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An adage says cut your coat according to your cloth. But in the fast-paced world of today, it’s easy to go in deep over your head. However, there are some signs that show you’re biting more than you can chew You’ve never set a budget Having a written budget is one of the most important steps to financial freedom and living within your means. So if you’ve never set financial parameters for yourself and you’re not filthy rich; chances are that you need to take an honest inventory of your income, spending, and savings goals. This exercise can help you track not only what you’re buying, but also how and when. You save less than five per cent Those who want financial security during their retirement years must make sure that they aren’t among those who are spending more than they make. If you are saving less than five per cent of your gross income, you are likely in over your head. A savings rate below five per cent means you could be in real danger of financial ruin if someone in your family were to have a medical emergency or your need to carry out an impromptu project. Ideally, everyone should try to save as much as they can but in terms of targets, the rule most financial advisors suggest is 10 per cent of your gross income. Beginning at age 30, if you were to save 10 per cent of your N1, 000,000 annual income or N100,000 every year, and earn an annual rate of return of five per cent, that money would grow to more than N10,000,000 by the time you are 65. You have no emergency fund Part of the reason you need savings is to pay, in cash, for those inevitable emergency purchases like if your car has a major fault or you get hit with an excruciatingly high bill. Financing these kinds of expenses with a loan will only continue the cycle of living beyond what you can afford. Try to build an emergency fund of about N50, 000; that way, you at least have a cushion when an unexpected expense crops up. Try to do this within six months and set aside as much as possible each month towards the goal. This is not your total emergency fund. It is simply a place to start. No money left at the end of the month People who live on paycheck to paycheck often believe that they can’t save money or spend less because their lifestyle has become a habit. However, there are typically at least one or two small ways you can cut back; like trading a pricey cable bill for Netflix, which is cheaper and can be split among friends. An easy way to jump-start savings and become more conscious of your spending decisions is to enact a no-spend month. Allow yourself to spend money only on the bare necessities for 30 days —rent, bills, groceries— and cut out everything else. No clothes shopping, no eating out, and especially no online splurging. Nothing puts your finances in check more than a consumption detox. Bills are spiraling out of control Buying on credit and paying by installment has become a pastime. It’s much easier to buy a new flat screen TV when the salesman breaks down the price in monthly installments. The problem is that all of these bills start to add up and you end up nickel and diming yourself into bankruptcy. If your monthly income is being sliced and diced to pay for dozens of unnecessary installment purchases and services, you are likely in over your head. Lay out all of your monthly bills on your kitchen table and go through them one by one. Some of the best places to find savings include your telephone bills, utility bills (turn off the lights, don’t run the air conditioner if nobody is home) and your entertainment expenses (you could start to dine out less and pack lunch for work). Source
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Roughly 176 million cases of food poisoning and 15,000 related deaths occur each year. The elderly, the very young, pregnant women, and people with otherwise weakened immune systems tend to be most vulnerable. You’re not totally helpless, though. These simple rules may help you avoid food-borne illnesses. Avoid raw eggs Eggs have been linked to 352 food poisoning outbreaks since 1990, most often due to salmonella bacteria, one of the most common culprits of food poisoning. Chances are you’re not going to purposely down a raw egg, but remember all of the places that raw eggs are hiding: Taking a nibble of raw cookie dough or licking the spoon used to stir the cake batter can be hazardous. Shop wisely Food safety begins at the grocery store. Stop by the refrigerated and frozen sections last, so that perishable products stay cold for as long as possible. Bag raw meat separately from other foods and bring groceries home immediately to store them properly. “Choose foods carefully,” says Klein. “Look at expiration dates [and] whether something appears to have been kept at the right temperature.” Shopping at an upscale supermarket won’t necessarily protect you from foodborne illness, she adds. “Even a ‘nice’ deli can have trouble cleaning sufficiently. Wash, wash, wash All produce needs to be washed, even if you plan on peeling it before you eat it. Klein does not recommend, however, rewashing triple-washed bagged lettuce because the extra handling of these already clean greens could introduce new contaminants. But even the most thorough washing does not always eliminate your risk because, as Klein warns, “pathogens can get inside produce.” While contaminated produce sounds scary, consumers needn’t avoid nutritious foods such as spinach and tomatoes just because they have been linked with outbreaks, she says.Produce isn’t the only thing you need to wash. Remember to wash your hands frequently—and “thoroughly”—and give countertops and cutting boards a good scrub too. Separate raw from ready Never thaw food on a counter, as the outermost layer will warm too quickly, promoting bacteria growth. Use different utensils and cutting boards for preparing raw meats and for assembling ready-to-eat dishes. This will prevent cross-contamination, the easiest way of spreading the most common foodborne bacteria. Washing your sink after using it to clean raw meats is also a good idea, says Klein. Keep your eye on the temperature Looks can be deceiving when cooking raw meat. Don’t trust that a browned chicken breast is done; instead check the internal temperature of all meats with a food thermometer. Chicken and turkey should reach 165˚; steaks, 145˚; and hamburgers, 160˚. Bacteria multiply the fastest between 40˚ and 140˚, so make sure that cold food stays cold and that cooked food is hot enough. Refrigerate food at less than 40˚, and reheat cooked leftovers to at least 165˚. “Reheat things to steaming,” says Klein, “to ensure any bacteria that may have multiplied are killed off.” Source
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Four-time Olympic gold medallist Sue Bird has come out as a lesbian – and revealed that she’s dating US soccer star Megan Rapinoe. The 36-year-old basketball player, who has also won two WNBA championships with Seattle Storm, made the revelations during a feature with ESPN. During the piece, Bird stated that she came out to her family and friends near the start of the millennium. But the star – who is the oldest player in the league, but with no plans to retire – has never come out publicly before. “I’m gay,” she said. “Megan’s my girlfriend. “These aren’t secrets to people who know me,” she continued. “I don’t feel like I’ve not lived my life. I think people have this assumption that if you’re not talking about it, you must be hiding it, like it’s this secret. “That was never the case for me.” The absurdly decorated sportswoman, who has also won three world championships, said she wanted to come out now “because that’s what feels right. “So even though I understand there are people who think I should have done it sooner, it wasn’t right for me at the time. “I have to be true to that. It’s my journey.” She started dating Rapinoe, a US national team winger who won the World Cup in 2015, last year, in autumn. “We have a lot in common and just sort of clicked,” Rapinoe said. “I joke she is my number one go-to-for-advice person. She’s just so level-headed.” The Seattle Reign star added: “She just has this way of expressing her opinion: She doesn’t shut anybody off when she speaks. “I could probably work on that a little.” But Bird said her decision to come out was not influenced by her girlfriend. “This actually has nothing to do with Megan, in terms of how free I feel to talk about it. “This has been something I’ve been on the verge of doing for a long time.” Bird revealed that last summer, before she going out with Rapinoe, she almost came out in a magazine questionnaire called 25 things you don’t know about Olympians. “I literally had at No. 25: ‘I’m gay,’ ” she said. “And then I just didn’t do it. I chickened out.” Later, she heard a reporter casually chatting with one of her teammates, Elena Delle Donne, about her choice to come out. “I almost said: ‘Yeah, it’s no big deal. I’m gay, who cares?'” Bird said. “There’s another moment it was right there, but I didn’t say anything.” We’re glad she’s decided to do it now, in her own time. Source
