A Home Business Should Be A Family Affair...

The American wedding has become truly a family affair right from the start. Once "the decision" between the bride and the groom is made, they rush off to tell all their friends and families the great news! It's only natural that they're excited about the prospects and want to share their great joy with those members that are closest to them. The wedding tradition would suggest a party to announce the engagement to all family and friends. Traditionally speaking, the engagement party is the responsibility of the parents of the bride, which also means that they will be paying for the expenses and planning as well. The engagement party is a fun atmosphere and provides an opportunity for both sides of the families to meet for the very first time in many cases.

When it comes to the planning aspects of the wedding that is usually handled by the bride and her mother with a little bit of input from the groom and his family. It only makes sense that the parents of the bride make most of the major decisions because they are paying for most of the expenses. The American wedding will usually take place in a very special setting, such as a religious center were the view is very beautiful. Most of these places offer not only beauty but also built in facilities right from the start. Chances are, the church will have an organ or piano for the basic music requirements. These institutions are perfect for people who want that special ceremony.

An American Wedding Is Both a Ceremony and a Party

The American wedding will usually start with a ceremony love and commitment. This is a very romantic part of the wedding with all of the friends and families there to witness this happy union. Over the course of the ceremony, the bride and groom will say their vows to each other to show their love and commitment to each other. This setting is usually spectacular and all the people are dressed in beautiful clothes. At the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom become legally bound by this commitment. Yes the American wedding is very romantic, but there is also a legal procedure that now binds that couple together until death or divorce do they part.

Now comes the party! After the ceremony, the bride and groom will meet with their friends and family at the reception. This part of the reception has been planned for months, perhaps even the year or more in advance. The reception is a time to eat, drink and socialize with old friends as well as an opportunity to make new friends. The party will mainly focused on the wedding couple and guests will have the opportunity to offer their good wishes, prayers and wedding gifts. The American wedding is truly a special occasion with lots of joy and happiness for all those involved. The memories created will truly last for all lifetime for both sides of the family.

The American wedding has become truly a family affair right from the start. Once "the decision" between the bride and the groom is made, they rush off to tell all their friends and families the great news! It's only natural that they're excited about the prospects and want to share their great joy with those members that are closest to them. The wedding tradition would suggest a party to announce the engagement to all family and friends. Traditionally speaking, the engagement party is the responsibility of the parents of the bride, which also means that they will be paying for the expenses and planning as well. The engagement party is a fun atmosphere and provides an opportunity for both sides of the families to meet for the very first time in many cases.

When it comes to the planning aspects of the wedding that is usually handled by the bride and her mother with a little bit of input from the groom and his family. It only makes sense that the parents of the bride make most of the major decisions because they are paying for most of the expenses. The American wedding will usually take place in a very special setting, such as a religious center were the view is very beautiful. Most of these places offer not only beauty but also built in facilities right from the start. Chances are, the church will have an organ or piano for the basic music requirements. These institutions are perfect for people who want that special ceremony.

An American Wedding Is Both a Ceremony and a Party

The American wedding will usually start with a ceremony love and commitment. This is a very romantic part of the wedding with all of the friends and families there to witness this happy union. Over the course of the ceremony, the bride and groom will say their vows to each other to show their love and commitment to each other. This setting is usually spectacular and all the people are dressed in beautiful clothes. At the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom become legally bound by this commitment. Yes the American wedding is very romantic, but there is also a legal procedure that now binds that couple together until death or divorce do they part.

Now comes the party! After the ceremony, the bride and groom will meet with their friends and family at the reception. This part of the reception has been planned for months, perhaps even the year or more in advance. The reception is a time to eat, drink and socialize with old friends as well as an opportunity to make new friends. The party will mainly focused on the wedding couple and guests will have the opportunity to offer their good wishes, prayers and wedding gifts. The American wedding is truly a special occasion with lots of joy and happiness for all those involved. The memories created will truly last for all lifetime for both sides of the family.

Impressing upon your kids the importance of a college education, and the character-building exercise of pitching in with other family members to fund it, can be a good lesson in family and personal values. It’s also part of a trend in recent years toward helping even the little ones become financially responsible – it’s a good habit they will later thank you for helping them cultivate.

According to collegeboard.com, average annual college costs in 2006-07 were $22, 218 for a four-year private school (up 5.9 percent from last year), $5,836 for a four-year public school (up 6.3 percent from last year), and $2,272 for a two-year public school (up 4.1 percent from last year).

Lots of Options, Loans If You Must
The good news is there are many ways to deal with the college funding issue at any stage of the game. You can take advantage of ways to reduce your income tax bill with education credits like the Hope credit and lifetime learning credit. Parents may consider the popular 529 college savings plans and grandparents in a position to contribute to your child’s college fund may qualify for state income-tax deductions and gift and estate tax benefits by using certain instruments. (Be sure to look into the new 2008 "kiddie tax" law, which closes a loophole that effectively encouraged parents to transfer assets to their kids in order to save on taxes.)

Debt is the least attractive option, but sometimes unavoidable. There are needs-based resources like the Federal Perkins Loan Program. There are subsidized, federally-guaranteed Stafford loans (www.fafsa.ed.gov) and unsubsidized federally-guaranteed loans (Parent Plus and a version of the Stafford), neither of which is needs-based. Private loans may also be available from banks or finance companies. The U.S. Department of Education's National Student Loan Data System (http://www.nslds.ed.gov/) is the central database for information on financial aid resources.

Getting a Head Start with Stocks and Real Estate Might Make a Big Difference
A great idea for anyone in the family who can get a head start on saving for college – one that is particularly suitable for involving your child – is some type of automatic investment plan (AIP) that transfers money directly from a checking or savings account into a mutual fund chosen based on the time frame you’re working under. An AIP is a convenient way to take advantage of dollar cost averaging, which means you'll buy more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when prices are high – one of the keys to successful long-term investing.

Getting teens and young adults involved in real estate investing to help solve the college funding dilemma is something that few parents might think of. But Club Palooza has – and the sponsors have put together an engaging, hands-on type of real estate investor educational experience designed to appeal to adults and their young relatives alike. And young attendees get a stellar return on investment – the Club Palooza lessons in financial literacy are free when they are accompanied by a registered parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent.

Club Palooza is an engaging, hands-on type of real estate investor educational experience designed to appeal to adults and their young relatives alike. And young attendees get a stellar return on investment – the Club Palooza lessons in financial literacy are free when they are accompanied by a registered parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent.

Club Palooza Is a Lifelong Gift
Club Palooza is part of Investor Palooza, the premier annual conference for the nation’s most successful real estate investors (www.investorpalooza.com). This year Investor Palooza takes place on January 18–20, 2008 at the Renaissance Charlotte Suites Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Among the 12 sought-after speakers on the panel and instructor for Club Palooza is Ken Edmonds, a real estate investor who has been teaching financial literacy to children and college students since 1975. Ken is pleased to have made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of young people over the past 30 years. He is an advocate of helping our youth learn how to successfully manage their financial lives so they can be free of money pressures and spend time on other productive endeavors. As one of Ken’s students put it: “Mr. Edmonds taught us how not to lose sleep over money but to make money while we sleep.”

For more information on registering for Investor Palooza and Club Palooza, go to www.investorpalooza.com. Club Palooza is limited to 75 students, so be sure to enroll today.

Meal Time - A Family Affair for Many Generations

In the past, it was traditional that at all three mealtimes, breakfast, lunch and dinner, the family would all gather round the dinner table to eat. Someone - usually one of the children - would set the table, Mom or Grandma (or both!) would prepare a healthy, delicious meal which would be laid out on the table. Dishes would be passed around the table, a prayer would be said, and clean-up would take place before any children could play.

While that probably reminds you of your own childhood, how often does it take place in your own home? Having a family mealtime can afford you with a lot more benefits than you might think. Sure it takes longer, and sure, everyone has to bend their ever-so-busy schedules to it, but just imagine some of the wonderful benefits of a family mealtime!

A family mealtime can enable you to be able to teach your children how to cook - properly! Many children today simply can't cook anything out of a microwave, and don't know how to follow a basic recipe. Using family mealtimes as instructional times can be a wonderful opportunity for you to teach your children how to cook good, healthy meals. Showing your children and grandchildren the basics, such as how to time cooking many dishes at once, food preparation and substitutions, the mathematics involved in cutting a recipe in half or doubling it, and many other cooking lessons can be invaluable later in life. Passing on of family recipes from one generation to another generation.

Having a family meal also allows you to bring your family closer together as a family unit and to involve the entire family with an activity all at once. In today's world, how often does your entire family get to sit down with one another at the same time? Use this fantastic time as a way to start conversations between members of your family. Discuss the high points and low points of each family member's day. Learn how your children are doing in school and extra-curricular activities (if they are not home schooled). Most of all this provides an environment where your family can talk to each other and listen in an open forum. Grandparents offer discussion of history and family traditions.

This can also bring your family closer together in other ways. You can have each family member plan one meal for the week, or have your family plan meals together. Use this as a time to think about the nutritional value of each meal, to incorporate all of the food groups, and to also make sure that everyone has a chance to eat their favorite foods! The ideas are limitless, and it will encourage an atmosphere of sharing, kindness and caring.

Let each member of your family take part in mealtime, from setting the table to taking turns doing the dishes afterwards. It is all about family participation and sharing. Include every member of your family and be sure to be absolutely firm about this aspect of your lives. Many times schedules and appointments can interfere with family dinners, but this is a very important part of your family life, and it should be treated as such by all members of the family.

Meal time isn't simply the time for us to eat, it is a time for us to come together as a family unit and to strengthen our bonds together. Whether you can eat one meal together a day or three, it is important to set aside at least one meal a day as a "family meal". Your family will thank you for it!

You’ve spent the last four years thinking about it, and now you finally splashing out on that awesome new PC. You’ve sorted out your megabytes from your screen resolution and your bits from your bytes, and now you’ve got a Net ready PC in its big new boxes, but you don’t have a clue what to do next.

Will your kids be lured away from home by on-line pedophiles lurking in chat rooms? Will your partner indulge in an adulterous affair via email? Will you become uncontrollably addicted to porn? Will you run outrageous phone bills and end up in bankruptcy?

It’s easy for media scaremongers to dream up these catastrophic scenarios, but all these things have happened. It’s best to get off to the right start so you can reduce the chances of these disasters happening. It’s also worth having a look at whether your family is making the most of its Net connection. There are dozens of brilliant educational sites for kids and recreational pages for stressed out moms and grandparents making the most of their retirement.

Now that you’ve got your PC, check out how long you can afford to be on-line each week. Keep costs down by limiting your access to weekends. Figure out how many hours everyone can spend on-line each week, and then ration this out and buy filtering software to make sure everyone complies.

You might also want to buy an off-line browser so the kids can download sites during cheaper times.

Where to Put the Computer

It depends who wants to use it. The main points to consider are:

1. Who will be allowed to use it? If you want to restrict kids access without any fiddly software complications, you can use a room with a lock on the door.
2. Be aware that PC’s are inherently very noisy. It probably doesn’t seem that way when you’re using it in an office, but the constant whirring of the fan and tapping of the keyboard will drive you crazy at home. Don’t even think of trying to watch TV when someone is playing games.
3. Have plenty of ventilation and don’t place your PC directly against a wall or next to a radiator, where it might overheat. Be careful to never cover the cooling fans inlet and outlet grills. Dampness can cause short circuits and dust is bad news for your PC’s delicate inside components.
4. Don’t share an outlet with high wattage electrical appliances, because if a fuse blows you’ll lose any unsaved work.
5. Use ergonomic equipment. The best setup is a desk with an extra lower shelf for your keyboard, an adjustable monitor stand, a comfortable height adjustable chair without armrests and an adjustable footstool.
6. Make sure your screen is free of glare and reflection. Use a wrist support next to the keyboard. Have sufficient room under the desk to stretch out your legs, and use a desk light if necessary.
7. Buy a fast PC and quality software to minimize frustration and delays that means you spend hours getting anything done.

Avoid Computer Related Afflictions

Anybody who uses a computer for more than a few hours a day risks ailments such as repetitive strain injury (RSI), bursitis, tendonitis, tenosynovitis, and frozen shoulder. While these conditions aren’t life-threatening, they can be painful and inconvenient. They often develop gradually over many years, so its important to make sure your kids don’t spend too long staring at the computer screen, clenching a mouse or joystick in one fist.

Its not all Bad

It’s a great idea for families who want to stay in closer touch. Busy moms and dads who may be traveling, children in college or different locations, grandparents and young children, and even extended family spread around the world.

Once you’ve sensibly dealt with the hurdles, there are many positive aspects to using the Net. Despite the scare stories there’s no cause for alarm when you connect your family to the Internet. If you take the right precautions and teach your kids how to use it, the Net will soon become an important addition to the family.

If you own a home business, does your family participate or do you work alone?

I've heard tales, and for a short while lived them, about how a spouse will eagerly start a home based business of one sort or another and before they can even get their feet wet in the business - - BAM the other spouse starts belittling and generally putting a damper on the once enthusiastic entrepreneur's ambitions.

Luckily for me, my husband saw that I don't just talk about something that I intend to do, I do it - - so he's since changed his tune; especially now that I make as much from my home businesses as I did from my prior job, and we don't pay child care. Ha!

Anyway, it's been over 2 years since all that mess transpired, and I've seen and heard just about every story imaginable on the subject of home business start-ups/failures. I've also learned that most spouses, family members and 'friends' react in such damaging ways out of either fear or ignorance. I suppose some are just plain mean, but well, that's another issue we'll leave for Dr. Phil or Oprah.

For lucky business builders who have encouraging families, the work at home life is good, very good. My 14 year old daughter is my part-time Assistant, and her small salary is tax deductible too, so there's another plus in starting a business.

Creating a better future for the family is probably the most recurring 'Why' that I hear from new business owners. With such a strong reason driving the decision to work from home, then why shouldn't the entire family be involved? It's for them after all.

Find a way that even the littlest member can take part in the family business. Remember too that helping with chores, running errands, baby-sitting for younger sibs, taking turns with dinner etc. are all just as important as being able to do home office work, if not 'more' important in the long run.

If you're currently suffering with a spouse or partner who just doesn't 'get' what you're doing - please don't give up. Keep on building and trying and help them 'get' it through concrete results. Usually, with some home businesses, positive results that a 'non-biz' type can wrap their minds around, does take time. Unfortunately cash talks, however, and they may not take you seriously until you can show them your first check; and with persistence and consistency - - You will.