Often when we get the electric bill in our mailbox our heart skips a beat because we know that the amount will shock us. No matter how much we prepare, and if you are like me you put that bill to the side and think about how high it will be. Every month as we grumble about how expensive it is we forget to think about the actual steps we need to take to effect a chance. Here are a few easy steps to effect a lasting change in the amount of your electric bill.
Step one: You must get the cooperation of all your family members in your quest to save electricity. If you show them how easy it is you will ensure their cooperation. You can also give them concrete tips on saving electricity like turning off the lights as they leave the room and turning off all the appliances including video games when not watching. You can offer incentives if their changes have resulted in savings.
Step two: Sometimes we leave lights on without thinking of the ramifications. Some of the often forgotten lights are exterior home lights and night lights. Some lights are needed but consider replacing exterior flood lights with motion detector lights and only put night lights in the rooms that they are actually needed. Taking these small steps can result in long-term savings by reducing usage.
Step three: The easiest thing to do without disrupting your whole household is to replace all the incandescent bulbs present in your home with compact fluorescent light or those CFL bulbs. These bulbs use less electricity give our the same or if not more light.
Step four: It's well worth it to spend the money for the new energy saver gadgets that are sold in the local hardware stores. They will monitor you total household usage and make it easy for you to adjust your usage as needed.
Step five: We usually assume that the our high electricity bill is due to the number of electrical gadgets we have but many times its dependent on the way they are used. We should only wash clothes when we have a full loan, wash dishes when the dishwasher is full or just wash by hand, and we can turn off as many electrical gadgets when they are not being used.
Step six: Lastly, the best way to reduce or even eliminate your electricity bill is to generate your own energy at home using free, renewable energy sources. In this way we can save energy, take care of the environment all the while putting thousands back into our pockets. We can reduce our dependence on our electric company and use renewable wind, sun, etc at a reasonable price.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Your Friendships Will Determine Your 2011
I once read: “A friend is someone who understands
your past, believes in your future, and accepts you
just the way you are.”
However I have come to terms also with the fact that,
our friendship alliance either make or mar us and people
change either we like it or not. (Sometimes through our
doing but mostly through no fault of ours)
A good friend today may become your worst nightmare
tomorrow either for reasons that can range from the choice
of person you marry, your success, your accomplishments,
your societal upward movement and a lot of varied reasons.
(call it bad bele.. or whatever)
It is your responsibility to access your friendships regularly
and do a re-categorisation as required to help you move at
the greatest possible speed you can think of.
To do this, you need to understand that there are 5 types
of friends you can have:
Plus Friends (+)
Minus Friends (-)
Multiplication Friends (x)
Division Friends (/)
Neutral Friends
And those names are explicit. You might argue that a friend
who divides your life isn’t really a friend but an enemy and
should be off the list but that’s where you are wrong because
most times, THEY are friends!
Think of Jonah (bible students). He was on the ship and
everything went upside down. Guess what, the cause of the
trouble himself was asleep!
The worst kind of friends you can have are the minuses and
divisions and it is not difficult to identify them. They are
friends that EACH time you have contact with them something
happens, and something is taken from you. I mean, you just
experience a loss… strictly speaking they are BAD
news.
Plus and Multiplication friends do just that. Think back all
through 2010 and remember those moments when you needed yam
desperately and someone walked in carrying it. Or think of those
moments when you needed to make a decision AND a friend called
in, chatted with you and gave you the solution without ever
knowing. Or those friends who are always there to point out to
you that you are about to make a silly move and who
hinder you from walking to shame.
Yes, those are the great friends! They motivate you, believe
in your dreams, accept your person, are genuinely interested
in your success, rejoice with your achievements EVEN when they
are yet to attain same, are those who pull you up when they
are ahead.. they are just GREAT men and women around your life!
Neutral friends are friends who neither do you harm of
add anything to you. They are just there. You may hang out
and all but in truth, they are just neutral.
Now, today’s exercise.
Fireup your text editor (MS word) and list all your friends.
Everyone of them you can remember in the next 5minutes.
They are probably the ones that matter and ask yourself
this question:
In 2010 what kind of friends has (So and So) been to me?
Put either a +, - , /, x or an N to signify neutral in front
of your list.
At the end of the exercise, evaluate the ratio and try to
find out which type of friend is the greatest in your life
and here is something I can conclude about your life by looking
at the list.
1. Your life is a mess or going to be a living hell VERY soon
if more of the people you call friends are minuses or
divisions because you aren’t going anywhere!
2. You are happy and progressing faster than you ever imagined
because your friends are progressive people who believe in you,
share your dreams and are happy about your success. They are
positives! Pluses and multiplications.
AND that is not all.
Run through that list again and for each of your friends ask the
question:
“What kind of a friend am I to these people” be honest.
Now, in 2011 you need to build quality relationships. Drop off
friends who are taking you nowhere and start forming new alliances.
If you wish to be finan cially free, start seeking people who
have the same thinking. If you want to become a landlord, move
with people who thirst for same. Want to have a great relationship,
step out of friendships where all of you in the same clique
have damaged relationships and seek out people with healthy
relationships so they can challenge and motivate you.
If your future in 2011 matters to you, you will take this seriously
because you cannot continue to live your life the very same way
and expect a different result!
Success is never a union of liabilities!
TIP:
If you need N50k now now. Can you get 5 friends to borrow you
N10k each for a week? If no, I am guessing that you are in an association
of people who are either constantly broke, live on borrowed funds, or
are jobless. Its time to change your associations. Please permit the
example, I am only trying to make a point since I have discovered in
the last 8years that people understand examples better when you
attach monetary values. This example can be applied to every area
of your life.
If you have a martial issue now, can you get 5 friends who don't have
one who can talk sense into you? If you were to suddenly pick up a
vice habit, are there 5 friends who don't have that vice who can talk
sense to you etc
your past, believes in your future, and accepts you
just the way you are.”
However I have come to terms also with the fact that,
our friendship alliance either make or mar us and people
change either we like it or not. (Sometimes through our
doing but mostly through no fault of ours)
A good friend today may become your worst nightmare
tomorrow either for reasons that can range from the choice
of person you marry, your success, your accomplishments,
your societal upward movement and a lot of varied reasons.
(call it bad bele.. or whatever)
It is your responsibility to access your friendships regularly
and do a re-categorisation as required to help you move at
the greatest possible speed you can think of.
To do this, you need to understand that there are 5 types
of friends you can have:
Plus Friends (+)
Minus Friends (-)
Multiplication Friends (x)
Division Friends (/)
Neutral Friends
And those names are explicit. You might argue that a friend
who divides your life isn’t really a friend but an enemy and
should be off the list but that’s where you are wrong because
most times, THEY are friends!
Think of Jonah (bible students). He was on the ship and
everything went upside down. Guess what, the cause of the
trouble himself was asleep!
The worst kind of friends you can have are the minuses and
divisions and it is not difficult to identify them. They are
friends that EACH time you have contact with them something
happens, and something is taken from you. I mean, you just
experience a loss… strictly speaking they are BAD
news.
Plus and Multiplication friends do just that. Think back all
through 2010 and remember those moments when you needed yam
desperately and someone walked in carrying it. Or think of those
moments when you needed to make a decision AND a friend called
in, chatted with you and gave you the solution without ever
knowing. Or those friends who are always there to point out to
you that you are about to make a silly move and who
hinder you from walking to shame.
Yes, those are the great friends! They motivate you, believe
in your dreams, accept your person, are genuinely interested
in your success, rejoice with your achievements EVEN when they
are yet to attain same, are those who pull you up when they
are ahead.. they are just GREAT men and women around your life!
Neutral friends are friends who neither do you harm of
add anything to you. They are just there. You may hang out
and all but in truth, they are just neutral.
Now, today’s exercise.
Fireup your text editor (MS word) and list all your friends.
Everyone of them you can remember in the next 5minutes.
They are probably the ones that matter and ask yourself
this question:
In 2010 what kind of friends has (So and So) been to me?
Put either a +, - , /, x or an N to signify neutral in front
of your list.
At the end of the exercise, evaluate the ratio and try to
find out which type of friend is the greatest in your life
and here is something I can conclude about your life by looking
at the list.
1. Your life is a mess or going to be a living hell VERY soon
if more of the people you call friends are minuses or
divisions because you aren’t going anywhere!
2. You are happy and progressing faster than you ever imagined
because your friends are progressive people who believe in you,
share your dreams and are happy about your success. They are
positives! Pluses and multiplications.
AND that is not all.
Run through that list again and for each of your friends ask the
question:
“What kind of a friend am I to these people” be honest.
Now, in 2011 you need to build quality relationships. Drop off
friends who are taking you nowhere and start forming new alliances.
If you wish to be finan cially free, start seeking people who
have the same thinking. If you want to become a landlord, move
with people who thirst for same. Want to have a great relationship,
step out of friendships where all of you in the same clique
have damaged relationships and seek out people with healthy
relationships so they can challenge and motivate you.
If your future in 2011 matters to you, you will take this seriously
because you cannot continue to live your life the very same way
and expect a different result!
Success is never a union of liabilities!
TIP:
If you need N50k now now. Can you get 5 friends to borrow you
N10k each for a week? If no, I am guessing that you are in an association
of people who are either constantly broke, live on borrowed funds, or
are jobless. Its time to change your associations. Please permit the
example, I am only trying to make a point since I have discovered in
the last 8years that people understand examples better when you
attach monetary values. This example can be applied to every area
of your life.
If you have a martial issue now, can you get 5 friends who don't have
one who can talk sense into you? If you were to suddenly pick up a
vice habit, are there 5 friends who don't have that vice who can talk
sense to you etc