Stress Relief and Debt Solutions – Tips for a Fulfilling Life in Retirement

Many professionals work for several hours each week and their stress at the workplace interferes with other aspects of their lives. 

Stress is an adverse effect of the pressure that individuals usually deal with at work. Combating and reducing this type of stress should be a goal for everyone because your peace of mind is important.

If you do not deal with stress effectively, it can have a negative impact on your health and wellbeing. Stress decreases productivity and leads to lack of fulfillment. 

Various positive changes in your life can help you gain relief from work stress. Implementing these changes will enable you to have a happier professional and personal life. 

Time Management

People are encouraged to begin their days as early as they can. This makes it possible for you to maximize on the amount of time you have. 

Starting your day earlier will give you more time to fulfill your obligations while minimizing the possibility of working late. When you begin your work early, you will be more productive and enhance your ability to achieve your goals.

Set Goals

• Goals are important because they give you something to aspire to. When you set goals, you gain a better sense of direction. 
• Set realistic goals that will not lead to the anxiety that unreasonable expectations are associated with. 
• People work in different ways but everyone should have clear goals. Use items such as organizers and calendars to make it easier for you to track your goals and become more organized. 

Breaks and Holidays

Sitting all day long at your desk increases stress and can lead to health problems such as back pain. Take an appropriate number of breaks during the day to relax and prevent eye or back strain. An occasional break helps to clear your mind and reinvigorate you.

Most organizations have a provision for time away from work. Use this time to go on a well deserved holiday and relieve any stress that you may have. Vacations are effective solutions for people who seek to be stress relief. 

Eliminating Debt

An important step towards debt relief is to work out your debts and determine the extent of your debt problem. 

The severity of a debt situation is based on factors such as the ability to cater for basic expenses and whether or not your debts exceed your income. Regardless of what your debt situation is, you need to make sure that you deal with it in a timely manner.

Additional Debt

Avoid taking out more loans that will increase your debts. Additional debt will make it harder for you to achieve your goal of financial freedom. After establishing your debt situation, you need to calculate the amount that you are able to pay every month.

Budget

A budget that constitutes your income and expenditure will enable you to work out the amount of money that is available to service the debts. 

Consider how you can cut down on your expenditure by saving more and eliminating expenses that you do not need. You also need to think about how you can increase your income.

Bio - Carl Field is a freelance editor and writer. He has worked in the industry for more than 5 years and covered a variety of topics. His free time is dedicated to charity work and voluntary services. To learn more about debt relief, go to the site.

Follow McDonald’s Business Model to Improve your Business’ Productivity

McDonald’s is one of the most popular food chains to rule the globe. It is, in fact, the largest food chain to sell fast foods like burgers, French fries and soft drinks. McDonald’s continues to satisfy the hunger of million customers on a regular basis. 

This is only a rough estimate; the figures may well be on the higher side. What’s the secret behind such a humongous business success? McDonald’s as an entity does not possess extraordinary skills or abilities. 

It is simply a fast food joint serving good, hygienic and tasty items. There are several similar competitors available, but they have never been able to achieve heights that McDonald’s has reached. 

Definitely, there are reasons that can be held responsible for the company’s constant success. 

Let’s take a look at some of the essential business policies being followed by McDonald’s:

Streamlining the process

There can be better fast food outlets and brands available. However, McDonald’s enjoys the highest popularity. This is because they have the entire business process perfectly streamlined to ensure best customer services. 

They have the fastest services, whether you opt for home delivery, counter purchase or take away. They have a highly streamlined process, right from cooking to putting the stuff together and preparing the dish, and serving to the clients. 

Being streamlined also makes it easier for them to attend more customers within the shortest time-span in comparison to other fast food joints.

Utilizing the concept of Upselling

This is an excellent business process that can reap great results, if handled intelligently. McDonald’s sales staff always have a tendency to boost the clients in including other available items with the ones they are ordering. 

Say, for example, if you are planning to order a cheese chicken burger, they will request you to add French fries and soft drinks to make the meal look fuller. They will also convince the clients with the money savings schemes, if the items are taken together. 

This is an intelligent policy to increase sales and productivity of every item, available with them. And the funny part is that such a policy works big time.

Discounts and limited period offers

McDonald’s also offers limited period food items to increase their demand. They have a tendency to suddenly introduce some special burger items at nominal rates. However, they keep the offer for a limited period. 

This is done intentionally to fetch more clients. They even offer McDonalds discount coupons to customers during the time of purchase. 

The coupons can be used for the next purchase, but it also comes with an expiry date. These are all promotional campaigns to keep up the sales. 

Repackaging the products is an art by itself that not everyone has the ability to carry out perfectly. Speaking about McDonalds, they are masters at repackaging their products in the most perfect way. 

This ability also helps them to take advantage of the different price levels. The concept of “Happy Meal” is the best example to complement this fact. For a few dollars extra, you are getting the good old hamburger with fries, drinks, chocolates and an additional toy. 

Now, isn’t it an attractive deal for the kids? In fact, there are several other meal options available from McDonalds that utilize the repackaging concept for better brand endorsement and high business productivity.

Author Bio: David Wicks is a blogger and e-marketer. He is a regular columnist for https://www.mcdelivery.co.in/. In this article, he has tried to figure out some crucial business policies that have proved to be highly fruitful for McDonald’s’ huge success. These principles can be utilized by anyone planning to be an entrepreneur or want to take up a franchise for some popular and renowned brand. 

Should You Let Your Insurance Lapse?

When you’re young and healthy, insurance of all kinds tends to be more affordable. Health insurance premiums are low, life insurance is a negligible expense, and additional add-ons can cost less than your monthly coffee budget.

As you age though, insurance rates tend to increase. Plans that guarantee life-long rates tend to start out at a higher cost, leading many young people to choose term plans that eventually expire. 

When these come to term, the chances of renewing depend on several factors. If you’ve had long term care insurance and never used it, it may be tempting to let it lapse. In fact, 25% of seniors let their long term care insurance lapse, despite entering the years where they’re likely to need it most. 

Below are some considerations you’ll want to make when deciding whether to renew your long term care insurance.

Upfront Cost

The most common reason to let insurance lapse is the monthly cost. After all, that is the only tangible effect that insurance has on your life until the moment comes that you finally need to use it. 

Be sure to price compare across several companies. If you have a term up for renewal, try to negotiate with your current provider. If you get a comparable quote from a competitor, your current provider is likely to cut you a deal to keep a customer.

Likelihood of Need

Long term care insurance often covers services like adult daycare, home health aides, and assisted living facilities. You can judge your potential need for these services by considering the following:

• Your current health and self-care capabilities
• Your family health history, particularly related to debilitating conditions related to aging
• Your family’s time and monetary resources. Are there relatives who can/will care for you?

Depending on your current and predicted future health, as well as the availability of familial caregivers, you may decide you aren’t likely to take advantage of long term care insurance. 

In this case though, you will still want to consider burial insurance and other life insurance policies that will limit the financial burden of your eventual passing on your loved ones.

Personal and Family Finances

If your life savings is small and your family is financially stable, there may be no reason to have long term care insurance. Conversely, if your fortune is large, it may be more financially savvy to just spend the money on care rather than get it covered. 

But if your wealth is between $200,000 and $2 million, you are in the spot where you have financial assets you may want to pass to family, and long term care could significantly impact that amount. 

This window is the magic spot where insurance can be extremely useful.

You’ll want to consider both your finances and the finances of family members who will bear the burden of your care. 

Talk with them about the best path forward for all. Do you want the security of future protection, or is the possibility of needing long term care one that you’d rather save the money from insurance premiums to address straight on when the time comes? 

There are pros and cons on both sides, and the right answer for you will largely depend on your personal situation and your preferences of where your money goes. 

Would you rather pay into a system that gives you security, but may not be utilized, or risk having to pay higher costs should the need for long term care arise?

Insurance can be a personal and frustrating topic to navigate. Talking with family and financial professionals who you trust can help you make the best decision for you and your family.

Jeriann’s interest in financial writing sprouted from her attempts to pay off her student loans. She was tired of seeing the same tips for saving money (cut your home line, reduce eating out). She now writes about her journey, financial and otherwise at her blog, dairyairhead.com

How to Enjoy Halloween Without Wrecking Your Wallet

Halloween is always a lot of fun, but it can also be expensive. Between the costumes and candy for the entire neighborhood, you can really feel the pinch on your budget. 

The good news is that you don’t have to break out the credit card to ensure that your kids have a great season. Here are a few ways that you can keep Halloween enjoyable and affordable.

Go DIY

If you have the time and patience, then you can work on your DIY skills and make your Halloween great. Use old shipping boxes to make your own cemetery for the front yard, and add spooky faces to your trees with oven-baked clay. 

Build a coffin that you can use at your next party or for holding the candy on Halloween night. You’ll find countless ideas online, and it only takes a little patience to bring them to life.

Creative Candy Options

If you go through a ton of candy every year, then consider buying from a discount club. If you have a friend with a membership, then you can just go shopping with them to make the purchase. 

Another option is to add just a few bags to your weekly grocery purchases starting in September. Be sure to look at the price per item to see if you’re getting a good deal. 

If the price per unit isn’t listed, then just look at the serving information to see roughly how many pieces are in a bag. You can also save by skipping the name brands and going with generic options. Keep an eye out for coupons and sales to help you save more.

Shop Online

Before you go to the high-priced Halloween store around the corner, look at shops online. There are discount retailers who save by selling direct to the public, and they pass the savings on to their customers. 

All you need to find a great price on cool Halloween costumes for women is some basic measurements so that you can get the right size.

Recycle

Rather than going out to buy new costumes, recycle with what’s already in your Halloween bins. Sometimes the funniest costumes are actually a conglomeration from years past. 

Take the worn out pirate’s costume and make yourself a pirate zombie. Look for costume ideas that focus on ordinary clothes and face paint. You probably have the clothing already, and paint is quite affordable.

Fill an old costume with stuffing and strap it to your back so that you can have a piggyback skeleton or a scary monster chasing you. It’s also possible to turn the old costumes into decorations by stuffing them or putting them on dressmaker’s dummies.

Visit the Dollar Store

When it comes to your DIY projects, the dollar store may be your best friend. You can typically get affordable parts and pieces so that your cool idea won’t wind up being a drain on your budget. You can also look for supplies around your home to save even more money.

Time It Right

Rather than buying early, go the other direction and buy certain things late. If you have the time to carve a pumpkin right before Halloween, then you can take advantage of sales as stores try to clear out the inventory.

You can also save on candy by stopping at the store on the way home and picking up your candy at discounted prices. An added bonus is that your pumpkin won’t have time to rot before you use it, and you won’t eat half the bag of candy while waiting for the big day.

Halloween doesn’t have to be hard on your budget. With these tips and solutions, you can keep the cost down and ensure that you keep your spending down and the focus on fun.