. Reduced for Quick-sale meats are an excellent buy. Just be sure to get them rewrapped as soon as you get home and freeze immediately. (Unless you plan to have the meat that very evening).
34. Totally Ignore Check-out Displays. This is the store’s last chance to get your money. If necessary, carry a pocket paperback book with you.
35. While Unloading Your Cart at Check-out, keep cold items together and place them on the counter first. This will help ensure the bagger keeps cold with cold.
36. Watch the cashier carefully Mistakes happen. By watching closely you will be more likely to spot these errors and correct them before you get home and look over your receipts.
37. Also Watch the Bagger An inexperienced bagger may not be as diligent. Getting home to find your eggs are broken because a can of lima beans was placed on top can be frustrating. However, if this type of problem happens to you, be sure to call your grocery store immediately. Most stores will gladly replace damaged items. If they don’t, they may not be the type of grocery you want to deal with!
38. Keep those receipts and look over them once you’re home. Again, if you find a problem call your grocer.

In general, you must remain focused through all aspects of your grocery shopping. I just can’t say this enough!!!

Nasty Infectious Diseases You Want To Avoid – Botulism

Botulism is the most common type of the infectious disease known as botulism is a food-borne illness involving the toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which is both rare and very deadly (two thirds of those afflicted die). Another type is known as “infant botulism,” an uncommon illness that strikes infants under the age of one. Because botulism is technically a poisoning, not an infection, the patient cannot infect others even though the bacteria will be excreted in feces for months after the illness.

Botulism is more common in the United States than anywhere else in the world, owing to the popularity of home canning; there are about 20 cases of food-borne botulism poisoning each year. Botulism got its name during the 1800s from botulus, the Latin word for “sausage,” because of a wave of poisoning from contaminated sausages.

Cause - Botulism toxins are a type of neurotoxin that attaches to the nerves, blocking the messages that are sent to the muscles. The C. botulinum spores (latent form of the bacteria) are found in air, water, and food; they are harmless until deprived of oxygen (such as inside a sealed can or jar). If conditions are favorable, the spores will start to generate and multiply, producing one of the most deadly toxins known, an astounding seven million times more deadly than cobra venom! Cases of botulism from commercially canned food are rare because of strict health standards enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, although some people have gotten botulism from eating improperly handled commercial pot pies. In Canada, cases have been reported from seal meat, smoked salmon, and fermented salmon eggs. Most cases occur during home canning. Canned foods that are highly susceptible to contamination include green beans, beets, peppers, corn, and meat. Although the spores can survive boiling, the ideal temperature for their growth is between 78 and 96 degrees F. They can survive freezing. Botulism can also occur if the C. botulinum bacteria in the soil enters the body through an open wound, although this is extremely rare.

Symptoms - Onset of symptoms may be as soon as three hours or as late as 14 days after ingestion, although most symptoms usually appear between 12 and 26 hours. The first sign is usually muscle weakness beginning with the head, often leading to double vision. This is followed by problems in swallowing or speaking, followed by the paralysis of the muscles needed to breathe. Other symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. The earlier the onset of symptoms, the more severe the reaction. Symptoms generally last between three to six days; death occurs in about 70 percent of untreated cases, usually from suffocation as a result of respiratory muscle paralysis. In infants, symptoms may go unrecognized by parents for some time until the poisoning has reached the critical stage.

Diagnosis - Large commercial labs or state health labs can test for the toxin in food, blood, or stool; it’s also possible to grow the bacteria from food or stool in a special culture. The diagnosis is most often made by an astute health care practitioner who recognizes the signs and symptoms. In an outbreak, the first victim to become sick usually dies.

Treatment - Prompt administration of the antitoxin (type ABE botulinus) lowers the risk of death to 10 percent. Most untreated victims will die. The Centers for Disease Control is the only agency with the antitoxin, and it makes the decision to treat. Local health departments should be called first for this information. While induced vomiting may help following ingestion of food known to contain botulism toxin, it may not be complete. Because the disease can occur with only a small amount of toxin, botulism may still develop. Patients are usually put on a respirator to ease breathing. In infant botulism, if symptoms are present it is often too late to administer antitoxin, since the damage has probably already been done.

Prevention - It is easy to prevent, since botulism is killed when canned food is boiled at 100 degree C for one minute, or if the food is first sterilized by pressure cooking at 250 degrees F for 30 minutes. If you’re going to eat it, you should heat it first! While the tightly fitted lids of home-canned food will provide the anaerobic environment necessary for the growth of botulism toxins, the spores will not grow if the food is very acidic, sweet, or salty (such as canned fruit juice, jams and jellies, sauerkraut, tomatoes, and heavily salted hams.) Even though botulism spores are invisible, it’s possible to tell if food is spoiled by noticing if jars have lost their vacuum seal; when the spores grow, they give off gas that makes cans and jars lose the seal. Jars will burst or cans will swell. Any food that is spoiled or whose color or odor doesn’t seem right inside a home-canned jar or can should be thrown away without tasting or even sniffing, since botulism can be fatal in extremely small amounts.

6 Sexiest Male Body Parts

Believe it or not, the appendage men are most obsessed with is actually the last thing most women are trying to check out when they first spot you. Don’t get me wrong — we think about it. A lot, even. But it’s not the area our eyes are first drawn to. Why? Cos we’re not like men, obviously! Not straight away anyway. Err, not usually, at least.

Ok, sometimes we’re exactly like you — and sometimes we’re worse. But, for the purposes of this article, we’re more sophisticated and have better control of ourselves. Ok? Ok, then. This list of the 6 sexiest male body parts is, naturally, not finite. It varies for some, and others might place these in a different order. Not me, obviously. Let’s get it on then, shall we? Oops.. that should read let’s get on with it, then..

1. Sexy Man Lips

Women like to kiss. Hmm. Actually, most of us prefer to be kissed. However you look at it, this makes lips a very important part of the male body. A soft, full mouth is totally sexy, whether on a man or a woman, so it’s no surprise that we eye your lips closely when you’re hovering near. We’re thinking about how it would feel if you grabbed us and planted a nice fat kiss on our lips. God knows I’ve spent enough time imagining what it would be like to kiss Toby Stephens’ gorgeous lips.

2. Sexy Man Eyes

Eyes are every Casanova’s secret weapon. Or, at least, they ought to be. One saucy, salacious stare from across the floor and most women would melt. Of course, you have to know what you’re doing. You can’t just stare like a man who’s just escaped Alcatraz, and she’s the first woman you’ve seen in eons. Cos, well, that quickly goes from sexy to scary.

If you can’t do the sexy saucy stare thing, you could always go for the serious “I’m so into you” look. Like the one you see on Hugh Grant, there. Sexay! And Toby’s are quite lovely, too!

3. Sexy Man Arms

Oh. My. Gawd. Matt Damon / Jason Bourne had the hottest arms on planet Earth during The Bourne Identity. Would you look at those arms? Holy Jesus, honestly, I am drooling over here. Arms are major source of attraction for me, for a number of reasons which I won’t get into right now — just trust me when I say his arms are perfect. Not too big and bulky, and not all spindly.

It wouldn’t hurt any of you to take note of his hands and how he’s making use of them, either. That is a very sexy move that all men should employ during a good kiss — sadly, so many of you don’t!

4. Sexy Man Shoulders

Ok, obviously, Spidey here has pretty hawt arms as well, but this is about his shoulders. Do you see them? Cos I can’t stop staring at them. These are some very sexy muscles that women love, love, love.

I was stunned to see Toby looking like this when the movie came out, and I have to say, my entire perception of him went from geek to stud. Overnight. I don’t care if that sounds shallow, it’s the truth!

Big strong shoulders tell us that you’re strong enough to pick us up and sweep us off our feet. So get moving!

5. Sexy Man Pecs

Women love a man with a nice chest. And a nice chest can mean all kinds of things, but it rarely means over-pumped and scary. Matthew McConaughey is often said to have the best chest in Hollywood. I’d have to agree — notice it’s not overdone, but rather it’s toned and defined and pumped to a normal size that looks right on his body. Sexy. Very, very, sexy.

6. Sexy Man Abs

Believe it or not — I don’t give a toss about abs or six packs. In fact, I prefer a man not have much definition in this area beyond normal toning (see Matthew McConaughey pic) but sooo many women talk about abs being important, so here you go.

There are rock solid abs, and then you have the defined abs that still look inviting to the touch. Brad Pitt has the latter, and it seems to have worked well for him! But if you don’t have them, remember what I said at the start. As long as you don’t have a beer belly, we’re pretty happy!

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STEP THREE: Save your new notepad file as a text file. If you want to do your posting in different settings, you’ll always have this file to go back to.

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How to increase traffic to your Blog

have been blogging since two months or so a Computer World .

Well, i don’t hesitate in saying that i am NOT a Traffic guru or something like that.But Yea,i can surely give you some tips for generating traffic to your blog.This Hub of mine is about a site that can bring loads of Traffic to you blog , and it is Yahoo! Answers.

Well you might be knowing about it(Of course its Popular) but for those who don’t here is the asnwer:

“Yahoo! Answers is a community-driven knowledge market website that allows users to both submit questions to be answered and answer asked questions from other users. The site gives members the chance to earn points as a way to encourage participation.Virtually any question is allowed, except ones that violate the Yahoo! Answers community guidelines. The service itself is free.In order to open an account a user needs a Yahoo! ID. “

So in short, you need to have a Yahoo! Id and then you can answer as well as ask questions ,and it is Free.

So how does it increase traffic.Lemme explain:

You have great knowledge when it comes to Computers.You own a blog which is dedicated to Computers.Now you go to Yahoo! answers and answer a question about Computers.(You can answer any question ,though asnwers questions related to your BLog topic brings targeted audience) .At the end of your answer, you simply leave a link to your blog and your blog’s RSS feeds.If someone likes your answer,he will surely click on the links in the hope to fill his mind with some great info. So Done! Not only you increase traffic and your feed subscribes,but also you can develop your writing skill as well as Communicating skills.This will surely help you.

When i was a beginner to blogging and had a drought of visitors ,i answered about 20 questions about my blog’s topic REGULARLY.Each answer brought me about 5-10 visitors(Depends on the question as well as your answer).I continued this practice for about 1 weeks.(Then i got tired cuz i m LAZY!).

So that’s all.Will deliver some more traffic sources overview in my next hubs.

And Yea,don’t forget to visit my blog :Computer World and subscribe to it Feeds!!!

Keep Smiling!

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Free Money From Credit Cards

Make Free Money With Credit Cards

Credit card companies are always on the hunt for new customers, people like you and me who will use their cards to shop and then rake in the money via our repayments to the cards every month, one of the recent offers from many card companies is a 0% interest incentive that lasts for a set period of time usually 6 months to a year by signing up for these companies as a new customer you can actually make some money using the 0% interest to your advantage and the best thing is that it is completely legal and above board.

Many card companies are offering 0% interest these days and there are two ways that you can take full advantage and make a profit from them.

The idea is simply to borrow the money from the card at 0% and then put it into a savings account with as high a rate of interest that you can find which means that you are earning interest on money that you borrowed for free.

0% on Purchases

Method 1 (0% on all Purchases)

Look out for Credit cards that offer 0% on all purchases, use the card to buy everything that you would normally buy, but avoid using the card to withdraw cash as this will incur interest charges.

Set up a direct debit and only pay the minimum monthly repayments, don’t repay the card in full, because you are using this card for your shopping the money that you have in your bank account is not being touched and is building up, transfer that money from your account to a high earning savings account and you start to earn interest on it.

This method is not a way to spend more money, it is a way to make money, you must be disciplined and not over spend and you must never go over the credit cards limit or you will find out about all of those little hidden extra charges that credit cards are famous for. leaving you out of pocket rather than making a buck or two.

Money in the Bank

Method 2 (Balance Transfer)

The perfect scenario would be to take all of the money from your credit card put it straight into a high interest savings account and start earning interest on your borrowed money from day one,

Most card companies do allow you to pay money into your bank account, but they charge an exorbitant fee for that privilege.

The secret is to shop around and find a card that allows Balance Transfers at a low rate as part of their promotion to get new customers, some offer low rates of interest 1-3% and there are very few which offer 0% on balance transfers for 12 months.

When the promotional offer ends, pay off the cards balance in full, keeping the interest that you have made in the process.

As with method 1 set up a direct debit account and pay the minimum repayment on the card every month, do not miss a single payment though or as with most of these promotions the low% interest or 0% interest deal will be cancelled by the card company.

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Make Free Money From Your Credit Cards in the News

• Outside U.S., Credit Cards Tighten Grip (The Gadsden Times)

  Credit cards have become commonplace in Turkey, but so has the curse of debt. 17 hours ago

• College students and credit cards can be a recipe for trouble (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

  Credit cards and college students can be a dangerous mix. The same goes for anyone who gets a credit card without knowing the terms and conditions. “Students mirror society generally,” said Patrick Dwyer, vice president for global public policy at MasterCard. 2 days ago

• Simple steps to protect yourself from ID theft / Be vigilant in checking statements, and monitor your credit report (San Francisco Chronicle)

  It is the largest case of identity theft in the country. More than 41 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen by an international ring that hacked into the computer networks of nine national retail chains, including Barnes & Noble, BJ’s Wholesale… 21 hours ago

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Online Dating

Any of you who have been or are on online dating sites have seen those pictures of the beautiful men and woman. You’ve also read all the fascinating profiles and probably though to yourself, “Wow, this person is perfect for me.” Have you figure out yet that most of what they write is nothing more than bait to hook you? Well most of it is just that.

My friend, we’ll call her Sally, met a guy through a dating site. His picture was, in fact, real. It was about a year old but it was him none the less. He hadn’t changed much since it was taken. They chatted, cammed, and emailed for about two weeks. He, in her mind, was Mr. Right. They had everything in common. After the two weeks of correspondence and chatting, they decided to meet. This was her happiest moment. He said all the right things and treated her like he really wanted her for the long term.

On the second date, he put the moves on her and told her that he loved her. She had already begun to fall for Mr. Wonderful. Well they wound up doing the wild thing and, oddly enough, continued seeing each other for about two months. During that time, it was all about the sex. When she asked him where he saw this relationship going, he stated, “I’m ready for a commitment but my kids aren’t.”

She was floored considering his kids are almost grown…16 and 18. She asked him if the kids even knew about her and he told her that he hadn’t discussed it with them. She asked, “If they don’t know about me, how do you know they’re not ready for a commitment?” He just shrugged and didn’t answer.

After that conversation, the daily IM’s stopped, the e-mails stopped, the phone calls stopped, and he only called her when he wanted to see her on that day. She went along with it only because she had fallen in love with him. After a few times of him calling and them meeting, and each time it was about the sex, she told him, “Enough.” She told him with tears in her eyes that she felt like she was nothing more than a “booty call”. He tried to deny it but it was true. She broke up with him and he actually called her a couple of weeks later and asked if she would meet him. She answer cheerily, “Sure, where are you taking me?” He answered, “Oh, I don’t have the time to actually take you out.” That was the end of that relationship. He was a player.

So my advice on these situations is:

Hold out. Don’t have sex until you know where the relationship is heading. If you put it all out there too soon, the man will lose interest in you. Men don’t like it to be too easy unless he’s a player, or just out for a one night stand. This particular man is and was a player.

I hope this will help some of you out there. I’ll keep posting my little stories about my friend’s and my own experiences daily. Keep checking back. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Overcoming Writers Block

What is writer’s block? Well, I just can’t think of a single darn thing to say. Oh well, I’m outta here! Sound familiar? No! Oh, get real! We’ve all experienced this phenomenon when we absolutely have to write something, particularly on deadline. I’m talking about. . . . .uh, I can’t think of what the word is . . . oh, yes, it’s on the tip of my tongue . . . it’s: WRITER’S BLOCK!!!! Whew! I feel better just getting that out of my head and onto the page!

You may think you know EXACTLY what you’re going to write, but as soon as that evil white screen appears before you, your mind suddenly goes completely blank. I’m not talking about Zen meditation stare-at-the-wall-until-enlightenment-hits kind of blank. I’m talking about sweat trickling down the back of your neck, anguish and panic and suffering kind of blank. The tighter the deadline, the worse the anguish of writer’s block gets. Having said that, let me say it again. “The tighter the deadline, the worse the anguish of writer’s block gets.

” Now, can you figure out what might possibly be causing this horrible plunge into speechlessness? The answer is obvious: FEAR! You are terrified of that blank page. You are terrified you have absolutely nothing of value to say. You are afraid of the fear of writer’s block itself! It doesn?t necessarily matter if you’ve done a decade of research and all you have to do is string sentences you can repeat in your sleep together into coherent paragraphs.

Writer’s block can strike anyone at any time. Based in fear, it raises our doubts about our own self-worth, but it’s sneaky. It’s writer’s block, after all, so it doesn’t just come and let you know that. No, it makes you feel like an idiot who just had your frontal lobes removed through your sinuses. If you dared to put forth words into the greater world, they would surely come out as gibberish!

Let’s try and be rational with this irrational situation. Let’s make a list of what might possibly be beneath this terrible and terrifying condition.

1. Perfectionism. You must absolutely produce a masterpiece of literature straight off in the first draft. Otherwise, you qualify as a complete failure.

2. Editing instead of composing. There’s your monkey-mind sitting on your shoulder, yelling as soon as you type “I was born?,” no, not that, that’s wrong! That’s stupid! Correct correct correct correct?

3. Self-consciousness. How can you think, let alone write, when all you can manage to do is pry the fingers of writer’s block away from your throat enough so you can gasp in a few shallow breaths? You’re not focusing on what you’re trying to write, your focusing on those gnarly fingers around your windpipe.

4. Can’t get started. It’s always the first sentence that’s the hardest. As writers, we all know how EXTREMELY important the first sentence is. It must be brilliant! It must be unique! It must hook your reader’s from the start! There’s no way we can get into writing the piece until we get past this impossible first sentence.

5. Shattered concentration. You’re cat is sick. You suspect your mate is cheating on you. Your electricity might be turned off any second. You have a crush on the local UPS deliveryman. You have a dinner party planned for your in-laws. You . . . Need I say more. How can you possibly concentrate with all this mental clutter?

6. Procrastination. It’s your favorite hobby. It’s your soul mate. It?s the reason you’ve knitted 60 argyle sweaters or made 300 bookcases in your garage workshop. It’s the reason you never run out of Brie. FACE IT ? IT?S ONE OF THE REASONS YOU HAVE WRITER’S BLOCK!

How to Overcome Writer’s Block Okay. I can hear that herd of you running away from this article as fast as you can. Absurd! you huff. Never in a million years, you fume. Writer’s block is absolutely, undeniably, scientifically proven to be impossible to overcome. Oh, just get over it! Well, I guess it’s not that easy.

So try to sit down for just a few minutes and listen. All you have to do is listen ? you don’t have to actually write a single word. Ah, there you all are again. I am beginning to make you out now that the cloud of dust is settling. I am here to tell you that WRITER’S BLOCK CAN BE OVERCOME. Please, remain seated. There are ways to get over it.

Pick one, pick several, and give them a try. Soon, before you even have a chance for your heartbeat to accelerate, guess what? You’re writing. Here are some tried and true methods of overcoming writer’s block:

1. Be prepared. The only thing to fear is fear itself. (I know, that’s a clich?but as soon as you start writing, feel free to improve on it.) If you spend some time mulling over your project before you actually sit down to write, you may be able to circumvent the worst of the crippling panic.

2. Forget perfectionism. No one ever writes a masterpiece in the first draft. Don’t put any expectations on your writing at all! In fact, tell yourself you’re going to write absolute garbage, and then give yourself permission to happily stink up your writing room.

3. Compose instead of editing. Never, never write your first draft with your monkey-mind sitting on your shoulder making snide editorial comments. Composing is a magical process. It surpasses the conscious mind by galaxies. It’s even incomprehensible to the conscious, editorial, monkey-mind. So prepare an ambush. Sit down at your computer or your desk. Take a deep breath and blow out all your thoughts. Let your finger hover over your keyboard or pick up your pen. And then pull a fake: appear to be about to begin to write, but instead, using your thumb and index finger of your dominant hand, flick that little annoying ugly monkey back into the barrel of laughs it came from. Then jump in ? quickly! Write, scribble, scream, howl, let everything loose, as long as you do it with a pen or your computer keyboard.

4. Forget the first sentence. You can sweat over that all-important one-liner when you’ve finished your piece. Skip it! Go for the middle or even the end. Start wherever you can. Chances are, when you read it over, the first line will be blinking its little neon lights right at you from the depths of your composition.

5. Concentration. This is a hard one. Life throws us so many curve balls. How about thinking about your writing time as a little vacation from all those annoying worries. Banish them! Create a space, perhaps even a physical one, where nothing exists except the single present moment. If one of those irritating worries gets by you, stomp on it like you would an ugly bug!

6. Stop procrastinating. Write an outline. Keep your research notes within sight. Use someone else’s writing to get going. Babble incoherently on paper or on the computer if you have to. Just do it! (I know, I stole that line from somewhere?). Tack up anything that could possibly help you to get going: notes, outlines, pictures of your grandmother. Put the cookie you will be allowed to eat when you finish your first draft within sight ? but out of reach. Then pick up the same type of writing that you need to write, and read it. Then read it

again. Soon, trust me, the fear will slowly fade away.

As soon as it does, grab your keyboard ? and get writing!

Making Money With MySpace

MySpace should actually be called money space, because that is actually what it is, a place for the money folks to hang. Or perhaps more accurately a place where the money hangs for the grabbing. Many of the millions of MySpace users are surprisingly unaware of the vault in which they play. But of course everyone is not online with the goals of making money. And this is a good thing. It’s not a good thing when everyone is trying to sell everyone else an apple.

The fact is that Myspace is a marketers dream. But many marketers apparently don’t get enough sleep. What they fail to realize is that where there is traffic, there is the potential for income, and Myspace has a lot of traffic. Traffic which I must point out that every myspace user has access to, however they are unaware of how to use it. I will briefly discuss a few ways that a Myspace user could monetize their traffic.First, there is community building. By simply doing what you currently do on Myspace, which is acquiring a gigantic list of friends you don’t even know. Which is quite a conundrum in itself as to why people do this with no hopes of cashing in. Well fortunately there is actual logic in their seemingly aimless actions. When you have gathered a large collection of friends, you can monetize this in many ways, two of which are as follows. You could sell your account to someone else, or if you have a website, you can get your friends to visit it in order to make sales or simply raise your websites popularity.Secondly, you can establish your Myspace page as a force to be loved. By developing the content on your page, and by offering a valid resource to the Myspace community, such as advice, reviews, tips, etc, you could funnel Myspace traffic directly to your Myspace page, This traffic can be directed elsewhere for profit. This diversion can occur by making buying or surfing suggestions to your Myspace audience.Thirdly, you can offer advertising space on your Myspace page. This would be an excellent method to combine with the second method given. Advertisers would pay healthily for a chance to have an ad on your high traffic Myspace page.Fourthly, you can give away free resources on your Myspace page such as templates, scripts and legal music. This will gain you many friends and develop the popularity of your service and page. You can also offer these same resources at higher qualities for a fee, outside of MySpace.Work From home Advice