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Saturday, 8 February 2014

High-Maintenance Dog Breed Border Collie

Often referred to as a canine Einstein, the Border Collie has a desire to work that borders on the obsessive. He will herd anything that comes his way - kids, cats, cars, even a bag of oranges that have spilled onto the floor. His intelligence and energy make him a fabulous competitor in dog sports, but if he is underemployed at home, he is likely to develop compulsive behaviors such as chasing light and shadows, twirling in circles, and bouncing up and down. Be prepared to keep him busy with dog sports, activities around the house, regular training sessions and plenty of daily exercise.

High-Maintenance Dog Breed Australian Shepherd

The smart and focused Australian Shepherd seems never to run out of energy. After he has brought in the morning newspaper, escorted the kids to the school bus, picked up their toys and dirty clothes from the floor and placed them in the appropriate receptacles, he's ready to help you do yard work by fetching tools or digging out weeds in your garden. Then he'll want you to throw a ball or flying disc for him to chase, practice for the weekend's agility or obedience trial, or take a brisk hour-long walk or hike. You'll wear out before he does unless you are equally active - and creative enough to keep him occupied.

Sunday, 2 February 2014

How to Avoid Parking Lot Accidents? Safety Tips

Parking lot accidents are top the list of the most common car crashes. What's so sad is that most of them could be prevented if the driver took a few extra precautions.

1. Ignore wavers.
So-called Good Samaritans who wave you out of a parking lot space sometimes are wrong. They do not see all of the traffic flowing behind you. The problem: after you back out of your parking space into another car, you (not them) are the only one who'll pay the price for this mishap.

2. Avoid tight spots.
Parking spaces marked as compact are best suited for these types of vehicles. Refrain from squeezing your medium-sized or large vehicle into those spaces. Why? You increase your chances of hitting the cars on either side of you when opening up a door or pulling off.

3. Peer over your shoulder (until you're out).
The easiest way to avoid having a parking lot accident is peering over your shoulder until you are all the way out of a parking space. It's the only way to ensure you constantly see what's behind you. A quick glance into your review mirror exposes you to a short period in which another car (or person) could get behind your car without your knowledge.

4. Store bags in your trunk.
Shopping bags, packages and passengers block your rear view. For this reason, put the former into your car trunk and ask passengers to duck as you back out of a parking space. Otherwise, they block the area behind you. You cannot see what's necessary to safely pull out into a parking lot aisle.

5. Wait to reprimand your kids.
Unruly children are distractions, especially to moms. Wait to reprimand them until you get home. This prevents you from getting so caught up in getting them in order that you become unaware of your surroundings.

6. Beware of indoor lots.
The manner in which indoor parking lots are constructed present special challenges for drivers. They often have a blind spot because of a concrete pillar or a blind spot at a turn into another level. Always drive extremely slow in indoor parking lots and use parking spaces in the middle of a row for the best view.

How to Manage and Invest Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is money you save up that can be used to offset unforeseen financial problems or challenges (think serious car repairs, sudden unemployment, etc.). An ideal emergency fund is both liquid and covers three to six months worth of living expenses. Once you acquire an appropriate amount, the next question is where to maintain it. Most people would naturally gravitate towards placing it all in a personal savings account. As a matter of fact, I used to keep my entire emergency fund in savings until I realized just how low my current annual rate of return was. As a result, I searched for better ways to diversify with different and safe investment platforms in order to garner a greater yield of return. Two alternatives to spice up your emergency fund are through US Government I Savings Bonds and CD ladders.

US I Savings Bonds

I Bonds are securities that earn interest based on a combination of a fixed interest rate and an inflation rate. Because the bonds adjust for inflation, you are guaranteed that your purchasing power will never decrease. The variable inflation rates are adjusted twice a year with interest compounding semiannually. While current rates are low for I Bonds, you will still earn more than a typical savings account. Some things to consider--you cannot redeem an I Bond until after one year. Interestingly enough, this restriction is waved if you have been affected by certain natural disasters. In addition, you will lose the last three months of interest if redeeming an I Bond before it turns five years old. Once the bond matures past five years, however, you can cash in penalty free. I Bonds are bought at face value and can be purchased electronically through the government's TreasuryDirect.gov website.

CD Ladders

Bank CDs normally carry higher interest rates than a savings account. The lack of liquidity sometimes causes investors to shy away, yet higher rates are typically found with longer-term CDs. By laddering your CDs, however, you can earn the better rates and improve liquidity. CD ladders work as such--with $3,000, place $1,000 each into a one-year, two-year, and three-year CD. Once the one-year CD matures, buy another three-year CD. Lather, rinse, repeat! By doing the same thing each year, you should earn higher yields overall by purchasing the longer-term CDs. Of course, there are penalties for cashing in a CD before the maturity date. Do your homework first to decide how the interest penalties will affect early withdrawal. Check your local bank or banks online for the best rates and more information.

Diversification That Works for You

If you do decide to diversify your emergency fund, make sure you are comfortable with the plan and understand all associated risks. By dividing your fund into three parts--say 50% Savings Account, 25% I Bonds, 25% CD Ladders--you should see improvements to your overall rate of return while protecting the principle. Think of your emergency fund as an investment. Like all investments, it too needs to generate additional revenue until called into action.

Disclaimer

I am not a professional financial manager, just someone interested in taking charge of my own money. I currently maintain 80% of my emergency fund in US I Bonds. Please conduct your own research before investing.

Known Facts and Trivia About the Super Bowl Biggest Football Game of the Year

The Super Bowl is the biggest football game of the year. Here are 6 little-known facts and trivia about the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLIV broke a 27-year-old record for most watched TV event.

Super Bowl XLIV, which was held in 2010, broke a 27-year-old record for most watched TV event. The previous record was held by the TV show M*A*S*H*. The final episode of M*A*S*H*, which aired in 1983, had 105.97 viewers while Super Bowl XLIV ended up having 106.5 viewers thus breaking the record.

4 NFL teams have not even appeared in the Super Bowl.

There are 14 teams that haven't won the Super Bowl but there are 4 teams that haven't even appeared once in the Super Bowl. These teams are the Detroit Lions, the Cleavland Browns, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans. The Detroit Lions is the only team from the NFC to not make one appearance in the Super Bowl while the other three teams are from the AFC.

There has only been one MVP awarded to someone on the losing team.

The Super Bowl Most Value Player Award is presented to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl. The award has been given to a player on the winning team for every Super Bowl except one. In 1971 the award was presented to linebacker Chuck Howley even though his team, the Dallas Cowboys, lost to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V.

The biggest difference in score took place at Super Bowl XXIV.

When the Super Bowl XXIV took place in 1990 the San Francisco 49ers played against the Denver Broncos. The final score ended up being 55-10 with the 49ers beating the Broncos. This is the biggest difference in score in a Super Bowl game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most Super Bowls.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most Super Bowls with 6 wins. These wins happened at Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, XIV, XL, and XLIII.

Jerry Rice has scored the most touchdowns in a Super Bowl career.

Jerry Rice, who played for the San Francisco 49ers, scored 8 touchdowns in his Super Bowl career. These 8 touchdowns were scored over the course of 4 Super Bowl games. The next person to have scored the most touchdowns in their Super Bowl career is Emmit Smith, from the Dallas Cowboys, who scored 3 touchdowns over 3 Super Bowl games.