6 Ways To Deal With Foreclosure
According to RealtyTrac’s website there have been over 2 million foreclosures in 2007. The top three foreclosure states are California, Texas and Florida. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, 1 out of every 200 homes will be foreclosed.
If you are facing foreclosure, put away those credit cards and stop charging. Put yourself on a spending plan immediately. Contact your lender’s litigation or foreclosure department to inform them you are having a financial hardship. Monitor your finances until your other debts are paid off so you don’t get into the same situation in the future. Confirm the agreement with your lender in writing. Be sure to consult a tax advisor to determine rules regarding foreclosure. Don’t be discouraged, there are several ways you can save your home. Here are 6 tips to assist you when facing foreclosure:
1. Short Sale. You can sell your house for less than what you currently owe on your loan. Your home does not have to go into foreclosure, you don’t have to file bankruptcy and the filing process is much faster. The lender saves money without having to file foreclosure proceedings, but does lose money by not getting the full price of the home during the sale. The buyer gets the house at a reduced price.
2. Partial Claim. Your lender may be able to work with you to obtain an interest-free loan from the Housing and Urban Development agency to bring your mortgage current if you qualify. Visit the HUD website or call 800-CALL-FHA for more information.
3. Special Forbearance. A lender can arrange a repayment plan based on your current financial situation or may provide a temporary reduction or suspension of your mortgage payments. You may qualify for this if you’ve recently experienced a reduction in income or an increase in living expenses. You may have to provide proof of your current financial situation.
4. Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. You may be able to voluntarily “give” your home back to your lender. This may help your chances of getting another mortgage loan in the future.
5. Mortgage Modification. You may be able to refinance the amount owed and extend the term of your mortgage loan for the missed payments. You may qualify if you’ve recovered from a financial hardship and your net income is less than it was before you defaulted on the loan.
6. Pre-Foreclosure Sale. You can sell your property and pay off your mortgage loan to avoid foreclosure and damage to your credit rating. If you know you cannot afford to afford to make the payments you may sell the house yourself before the foreclosure sale date and save some of your equity. Contact a Realtor and tax advisor for rules regarding pre-foreclosure sales.
Ask the lender if the option chosen will be reported on your credit report, if so ask that the option not be reported. When facing foreclosure or any financial crisis the key is to contact your lender immediately to setup a payment plan or discuss other options. Don’t wait for the worst to happen – tackle the issue right away. Lenders are more willing to work with you if you are honest about your situation. Whatever option you choose stick to the terms of your agreement and adjust your spending habits so you don’t get into the same situation in the future.
(Originally published at Ezine Articles).
Make money on you iPhone and iPod Touch – tools to do it and ways to do it
Tools for iPhone Mobile Application Development
Seeing is believing, and I have seen it. It has been around for some time now, and it has come to stay, the iPhone and iPod Touch. I have worked in this market for some time and seen how it has developed and how it has created millionaires in a short period of time. There is one common factor amongst all these success stories and that is that all have a passion for the iPhone and its capabilities. iPhone together with the iPod Touch has set a new era for the mobile application usage for both personal and corporate markets.
In this article I will show you some ways you can capitalize on the iPhone market and to be able to make money on this. However, there has to be given a fair caution as well. It will not work if you not put your soul and hard work into it. No matter what type of business model or sector within the iPhone and iPod Touch market you want to enter into, you need to put your energy into it. It is like any other business, you need a business model and plan to work from, and then take it out into the market and hopefully you have assessed the market correct and they will love what you do.
I can be reached at sak@ec-ba.com if you want me to tell you more about these opportunities and more.
Introduction
To develop applications for iPhone OS, you need a Mac OS X computer running the Xcode tools and Visual Studio Developer. Xcode is Apple’s suite of development tools that provide support for project management, code editing, building executables, source-level debugging, source-code repository management, performance tuning, and much more.
Xcode : Xcode is an integrated development environment (IDE) that provides all of the tools you need to create and manage your iPhone projects and source files, build your code into an executable, and run and debug your code either in iPhone simulator or on a device.
Interface Builder : Interface Builder is the tool you use to assemble your application’s user interface visually. Using Interface Builder, you assemble your application’s window by dragging and dropping pre-configured components onto it.
Instruments : To ensure that you deliver the best user experience for your software, the Instruments environment lets you analyze the performance of your iPhone applications while running in the simulator or on a device. Instruments gather data from your running application and presents that data in a graphical display called the timeline.
Areas in which iPhone application can be developed using iPhone SDK
» Calculate
» Entertainment
» Games
» News
» Productivity
» Search Tools
» Social Networking
» Sports
» Travel
» Utilities
» Weather
Business and iPhone
Due to its sleek design and user-friendly features, it appears that the iPhone is more set to appeal the young people on the go than the business people. Let’s not forget that the iPhone is basically a mobile phone and young people do a lot of talking. And when they are not talking, they might be text massaging or playing games. The question is, whether business people on the move would take fancy to the iPhone? So what the iPhone has in store for busy businesspersons? For one thing, those already hooked on their laptops and Blackberries would perhaps not convert immediately to the iPhone. But for those who want to try it, there are many applications.
Today, businesspersons need to carry their offices in person all the time. Apart from the ubiquitous phone, certain applications are very essential even when they are out of the offices. For instance, they frequently need to verify, reply to and manage their emails, see calendar for appointments, update the contacts, browse the Web, instruct the employees through SMS, and use the calculator.
And that’s not all. They might also need to know weather conditions for visits outside their city or the country, plan their itinerary, book and confirm travel tickets and hotels, rely on the GPS to guide them and reach the place of appointment, and remain in touch with the office through conference calls. In addition, enterprise applications allow them to keep abreast of business operations and activities such as manufacturing, supply chain management, financials and many others.
In short – email, calendar, contacts, web browsing, enterprise applications, visual voicemail, SMS, calculator, GPS, weather forecast – these are some of the essential business applications that a businessperson can’t do without.
Smart Contacts is an example of an iPhone application for easily access the iPhone contacts and reduce somewhat complexity of iPhone contact management.
Hourdoc iPhone Application Development is an iPhone based application that remotely mange the employee’s attendance and other activity by interacting with Hourdoc.com.
Mobile gaming
This is one of the fastest growing sectors when it comes to personal entertainment. While iPhone 3G is already gaining a huge success, porting games and development of games for iPnone is becoming actually bigger marketplace.
The 3G enabled iPhone has good capabilities and features like 3D touch screen processor, 3 dimensional accelerometer provides users an new experience and platform for gaming. Deliver innovative animated games for the iPhone 3G and Mac.
Next to the mobile phone and SMS, games are perhaps the most popular feature of the iPhone and all similar touch screen mobile devices. With the world becoming smaller and smaller because of the Internet and the Web, people are now able to indulge in leisure activities while on the move. For those already hooked on the iPhone and for those yet to acquire this gizmo, games is perhaps one of the irresistible features. With the largest LCD screen comparable to other devices in its class, iPhone games offer a matchless gaming experience.
The iPhone comes bundled with many interesting and intelligent games. These include combat, racing, strategy and puzzle games among many other types. Despite availability of vast number of games, there is always the demand for newer games. Game development for iPhone gets major impetus since majority of iPhone users are the young people. iPhone game application developers are further driven to create innovative and original games, as over the time users get weary of playing the same games again and again.
Themes
The very first thing that gets your attention when you tap open the iPhone is the GUI or graphical user interface showing a variety of icons, images and graphics on it. This is the starting point of a journey into the wonderful world of various features of the iPhone. With so many applications running on the iPhone, it is sometimes confusing to follow and remember all the icons.
Customization is the answer where you create customized themes and icons to help personalize the iPhone. Users will always look for new themes, icons and wallpapers to fulfill the increasing demand for creative and user-friendly visual interface.
A final product would be the implementation of a iPhone theme for a specific iPhone Application.
Entertainment on the iPhone
Apple’s iPhone is not just a phone. It is an all in one mobile device offering something for all types of users. In order to fulfill its fun quotient, the iPhone offers a variety of entertainment options like games, photos, songs, videos, music videos and music playing applications. Agreed that there are thousands of free and paid downloadable entertainment apps on the iPhone, still there is enough room and scope for further applications.
Local/regional-centric applications you will not find elsewhere. This includes rare local/regional/country wise vocal and instrumental music, jokes, breathtaking photos and videos, and puzzle and board games. If you are tired of playing the pocket piano and guitar, why not try playing the soul stirring sounds of exotic local ones? Also, find magic applications to entertain your guests and friends at a party.
Sports on iPhone
If you are a keen sports enthusiast and the iPhone owner, then perhaps you cannot do without iPhone sports applications. Whatever be your kind of sport it is possible to create and develop the application for it.
One of the coolest features of the iPhone is that you can customize it with hundreds of web applications. With downloading the sports applications, you can keep track of your favorite sport, players, scores and the latest news.
If you are a supporter of a particular sport or a club, then the iPhone’s web based applications will allow you to remain in touch even when you are commuting.
Mobile Website Design
Businesses all across the world are using innovative ways to market their products and services. Mobile compatible Website design is turning out to be a very cost effective way targeting mobile subscribers that are browsing the internet for your products or services. The development and launch of the latest phones like iPhone, blackberry, etc. increase the need for web site development for these gadgets. Mobile web browsing has increased multi folds. Typical mobile user will look for specific content or services while browsing your website with strong call to action.
Mobile Website design and development must be developed with in mind to optimize the mobile compatible website to promotion of the mobile website in mobile search engines. Having a mobile version of a website and promoting it in local mobile specific directories will boost sales as mobile is such a medium where the chance to have direct reach to the target audience helping to improve the ROI.
Seeing is believing and that’s where the mobile website has an edge to tap mobile subscribers.
There are various categories catering to which, iPhone applications are developed. Many companies specialize in a particular category. For example, a company may specialize in the domain of iPhone website development. An iPhone mobile development domain includes useful web 2.0 applications designed exclusively for iPhone, like:
Search tools. Web utilities. Social networking. Ecommerce websites. Travel, sports and entertainment and so on.
Outsource iPhone Application Development
Outsource of iPhone application development has several advantages which mainly includes:
Firstly, it is cost effective. Outsourcing of IPhone applications gets the job done at lower costs. Customized applications can be developed without much investment which was otherwise necessary for the technical manpower and training.
The rigmaroles of the iPhone applications- approval by Apple, guidelines etc are taken care by the right verified companies.
Creation of innovative, portable, secure and “affordable” iPhone is a key issue for any development for the iPhone.
As there is a forever increasing demand from the users for more hip and more stimulating applications for iPhones, both iPhone application development and iPhone website development are witnessing their peak period. Driven by steady growth of wireless communication industry, there is a consistent demand for offshore iPhone application companies to develop personalized and tailored applications for iPhone, as these companies offer expertise in technologies and platforms like C/C++, Dot Net, J2EE, AJAX, Cocoa, MAC and of course iPhone’s SDK for cost effective price.
There is a need to outsource iPhone application development, as the users of iPhone are always looking for more avant-garde iPhone solutions to enjoy their iPhone better. The market players, as a result, are faced with a dual challenge to both develop more advanced, secure and innovative iPhone applications on an ongoing basis, and market the end products too.
Since iPhone application development requires expertise, which is definitely not in the realm of a lay user, both end users and market leaders are always looking for a qualified and skilled iPhone application developer who can utilize iPhone’s SDK to its optimum advantage and stays abreast with the dynamic and fast-paced iPhone application development technology.
Noteworthy is that SDK is an open resource and therefore requires no licensing. IPhone OS is the synchronization software that helps run iPhone. With the use of the iPhone SDK, iPhone application developers worldwide craft new and customized iPhone applications and generate web content for use on iPhone OS–based devices. The users can download these iPhone renderings and use them on their devices, on free or paid basis.
In order to achieve expertise with economy, it is a common tendency observed across iPhone market to outsource iPhone application development to offshore destinations, to both freelancers and small mobile application development companies. This ensures extensive and simultaneous development of affordable, cutting edge web and native iPhone applications on subjects encompassing wireless internet security, content management, video and picture sharing, Interoperability, Instant messaging service, gaming, enterprise connectivity solutions, GPS mapping solutions and what not. The list is only expanding.
The complete potential of iPhone, the multimedia gadget, can be utilized by developing ingenious applications for it. The launch of the SDK (software development kit) by Apple in 2008 boosted iPhone application developer worldwide to come up with unique and customized applications for iPhone users.
The SDK, also known as the ‘tool chain’ includes:
Xcode: It is the integrated development environment (IDE), wherein iPhone applications are developed. It is the integral part of the iPhone application development kit and consists of a graphical debugger and a powerful source editor too. Interface builder: It helps in the designing and testing of user interfaces. The graphical editing environment of the interface builder is utilized by the iPhone application developer to design user interfaces and seamlessly integrate the applications to the 3G environment of iPhone. Instruments: The instrument retrieves data, analyzes and compares performance and displays the results graphically in real-time. It plays a pivotal role in the real-time optimization of iPhone applications. An iPhone application developer should have a sound knowledge about using the SDK. The SDK uses the objective C language and runs only on the MAC OS X 1.5 platform (the OS of iPhone). The applications developed needs to be approved by Apple and can be distributed solely through App Store.
Utilize already made Applications
ZippiCash
Zippi Networks Inc., a leading provider of mobile commerce applications that enable Americans to recycle their “Clutter into Cash,”. Zippi’s latest mobile application is now available for download in the app store, App Store and at www.zippicash.com. “Zippi Cash TM” has received the highest popularity rating available by the current rating system.
The “Zippi Cash TM” application turns an iPhone into an opportunity to generate income and recycle those hidden gems in the garage, closet and storage locker. The application provides the information needed to discover an items value by producing a mini-appraisal and results table. Based on results an item owner can choose to sell the items themselves or connect directly to the Zippi Network, who will get it sold for you.
Gold Price Grabber
GoldPawnShop.com is an online pawn shop, made an application called “Gold Price Grabber,” an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Gold Price Grabber is the first iPhone App giving users the ability to sell jewelry online and check the price of gold – all at the same time on a handheld device. Gold Price Grabber enables the consumers to track the price of gold daily. If gold happens to hit a certain level an ounce, they can sell gold jewelry right away, allowing them to capitalize on the high gold prices as they occur. Pawn Shops have seen a significant increase in business due to the economic conditions consumers are facing these days. The Gold Price Grabber application for the iPhone and iPod Touch was designed by Tommy Spero for Soul and developed by Blue Whale Web Solutions, Inc., an iPhone application developer based in South Florida. To download and preview Gold Price Grabber, follow the link below. http://www.goldpawnshop.com/gold-price-grabber-iphone-application.asp GoldPawnShop.com was created to help consumers generate cash from unwanted gold jewelry or broken jewelry. Our easy website takes the stress and aggravation out of finding a traditional pawn shop to sell jewelry and offers a 10 day money back guarantee.
Blue Whale is a boutique web firm based in South Florida offering services such as iPhone application development, lead generation website design and search engine optimization.
There are many more applications that enable you to make cash with your iPhone, however it falls outside the scope of this article to list all opportunities, and I will stop at these two at this moment. If you want to know more, please contact me and I will let you into other applications available.
Other business models
There are offers on the internet on how to make thousands of dollars on iPhone application market, and some of these schemes are working and others are not. Be careful out there, as the market floods with offers that might be real, and others might not give you anything at all but a dent in your wallet.
Please contact me on sak@ec-ba.com and I will give you details on one other way you can capitalize on the iPhone market, without even having your own iPhone at all.
He has a background as civil engineer and geoscientist. He has worked mainly within the oil and gas industry from the mid 1980s. He has written a few fictional novels as well as being the author of some professional litterature within oil and gas sector, he is now an editor of some web sites.
10 Ways to Fight Depression and Improving your Mood
Are you one of the millions of peoples who are depressed and tired all the time? Do you experience unbearable sadness and emptiness? Do you feel exhausted, dragged out and run down? You’re barely functioning and pushing yourself through the day. These few easy and fun tips make your day more productive and full of happiness.
Sleeplessness, tension and fatigue are often associated with depression. Try to relax everyday for optimal performance. Pick a quiet spot and do this drill. Breathe deeply and observe your breath and focusing all your problems and distraction are vaporizing in the air. Visualize great scenery and feel you are part of it, whether is it mountain area or white sandy beach in Florida.
Try to solve and fight one problem at a time. Do not try to conquer every problem at same time. If you do feel tired, drain, depressed and helpless due to many problems, suggest and train your mind one problem at a time. This way you can effectively focus on one problem at a time.
Read motivational or inspirational books that have positive and inspiring effects on your mind and mood. Self-help books have great impact to fight depression. Inspiring authors like Deepak Chopra, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay and Aaron Beck father of cognitive therapy has written books on how to change thinking patterns.
Isolation is also one of the major causes of depression. Try to communicate with other positively, show your genuine interest in other people like friends or family and share their thoughts. Human contact is the key to heal this problem. Newly research shows that our behavior shapes our emotions.
Find a good hobby or activity to feel you pleasant. Gardening, bicycling, exercising, cooking or traveling give you a powerful boost to your mood. Crafting is also a very good therapy. Go out and having a good meal with friends. Do involve volunteer work, community services this way you’ll feel you are also a important part of the community and it also have therapeutic effects.
Exposure to light is either from the sun or artificial devices such as lamps can also be very helpful to relieve depression and improve your sad mood.
Do not get angry easily. Read self-help books on becoming assertive. Getting angry in positive way can help to boost your energy and also your mood. Let your anger to work positively.
Watch your diet very closely. Eat consciously and try to avoid those foods which may contribute for mood swinging like sugar, chocolate and caffeine. Quit smoking if you can, also reduce drinking habit.
Take your vitamins and nutrients regularly. Vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, magnesium and L-tyrosine are good anti-depression nutrients. Eat green vegetables, fruits and beans for balance diet.
Yoga and tai chi are very good exercise to fight depression. Slowly moving postures are very calming and soothing effects on your whole body including mind. You will get more relaxed and soother after performing these exercise.
Encourage yourself, do not blame yourself for little mishaps. When you do right thing tell yourself “Good Job”. Breakup your daily activity pattern. Do something goofy or childish act which remind your childhood days. Draw cartoon with crayons, make bubbles, read children books or watch movie.
Read new research on how to meditate effectively. Newly research show meditation has very positive effects to boost immune system. Meditation also create positive attitude towards everyday problem solving. Meditation always is a very important factor on every religion throughout centuries. Meditate every night for about 15 minutes to 30 minute are very effective tool deal with depression while you become more focused for critical thinking to resolve your daily chores without exhaustion and depressed.
Vast experience in health, self-help, mind body related therapies.
Lisa has applied her hi-tech knowledge to the development of several internet businesses.
Find more at http://eBookMall.150m.com
Whacky Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve
We have all heard about the Waterford Crystal ball dropped in Times Square, New York, for New Year’s eve, but what about dropping the lighted strawberry from Hilton Harrisburg and Towers, in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania?
Fishermen may gather in Port Clinton, Ohio to see the 20 foot, 600 pound walleye (fish) dropped from the sky, or the live possum in a cage in Brasstown, North Carolina, or a giant crab in Plymouth.
For something a little quieter you may pop over to Raleigh, North Carolina and witness the drop of a massive copper acorn, or the giant gumbo pot dropped in the Mississippi.
A 2007 sprint racing car is dropped 130 feet, in Port Royal, but in Carlisle, Pennsylvania they drop an Indy car.
At a non-alcoholic night of celebration, a red rose is dropped in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, while York prefers to use a white rose.
There is an 800 pound peach dropped in Atlanta, while Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania chooses to drop a 25 pound marshmallow candy. In Plymouth, Wisconsin they use a huge cheese to celebrate.
Along in Lebanon, Pennsylvania you get to see the drop of a 7 ½ foot edible bologna, before it is donated to local charities. In Elmore, Ohio they drop an 18 foot sausage from the sky and in Mount Olive, North Carolina a three foot high glowing pickle drops 45 feet.
Drinkers of martinis can watch a huge olive dropped from Price Tower, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, into a martini glass.
Now if food and drink is not to your taste you may prefer a pirate ‘wench’ dropped seventy foot from a schooner in the harbor, or the Drag Queen Sushi, dropped in her glittering six foot high heeled shoe, Key West, Florida.
When you have had enough of all this dropping, you might be entertained by the New Year’s panty drop. However, they didn’t give us a location for this one, which is probably just as well.
The rest of us we will just have to settle for the usual fireworks, bonfire and maybe a balloon drop or two. No matter how you choose to celebrate New Year, let’s all hope and pray that 2009 has some good things for us all.
Postscript:
The lists of New Year celebration drops doesn’t stop with the above whacky ideas. There are a total of 19 states in the US celebrating with a drop. Pennsylvania tops the list with a total of 36 cities and towns ‘dropping’ New Year’s eve. There is still no clear explanation as to where all this dropping of the last few seconds of New Year’s eve originated, except perhaps the ball starting in Times Square in 1907.
The list of whacky articles dropped for New Year include:
· Anchor, Antique trunk and Apple,
· Bag of potato chips, Beach ball, Bottle of Yuengling beer, Boasted chicken,
· Canal boat, Carp, cigar, Cigar held by a lion, Coal, Conch shell, Cow,
· Ford Edge, Frog, Goat,
· Hard hat, Hershey Kiss, Hog, Huckleberry,
· Indy car,
· Lollipop,
· M&M, Moravian star, Mossbunker fish,
· Nugget,
· Orange,
· Pear, Pine cone, Ping pong balls, Planet earth, Pretzel,
· Red rose,
· Sardine, Sled, Sphoctogon, Spring, Star, Steamroller, Sunburst,
· Ukulele,
· Wildcat, Wooden duck, Wrench
Maybe you could start your very own drop in your neighbourhood
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Positive Ways to Deal With Negativity
With the mortgage meltdown, floods in the Midwest, $4 a gallon for gas, food prices, the economy, famine, war in Iraq, etc., many would agree that there is a lot of negativity in the world and certainly a lot to complain about. And yet, while traveling the country this past month, ironically for the No Complaining Rule Tour, I met a number of people who inspired me with the positive ways they were dealing with the negativity in their life. In spite of their circumstances they chose to view their situation with a positive perspective… which so often makes all the difference. Since we all could benefit from their example, here are 5 positive ways to deal with negativity.
1. Find the Gift – Richard Bach said every problem has a gift for you in its hands. One woman came up to me and said that because of the cost of gas her family is driving less and as a result they are spending more time at home and having dinner together more often. She said this “negative” situation has been very “positive” for her family. Another person said he is taking the bus to work instead of driving and as a result he has met a lot of interesting people.
2. Look at the Bright Side – One gentlemen joked that because of the cost of gas he now has a great excuse to not drive and see his negative relatives.
3. Zoom Focus – It doesn’t matter what the pundits say on television. It doesn’t matter what Joe and Sally in your office are doing. It doesn’t matter who is playing office politics. All that matters is what you do every day to grow yourself and your business. Focus on being positive and taking positive action every day. Be like the real estate agent who told me that he doesn’t focus on what the news and newspapers say. He focuses on what he can do every day to be successful. He focuses on marketing his business, taking care of his clients, and building loyal relationships. What things do you need to Zoom Focus on?
4. Focus on the Opportunity Not the Challenge – Behind every innovation and solution is a story about someone who said there has to be a better way. I bet Henry Ford was walking behind a horse when he had the idea for his automobile. History shows us that a lot of people and a lot of companies make a lot of money during recessions. The key is to find the opportunity. Where is the market heading? What do people want and need? What will they want in the future? Now is a great time to build a positive team with great talent. Now is the time to gain market share while so many give up. Now is a great time to determine who is on your bus and who is off your bus. Now is the time to be indispensable to your company and demonstrate how valuable you are.
5. Be a Positive Influence on Others – I received an email from Ruthanne in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She wrote:
“As you are probably aware, we were recently hit with a 500 year flood. My neighborhood was impacted the worst and most of our homes, mine included, are a total loss. People tell me I have been the most positive person they know who was directly impacted by the flood. I don’t have a lot of time today (first day back at work in 2 wks) to tell you all the positive things that have been going on in our city and in my life, but I will be writing an article when this is all over with. I did want to say though that I have not complained throughout all the devastating catastrophe because of the knowledge I learned both from your seminar, books and newsletters.”
Ruthanne could have chosen to wallow in self pity and negativity but instead she chose to deal with her negative situation by being a positive influence on others. Think about how many people she is positively impacting in her community. Now think about the positive influence you can have on people at work, in your community and at home.
Every day simply ask yourself “How can I be a positive influence where I am, right now?”
Stay Positive!
©2008 Jon Gordon
Author Bio
Jon Gordon is a speaker, consultant, and author of the international bestseller The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Lift, Work, and Team with Positive Energy, which has inspired readers the world over. He and his books have been featured on CNN and on NBC’s Today show, and in Forbes, Fast Company,O: The Oprah Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Clients such as the Jacksonville Jaguars. the PGA Tour, Northwestern Mutual, JPMorgan Chase, and Publix Supermarkets also call all Jon to get their team “on the bus” and moving in the right direction. Jon also impacts thousands of teachers and students each year through his work with schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations. He is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a master’s degree in teaching from Emory University. He lives in northeast Florida with his wife and two high-energy children.
For more information about Jon, please visit www.JonGordon.com or www.NoComplainingRule.com.
5 Ways To Make Your Vacation Rental Even More Affordable
Renting a home is a great, affordable option for a vacation, especially if you have a large family, or are traveling with a big group of friends. Just check online and you will see that you can rent a beautiful apartment or townhouse in the nicest parts of Manhattan for a week for $500/person (or less). Try finding a hotel room for that price! And staying in someone’s home means you have the added advantage of more space (living room, kitchen, sometimes a garden, balcony or patio), something you pay dearly for at hotels in major cities. Below are some ideas to make your vacation even more affordable.
1. Travel off season. I understand that you don’t want to be on a beach during a hurricane or snowstorm, but even going a little bit off peak times can save you quite a bit of money. On the French Riviera for example, you can find prices in October almost half of what they were in August. The weather is still great, and as an added benefit, the crowds are gone, and the locals are less stressed. Prices in restaurants and shops also tend to drop once the tourist season is over.
2. Travel to places where your currency is strong. A few years ago, the US dollar went a long way in Sweden. Not anymore: it’s worth almost half today of what it was in 2002. Do your research and compare exchange rates. Some very attractive vacation areas where the dollar still is strong (in September 2008) are Argentina, South Africa, Vietnam, and everybody’s eco-favorite, Costa Rica.
3. Look for last minute deals. If you are flexible with your time and can travel on short notice, last minute vacation rentals can be a great deal. I just did a quick Internet search and found an oceanfront mansion in the Florida Keys for $1,000 less/week than the normal rate.
4. Rent directly from the owner when possible. Since management companies charge owners to rent their properties (and the owner has to recoup that cost, which most often results in higher rental rates) you can get a cheaper rate by renting directly from the owner. I think it’s nice to get a chance to talk to the person who actually owns the house, too.
5. Look for places where the inventory exceeds the demand. The building boom in the past few years combined with a slowing real estate market and economy has resulted in a lot of inventory, and the chance to negotiate a lower rate. Most owners would rather rent their vacation home out for a little bit less than not at all. In the US, Florida is the clear leader when it comes to the highest number of vacation homes, followed by California and New York.
Cattie writes about private holiday homes and the many different options available.
2 Great Ways To Discover Florida
For fun and adventure and culture, yes culture! Read on…
Here are Some Great Ways to Discover Florida.
# 1. Fun and Adventure
With over 34 million visitors each year, Orlando is the undisputed theme park capital of the world. But if you are after more fun and adventure after visiting the theme parks at Disneyworld, Universal Orlando Resort and Seaworld, you should try the sensational Busch Gardens in Tampa, the world famous Daytona International Speedway and exploring the Everglades national park.
Don’t Miss a Space Shuttle launch…
Cape Canaveral on Florida’s ‘Space Coast’ is the only place in the West where people are launched into space. Being there when the Space Shuttle blasts into space is a truly incredible experience.
Don’t Miss Florida’s largest and fastest roller coaster…
Is Busch Gardens, Tampa
Prepare for the thrill of your life on Sheikra, Florida’s tallest roller coaster and the world’s tallest dive coaster. 70mph of pure adrenaline-pumping excitement. Travel 200 feet up and then plunge to the depths of an underground tunnel, with water!
Don’t Miss Bush Gardens Zoo…
With over 2600 animals, the zoo at Busch Gardens is one of America’s top zoos
# 2. Culture
Look beyond the more obvious tourist attractions and you will be surprised at what you find.
There is an abundance of architecture, museums, forts, art galleries.
Don’t Miss Historic Wrecks…
Pensacola has fascinating wrecks to explore. This includes the 500-foot World War 1 battleship USS Massachusetts, the Russian freighter San Pablo and an A-7 Corsair aircraft that fell off the deck of the USS Lexington.
Don’t Miss Art Deco Buildings…
Take a stroll down Ocean Drive, Miami, and enjoy South Beach’s Art deco buildings. Painted pink, lavender and turquoise, they line the palm-fringed walkway.
Don’t Miss a Driving Tour…
If you have a car whilst visiting Miami, do yourself a favour, and take a driving tour of Coral gables. Coral Gables Driving Tour isn’t just one of the country’s richest neighbourhoods, it’s a separate city within Greater Miami. Known as ‘The City Beautiful’ for good reason, its elegant homes line winding avenues shaded by banyans and live oaks. This driving tour winds its way along the lush peaceful lanes and is both relaxing and cultural.
Along the tour are these beautiful sights:
1. The Granada Entrance – a replica of the gate to Granada in Spain.
2. The Country Club Prado Entrance – complete with ornamental pillars.
3. Alhambra water Tower – built in 1925.
4. Coral Way – lined by live oaks and Spanish-style houses.
5. Venetian Pool – a beautiful public swimming pool.
6. Coral Gables Congregational Church – built in Spanish Baroque style.
7. Biltmore Hotel – one of the most stunning hotels in the country, beautifully restored to its 1920s century grandeur.
8. The Lowe Art Museum – contains European and Native American Art.
9. French City Village – one of several international villages built to add variety to the city.
10. Dutch South African Village.
11. French Country Village.
12. Chinese Village.
13. French Normandy Village.
14. Coral Gables City Hall
15. Miracle Mile – the district’s most important shopping street.
Other Bits of Culture:
- Hemingway’s House in Key West, where the novelist lived from 1931-1940.
- Little Havana in Miami – 3.5 square miles of Cuban culture and life.
- The Ringling Museum of Art and Ringling Museum (Sarasota).
- Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island – a charming Victorian resort.
- Salvador Dali Museum, St Petersburg.
Where To Stay
Choose your home away from home. If you are after home comforts, fully equipped Orlando and Gulf Coast homes can be rented directed from the owners at http://www.milkriver.co.uk and http://www.worldwidevillas.net They have their own separate pools and are set in private communities and offer you and your family the freedom to do what you want and the space to do it in.
Orlando Villas Florida Holiday Homes website at http://www.milkriver.co.uk and
Rent Vacation Rentals Worldwide website Copyright 2006 by Tim Burton

