Get Financially Fit with These Simple Steps

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Krissyar

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This is a sponsored post on behalf of MassMutual. 

Having overall health isn’t just for your body/mind, but your finances as well. I have noticed when my finances are in disarray, everything else follows suite. Since we’ve talked about taking steps to become fit/become a runner/or lose weight, we also all need to talk about setting goals and taking the steps to have financial success as well. Since it’s Financial Literacy Month, I figured this would be a great time to share some tips on getting fit financially.

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Set Goals & Get Organized. Before anything else, you need to establish what your desired outcome is. Create a budget sheet to track your income and expenses, so you can see where you might be able to cut out unnecessary expenses.  Make a long term and short term goal list so you know where to start – and where you want to be.

Save. Save. Save. Did I mention Save? You’ve heard it a million times (well at least I have). Always I mean always pay yourself first. If you have direct deposit have a percentage or certain amount automatically deposited into a savings or seperate account so you don’t even count it as bill money. Also set aside money each check for your childs college savings account,for your retirement, and any other finanical goal you have in mind. Like they say, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Eventually you won’t even notice that it’s gone!

Protect Your Assets. Insurance – whether it’s for your home, cars, or your life is a extremely important step to your financial success. Make sure that you are not only protecting that home or car, but also the liability that goes along with owning them. Meet with your insurance agent annually to determine if your policy limits are still sufficient for your needs.

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Work with a Trusted Financial Professional. I can’t stress this enough. Having a company you can rely on for your finances is important – whether it’s setting up life insurance, retirement, college savings, or investments, you need a trusted financial professional that has your best interest at heart. Someone who can keep you on track and informed.
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has the resources to help you meet your financial goals. MassMutual has tools, calculators, videos and articles are available on their website, and they can even put you in touch with a financial representative who can help you further along in the process of achieving your goals and dreams.

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Are you financially ‘fit?’ What are some of your financial goals for the future?

 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of MassMutual

 

Posted in Money Matters | 25 Comments

How to Choose an Alcohol and Drug Detox Center

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Krissyar

There are many people who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. This can be a devastating situation that hurts the friends and family of the person who is addicted. Fortunately, there are various Ohio detox and rehab facilities at which people can get the tools they need to kick their habit for good. Even though there are quite a few of these facilities to choose from, all rehab facilities are not created equal. This is why it is so important to look into a facility before deciding to get your treatment there. There are specific things that you should look for in a rehab facility before you consider using it. Here is how to choose an alcohol and drug detox center.

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1. Quality of the staff

The staff of a detox center is the backbone of your rehab experience. These are the people who are going to give you the professional care that will allow you to quit your deadly habit and get your life back on track. Therefore, if the staff is not experienced or knowledgeable regarding the best techniques to combat addiction, it could dramatically impact the success of your rehab. This is why you need to research the backgrounds of the various staff members of any detox facility you are thinking about using. Ideally, you want each staff member to have at least five years of experience in their specific field.

2. Reputation

Some rehab facilities and detox centers have better reputations than others. This is because the care provided at these facilities can vary greatly. You need to read reviews online to find out what former patients are saying about the quality of care they received at a specific facility. These reviews will be very valuable to you in your search because it will allow you to get a good idea of what you can expect if you decide to use that facility.

3. As people you know

Along with reading reviews online, you should also ask the people in your life who you love and trust. If anyone close to you has ever struggled with addiction and received treatment for it, find out where that person received their treatment and if they were happy with it. Getting a reference from a person you trust is very important because you can be sure that the person has your best interests at heart. They have no reason to try to get you to go to a specific facility. If you do find someone in your life who has been to rehab, find out everything they experienced while at the facility. It is important to understand that just because a rehab facility worked well for one person, it may not necessarily work for all people.

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So You Want to Be a Runner? Here’s 4 Steps to Becoming One

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Krissyar

This is a sponsored post on behalf New Balance. 

When I was younger I was always running- and not just late. I ran when I played softball, I ran when I played basketball, and of course I ran in track. But that was before a husband, three kids, a full-time and a part-time job, and all the stuff that comes with it. So obviously after years of spending a whole lot of time running around, but not a whole lot of time just running for myself it became very hard to pick up where I had left off so many years ago. Pretty much I was starting from scratch, a newbie learning the ropes again. As I’ve begun my journey I wanted to share what’s helped me get back on the track.

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Don’t Compare Yourself to Others.  There are a few things that everyone can do to become a runner, which we will address in this post. However, don’t compare your progress to anyone elses. Only you know what your body can handle and what it can do in a certain time period. Some may be running a mile in a week, others it make take months. Just be proud that you are making the steps to get there.

Make a Plan. Most successful runners didn’t just wake up one day and say, “Today I’m going to run 2 miles” They laid out steps to get there. Set a goal, and figure out a way to get there. I started out simple and worked my way up – I would work out for 40 minutes a day, 20 minutes at a time. For the first 5 minutes I walked (warmed up) then I would jog 1 minute, walk 4 and do it in intervals. The last minute of my 20 minutes I would run as fast as I could. I did this twice a day (mostly because of my schedule, and also because I get bored fast running on a treadmill). Within a few weeks I was walking 3 minutes, jogging 1, and working my way up. Set goals for yourself and keeping setting goals as you meet them.

Don’t Under Estimate the Power of REST. I know that everyone says it – to get a good nights sleep.. 8 hours a night..and we all seem to let it go in one ear and out the other. But sleep is MANDATORY not only for a less stressed life, but if you are serious about being a runner it’s a must. If you don’t believe me, try this – get 8 plus hours a sleep a night for 2 weeks straight. Then get a night where you only get about 5-6 and then hit the trail or the treadmill and tell me how you feel – then come back and tell me I was right!

Invest in Good Shoes. I have to admit I scoffed a bit when someone told me I needed to buy shoes specific to running. I mean sneakers are sneakers right??? Wrong.. there are so many factors that go into the type of shoe you need for a specific activity. I have always been a huge New Balance fan – I used them for basketball and everyday shoes, so when I ordered my first pair of New Balance Fresh Foam Zante running shoes I was pretty excited.

The Fresh Foam Zantes offer a smooth heel to toe transition helping you feel fast and the lightweight of the shoes help keeps the weight down from the heel strike to toe off. A lot of running shoes seem to be super heavy and weigh you down, but I don’t feel that way with my Fresh Foam Zantes. They are also super comfortable, and have the extra coushin in the heel for foot protection.
They come in different colors and styles for men and women, and you can find them on newbalance.com or your local retailer (They do carry them at Foot Locker, and on Zappos!)
Be sure you know your proper size, and if you’re unsure visit a local running store for measurements.

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Posted in Fitness/Health | 21 Comments

Delicious Roasted Asparagus

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Krissyar
When I was a kid we ate brocolli, green beans, and corn. I had no idea what asparagus was, except maybe from a Veggie Tales cartoon =)
As I’ve gotten older and decided to try new things, asparagus has become one of my favorite veggies. They are usually a pretty quick fix, and I can throw them on the grill, sautee them, or roast them and they always turn out delicious.
Check out this great roasted asparagus recipe and let me know what you think!
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and trim off the hard ends of the asparagus. Toss with 5 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 Tbsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper.
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Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes or until they are tender.  Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese or squeeze some lemon juice over them while still hot.
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Skinny By Summer Detox Smoothie

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Krissyar

If you’re anything like me this warm weather kind of just creeped up on me – out of no where. I mean I knew it was coming, I guess I was just not expecting it to come so quickly, you know??

So to get a boost I’ve decided to start making these detox smoothies, and I have to admit they are pretty tasty. Sometimes I add spinach along with the kale, just because I don’t think you can really taste it, so I try to get as many veggies in as I possibly can. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

Ingredients (2)

1 Apple cut up
A large handful of Kale
1/2 to a whole Banana
A large handful of Strawberries (The more you add the sweeter + I like to freeze mine to make the smoothie really cold)
1/4 to 1 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk (depending on how thick you want it

Directions:

Chop all ingredients up and toss into blender.  Before you start blending add the Almond Milk.  Garnish with strawberries and enjoy!  This smoothie cleanses the liver and jumpstarts your metabolism.

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Posted in Fitness/Health, Recipes | 5 Comments