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You
Use credit wisely
Looking for someone special to share your life with?
Get active! – with these well known exercises
Are you depressed?
What do you need to live the 'good life'?
Don't move home without it!
The Mediterranean paradox
People watch TV soaps – and feel sick
Blackberry and rose geranium ice cream
Wild strawberry liqueur and elderberry rob
**
Use credit wisely
Credit can be very helpful when used to smooth out the peaks and troughs
of life. However when it is used to try and maintain a lifestyle that is
higher than your regular income allows, you are storing up trouble for
yourself.
Here are some tips to help you:
When making a large purchase and you are going to use credit, make sure
you look at the cost of credit as well as the cost of the item you are
buying. There is little point going to one shop to buy a new three-piece
suite because it's £50 cheaper than elsewhere if the cost of credit is
£100 more!
Shop around for credit. When buying a car, for example, you do not need
to stick to the dealer's finance offer. Talk to your bank or trawl the
internet for cheaper offers. Many of the heavyweight national newspapers
also have comparison tables in their weekend editions.
Try and pay off your credit card bills in full every month. One good way
of doing this is setting up a direct debit from your bank account. This
will ensure that you don't simply forget to pay on time and thus rack up
unnecessary interest.
Never just pay the minimum amount asked for. Some lenders ask for as
little as 2% of what is owing to be paid back. If you were to follow
this route it would literally take you decades, because of the
continuing interest that is added on, to fully re-pay.
Never use credit on impulse. You can often come to regret the purchase.
If you know this could be so, then leave your credit card behind when
you go out. Even freeze it in a block of ice in the freezer if
necessary!
If you find that the amount owing on your cards keeps rising, or if you
are struggling to re-pay, do something about it. Re-examine your budget
and make determined efforts to get your spending back under control.
Failure to do so could mean that you will soon be building up an
unwanted heap of debt.
Instead, turn the use of credit to your advantage! By getting your
timing right you may well be able to enjoy several weeks of interest
free credit – which can be incredibly useful.
Whatever you do, be wise and if you know you cannot afford something
without over-extending yourself be prepared to walk away until you can.
**
Looking for someone special to share your life with?
Whatever our age or status in life, most of us want close meaningful
relationships with other people. Beyond the daily routines we also know
that a unique friend or someone to intimately share life with would make
all the difference.
If you could walk into a room of 100 like minded 'single' Christian
people, there'd probably be a high chance of meeting someone with whom
you'd hit it off. But how do you find that 'room'? Friends First (which
was established in 1999) is a modern way of walking into that room and
meeting other 'single' Christians. Hundreds of people (of all ages from
21 to 88), who have joined the organisation to date, have found they've
made friendships that have really changed their lives – whether that's
because it's ended in marriage, or because a new friend has greatly
enriched their lives.
If you'd like to meet 'someone special', then Friends First could be the
first step. Friends First offers a professional, confidential, and very
friendly service –to assist you in making new friends. It also offers
various group holidays and events.
For further details ring 0121 427 1286 or visit www.friends1st.co.uk.
**
Get active! – with these well known exercises
Here is an exercise programme for those of us whose wisdom exceeds our
ambition. The doctors say that physical exercise is good ...so here is
an easy daily programme you can do anywhere.
Monday:
Beat around the bush. Jump to conclusions. Climb the walls. Wade through
paperwork.
Tuesday:
Drag your heels. Push your luck. Make mountains out of molehills. Hit
the nail on the head.
Wednesday:
Bend over backwards. Jump on the bandwagon. Balance the books. Run
around in circles.
Thursday:
Toot your own horn. Climb the ladder of success. Pull out the stops. Add
fuel to the fire.
Friday: Open a can of worms. Put your foot in your mouth. Start the ball
rolling. Go over the edge.
Saturday:
Pick up the pieces.
**
Are you depressed?
If so, when did you last take some regular exercise?
Doctors should prescribe exercise on prescription to all their patients
with depression, says a new report from the Mental Health Foundation
(MHF).
The report – Up and Running? claims that exercise can have a positive
effect on mental health. Exercise helps prevent anxiety and depression
by boosting the immune system. Yet the report has found that only five
per cent of GPs currently use exercise as a treatment for depression.
Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation,
says: “We want to educate people about the fact that exercise, whether
it be a walk in the park, a dance class, or game of badminton, can make
you feel good. People need to start keeping themselves in good mental
shape, and exercise helps to prevent and treat depression and anxiety.”
**
What do you need to live the 'good life'?
What do you need to live the 'good life'? Expensive holidays, designer
clothes, top of the range cars?
Apparently not, according to recent research by Visa UK and marketing
consultancy the Future Foundation. Two thirds of people would prefer to
simply 'live well' every day.
Top of the list for a good quality of life comes: spending time with
friends and family (cited by 97 per cent); being fit and healthy (97 per
cent) and having time to relax every day (94 per cent).
Women care less than men about material goods. Just 12 per cent of women
believe that material luxuries such as expensive cars or designer
clothes are essential for a good quality of life, as opposed to 19 per
cent of men.
**
Don't move home without it!
The humble kettle is the item most wanted by new homeowners, according
to a recent study by Alliance and Leicester. Home is not home without a
cup of something hot!
But beds are not an essential item for many young first time buyers, who
rate them behind a television in order of importance.
In 1975 first-time buyer essentials were: kettle, cooker, bed, paint on
walls, radio/stereo, fridge, sofa/chairs, curtain blinds, wardrobes, TV
In 2005 essentials run: kettle, radio/stereo, TV, fridge, cooker,
microwave, bed, washing machine, carpets, paint on walls.
It seems that nowadays watching the telly is rated more highly than a
good night's sleep – even after a day spent moving house.
**
The Mediterranean paradox
If you are holidaying in the south of France, southern Italy or Greece
this summer, consider this: how do the locals get away with it? How can
they drink red wine, eat high-fat foods (including the fattiest, most
saturated food invented, foie gras) and smoke like chimneys – yet have
low rates of heart disease?
Theories abound, but include the fact that wine is usually taken with
food in southern Europe, and in moderate amounts (no 'binge-drinking'),
fewer processed and packaged foods are eaten as part of the daily diet,
and healthy olive oil is heavily used in cooking and salads. Also –
don't forget the stress-reducing factors of long sunny days, an
atmosphere of general joie de vivre, and the delights of the siesta!
Ten tips for a Mediterranean lifestyle (for when the holiday is over)
* make fruits, vegetables, potatoes, breads, grains, beans, nuts and
seeds your favourites
* ignore processed foods as far as possible and concentrate on local and
seasonal produce
* use olive oil as your main fat source
* the fat in your diet should total between 25 and 35 per cent of your
calories
* eat small amounts of cheese and yoghurt daily – preferably sheep and
goats' milk
* eat moderate amounts of fish and poultry each week and up to four eggs
* eat red meat only a few times each month
* end your meal with fresh fruit rather than a pudding
* take regular physical activity
* enjoy moderate consumption of wine – one or two glasses a day
**
People watch TV soaps – and feel sick
Patients are mimicking the illnesses they see in their favourite TV
soaps, according to a recent survey carried out by Norwich Union
Healthcare.
More than nine out of ten GPs claimed to have seen patients reporting
symptoms based on what they had recently seen on TV or read in
newspapers and magazines.
The doctors questioned said they believed that the growing number of
medical issues covered by soaps, lifestyle programmes and newspapers and
magazines is making some patients paranoid.
**
Blackberry and rose geranium ice cream
Here's just one more excellent reason to go blackberry picking ....
Take about 500g of blackberries and gently heat to release their juices
with three leaves of rose geranium (Pelargonium 'Graveolens'). Sieve
when cool and mix the syrup with a sweet egg custard or icing sugar and
cream to taste. Freeze in an ice-cream maker, or still-freeze, whisking
the mixture once or twice as it freezes. If allowed to freeze hard, let
the ice soften in the refrigerator before serving.
Wild strawberry liqueur and elderberry rob
Strawberry liqueur is a fleeting pleasure because it doesn't keep for
long. Fill a bottle with freshly picked wild strawberries, add about
four tablespoons of caster sugar, top with vodka and seal. It will be
ready to drink in a week.
Elderberry rob is a sweet cordial of pure juice, and can be diluted with
water or something stronger. Heat the elderberries to release their
juices, squashing them against the sides of the pan. Strain and sweeten
to taste, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bottle and
refrigerate.
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