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Managing your debts wisely

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In the current chaotic economic environment many people are more worried about their ability to manage their personal finance commitments with several institutions. This may be due to concerns over job security or changing economic circumstances within the household.

If you’re having trouble juggling many accounts and ensuring you meet the differing due dates for payments, or the terms, conditions and contracts on different types of loans or credit, a debt consolidation loan could be worth investigating.

A debt consolidation loan allows you to simplify your money matters by consolidating your personal finances into something more manageable. You roll your current debts into a single easier-to-manage loan with one fixed repayment at regular intervals – generally each week, fortnight or month – depending on your lifestyle needs.

Further advantages of these types of loans include big savings in paperwork, as well as time and worry each month, and more control of your finances.

  • The institution’s ability to set a loan term and amount that actually suits your budget. Amounts from $3,000 upwards with terms from two to seven years give the flexibility most people need;

  • The ability to help you with the paperwork to move all your current commitments into the one loan – as this can be a bit of work if you’ve got lots of accounts with different credit providers. Staff should be able to work with you to determine your current commitments, then assist you to payout existing debts.

  • Flexibility with payment options so it suits your lifestyle. Since a key reason for establishing a debt consolidation loan is to ease the stress of juggling your finances, make sure that payment options are right for you. There should be options for weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments. The ability to use direct debit should also be available.

  • Because everyone’s financial management needs are unique with these types of loans, the institution should be able to work with your personally to create a debt consolidation loan that meets your lifestyle needs; and most importantly

  • Don’t agree to anything or sign anything you don’t fully understand. If you’re unsure, keep asking questions until you have the full picture.

Juggling personal finances doesn’t need to be a headache – even if most of us haven’t paid much attention to it since school! Finding the right debt consolidation loan for you should allow you to get your personal finance commitments back under control.

For more information, visit www.gemoney.com.au

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Time for a financial health check-up

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You do your best to keep your mind and body in tip-top shape. But how’s your financial health?

Lots of Australian families are finding money matters really tough going at the moment, so here, Financial Counsellor Elizabeth Terry, from Wesley Mission, shares her best advice for taking control of your finances.

  • Do a comprehensive budget, noting income and expenditure, being as accurate and frank as you can be. Include all payments for debts. Wesley Mission has a ‘Money Plan’ budget on their website (see details below).

  • Ascertain spending patterns. Take a notebook with you and write down everything you spend for a fortnight to get an accurate depiction of expenses to include on your budget. Include all household members in the assessment and, if possible, involve them in the notebook exercise if they are also spending out of the household income, or even to help others manage their money.

  • Determine if anything can be changed to either balance the budget, if required, or reduce expenditure to make savings or to pay down debt.

  • Note all debts including mortgage, car loan, personal loans, lines of credit such as credit cards, store cards, or interest free store cards (these are also a line of credit if not paid off in the interest free period).

It is helpful to know that with any line of credit, the interest is calculated daily and therefore is compounding interest. Paying minimum payment does not reduce the debt, which can increase by the compounding interest and take many years to pay off. If the whole amount of a line of credit can’t be paid in full, then it is best to look at your budget to see if more than the minimum payment can be paid to reduce the amount of interest that will be charged on this credit and reduce the debt.

  • Only use a credit card for items that can be afforded, according to your budget, so that the whole amount can be paid off at the end of the month in full. When credit is used to supplement income it will create a debt that may be difficult to repay.

  • Note that home and car payments are paid on time, as they are secured debts and can be repossessed if payments are behind. If there are problems, it is important not to ignore the situation but to seek help from a financial counsellor. There may be hardship provisions that you can request from your lender.

  • Don’t ignore any debts that fall behind. Communicate with the lender and seek help from a financial counselor.

“And it’s not how much money you do or don’t have that can be the problem. You can be very poor or very wealthy and still have arguments about money and how it should be managed.”

Anne explains that a family is like a small business – you need an understanding of both the day-to-day requirements of your finances, but also be able to plan for the future.

“You need to talk about how to manage your finances so you can achieve your goals,” says Anne. “But for some couples money is so hard to talk about. That’s incredibly common. And it’s a sign that you need professional help for your partnership.”

  • You can contact Relationships Australia by phoning them on: 1300 364 277 or visiting their website: www.relationships.com.au
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How Embarrassing!

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Actress Mischa Barton suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction at a charity night when her dress slipped lower than she was expecting!

Fans around the world were shocked when this photo of Jessica Simpson was released earlier this year, showing the singer’s sudden weight gain.

Who could forget this gaffe on the catwalk for former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins? Fortunately the gorgeous blonde had the good nature to laugh it off.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2007 election campaign was overshadowed by the emergence of embarrassing footage of him eating his own earwax in parliament. The cringe-worthy video was replayed on international news networks for weeks.

Transformers actress Megan Fox showed a little more flesh than she planned at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles this month.

Bright young Harry Potter star Emma Watson couldn’t magic away the wind at a movie premiere in London this year. The actress had to quickly call on helpers to keep her floor-length flowing gown intact.

US singer Fergie still turns red at the thought of the time she accidentally wet her pants on stage, during a concert with her band Black Eyed Peas.

Poor Peter Andre is not having a good year. Following his split from wife Katie Price his comeback album is proving to be a big flop… literally. The singer took an embarrassing – and painful – fall from a stage recently trying to promote his new offering.

Britney Spears has had more than her fair share of red-faced moments in her short career, but few could go past her bizarre head shaving incident. The singer burst into a Los Angeles hair salon and demanded to have her uncomfortable hair extensions removed. When the salon refused to shave her head, Britney grabbed the shears and did it herself.

US Secretary of state Hillary Clinton lost her usually unshakeable composure on a recent trip to Africa when a student asked for her husband’s views. A furious Mrs Clinton snapped at the shocked man: “My husband is not the Secretary of State — I am. You ask my opinion; I will tell you my opinion. I’m not going to channel my husband.”

Former child star Lindsay Lohan has been caught with her pants down on a number of occassions. This time, an unpredictable gust of wind caught the actress off-guard.

Demi Moore knew Ashton Kutcher was a prankster when she married him… though we doubt she expected to be the butt of his jokes! Ashton, a big fan of social networking site Twitter, has been caught posting photos of his wife in her knickers.

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Choosing a husband should be like buying a house, claims controversial new book

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Forget sparks, attraction and falling in love, when it comes to choosing a partner for life, women should apply the same criteria as when buying a house, according to a controversial new book.

Reva Seth, author of the book entitled First Comes Marriage, argues that the underlying principles of Asian marriages are the key to enjoying a long-term and successful partnership. Reva, who interviewed more than 300 happily married Asian women in Europe and North America, believes that Asian principles can be adapted by Western women to protect themselves against the pitfalls of modern romance and the prospect of divorce.

Despite the common Western view that arranged marriages are old-fashioned and immoral, Reva argues that the philosophy which underpins many Asian marriages is a shared sense of cultural heritage and a similar set of life goals. According to Reva, this is ultimately what women should be seeking.

“I’m not saying that women should not choose their husbands for themselves — that should be every woman’s right”, Reva says. “What I am saying is that perhaps modern women are basing their choices on the wrong criteria.”

Reva, a 32-year-old former lawyer, goes on to claim in her book that the logic and rationale which goes into buying a house can be a good approach to choosing a husband.

“When you are buying a house you draw up a list of ‘must haves’ so why shouldn’t it be the same for marriage, which is probably the most important decision you will ever make in your life?” she asks.

“I know it doesn’t sound very sexy or hot to ask yourself, ‘is this the person I want to be with in 20 years’ time?’, but perhaps these are the questions women should be asking themselves instead of basing their decision on some unrealistic romantic fantasy.”

Reva’s theory is that many women go through their dating lives choosing partners who they happen to meet and be attracted to. Although we, as people, research our colleges, plan our careers and make cautious, informed decisions when it comes to buying property, we seem uncomfortable with the idea of taking a conscious and definite approach to our dating lives.

“Romantic love is very enticing and appealing because it is so exciting, usually based on infatuation and lust, but is that good enough reason to marry someone?” She asks. “Women can waste years finding out that the person they are in love with is basically unsuitable for them in the long term.”

First Comes Marriage by Reva Seth, is published by Simon & Schuster.

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The health rewards of physical activity

Winston Churchill once said that whenever he felt the urge to exercise, he lay down until it went away. A reasonable sentiment you may think, given that exercise can be so painful.
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Winston Churchill once said that whenever he felt the urge to exercise, he lay down until it went away. A reasonable sentiment you may think, given that exercise can be so painful.

So why, you may ask, do so many people do it voluntarily? Why do joggers run the risk of stiffness and soreness the next day? Why do skiers freeze their buns off (as well as empty their wallets)? Why would anyone paddle a canoe, when they can use an outboard motor?

Of course, there are the long-term benefits: improved health, decreased weight, increased energy and improved fitness. Yet these are somewhat intangible and don’t really make you want to leap out of bed on a cold, dark morning.

Surprisingly, the answer seems to lie more in the mental, rather than the physical benefits. Sure, there are plenty of the latter (as we’ll see below), but what is more interesting is the psychological benefit you can get from being active.

It’s here where we have a bit to learn from addiction studies. Exercise it seems, can be a form of addiction, like drugs – albeit usually in a more positive fashion. The symptoms of addiction include habituation, withdrawal, tolerance, analgesia and euphoria. The same symptoms become familiar to the habitual exerciser: you don’t like to miss a day’s activity; the fitter you get, the more you want to do; habitual activity kills the pain unfit people associate with it; and euphoria is why most people keep doing it.

Of course, this doesn’t happen from day one. Done the right way, though, it does happen. In the meantime, you might be motivated enough by the physical benefits.

There are three things here we can definitely promise. First, you’ll look better, second, you’ll feel better, and third, you’ll perform better. Now don’t misunderstand me. You may not look good, or feel fantastic, or perform brilliantly – but you will look, feel and perform better.

If you do it often enough and long enough, we now also know that it can help you live longer (and not just because it feels longer). Death rates from all causes are lower in the habitually active, but particularly from heart disease, diabetes and several forms of cancer.

There are also benefits for your mental health and feelings of wellbeing. Surprisingly, recent research has also shown that you’ll keep your teeth longer, for the same reasons that exercise reduces diabetic complications, by increasing the flow of blood to the smaller blood vessels of the periphery, such as the gums, fingers and toes.

One of the most immediate benefits is in the maintenance of a lower body weight. While diet may be the best to get an immediate reduction in weight, exercise is known to be the best for long-term weight loss maintenance. You may not burn enough calories doing it to lose a large amount, but the changes to metabolism in habitual exercise are enough to make long-term maintenance easier – and this is where it counts.

We could go on, but a regular lifestyle pattern of exercise is something that really has to be felt, not talked about. One thing that should be clear, though, is that if you can’t imagine this, your body control mechanisms are probably already out of whack because activity is a natural physical function. Without it, all the body’s other natural functions (eating, sleep, sex, etc) also get out of control and no longer obey the common laws of nature. If the other issues aren’t enough to spur you into action, surely this is. To find out what exercise suits you best or your current level of exercise enjoyment, try the following Lifestyle Medicine Assessments.

YOUR SAY: Do you find physical activity rewarding? How do you motivate yourself to exercise? Share with us below…

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Home Page 5231

The health rewards of physical activity

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Getty Images

Getty Images

Winston Churchill once said that whenever he felt the urge to exercise, he lay down until it went away. A reasonable sentiment you may think, given that exercise can be so painful.

So why, you may ask, do so many people do it voluntarily? Why do joggers run the risk of stiffness and soreness the next day? Why do skiers freeze their buns off (as well as empty their wallets)? Why would anyone paddle a canoe, when they can use an outboard motor?

Of course, there are the long-term benefits: improved health, decreased weight, increased energy and improved fitness. Yet these are somewhat intangible and don’t really make you want to leap out of bed on a cold, dark morning.

Surprisingly, the answer seems to lie more in the mental, rather than the physical benefits. Sure, there are plenty of the latter (as we’ll see below), but what is more interesting is the psychological benefit you can get from being active.

It’s here where we have a bit to learn from addiction studies. Exercise it seems, can be a form of addiction, like drugs – albeit usually in a more positive fashion. The symptoms of addiction include habituation, withdrawal, tolerance, analgesia and euphoria. The same symptoms become familiar to the habitual exerciser: you don’t like to miss a day’s activity; the fitter you get, the more you want to do; habitual activity kills the pain unfit people associate with it; and euphoria is why most people keep doing it.

Of course, this doesn’t happen from day one. Done the right way, though, it does happen. In the meantime, you might be motivated enough by the physical benefits.

There are three things here we can definitely promise. First, you’ll look better, second, you’ll feel better, and third, you’ll perform better. Now don’t misunderstand me. You may not look good, or feel fantastic, or perform brilliantly – but you will look, feel and perform better.

If you do it often enough and long enough, we now also know that it can help you live longer (and not just because it feels longer). Death rates from all causes are lower in the habitually active, but particularly from heart disease, diabetes and several forms of cancer.

There are also benefits for your mental health and feelings of wellbeing. Surprisingly, recent research has also shown that you’ll keep your teeth longer, for the same reasons that exercise reduces diabetic complications, by increasing the flow of blood to the smaller blood vessels of the periphery, such as the gums, fingers and toes.

One of the most immediate benefits is in the maintenance of a lower body weight. While diet may be the best to get an immediate reduction in weight, exercise is known to be the best for long-term weight loss maintenance. You may not burn enough calories doing it to lose a large amount, but the changes to metabolism in habitual exercise are enough to make long-term maintenance easier – and this is where it counts.

We could go on, but a regular lifestyle pattern of exercise is something that really has to be felt, not talked about. One thing that should be clear, though, is that if you can’t imagine this, your body control mechanisms are probably already out of whack because activity is a natural physical function. Without it, all the body’s other natural functions (eating, sleep, sex, etc) also get out of control and no longer obey the common laws of nature. If the other issues aren’t enough to spur you into action, surely this is. To find out what exercise suits you best or your current level of exercise enjoyment, try the following Lifestyle Medicine Assessments.

YOUR SAY: Do you find physical activity rewarding? How do you motivate yourself to exercise? Share with us below…

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Elle vs Posh: gal pals or fashion victims?

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Elle Macpherson seems to be a big fan of Victoria Beckham’s fashion collection, despite being business rivals with the former Spice Girl.

The leggy supermodel has been seen no less than three times in one of Mrs Beckham’s creations, including a $4200 black strapless corset dress and a belted bandeau number – both debuted by Victoria months before Elle could get her hands on them.

But sources say Elle has snapped up at least five dresses from Victoria’s collection, and with her tall, curvy figure many believe Elle is upstaging stick-thin Posh at her own game.

The pair make unlikely fashion buddies – both are known for their cutthroat business skills and have cultivated successful careers at the top of the industry.

Elle has run her own ‘Intimates’ lingerie line for over 19 years, while Posh and her hubby David Beckham have stripped down numerous times for Emporio Armani underwear.

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Kate Moss’s life of excess shows on her face

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She may have once had a dream life – buckets of money, a fabulous job and Johnny Depp by her side – but Kate Moss’s glory days look to be fading.

Spotted holidaying on a luxury yacht off the coast of St Tropez, the 35 year old supermodel looked tired and worn, and experts claim her wild partying lifestyle has finally caught up with her.

The mother-of-one seems to have aged dramatically thanks to smoking, excess drinking and late nights, according to beauty and health experts quizzed by the Mail Online.

“The ends of her hair are particularly damaged. I put this down to smoking and drinking, which dries out the hair,” says Lee Stafford, celebrity hairdresser.

“We know that heavier women have fuller faces and higher levels of oestrogen, which helps to keep their skin supple. As someone with very low body fat, Kate’s skin has none of these advantages,” adds cosmetic specialist Dr Elisabeth Dancey.

Kate has famously been slammed for drug use in the past, and was even spotted smoking a rolled up cigarette that “looked like a cannabis joint” with Lily Allen on the boat.

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Heath Ledger’s last film

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His spooky posthumous performance in Batman film ‘The Dark Knight’ gripped viewers with sadness and loss, but Heath Ledger still has one final curtain call.

The immensely talented actor was halfway through filming ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ at the time of his death from an accidental drug overdose.

Heath’s movie industry mates, devastated by his sudden demise, pledged to complete the film in his honour.

Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell co-star in this magical, mystical film that boasts stunning visuals, breathtaking cinematography and a ‘never to be seen again’ line-up of amazing talent.

The fantasy film centres around a travelling theatre group who have made a pact with the devil. Heath’s character, Tony, is now played by all four actors as he goes through transformations in a dream world.

“Nothing is permanent, not even death,” Depp’s character chillingly tells the audience.

This is one movie you won’t want to miss.

‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ is due to be released in Australia on October 29.

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Does the “pop” from spinal manipulation mean anything?

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Does the "pop" from spinal manipulation mean anything?

Go for some spinal manipulation and you’re likely to get a therapist that works hard to get an audible “pop” or “crack” in the back, with the implicit suggestion that this means you’re better.

Yet is this so? Does the “pop” actually relate to the outcome in a patient with back or neck pain? Not according to a study recently published in the Journal of Manipulative Therapy.

In the study, 78 patients referred to physical therapy with mechanical neck pain underwent a standardised examination and thoracic spine manipulation treatment. All patients were treated with a total of six thrust manipulation techniques directed to the thoracic spine, followed by a basic cervical range of motion exercise.

The treating therapist recorded the presence or absence of a pop during each manipulation. Two to four days later, patients had their pain rated on an 11 point scale and were also tested on their available range of motion. There was no relationship between improvement in pain or movement and the number of audible “pops” recorded by the therapist.

This suggests that there is no relationship between the number of audible pops during thoracic spine thrust manipulation and clinically meaningful improvements in pain, disability, or range of movement in patients with mechanical neck pain.

It might feel good psychologically, but it doesn’t seem to have a positive physical effect. For information in managing your back pain, see this Lifestyle Medicine article.

Your say: Do you “crack” your back? Does it make you feel better?

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