Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,600 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Spend less than you earn.

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Yet there are many people out there burying themselves in debt (spending more than they earn) or living purely paycheck to paycheck (spending exactly what they earn). Yesterday fuel subsidy was officially removed with a litre of fuel selling within a range of N138 - N200. This is an astronomical increase and it’ll require an effort to save in 2012.

Simply spending less than you earn has a cascade of positive effects.

First, you begin eliminating your debts. Spending less than you earn frees up the money you need to make larger payments on your debts. Over time, they begin to disappear, reducing your monthly bills and giving you even more breathing room.

Second, you begin to save. First, you build up some cash savings in your savings account, enabling you to roll through emergencies (like a car breakdown or a job loss). You’ll also have the breathing room to start saving for retirement, paving yourself a great future for your golden years.

Third, your stress level falls. Knowing that you have fewer debts, your emergencies are covered, and your retirement is being planned for reduces your stress level. You sleep better, your overall health improves, and you feel happier about life.

Finally, you are now able to explore possibilities closed to you before. When your debts are gone and you are spending far less than you’re bringing in, you suddenly have many more career possibilities. You don’t have to stick with your high-stress job – you have the financial freedom to move on and chase your dreams. You can live where – and how – you want to live.

All of that comes back to one basic principle – spend less than you earn.

That statement actually has two parts, though.

Spend less refers to the fact that you do need to cut your spending. The first step doesn’t need to be anything drastic – nor should it be. Many of the more extreme money-saving tips come from people who have already tried out the basic tips and love them, so they seek out more intense strategies to further cut their spending. I do this myself – I’m always trying out new money-saving strategies, discarding the ones that don’t work for me and keeping the ones that do.

Here are five big ways to get started.

First, go through every monthly required bill. Ask yourself if you really need that service at all. Do you really need to take your car to work everyday or could you start a car pooling service with colleagues who live nearby to cover the cost of fuelling the car? With the fuel subsidy issue, I forsee the era of filling up the tank eroding. Also, more people will become circumspect about fuel management. Then, go through each bill and see if there are any optional services you can eliminate. Do you really need a washman or consider the options of purchasing a washing machine and ironing your clothes yourself?

Second, keep diligent track of your spending. Keep a notebook in your pocket and write down every expense you have. The simple process of doing this will make you think twice about unnecessary expenses. When you do have a month’s worth of expenses written down, take a careful look at them. Ask yourself whether or not each of these expenses actually contributed to the value and joy of your life. That process will offer a lot of insight for you as to where your spending is going to waste.

Third, look carefully at your routines. Watch what you do every day (or most days). Are there things you do each day that cost money? Those things are the most powerful ones to adjust, as trimming just N100 from your daily spending saves you N36,500 a year. Do you stop at fast food restaurants each day? Why not cut down your daily order a bit,  or start bringing your breakfast or lunch from home? Do you splurge on Coke every day? Perhaps you can start considering making your own Sobo drink or Chapman twice a week. Look at every regular expense you have.

Anyway, I’ve been checking online to see if there are other women in my situation and these were the responses I saw. It’s hilarious but sad at the same time.

Your best option is to also use tampons, at least during the night.
I always use double protection during those months when my period is heavier.
As in a super tampon & big night pads. Might work dear? Tampons can safely be used for 8-9 hours at a time, so you can just put one in when you go to sleep & change it in the morning. The pad will most likely prevent any morning leakage if the tampon is full. If you’re a virgin, the smaller tampons might be better at first until you’ve learned how to put them in properly.

 

I wear 2 CVS or Rite Aid brand pads and 2 pairs of black panties for the first 3 days of my period. I wear one pair of panties with a pad on top of the other and I never have any leaks.

 

 

 

For the next few weeks we will be posing a new prompt every week for you to write a blog post about. All you have to do is sign up to become a World Nomads member and start your free travel blog with us and submit your posts for each weekly deadline. Or, if you are already an avid World Nomads travel blogger, simply submit your story each week in your existing Journal. This campaign is open to anyone with a passion for travel who wants to share their expertise. While we do take your writing seriously, this is not a serious writing competition. We don’t care if you’ve written every guidebook on the shelf or if you’ve only ever recorded your travels on a series of well preserved napkins.

We just encourage you, as world nomads, to share your knowledge with other travellers. Entertain us, tell us your insider tips and make us want to hop a plane to your home country. Prompts Each week we will be calling for your submission to a new topic.

Here are the topics and the dates:

• Week of August 8: Do’s and Don’t’s in my Country (e.g. Do’s and Don’ts in Italy)
• Week of August 15: The Best and Worst of my Country (e.g. Best and Worst of Australia, Best and Worst of the USA)
• Week of August 22: In my Backyard – 5 Must Do Things in my City (e.g. 5 Things you Must Do in Auckland, New Zealand, 5 Things you Must do in Toronto, Canada)
• Week of August 29: What it means to be ________ (Nationality)
• Week of September 5: Best Ways to Work, Stay and Play in my Country (e.g. Best Ways to Work, Stay and Play in France)
• September 9: Entries close
• September 14: Winners announced

How to ensure your article is considered for judging Each post you want to submit to the competition needs to include the following: a relevant photo (can be your own or from Flickr Creative Commons) the hashtag #BlogYourBackyard (in the tags section of your article) a title that follows the format above with the country included (for example: Do’s and Don’ts in Norway).

Note: You can complete the prompts anytime during the campaign, you are not limited to a specific week to complete each prompt. However, all of your entries must be completed by the campaign end date. What’s in it for you? Well besides some good travel karma, a little notoriety and some warm and fuzzy social love, wait…you wanted more? Well, of course. The top 20 submissions, as chosen by our internal panel of judges at WorldNomads.com, will receive a AUD$50 voucher from Urban Adventures towards an adventure of your choice, whether it is in your backyard or on the road.

You only need to submit one post to enter, but the more posts you submit, the better chance you have at winning an adventure and being published in our Connect Locally eBook. For the winners of the Urban Adventures experiences, all that we ask is one final blog post sharing your excursion with Urban Adventures with our community! We are looking for quality, engaging and informative content that we can publish and share with our community through a downloadable ‘Connect Locally’ eBook on our site. We want this to become a local guide for travelers with real insight and tips from locals and other travelers.

Are you a professional travel blogger with your own site? Great! We do allow that you post your Blog your Backyard articles on your own site, but you must also post them to a Journal on WorldNomads.com (as outlined here) in order to enter to win. You must also attach the following promotional boilerplate to the bottom of the post: The ‘Blog your Backyard’ Project Share your local expertise and join the Blog your Backyard project! Become an ambassador for your country (home or adopted) by sharing your experiences and tips with other travelers. Submit your entries starting August 8th on WorldNomads.com for a chance to win one of 20 awesome excursions with Urban Adventures.

Plus, if you want to share more of your local expertise or get answers to all of your travel questions, download the FREE ‘Ask A Nomad’ iPad app. Judging Criteria We’re going back to basics with these ones:

1.) You made us want to visit your home country, and if we did you would definitely be our local guide.

2.) Your tips were useful and informative (who needs a guidebook now?!).

3.) We were able to gain a sense of your personality through your writing.

All decisions made by the judging panel at WorldNomads.com are final. Get Writing! Already a World Nomads member? Log in to your account. New to World Nomads? Sign up for your free travel blog. Want to check out the articles that have already been submitted? Click here!

It was 1981 and I was only 14. Where was I going to get $25 a month? He convinced me to go to the local pizza joint and get a job…any job. I was hired at $1.00 an hour to bus tables in the evenings Thursday, Friday, & Saturday. I was to also get a tip share.

Two weeks later, my neighbor asked if I wanted to go to Six-Flags over Georgia. I told him I didn’t have any money. He asked, “Didn’t you get paid?” “Yes,” I answered. Then he asked me the million dollar question: “What do you have to show for that money? Show me what you traded your time and labor for.” He said he’d wait while I ran home to show him the “stuff” I’d bought.

I could only produce some trash. I had spent my first paycheck on frozen pizza, Cokes, and junk food when a buddy came over to spend the night. I felt humiliated and ashamed. My neighbor then said, “Always have something to show for your money.”

I did open those accounts. I have always lived on 80%. (10% to God, 10% to savings). I funded those accounts until I needed the money for college. (This was in the days before state sponsored lottery funded education.) It was a great lesson and one I have passed on to countless employees over the years. (I used to own several restaurants.)
- Dan

What do you have to show for the money that you earn? It’s a really powerful question to ask yourself.

I was invited to a brunch by a group of friends around 2p.m yesterday. On getting there, I observed how most women (mine being the exception) invited, wore suits for an informal affair. I’m of the firm opinion that every woman needs a couple of dresses in their wardrobes or closets whichever applies. Its’ also mind boggling the amount of money ladies spend on these suits. It could serve as my wardrobe budget for two years.

Today I’m introducing “Chic Republic” which aims to address this niche for women across Africa who love dresses and are desirous of unique pieces. Chic Republic is located within the heart of Lagos and accepts orders from women within Africa. I really loved the pieces I saw this morning.

You can place your order by clicking on the following link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CHIC-Republic/222613891114354

First 25 customers to place an order receive a 5% discount off their purchase. Do note that delivery takes 10 – 15 days only.

Ciao and have a fun filled weekend.

Note: This is a sponsored post

July 1 marked the second half of this year. What were some of the goals you desired to accomplish this year? It’s time to assess your success rates so far. I cannot stress the importance of saving for rainy days. Especially for women who deal with major financial crisis if anything happens to the breadwinner. Ensure the habit of saving 70% of your monthly salary (not lower than 50%) consistently and continously. The power of compound interest works on whatever amount you are stashing away right now. For a minimal sum of N10,000 you can invest in mutual funds managed by ARM Investment (a subsidiary of GTB). Other mutual funds managed by BGL Securities and First Bank Capital require a minimum of N500,000. Whichever way the cookie crumbles, you need to cultivate the habit of regular savings.

I’m a lover of leisure travel, clothes, culinary pleasures and shoes. However, I have not allowed my love for these things to deter me from imbibing a saving culture. I usually have a financial goal for the year which reads thus ‘ In 2011, I will save ……. by year end and invest in the following financial vehicles’. That’s how far I go and once I’ve made this committment, I adhere to my plans and until I achieve this goal, then there’s no travelling or any other pleasurable thing I indulge it. However, once I cross the mark, I whip out my pleasure list to decide what i’m indulging in. Overall, it must also fit within my budget or else I forgo and settle for something affordable.

In appraising your financial situation, you need to take into consideration how much you need to kick your saving gear in the right direction. Once you have a plan, stick to it and accomplish. In subsequent posts, i’ll be giving out information on the financial vehicles you can invest in.

Have a great year (2nd Half) ahead.

Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you. Consider this:

• Never receive counsel from unproductive people.
• Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how.
• Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.
• Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it.
•  Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.
• Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.
• If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.

“A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.” The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad.

Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends”. Colin Powell.