I would like to wish all of my blog readers a Happy Holiday and/or Merry Christmas and I hope you all enjoy this special time of year with your family and your friends. ‘Tis the season that we all remember what is important in our lives and to always live our lives filled with love, joy and happiness.

I hope you all have a great holiday and thank you for reading the Work at Home Business Options Blog. See ya in the year 2012!

Human beings look at the world and see a complex network of interconnected individuals, each with their own autonomy and free will. This perception is a far cry from what credit card companies see. Instead, they view individuals as big bundles of data from which they can profit.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported both MasterCard and VISA are working on plans targeting online ads to consumers based on previous credit card purchases. The idea is you pick up a bag of dog food from the store and charge it to your credit card. When you get home and go online, you start seeing ads for corresponding products and services, like dog toys and dog grooming.

Despite the massive amount of personal data we transmit every day, there are still ways to protect yourself from targeted online ads. Try a few of these tips to avoid the watchful eye of Big Brother.

1. Don’t Over-share
Countless websites and stores ask us to provide phone numbers, email addresses and ZIP codes to help them build a marketing profile. Don’t bother sharing your details unless they’re essential to your purchase. If the guilt of creating fake information keeps you tossing and turning at night, GuerrillaMail.com provides temporary email addresses that last for just 60 minutes.

2. Cut Down on Cookies
“Cookie” is an important keyword here. These small files are stored on your computer every time you visit a website. They’re the reason you don’t have to log in to Facebook 10 times a day and why you see ads for a pair of shoes viewed yesterday when you’re checking your email today. Luckily, the Network Advertising Initiative can help you opt-out of advertising cookies. With just a few simple steps, you’re able to block major marketers from access to your browsing habits.

3. Privatize Your Purchases
Don’t forget about the main culprits in this personal information panic. All told, VISA and MasterCard process nearly 70 billion transactions each year. All the while, they’re collecting and analyzing this massive amount of data. Avoid having your information inspected by opting-out of their analytics programs. MasterCard makes it especially easy; all you have to do is follow this link and opt out of programs in which you don’t want to participate. VISA makes it more complicated, but look here for details.

4. Beef Up Your Browser
In response to growing discontent over privacy issues, popular Web browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox are making it easier to protect personal information. Their latest versions include a private browsing option you can enable to keep your online habits confidential. The browser then won’t store such information as cookies, passwords and files you download.

5. Leave No Paper Trail
Paperless statements are good for the environment and also good for your security. Not only does online banking eliminate the amount of personal information you dump in the trash, it also lets you track each purchase instantly. It’s a smart security strategy to check your online bank accounts often. This way, you can ensure suspicious items don’t slip through the cracks.

6. Get Off the Grid
Credit has practically become our official currency. If you’re tired of stressing about credit card security, go old-fashioned. While cash doesn’t work online, it doesn’t require you share any personal details, either. Gift cards are another good way to avoid using credit. Buying gift cards at less than face value from sites like GiftCardGranny provides instant savings, plus you can use them both in-store and online. Even better, gift cards aren’t attached to any of your personal info.

7. Avoid Auto-Fill
Keeping your credit card number, billing address and shipping address on file at Amazon is handy, but it also makes you more vulnerable. Something simple like forgetting to log out at the library can place your personal details in the wrong hands. Though it’s tedious and takes extra time, enter your information anew with each order.

8. Ensure You’re Secure
It’s surprisingly easy to confirm an online merchant has secure checkout. Always look for “https” in the Web address, instead of just “http.” That extra “s” shows your connection is encrypted and unauthorized users will have to go to greater measures to get your information. You can learn more about site-specific security by clicking the appropriate box near the address bar in your browser.

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Andrea Woroch is a nationally recognized consumer and money-saving expert, having been featured among such top news outlets as Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more. She is available for in-studio, satellite or skype interviews and to write guest posts or articles.

100 Days Left In The Year
Get Mentally Tough and Make Those Resolutions A Reality
By Steve Siebold

Remember those New Year’s resolutions you made on January 1? Today marks 100 days left in the year. If you forgot about your resolutions back in February, you can still finish the year off strong.

Whether it’s losing weight, quitting smoking, getting organized or climbing out of debt, everyone CAN reach their goals. People need to focus on their thoughts, beliefs, philosophies and attitudes – otherwise they are setting themselves up to fail before they even begin.

Here are a few tips for making the most of the last 100 days of 2011 and making good on those New Year’s resolutions:

· Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. Many times the only thing that separates winners from losers is the thought process. Winners have a “whatever it takes” attitude. They’ve made the decision to pay any price and bear any burden in the name of victory.
· Expect to feel pain or suffer. Most people feel the pain or run into an obstacle and seek escape. Have a plan to push forward when this happens. If you’re not ready to suffer during adversity, you’re not going to be successful.
· Developing a world-class self-talk may be the most powerful mental toughness tool.
· Take risks. Don’t always have a “play it safe” or “stay below the radar” mentality. Without risk, there can be no progress.
· Avoid delusion and operate from objective reality.
· Feed your visions and starve your fears.
· Don’t focus on how to do it, but rather, why should I do it? Why do I want this goal to become a reality? The intensity of emotion with which this question is answered will determine whether the dream comes alive or dies.
· Embrace nonlinear thinking. Don’t give into the negative thoughts that the goal is impossible. Ask yourself how can it be done?
· Get really clear about what you want to change. Define what it is and then get totally committed to doing it.
· Compartmentalize your emotions and focus completely on the goal.
· Stop caring about what other people think about your dreams. Psychologists call it “approval addiction”, and once you overcome it to any significant degree, you are free of the psychological chains that bind most people from ever experiencing world-class success.

100 days is plenty of time to accomplish any goal you have. It’s time to get mentally tough and make a plan for long term success. While amateurs often live in the past, champions look toward the future. Focus on the present while creating your ultimate vision for, and landscape of the future. Future orientation allows you to dream of grand visions and unlimited possibilities. It will also keep you motivated and moving forward because it keeps the proverbial carrot out in front. It all begins with taking full responsibility for your life and your future.

Steve Siebold is one of the world’s most noted experts in the field of mental toughness training and is author of the international best-selling book 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of The World Class. His Fortune 500 clients include Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble, and Toyota. He began studying mental toughness training as a world-class junior tennis player in the 1970’s. He’s ranked in the top one-percent of income earners in the world in the professional speaking business. Visit http://www.speakerstevesiebold.com

If you are looking to save some money you can start by using homemade cleaning products to clean your home with. Not only are these inexpensive to make but most are eco-friendly too! I use a lot of baking soda and white vinegar around my home to kill germs and to keep my home clean. Here are a few other ideas to help you get your house cleaned up and do so on the cheap.

Vinegar – Vinegar can be used to remove mold, grease, and mildew. Vinegar will kill bacteria and germs. Just dilute down your white vinegar with tap water so that it doesn’t irritate your skin while using it.

Baking Soda – Baking soda can be used as a scouring agent and deodorizer. You can even brush your teeth with it. I like to make a baking soda paste by just adding a tad of tap water to it and then use it for scrubbing. It will also do a great job at deodorizing your garbage disposal. If your carpets have a stinky smell sprinkle plain baking soda onto your carpets and let it sit for an hour and then vacuum it up.

Bleach – I purchased an empty spray bottle and I put in 1/4 cup of bleach and then filled it with tap water. It now can be use to clean counter tops, toilets, tubs and sinks.

Salt – Your basic table salt makes for a good abrasive scouring powder so sprinkle some onto your stainless steel kitchen sink and use a sponge to scrub it down. A salt scrub also works well for removing baked on food from your cookware and bakeware too!

Lemon Juice – Lemon juice mixed with water makes a great all-purpose cleaner. I keep a spray bottle filled with lemon juice/water and spray down my kitchen countertops with it every day. It also is great for cleaning the microwave, stove-top and refrigerator.

As you can see…you don’t have to pay a fortune at the store for chemical household cleaners when you can spend pennies and make your own at home! Do you have any frugal cleaning tips to share with me today? If so, please leave me a comment.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and most of us celebrate Valentine’s Day in some way or another. When it comes to Valentine’s Day I enjoy doing something special with my spouse but we always plan a few special things to do with our family. Afterall…This day is all about love!

What kind of “family” things do you like to do with your family to celebrate? Here is some of the things we like to do.

1. We make handmade cards for one another & then mail them to each other. It is always fun to see them & who doesn’t love getting a card in the mail.

2. If you have older children let them help you bake up some Valentine’s Day goodies such as heart shaped cakes, decorated cupcakes or some Valentine’s Day shaped sugar cookies decorated in red & white sprinkles.

3. Throw a Valentine’s Day mini party! Play some games, watch some movies, pop some popcorn & call out for a pizza.

4. Put up some Valentine’s Day decorations & let the kids help!

5. Make or Buy extra little Valentine’s Day cards and have the kids fill them out. Drop them off at senior centers, hospitals or send them to our troops. It’s also nice to remember others during this very special day.

What kind of “family” Valentine’s Day activities do you enjoy doing with your family?

Shelly

In this day and age, we all lead very busy lives. As a mother and a wife, my typical day starts with breakfast, getting the kids ready for school, then it’s off to work only to return home 8 hours later completely exhausted. Who has time to clean?

When the weekend finally rolls around, I have just enough time and energy to do just my basic cleaning. After the weekend is all said and done, most of what I wanted to accomplish, didn’t get done. As I sit and ponder this maddening cycle of cleaning and re-cleaning my home, I realized that there has got to be a better way of getting everything done!

I decided to come up with a new game plan and this time, it involves everyone in my family pitching in and helping, after all, I am not the only one who lives here! I sat down and drafted up a list of all household chores that needed to be done on a weekly basis and decided who would best be suited to accomplishing that task. Once my list was made, I conducted a family meeting and informed everyone of the new changes. I did meet some resistance, but eventually, they all came around.

After the family meeting was done, I headed off to our local discount store to purchase some new supplies. In addition to those supplies, I picked up some plastic bins, one for each member of the family. Once I arrived home, I labeled each bin with one family member’s name and filled their bin with the supplies they would need to accomplish their assigned tasks. In addition, I wrote up a checklist of all household chores that the particular family member was responsible for and taped that to the outside of the bin. Now…there was no confusion on who was responsible for doing what!

As the weeks progressed along, we found that we all were more apt to get our tasks done. Each person had their own assigned tasks along with their own bin of supplies. We didn’t have to waste time fighting over who was doing what, nor did we waste time rooting around for our supplies. Our weekly household chores were getting done on time and there was a lot less stress going on within our home. In our household, getting more organized and having every member of the family pitch in was the answer to our ‘cleaning’ dilemma.

This article was written by Shelly Hill, copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Making and Keeping New Years Resolutions by Corrie Petersen

Everyone does it! New Years Day rolls around and we all sit down and make our New Years Resolutions. It’s one of those things that just come natural to us on January 1.

How many of you make those New Years resolutions each year and lose site of them before the first quarter is over? I know I have! Let’s look at the difference between a goal and a New Years resolution. A goal is something you are striving to achieve. A New Years resolution is something you really don’t want to do, but you know you should. So, even though most likely it won’t get done, you feel obligated to make the resolution to do it.

An example of a goal would be:

I want to make $2000 a month

An example of a New Years resolution would be:

I want to lose 100 pounds

In the first example you know this can happen if you sit down and plan. In the second example this may be a little more difficult because losing 2 pounds a week may be hard for some. A lot of us set a goal of losing weight, but because life and business happen, this does not!

Now that we know the difference between a goal and a New Years resolution, let’s talk about the ways you can make your New years resolution into a goal that you can achieve.

One thing that will help you reach your goal is to write it down. Not only will writing it down help you remember your goal, but it will also keep you accountable. You will want to put your goals in a place where you will see them every day. The more you see them, the more likely you are to accomplish them. Another thing that will help you to reach your goals is to share your goals with someone that can hold you accountable.

Once you have your major goals in place, you need to break those down into goals that are more reachable. Break them down into monthly goals. That way you will know what you need to do on a monthly basis to reach the major goals. Now for some a monthly goal is too far out there. That’s ok. Just break your goals into weekly goals. Just do what it takes to make it reachable.

When you break your goals into smaller goals they look more attainable. Here is an example.

Say you want to make $12,000 a year. $12,000 seems like a huge amount of money. You may take one look at that and want to give up. Well, don’t do that! Instead, make the goal reachable. Break that goal down into monthly amounts. $12,000 a year means you need to make $1000 a month, which means you need to make $250 a week. Now sit down and see what you need to do to make $250 a week. Write down exactly what you need to do to make $250 a week.

Once you have your smaller goals written down, you need to share them with that someone we talked about earlier. You need to share them with someone that will hold you accountable. That person may be your spouse or another work at home mom or maybe a friend that has similar goals.

When you find the person that is going to help you, you need to set a time at least once a week that will work for both of you. You will need to tell this person what you did for the week, if you reached your goals, and what your new goals are for the coming week. Mondays and Fridays are good days to do this goal meeting.

So there you have it. You are well on your way to having a successful year. Keep up the great work and continue to strive each week and before you know it, you will reach your goals!

Corrie Petersen is the owner of WAHM-Articles.com and she runs a successful Virtual Assistant business. She loves to help her clients reach success through the services she offers. If you’re ready to take your business up a notch, go to http://www.virtualfreedom4you.com to see what services she offers.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

Daily Chore Charts by Rachel Paxton

Our family’s cleaning and chore schedules have varied widely over the years. In two short years we have gone from having one teenager in the home to having two teenagers and two toddlers. In the past I have tended to do much of the housework myself, with help off and on from my teenage daughter. Our cleaning schedule was very different then. We got away with vacuuming once or twice a week and didn’t even do the dishes every day.

Our lifestyle changed dramatically when I was pregnant with our twins. It got to the point I could do no housework at all. At the time my daughter was 17 years old, attending community college, and working at a part time job. I was not requiring her to do much housework because of her busy schedule. While I was pregnant we both decided she would quit her job and work for me instead, doing housework, cooking dinner, and doing grocery shopping for me. This arrangement worked very well for us and I enjoyed the extra time we got to spend together. She was able to easily find a new part time job after her brothers were born and I started doing more housework again.

After the birth of our twins my teenage step-daughter moved in with us. It wasn’t until the boys began to crawl and then walk that the housework became totally unmanageable and I had to admit I couldn’t do it all on my own. That is when we started our daily “chore chart”.

First I wrote down the chores with which I needed the most help:

Daily Chores

- Dishes, clean kitchen
- Pick up and vacuum living room and dining room
- Take out kitchen garbage

Twice-a-Week Chores

- Mop kitchen floor
- Clean litter box
- Do a load of laundry

Once-a-Week Chores

- Take out all garbages
- Put garbage can up on street
- Clean bedroom
- Clean kids’ bathroom

This cleaning schedule has worked very well for us. I choose to cook dinner every evening because I enjoy it. Between cooking, feeding the boys, and getting them ready for bed, that is about all I have time for in an evening. Having the girls do the other chores is a huge help.

When I created the schedule, I did keep in mind the girls’ outside activities. For instance, if I know one of the girls has an activity one night I won’t have her do the dishes that night. I have set up a schedule where each night one daughter picks up and vacuums and the other daughter does the dishes. Those are the two biggest chores. Then they usually have one other small chore. Most nights their chores take 20 minutes or less, but save me at least an hour of extra work. On Saturdays they clean their bedrooms, and take turns cleaning their bathroom.

We haven’t had any problems getting the girls to do their chores. First of all, they can’t go anywhere until their chores are done. If they still choose not to do their chores they will not get their allowance. Although one daughter also has a part time job we also decided to give her a small allowance for doing household chores because she spends so much of the rest of her time doing homework and working at her other job. We wanted to give her a small incentive and to let her know her help is appreciated.

We keep track of chores on a dry erase board that has a calendar pre-printed on it. Every month I write in the days for the new month and write in the girls’ chores for every day. There is no confusion as to who has what chores.

You can adjust your chore charts to suit your needs. You may not need your living room vacuumed every day like we do. Chores can be varied according to how many children you have and their ages.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What’s for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

6 Trusted Tips To Get Your Car Ready For Winter Driving by Marilyn Bohn

I was teaching a class the other night on clearing the clutter in our homes and lives. We all spend a lot of time in our cars going to appointments, picking up dinner, taking the kids to their activities and doing a hundred other things. Since our car has become an extension of our home it is another place where we can clear clutter in minutes that will make a dramatic difference in our lives.

Back in the 70’s we owned a Volkswagen Bus. We loved that blue beetle and I loved piling the kids in and taking off to do errands or running them to school and activities. It was a casual vehicle and it had been a reliable vehicle until the day it caught fire. One day as I was pulling into the gas station one of the kids yelled, “There is smoke mommy”. It took me a second to realize that the smoke was coming from the back end of our “beetle” where the engine was. I yelled for all the kids to get out and at the same time someone came rushing over with a fire extinguisher and put the fire out. I was grateful we were all safe and sound and for the quick actions of the man with the fire extinguisher.

You would think I had learned my lesson and bought an extinguisher for my car but I didn’t. Nine years later I was 15 miles from home on my way to work on the freeway when I saw smoke coming out from under my hood. I immediately pulled over and before I could even get out of my car a highway patrolman had stopped right behind me and behind him a man stopped and ran up to my car with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Sometimes “lightening” does strike twice to get our attention.

Making our cars inviting to be in, being prepared in case of emergencies and organizing clutter is just the basics of being prepared. Winter is coming—is your car prepared? This is a good time to organize the clutter. Here are ideas and tips on the essentials of getting your car ready for cold weather:

1. Keep supplies in the back of the vehicle that you may need in case of an emergency.
·A fire extinguisher
·Some kind of deicer such as salt or kitty litter in case you get stuck in the snow.
·A small folding shovel
·A window Scraper
·Water
·Snacks such as crackers, fruit snacks, or power bars.

2. Keep a spare pair of gloves in the jockey box. A student in my class laughed at me when I said this and asked where I was from. She said it is called a glove compartment. Another woman spoke up and said they called it “the box”. No matter what you call it keeping an extra pair of gloves can save you on a cold day if you forget yours. Small chemical hand warmers can also come in handy.

3. Keep a thermal blanket or quilt in the trunk or in the back. You may never need it but it is wonderful to have if you do. I have always kept one in the trunk and when my daughter had to use it when she was out in 20 degree weather on bleachers watching the 2002 Olympics we found out it was not a warm quilt at all. I recommend making sure it doesn’t just look warm, but that it is warm before you need to use it.

4. Before winter has us in its grasp get your vehicle serviced. Included in this is an oil change (every 3,000 miles) engine check, tire check (depending on the weather tire pressure may need to be adjusted), wind shield fluid, and coolant fill up. This will give you peace of mind knowing your car is likely to run better in cold weather.

5. If you have a cell phone keep a phone charger in your car so you will be able to call for help if you need it and not be stuck with a dead battery.

All of the things we need to keep in our cars can become clutter if we don’t have a place for them. Then we spend more of our time later to clear the clutter. Have assigned places for everything in your car. In the trunk keep a container for all the items placed there. Keep the glove compartment free of clutter so the items that need to be there will have a place to live.

Organizing clutter is easy when everything has a home and it lives in its home when not being used—just like in your home. Happy driving and be safe!

Marilyn is a professional organizer who works with women and seniors in clearing clutter and providing organizing tips. Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com for free organizing tips on her blogs, articles and videos.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

I would like to wish all of my blog followers & readers a very happy NEW YEAR!

Now that the 2010 year has been completed, it is time to move on and begin 2011. At the beginning of each new year I like to look back at the previous year and make a list of things I would like to accomplish in the new year and that list is comprised of both personal and business goals. I wouldn’t call them New Year’s Resolutions but New Year’s Goals.

The new year of 2011 brings to me a new business goal and that is to keep this blog site up and running on my own and to keep providing all of my readers with information, articles and tips for you to enjoy.

If you are a goal setter or a New Year’s Resolution setter…I hope you accomplish everything that you set out to accomplish during the new year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Shelly