The people who are going to make it through this collapse are the ones… novel concept coming here… who are not stupid.  A little bit of common sense is all it takes.  Here are the ten commandments we should all follow if we want to float this one out.  Take a read; almost amazing how simple it really is.

1. Understand the nature of economics in the United States.

     While many of the people in this country feel like they’re in a state of emergency, most are not.  A bit of perspective is necessary.  In a world where a half dozen children will die of starvation while you read this article, being a month behind on your mortgage is not a crisis.

2.  Have a pre-set budget.

The easiest way to blow a budget is to not have one.  Plan your spending.

3.  Live below your means.

     As simple as this sounds, virtually no one does it.  The vast majority of Americans, in fact, do the exact opposite.  Everyone has an amount of money coming in and going out.  If the latter is the bigger, it’s high time to make some changes.

4.  Avoid Credit.

     Another simple one that no one seems to have any interest in following.  We are a nation of credit.  If I have to explain the reasoning behind this one, you shouldn’t have a damn credit card, anyway.

5.  Save everything you can.

If you happen to have a few bucks left once the bills are paid, for God’s sake put it in the bank!

6.  Understand the difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’.

     You may want a flat ngscreen, but I’m pretty sure you don’t need one.

7.  Learn to do things yourself.

     Washing your car at a car wash runs 10 bucks.  At home?  A dollar combined in soap and water.   Electricians, plumbers, and handymen can run you a hundred dollars an hour.  A Time Life book on doing it yourself is free.  Jiffy Lube charges you $30.00 to change your oil.  Do it at home for half that.  Get it?

8.  If your feet work, use them.

     Gas is expensive.  If you can get somewhere on foot, do it.

9.  Drink at home with your friends.

     America spends a lot of money going out drinking.  A case is $20.00.  Each beer at the bar is 3 bucks.  Do the math.

10.  Learn to conserve.

     Save where you can;  google it, and you’ll find a million ways.

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Parsley is probably the most familiar herb to many people. It’s used extensively as a garnish, either finely chopped or broken into neat sprigs. When you consider its attractive bright green colour even when added to hot dishes, attractive leaf shapes and the fact that cut pieces are slow to wilt, parsley’s popularity as a decorative addition to food is hardly surprising.

This herb is equally decorative in a garden or container. The curly leafed type, Petroselinum crispum probably the best one for decorative purposes. The neat plants and unusually frilled foliage provides a good contrast to a variety of bedding plants from brightly coloured marigolds and salvias to the most subtle pastel shades of begonias or impatiens.

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Petroselinum neapolitan or italian parsley has flat leaves and reportedly the best flavour for culinary purposes. There’s also a form that’s grown for it’s edible roots; Petroselinum tuberosum.

Parsley is rich in vitamins A, B and C.  It can be eaten raw or cooked. If cooked it should be added shortly before serving so that the flavour and vitamin content is not lost. Flecks of finely chopped parsley are especially appreciated on pale dishes, such as fish in white sauce, boiled potatoes or macaroni cheese, but it can enhance almost any savoury dish. Sprigs of parsley are often used on buffet dishes which are often a similar pastry brown colour.

Parsley helps reduce the smell of garlic on the breath, so is often added to garlic butter and dishes such as chicken Kiev. It is also said to aid digestion and cure flatulence. Leaves should be gathered as required and used fresh or frozen as colour and flavour both deteriorate if the leaves are dried or added to oils.

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Parsley is an easy to grow biennial which produces umbels of yellowish flowers during the summer after it was sown. It is often available as a young plant in garden centres and nurseries. Plants cope with a range of conditions from shade to full sun and are tolerant of most soils. The best leaves and biggest harvest will be produced on a fairly rich soil that is kept moist. Parsley can be successfully raised from seed, providing the seed is fresh. For best results, either  sow in modules or directly where it is to grow during early spring. Some people get better germination results if they water in the seed using boiling water (some claim cursing whilst doing so is also beneficial). Germination, particularly of stored seed or when sown in hot dry conditions can be slow and erratic. It’s also important to bear in mind that if it’s sown after Good Friday, the seed must travel to the Devil and back seven times before it will sprout, that it will only grow for honest people and does best in homes where the woman wears the trousers.

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Perhaps you fancy something small and intimate that can fit easily into your dining room and be used with romantic lighting for that special dinner.  But what about the occasions when you have visitors? You need to be able to include them too. This is where a dining table with a leaf hidden in the middle of it comes in handy. You simply pull the ends of the table apart and place the extra piece in the middle and you have a family sized dining table.

You might feel that a dining table with drop down ends is more practical and suits your home better and your choice depends on what you prefer.  There are many modern styles of dining table made from many different materials and you will find, glass, plastic, wood, wood veneer and even some very unusual modern materials if you like that trendy avant-garde look.  

The glass topped tables are made from tempered glass but may not be very practical if you have young children. There is probably no more of a safety issue than there would be with a table made from wood, for example, but all those tiny finger marks might make you wish you had never bought the glass version.

The colour range is vast so you need to start by thinking about how many people you will usually cater for and then how many there might be at special occasions, and so get an idea of the style and colour you prefer before starting the search for your perfect dining table.

You may set out for the store, or start you internet search with a particular style and size in mind but there is such a wide choice that you will probably end up buying something completely different from what you imagined. Just don’t forget how many people need to sit around your new table, or how much room you have in your dining room.

Whatever size or style of dining table you decide to buy, make sure that you like it and that you will still enjoy looking at it in ten years time. A dining time is not something you change very often, so this important.

If  you have decided to treat yourself to a new leather sofa it is a good idea to think carefully about what you want before you look around the stores and the internet. First of all you need to decide exactly what kind of leather sofa you want to buy.  Didn’t know there were different types of leather sofa?  Well there are.

There are a few horror stories about people paying a lot of money for leather sofas and chair and discovering that they have been cheated.  If you know what to look for before you go and choose you can void the pitfalls.

If you choose a full leather sofa then the whole of the sofa covering will be made of leather.  A half leather sofa will cost you a little less but it will only be made of leather where you actually sit and the rest of it will be made of fake leather, leatherette or matching fabric.  A bonded leather sofa is made from recycled leather which has been processed to look like new and it is not the real thing, but it is the cheapest way to buy a leather sofa if money is an issue.

Check the seat and the back of the sofa to make sure it is comfortable to sit on. Everyone is a different size and what might suit a small person may not be any good to a larger one.  The main thing to look out for is soft comfortable seating. Sometimes a leather sofa can feel hard and uncomfortable to sit on.

Next, decide whether you want a two-seater  or a three-seater leather sofa. You might also consider the dimensions of your room and opt for a corner model. There is lots of choice in colour and style but it is always wise to have some idea what you are looking for before shopping for furniture, then you will not come back with something you don’t really want.

The right shape of leather sofa in the right colour can look rich and fabulous in any room, whether it is a lounge, sitting room, bedroom, or even an office.  Leather has a special texture and aroma that cannot be matched by any other material. A well looked after leather sofa will last for many years.

Before you part with your hard earned money make absolutely certain that you are getting what you think you are getting. Ask questions but also inspect the sofa (pr leather chairs), bearing the points mentioned above in mind. That way you will not end up disappointed.

For instance children’s furniture for toddlers needs to be easily accessible and free from sharp edges and corner and the child needs to be able to reach shelves, open boxes and put things on hooks as it grows. Buying this type of children’s furniture can be expensive as the child soon becomes too big for it and wants something a bit more funky in colour and design.

This is where storage boxes, chests, clothes hangers and lockers come in. They can all be matched in co-ordinated colours to give the child’s room a brand new feel. Children’s furniture comes in a range of designs and colours and in some unusual materials. Even brightly coloured plastic can be utilised to give children’s furniture a vibrant, modern effect.

Before you shop for children’s furniture ask the child about colours as they can be quite unpredictable creatures and that trendy up-to-date purple they loved last week may now be old fashioned and the latest colour for children’s furniture might even be orange. Check your facts when it comes to this because it saves a lot of complaining and going back to the shop to exchange things because they are the wrong colour. Unfortunately, what we as parents think is our child’s favourite colour scheme is often not. We always seem to be too late by the time we catch up with their latest fads.

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As children grow older their tastes change and they may prefer a slightly more grown up look to their matching children’s furniture. Again, you should ask them what they prefer and don’t be surprised to find that it’s black or white, metal, or even lime-washed wood that takes their fancy. Some may even be into the latest milk crate designs (horror of horrors) but it saves a lot bother if you just ask. Make sure that you buy the best quality you can when buying children’s furniture for older children as they will be living with it for quite sometime.

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Common in Asian and Oriental foods and seasonings, the varied forms of root ginger are many. Ginger can be used to make soft drinks, beer, ginger powder (spice) and even ginger candy. Sliced, pickled, grated or dried, there are alleged health benefits from eating ginger. It is a very common ingredient in eastern culinary delights, it accounts for much of the ‘hot’ or ’spicy’ flavor whereas more western cuisine achieves this hotness from peppers, chilies and other spices. Often accompanying sushi, sliced ginger root cleanses the mouth and enhances the flavor of the raw fish in sashimi.

Various properties attributed to the consumption of ginger include its acting as a stimulant, as a blood thinner and ginger is accredited to being able to lower cholesterol levels (both these properties making ginger consumption a possible holistic treatment specific for heart conditions.) It is also believed my many that ginger can reduce the pain of arthritis by reducing swelling although some studies show that these purported results are similar to the placebo ‘sugar pill’ used as control. Arthritis in regional populations is fairly uncommon in regions where ginger is a common food ingredient. The supposition is that ginger may be involved with this curious fact.

Eating just about anything that contains real ginger is often the easiest treatment for motion sickness. More than apocrophlic wisdom, mom always brought a bag of ginger snap cookies for us kids whenever we traveled on long road trips. Ginger products are an effective remedy for relieving seasickness, morning sickness and even helps reduce the queasy symptoms of chemotherapy for cancer patients. Ginger Ale is often given to the sick to settle an upset stomach. What would suffering from and staying at home due to a cold or flu be without the quintessential drink of choice, ice cold ginger ale?

Ginger is however warned against for patients on doctor-prescribed blood-thinner medications due to its native blood-thinning effect. The combined effect may be too much and you should discuss with your doctor the use of ginger if you are on warfarin or any other anti-clotting treatment.

Root Ginger

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Zingiber officinale is the name for the root called ginger, a tuber that is used as a spice, medicial ingredient  and as food. There are other plants worldwide also bearing the name “ginger” so the common ginger as you would find in the supermarket is usually called “root ginger” to delineate the type and prevent confusion over the different varieties. 

Ginger, the Tuber, Plant and its Flowers

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The root when harvested is blanched in boiling water to supposedly prevent sprouting but store bought ginger root can still be made to grow. The buds are where the new growth will occur. The author of the image below used a desiccated-looking ginger root and using toothpicks to suspend the root in a vessel of water, it sprouted roots and was transplanted into a flower pot. Apparently, the scalding of the ginger root to ‘kill it and prevent sprouting’ is only partially effective. Supermarket root ginger can grow if allowed under even minimally favorable conditions. I have found numerous sources citing that it is easy to do. I am now eager to try this myself.

Potted Ginger Root Grows!

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 Burying the root in a flower pot under approximately 1-inch of potting soil or even laying it directly upon the potting soil and placing the entire flower pot into a sealed plastic bag and kept warm and humid is often enough to cause sprouting within a week or two. Growing to a height of 3 to 4 feet, it makes this unusual plant just about right for a balcony or patio and still of a convenient size to move inside if necessary. Ginger stalks are prone to damage from high winds so a support stick is required if it is left outside during inclement windy weather. Alternatively, the potted ginger plant can be brought inside during storms as necessary.

Buying a new double bed is a major purchase. You have to make sure that you get one that suits you perfectly and fits in with your decor. It is all too easy to see a double bed that you like. Maybe it is covered in leather, trimmed with steel, has a fabulous wooden frame, or perhaps it has built in drawers and bedside cabinets, and you really have to have it, but stop and think.

First of all check out the size of the double bed. It might be the slightly smaller Queen size which is too small for two people if you are well built, or it might be King size and you may only have double bedding. These things need to be considered before choosing your new double bed.

Next, you will need to find out if the price includes a mattress for your double bed and exactly what type of mattress you get. If you get your new double bed home and find out that it comes with a very thin, uncomfortable mattress, you will end up having to spend more money to make your double bed comfortable.  If you think about it, you spend one third of your life sleeping, so you need something that is comfortable and hardwearing.

When choosing a mattress for a double bed, test it by pressing on it to see whether it is as firm or as soft as you are used to, and it is always better to get your partner to do the same thing before you make a buying decision.

Once you have chosen your double bed make sure that it will go up the stairs if you live in a house or an apartment. This seems a silly thing to say but some double beds come apart into sections to make it easy to get them upstairs, but others do not. There have certainly been instances where someone has eagerly awaited the delivery of their new double bed and then found that it would not go up the stairs.

This might seem obvious but you should always make sure that you new double bed is comfortable and that you will be able to sleep on it. It is amazing how many people get carried away with all the fancy designs and contemporary looks and forget that a bed is not just for looking at. It must be functional as well as good to look at.

This particular tax credit allowed married workers to see up to $800.00 and single workers to see up to $400.00 in small increases to their pay checks for 2009 through 2010 via new withholding tables by the IRS. Most workers started to notice this small increase on their paycheck back in April of 2009. The program will extend into 2010.

However, the credit did not and will not account for incidences where both spouses worked, taxpayers have multiple jobs, or Social Security recipients that also had a taxable income. Depending on your federal income taxes, those that fall into these categories could be stuck actually paying back the “extra tax credit” or just see the amount owed back deducted from their federal income tax return.

The credit also didn’t take into account Social Security recipients, railroad workers, etc.. that received the $250.00 dollar stimulus payment this year plus the “Making Work Pay” tax credit. The inspector general stated that the 250.00 payment was intended for those that wouldn’t get the tax credit.

Essentially, millions of citizens that have seen the tax credits on their paychecks are going to be paying back money that is probably long spent. The IRS has responded that the withholding system must “approximate tax liability” and can not be tailored to all Americans. They are advising taxpayers to check their with-holdings to make sure they don’t have to pay an unexpected tax bill.

Well, gee Mr. IRS, It’s a little late for taxpayers to be checking withholdings now… 7 months after the tax credit began and long after the money has been spent. I find it ironic that the tax filer makes a mistake and the IRS adds penalties on top of the money owed. Yet, the IRS makes a mistake and the taxpayer still has to suffer the penalty of paying back money that they had no way of knowing they wasn’t supposed to get.  Government agencies apparently have no accountability or responsibility for their mistakes.

Choosing furniture that gives a room a fresh new look is not always easy. What looks great in the showroom can often look out of place in your home. Mistakes can be costly so think about the look you want to achieve before you buy.

A room divider is a great way to divide up space in almost any room. It works very well if you have a combined living and dining room and you want to provide a more secluded, intimate dining area. The beauty of these units is that a room divider can be bought to match your decor, or as a statement piece that really stands out.

If you want to extend the dining area you move the room divider, or turn it sideways and open the whole room up for a party. A room divider is a very adaptable piece of furniture.

The bedroom is another excellent place to use a room divider. You can section off a dressing area, or even create a study area, simply by placing your room divider where you want it.  This is an inexpensive way to create a small office or area for a student to work in, if you do not have a room available for that purpose.

Before you start looking for a room divider you should make yourself a rough plan of the room it is intended to go in. Measure carefully and take the diagram with you so that you can make sure that the room divider will fit exactly where you want it.

There are many modern and traditional designs available when it comes to choosing a room divider and you do not have to have anything cumbersome. Glass and metal gives a touch of modern design and lets the light through so this might be a good option for a room that does not get much natural light.  Perhaps you prefer a traditional design of room divider made of wood which will enhance the decor of your room, or you want to change dimensions with a modern steel, curved design.

It is amazing how a simple thing like a room divider can change the look and feel of your home and the real benefit of a piece of furniture like this is that you can change the room by moving it around, whenever you want to.

Whatever your preferences there is surely something to suit your tastes out there on the market. Get your measurements and then take your time to choose a fabulous room divider that you will want to live with for a very long time.

 First when do you start? Maybe as early as when they are first going into the store with you and they say “I want”. It starts with the gumball machine or perhaps at the check out counter where supermarkets stash all the candy at kids’eye level. It’s a plot to catch us at the end of running the gauntlet,when we are tired of shopping and our kids have used up the last of their “good”. Still , we have to say no, we don’t need to tell them we can’t afford it, we need only remind them we already bought a treat and we don;t need to buy this other thing now.

 Honesty is the best policy. We don’t need to sit the kids down after they get home from kindergarten and pull out the family financiall spreadsheet or the stack of bills. We do need to let them know we go away each day to work and we get paid money to work at doing  our job. In turn we use that money to buy the goods and services we need first and then we get to have some of the things we want afterwards if there is money left to buy those things. They will ask questions. help them understand. Small children have no idea it costs money to have a home, they don’t know it costs money to have the lights on in their bedroom or to watch TV, or use the computer. It’s OK to tell them. They need to know.

Let them know that everyone in the family needs to contribute in some way. If they don’t help out making money then they can do chores. Kids can help out making money and can start earning some of the things they want. I don’t mean you, as their parents, should pay them. that is not bringing money in. That is redistributing it. Kids can, rake leaves for neighbors, pet sit,  water a garden and weed for a neighbor, go shopping with an elder and help carry bundles, find cans and recycle them, babysit, have a paper route, do errands for a senior, walk dogs, and the list goes on. Work like this builds community, self esteem and character. Work like this helps them learn to earn and gives them the money they need to get the things they want. This is good sense and good commernce. It is a life lesson that will stand them in good stead and teach responsibility and give them  a sense of accomplishment.