Be Open to Life's Lessons
by Sandy Karn

Life is constantly giving us feedback. No matter what we do,
we will experience the results of our action. The feedback is unavoidable, however that does not mean we pay attention to it.

Significant life experiences are designed to teach us lessons about life and how to live it most fully and effectively. We attract many of these experiences because at some level we know which lessons we need to learn. If we fail to pay attention and learn the lesson, we will probably continue to attract similar experiences to repeat that lesson until we finally learn it.

If the feedback is negative, we need to resist the temptation to simply complain and blame the results on others. We need to carefully examine what we did to bring about the undesirable results. No matter what happens in our lives, we are in some way responsible. Being responsible is not the same as being wrong. It is simply accepting responsibility for being a part of the event, no matter what we did.

Now if the feedback is positive, that's great. However even in this case it is important to carefully examine the results in any significant incident. Do you know what brought about these results or did you just happen to stumble on an appropriate action? Have you identified all of the feedback including the subtle feelings and concerns that may get covered up by the desirable results?

It always helps to interpret life's feedback from a broad
viewing point rather than a narrow point of view. If you are on a street in the center of a major city surrounded by tall
buildings, your view of the city is clearly limited. Now take an elevator to the roof of the tallest building nearby. From this new viewing point you will be able to see more of the city. If you board a helicopter and rise further above the city, your view will continue to expand until eventually you will be able to see the entire city.

Your view from the sidewalk is not wrong. It is an accurate
view of that tiny part of the city. This is generally true of our viewing points. They are correct as far as they go; however they are significantly incomplete. We need to consider life's feedback from a broad viewing point to receive the entire message without rejecting parts of it out of hand.
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20 strange ways to save
By Myra Cristobal • Bankrate.com

Wackiness sells. Witness the success of wildly popular reality TV shows, such as "The Bachelor," "Survivor" and "Fear Factor." It's amazing what strange things people are willing to do in the hopes of winning some cash -- or the man. We generate our own brand of wacky here at Bankrate.com -- some of the ways that people save and spend money.

Here are some of the zaniest cost-cutting tips submitted to our monthly Frugal U. contest. We don't recommend you take these money-saving ideas seriously, as some could actually be dangerous to your health. But most were just too much fun to ignore.

Hope we make you grin.
Continued below

1. Flowers for a wedding can be so expensive. A good way to reduce the cost is to drive through a couple of cemeteries the night before the wedding, and pick up a couple of the bouquets that are lying on the ground.

2. To do a quick wax job on my car, I use furniture wax. It buffs really well.

3. Train your cats to use the toilet! I was spending a fortune on kitty litter until I read about teaching your cat to use the toilet. It took a little training, but eventually they got it. They're neat about it and I save lots of money!

4. Put that beer down! Save what you'd normally spend on beer. By the time you retire you'll be able to afford all the beer you want. A six-pack a day is what -- $5 for the good stuff? Five dollars a day is over $1800 a year! You know who you are. Invest this amount now, and you can buy all the beer you want when you're retired. I might even do the same.

5. Don't throw away the plastic backing in the package of sliced bacon. Wash it well, and place it between servings of raw meat before freezing. This saves on plastic wrap and is reusable.

6. Make more than what you spend.

7. When eating out, save on the expense of a soda by ordering a glass of water with lemon. Spice it up with a packet or two of sweetener, and it will taste like lemonade. No charge, no tax and no tip on that.

8. Use the squeegee at the gas station to wash your car.

9. Marry and stay married to a frugal spouse.

10. Never buy sandwich bags or storage bags again. Use the liners from cereal boxes and newspaper wrappers.

11. Pick up every penny or coin you see on the street. You will get richer!

12. Marry a man who can fix things. It saves thousands each year!

13. Whenever my family goes to a fast-food place, we grab handfuls of the free ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, etc. Then at home my kids transfer the contents of the ketchup packets into the partially full bottle. We have only had to buy one large ketchup bottle in the last two years! Haven't bought salt and pepper in ages. It's a real giveaway!

14. Eat Cheerios!

15. Instead of buying toilet paper, I use yesterday's newspaper.

16. Make your local print shop your office. Use their supplies. The IRS takes a pretty dim view about people claiming home office space. Why get in trouble with a possible audit? Some print shops even have phones. Make your calls from there. Take your laptop there and use their electricity for free.

17. For mere pennies a day, you can feed yourself with dog food. And you will probably be healthier, as this diet is probably better than 95 percent of the typical North American diet. I would suggest dry dog food, though, as the canned varieties are not nearly as tasty.

18. Tell nearly everyone that you are going out of town this Christmas and will not return until after New Year's Day. Then buy most of your gifts during the after-Christmas sales.

19. Unplug clocks in your house while sleeping.

20. Next time you need an umbrella, go to your local public library and ask for the lost and found department. Tell them that you left your black umbrella at the library last month. They will show you a selection of several black umbrellas. Select the most expensive and it's yours. The bigger the library, the better the selection of umbrellas.

Holidays' 'Hot Dozen' Toys
Parents take note: The "official" list of the hottest toys for the 2003 holiday season has been unveiled.















Find the perfect gift on any budget. Shop by price at KBtoys.com











Visit the Internet's Largest Christmas Store click here.


Holidays' 'hot dozen' toys
Barbie, Care Bears, Hokey Pokey Elmo and My Little Pony among this year's 'must-have' playthings.
October 8, 2003: 11:35 AM EDT
By Parija Bhatnagar, CNN/Money Staff Writer


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Parents take note: The "official" list of the hottest toys for the 2003 holiday season was unveiled Wednesday and Barbie in Swan Lake, Hokey Pokey Elmo and My Little Pony all made the cut.

The top picks featured in Toy Wishes magazine's annual round-up of this year's top toys were announced at a joint Toy Industry Association (TIA) and Toy Wishes media-only event in New York City.


For the first time since its debut four years ago, the much-anticipated "Hot Dozen" is in fact a "Baker's Dozen" with 13 winners. Judging by the selection, industry watches say toymakers are betting on a few golden oldies to boost sagging sales.

The business of toys hasn't been all that fun lately, with the $20 billion industry struggling to grow sales for the past three years.

"Toy manufacturers have brought back proven hits this year because it's less risky than betting on something new," said toy consultant Chris Byrne.


Hokey Pokey Elmo
For example, last year Mattel (MAT: Research, Estimates)'s Elmo was doing the Chicken Dance. This year it's the Hokey Pokey Elmo. He's red and furry, sings the classic song -- and actually does the dance.

Hasbro (HAS: Research, Estimates) is anticipating a joy ride of profitability all over again with its My Little Pony collection. The company introduced 12 new ponies as part of its 2003 collection. Hasbro had discontinued the toy line in 1992.

Toy Wishes rates the My Little Pony Celebration Castle as a hot item this year.

And remember the Care Bears? The '80s icon is back this year with its BedTime Lullaby Bear among the baker's dozen.

Getting back to the future, critics also like a few technology-based toys such as Thinkway Toys' Neopets line of interactive toys based on the hugely popular Neopets Web site and Leapfrog's (LF: Research, Estimates) LeapPad and Leapster educational game system.



Finally, you just can't ignore Barbie. Mattel's Barbie as Odette in the ballet "Swan Lake" gets the thumbs up for Christmas as does the Barbie "Cook With Me Kitchen" playset.


Toy Wishes co-publisher Jim Silver said he's optimistic toy sales will grow in the crucial fourth quarter, which typically accounts for two-thirds of the year's total.

"Sales in the last eight months were quite weak compared to last year because we didn't have blockbuster movies like 'Spiderman' or 'Star Wars,'" Silver said. "But with the economy improving somewhat, a stronger back-to-school season and strong sales of retro, educational and girls' toys, the fourth quarter could be the best we've had since 2000."
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