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I watched the end of a Bravo TV series called, “Work of Art.” It’s a very interesting reality based competition based upon works of art that the people complete – usually in a short period of time. The winner, Kymia, won $100,000. She was of course overwhelmed, but also made the statement that she literally only had $50 to her name.
It’s a bit mind-blowing. One of the best new artists in the United States and she only had $50.
If you want to become an artist-
It’s not about the money.
Filed under: Money
I had a friend ask me for some financial advice and thought I would share my thoughts with others.
Rule #1 – Educate yourself on a continual basis.On a monthly basis, I would be reading a book on your finances and your investments. I personally like Suze Orman, but I would encourage you to read a number of authors to get a range of opinion. This is your life and your money so it is VERY important.
Rule #2 – Invest 10% of your income every month into your future. Live below your means. There’s a concept called “Dollar Cost Averaging.” Invest the same dollar amount every month and over time you will buy more shares when the price is low and fewer shares when the price is high.
Rule #3 – Don’t put all your eggs into one basket. Diversify! Suze Orman suggests having your age in bonds. If your 40, then 40% of your investments would be in bonds.The same applies to stocks. Putting all your money into one stock is too dangerous.
Rule #4 – Have a years income set aside in the bank. No job is safe any more.
Rule #5 – Both of you need to work. If one of you loses a job, you need at least one income.
Rule #6 – Always keep educating yourself and improving your skill set. Keep that resume updated.
Rule #7 – If your employer offers matching retirement funds – take it. It’s like free money every pay check.
Rule #8 – Try to have a group of funds that allows you to move your money around from one fund to another. When I went to England for a three week vacation back in December 2007, I took all my money out of the stock market and into money market certificates – I got lucky as that was when the market started to tank.
- I used to think that the 60′s were hectic – wrong. The 60′s were somewhat predictable. Today, nothing is for sure except that the easy money, easy times and easy oil are all gone.
Filed under: 07-Health
According to the American Heart Association, AHA, (link) the only natural super EPA and DHA source of omega 3′s for heart health is salmon. Salmon contains 1.1 to 1.9 grams of Omega 3 fatty acids per 3 ounce serving. Canned tuna (light) only has 0.17–0.24 grams, while cod at 0.15–0.24 or catfish at 0.22–0.3, are all way behind. The entire list is at the link above.
The AHA also says, “Patients with documented CHD, should consume about 1 gram of EPA+DHA per day, preferably from fatty fish. EPA+DHA in capsule form could be considered in consultation with the physician.” (link)
There are other sources of omega 3 fatty acids like flax seed and walnuts, but they contain a version called ALA which has to be converted to DHA and EPA. Walnuts do seem to have health benefits according to WebMD.
WHICH HAS MORE EPA and DHA?
While one might assume that wild salmon has more omega 3s, that’s not necessarily the case. According to a study by the USDA , farm raised salmon sometimes have more DHA and EPA.
WHAT ABOUT CONTAMINANTS ?
According to Science magazine, Jan.9, 2004 it says, “Even the least contaminated farmed salmon, from Chile and Washington state, had significantly higher contaminant loads of PCBs, dioxins, and dieldrin than wild salmon.” As a resident of the St. Louis area, I recall them closing down an entire area, Times Beach, because of dioxin on the roads. Do I really want to be putting more dioxin into my body just because farm salmon is cheaper? I don’t think so! Note you will need a free subscription to see the article. (link)
IS WILD REALLY WILD?
According to Consumer Reports of some 26 fish they bought that were labeled as wild, “only 10… were definitely caught in the wild. The rest came from salmon farms.” Web MD has a good article about this.
SUMMATION
Even if you’re not a big salmon eater, you only need 3 ounces to get plenty of omega 3′s. Buy the expensive, but healthy wild salmon and you’re body will appreciate it.
Filed under: 07-Health
I sent this email to the Dr. Oz show – it will be interesting to see if I get a response.
“While I like most of the shows, there is one area which I think needs improvement – show data backup of the claims you make.
Here’s an example – just recently Dr. OZ talked about the health benefits of coconut oil. He says that there are new studies which say it can help you lose weight and that the fat is different then in other saturated fats.
I’d like to see links on your website backing up your statements.
What specifically are the studies and give us links to them.
Everything I’ve found on Webmd and the MayoClinic indicates that we need to limit coconut oil.
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/tc/mediterranean-diet-topic-overview
and
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/coconut-oil-and-weight-loss/AN01899
Thanks for your consideration.
Tom
Filed under: 07-Health
I was watching Dr. Oz and wrote down his heart health tips.
- 2 T flax seed oil but = 240 calories. note we already use flaxseed meal from Trader Joes, so we may just try to get some pills/
- 2 baby aspirin with a glass of water at night
- sun salutation-stretching in morning – 10 minutes
- climb stairs – 7 min per day
- 20 min brisk walk per day
- 3 servings fruits per day
- meat as side dish – not main dish
- fish twice a week
- one glass red wine
- In a later show he said that flax seed wasn’t as good as wild salmon for Omega 3′s. Flax seed has ALA omegas and is needs to be converted to the DHA and EPA,
- Farm vs Wild Salmon which has more DHA and EPA?
Filed under: 07-Health
The Journal of Nutrition has another great study about the great things that 2.5 ounces of pecans do for you – assuming you have a 2400 calorie diet. LDL and Triglycerides were lowered and HDL was increased. Another nice site about nuts in general is from the Univ. of Nebraska.
Filed under: 07-Health
A recent article in the”Journal of Nutrition” basically says that yellow and purple potatoes are much better for you than regular white potatoes. Here’s what they said, “Pigmented potato consumption reduced inflammation and DNA damage in healthy adult males. This offers consumers an improved nutritional choice in potato consumption.”
Bring em on – potatoes for everyone!
Filed under: 10-Misc
If you have some young kids who need help with math, I found a pretty good site which will create math worksheets for you to use with your child.
It’s called superkids.com
I’m using the math worksheet for the first grader I’m helping.
I recently went to a new chiropractors office and I guess they must have thought their patients were easily bored so that had not only the radio on, but also the TV playing. It was very aggravating to be listening to two different sound sources at the same time and having your brain trying to make sense of them both. I mentioned to the receptionist that having two competing things, the radio and the TV both on at the same time was irritating. Here response was way too typical – “I just do what I am told.”
I guess if they told her to go out and play in the street she’d do that also.
Being my 1st born type I went over to the TV and turned it off. I did notice that when I got out of the room after my visit with the doctor, the receptionist had gone over and turned the TV back on. ID-10-T.
Filed under: 07-Health
Here are a couple of articles basically saying that calcium supplements seem to be increasing your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. This is not true of calcium you get in food – just supplements.
