Resolutions Don't Work...Try Something New In 2011

For you history buffs, New Years Resolutions pre-date the birth of Christ by about 2000 years. The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays, first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago.
So it's especially meaningful in 2006 that somewhere around Baghdad, Iraq is where New Year celebrations began. There is no truth to the rumor that Dick Clark hosted the first one.
Their celebration lasted for eleven days. But it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities don't even come close.
Most Americans watch it in their pajama's on TV. Let's flip the channel and see what our options are. There's Time's Square with Regis. Oh, then there's Time's Square with Ryan and Dick. And don't forget Time's Square with that other network. Thank God and the beer companies for college football bowl games or New Year's would really be boring.
It's that time again. So what is it about New Year's Resolutions that makes people want to make a significant change in their life?
We secretly or not so secretly hope that 2006 will be better than the year we just went through.
Stop smoking, start training, lose some body fat, start eating healthier,.etc. According to a study conducted by GNC, 50% resolved to exercise more, 38% wanted to lose weight, and 55% promised to eat healthier.
From previous experience, there are very few of us who actually follow through with resolutions.
Only 20% of us actually have the perseverance and patience to stick to our new promises we make to ourselves. Most new years resolutions are the same every year, and, tend to fade away by February, if not sooner.
Here are a couple of lists of the most common resolutions people make, and continually break.

Top 10 Most Common New Year Resolutions
Lose weight
Exercise more
Save or make more money
Stop smoking
Find a better job
Become more organized
Stick to a budget
Be more patient with people
Eat better
Become a better person

Or how about this one:
1) Spend more time with family and friends
Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. What about the other 50%? Don't they care?

2) Take time for fitness
Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some diseases, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis.
In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.
Sounds logical enough, yet most people will exercise for a few days to half a month, then quit. Logic alone just doesn't do the trick for sustaining your motivation.

3) Lose the Flab
At least Fifty-five percent of adults in America are overweight and the alarming rate of child obesity is outrageous! Put down the chips and cheeto's!
So it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Ever notice the abundance of weight loss commercials in January. It's their biggest time of the entire year for new sign-ups.
Setting reasonable goals and staying focused are the two most important factors in sticking with a weight loss program. Yet why does all this goal setting fail year after year for most people?

4) Quit Smoking.
Even if you've tried to quit before and failed, that's okay. Over-the-counter nicotine replacement products now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids.
On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good.
Here's a good reason to quit smoking. Add up what you are spending on your cig's and you probably can make a car payment with the money you'll be saving. But again, will power alone does not help you carry out this resolution.

5) Enjoy Life More
Given the hectic, stress lifestyles of millions of Americans, it is no wonder that "enjoying life more" has become a popular goal. But what does that really mean?
Working less does not equate to enjoying life more. A lot of people dream of "retirement" until they retire. Then they're bored stiff and end up getting a job somewhere just to ease the boredom.
Or they discover that they're busier than ever after retirement, apparently catching up on all the running around they couldn't get done when they were working. Nice try, but that resolution just doesn't cut it either.

6) Quit Drinking
Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they learn to moderate their drinking. If you have decided that you want to stop drinking, there is help and support available.

7) Get Out of Debt
HELP! American's are drowning in debt. Paying unending interest on credit cards is literally slavery. But how in the world do we get out of the trap, dig our way out of the huge hole we've sunk into with a wallet or purse full of credit cards. Especially since we just maxed out our limit on X Box 360 and other Christmas "must have's."
Maybe our real resolution should be to just say NO to more and more "stuff."
Was money a big source of stress in your life last year?
What's the answer? Where do you begin? Read on.

8) Learn Something New
Have you vowed to make this year the year to learn something new? Excellent choice.
Maybe you're considering a career change, want to learn a new language, or just how to use your computer or selling on E-bay.
Whether you take a psychology course or read a book, you'll find education to be one of the easiest, most motivating New Year's resolutions to keep. Challenge your mind in the coming year.
Take the 30 Day Mental Fast to prepare your mind for this one. Get it free below.

9) Help Others
Many people have experienced a new surge of personal energy and excitement by spending a few days or weeks with the American Red Cross or Habitat For Humanity, for example.
Whether you choose to spend time delivering relief supplies, or building a house, these nonprofit volunteer organizations could really use your help, especially since Hurricane Katrina.

10) Get Organized
Whether you want your home straightened out enough that you can invite someone over, or your office organized enough that you can find the paper clips, begin small so it doesn't interfere with resolution #5.
Resolutions do not involve luck to be effective.

Traditional New Year foods are thought to bring luck. The Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune. Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts heartily agree.
Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by eating black-eyed peas. These are typically eaten with either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas have been considered good luck in many cultures.

So since New Years resolutions and luck don't bring permanent success, what does? Your change must come from within. What you believe about who you are will determine your success or failure every time. When you change your mind, you can change your future.

Let's face it the more restrictive we are on ourselves the more we fail to deliver. The best way to create a "NEW YOU" is simply to try something new each month. Are you ready to try something new? Join Pampering4life: Try Something New In 2011 Challenge and leave the resolutions behind. Each month discover a new adventure by making small changes which will generate big results and before you know it. You will be trending on a new year, new you. Go to http://www.pampering4life.com to sign up now! You will be glad you did.

5 Easy Steps To Looking Younger

Here are 5 simple things you can do to make you not only feel younger and more energized but you'll keep yourself looking great too! 1. Maintain a balanced diet. Nothing makes me feel worse than eating unhealthy. Stay away from fast food joints like McDonalds. If you've ever watched the documentary "Supersize Me" you'll know exactly what kind of affect this junk food has on your energy level, not to mention how crappy it's going to make you feel after you eat it. Keep a good diet and you'll feel great inside and out. Think about a Vitamin E supplement - this is the hair, skin, and nail vitamin. 2. Exercise just 15 minutes a day. Keeping your body physically fit is proven to not only make you look a lot better but you'll live longer too. For a lot of people, aging means less activity and more sitting around. Don't let this happen to you! The more you age the more activity you should be injecting into your life. Exercise is the perfect way to do just that. You don't have to exercise for a long time, a brisk 15 minute walk every day should be enough to keep you feeling fresh and energized every day. A big problem I used to have with exercise is it was hard for me to stay motivated. One of the ways I got around that was I got an exercise buddy to exercise with. You probably know at least one person in your life that exercises on at least a weekly basis. Ask them if you can partner with them so you can keep each other motivated. This won't work with someone who isn't already exercising, they will most likely just keep you from exercising yourself when they're having a bad day (tried that, didn't work!). 3. Think about teeth whitening. Especially if you're a coffee drinker or you enjoy red wine or tea from time to time. These kinds of drinks can really yellow your teeth slowly but surely over time. Luckily this problem is easily solved. Ask your dentist if you really want to get some professional teeth whitening or consider an over the counter product like Crest Whitestrips. 4. Get a good night's sleep. Getting a bad night's sleep can do plenty of damage to your youthful look. You wake up groggy, your eyes puff up, and your face sags like saddle bags. Always be sure to get a good night's sleep at night by allowing yourself enough time to sleep. 8 hours is the perfect amount of time, anything less and you're cutting yourself short. 5. Keep out of the sun or when you have to get in the sun use a quality sun screen. The sun is known to damage the skin pretty much more than anything. It's the prime cause to premature aging and wrinkles. Consider it your greatest enemy! When you have to go out in the sun (like taking your family to the beach) invest in a quality sunscreen with plenty of SPF protection. Use it generously around your face and body. 


Go to www.pampering4life.com to schedule your personalized consultation to improve your health TODAY!!

10 Steps To Improve Your Financial Situation

Here are ten steps you can follow to help improve your personal financial situation and inevitably save more money:

1. Pay Yourself Weekly
This may seem a bit odd, but this is an excellent way to start building a substantial savings. On a weekly basis, pay yourself $25-$50 and immediately put it in a safe place. You can even open a special savings account where this weekly "payday" can by placed to help minimize or eliminate impulsive spending. Think about it this way, if you paid yourself $25 a week, in two years you'll have accumulated $2600 (not including interest)!!! That's almost $3000 from just putting $25 aside every week! Take advantage of this money-saving opportunity. Simple, yet very effective.

2. Don't Shop
For those of you that love to shop, you may find that this is one tip that could save you hundreds, maybe even thousands every year. Start using the "Need or Want" strategy. Before you spend a single dollar on anything, ask yourself, "Do I really NEED this item, or do I just WANT it??" You may find that many of the items we purchase, we do so just because it "caught our eye" or it was "an impulse buy" or "my friend bought the same thing". All these excuses just add up to wasteful spending. You can probably get by without another sweater, or a new pair of jeans, so just buy what you absolutely need, and pass on those items that aren't necessities.

3. Use Your Bank's Own ATMs
Some banks will charge you money for using other ATM machines. Even though you will be able to withdraw money using your ATM/debit card from literally any machine, banks will charge you $2 (generally) for using a machine other than theirs, in addition to a standard $1.50 charge the machine charges for its use. In other words, if you use the ATM at your local 7-11 to take out $20, you'll most likely end up paying $3.50 in additional charges! If you do that 5 times a month, you'll lose $17.50 for that month, or $210 per year! What a waste! Try and stick with your own bank's ATMs whenever possible.

4. Track Your Spending
Take the time to track your spending habits for one week. Take note of every single dollar you spend, even those sodas and candy bars purchased here and there. This will give you a "birds-eye" view of exactly where your money is being spent, thus allowing you to refine your spending habits to essentially save more money.

5. Lower Credit Card Balances
Another very important tip that many often overlook. Pay off those pesky credit cards as soon as possible because you are losing up to 19% of the total. What a waste of your hard earned money! Keep chopping away at the balances until you get to an amount that is reasonable $100-$500 dollars.

6. Use Your Debit Card Instead of Credit Cards
Get in the habit of using your debit card instead of your credit cards. For the most part, debit cards are accepted anywhere a credit card is accepted, however as you know, with a debit card the amount is taken directly from your checking account whereas credit card usage is billed at a later date (along with a hefty interest rate).

7. Changing Jobs? Roll-Over that 401(k)
When people change jobs/careers they will be faced with a decision to either "rollover" their 401k (retirement plan) or to withdraw it. It will be ever so tempting to withdraw the money since it will be a substantial amount, but don't! You will be charged fines and penalties for an early withdrawal that will cut YOUR total by 40%-60%! That's like giving half of your earned retirement savings away to a stranger. Why would you do that? Even though you may want the money now, resist the temptation and roll it over. It will be well worth it in the long run.

8. Avoid Getting Too Many Credit Cards
Why have eight credit cards? That's just going to provide you with more opportunities to go further into debt. It's fine to keep 1-3 cards to build credit, establish yourself, and for emergencies, but credit cards are double-edged swords. They can help or hurt you depending on your self-control.

9. Check Your Credit Score/Report
It's important to know where you currently stand as a consumer and since your credit report is the most important historical list of your financial past and present, it's a very good idea to check it from time to time. There are a number of places where you can get your credit report, however the most detailed compares information from the top three national credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Once you get your report, look through it carefully to see if all the information is accurate. If there are any discrepancies, get those solved as quickly as possible to improve your credit rating - a score of up to 800. Often times, consumers are unaware of unsettled accounts, or accounts that are still open/active when they should be closed. Pay close attention to this when inspecting your report.

10. Finally: Review - Revise - Retry

Once you start implementing these tips and become more familiar with the money saving opportunities you have, take the time to REVIEW your progress. Check and see where it may be possible to REVISE some of your techniques or where you can implement new ones. Once you have revised your plan, RETRY to see if your results improve. The more frequent you review, revise, and retry your saving ideas, the more "in tune" you'll be with your finances and spending habits, and learn what works and what doesn't for you.